Build advice for Gaming/Video Editing ~$900

[Hutchdown]

Approximate Purchase Date: Between now and New Years

Budget Range: ~$800-900 less would be better

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Video Editing/3D modeling. This build is for my high school son, who has an interest in attending college majoring in computer graphics technology.

Are you buying a monitor: No

Do you need to buy OS: Maybe. He is a high school student, not sure if he could score this for free.


Preferred Website(s) for Parts: any US.

Location: Central Indiana, US

Parts Preferences: Best performance for desired purpose

Overclocking: Maybe

SLI or Crossfire: Maybe

Your Monitor Resolution: currently 1900x1200. Would a higher resolution be required in college?

The goal of this build is to give him a machine that can handle all of the programs he would likely encounter in a college computer science/graphic technology course. He will also use it for gaming, but I assumed that building for video editing/graphics modeling would fulfill requirements for gaming. Thanks in advance for the help/advice.

 

[TomAdkins]

Hey! I have a build for $900ish and it can handle everything you require. And if he is a student then Microsoft DreamSpark has him covered, simply download windows 7 or 8 (7 i recommend) onto a USB or CD, then simply boot from the device when assembled!

CPU: Intel Core i5-4570 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor (£146.52 @ Amazon UK)
CPU Cooler: Xigmatek EP-CD903 61.2 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler (£9.24 @ Amazon UK)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-B85-HD3 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard (£66.88 @ Amazon UK)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LP 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 Memory (£53.49 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Western Digital RE3 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£37.00 @ Amazon UK)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 650 2GB Video Card (£89.98 @ Amazon UK)
Wireless Network Adapter: TP-Link TL-WDN4800 802.11a/b/g/n PCI-Express x1 Wi-Fi Adapter (£25.98 @ Amazon UK)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case (£47.98 @ Amazon UK)
Case Fan: Cooler Master R4-L2R-20AC-GP 69.0 CFM 120mm Fan (£5.97 @ Amazon UK)
Case Fan: Cooler Master R4-L2R-20AC-GP 69.0 CFM 120mm Fan (£5.97 @ Amazon UK)
Power Supply: XFX 850W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply (£79.99 @ Amazon UK)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NS95 DVD/CD Writer (£17.35 @ Amazon UK)
Total: £586.35
In American dollars it is $838.

This will cover all your needs and will last *APPROXIMATELY* 4 years. If you need any further help, feel free to ask.

 

[Hutchdown]

Tom,

This looks really solid. Is there any difference between NVidia or ATI video cards in relation to video editing. I know that for games, each platform has its pluses and minuses. But for video editing, i just want to make sure that one platform isnt a clear winner. Things like OpenCL, etc. Thanks in advance for your response.

 

[TomAdkins]

Tom,

This looks really solid. Is there any difference between NVidia or ATI video cards in relation to video editing. I know that for games, each platform has its pluses and minuses. But for video editing, i just want to make sure that one platform isnt a clear winner. Things like OpenCL, etc. Thanks in advance for your response.

Typically, Nvidia is better for video editing due to them being the creator of the GTX series of Graphics Card, and at the moment the GTX is the most powerful Gaming GPU, which means any video editing will be done at a higher performance due to it being made for the immense high spec of gaming. However i know Cost is a factor that needs to be put in, some GTX cards are extremely powerful and expensive and highly recommended for Video Editing and gaming, but the current one is the most cost efficient one, being 2GB and also being DirectX 11.

I'm happy to help in any further questions you have or problems you encounter.

Tom