Anyone can go out and buy a computer system, but to truly get something that is customized for video editing, and won't cost you a bundle, you'll probably be looking at buying the parts yourself and putting it together. We've got our very own Hackintosh guide to help you build a computer specifically designed to handle Mac OSX, but your options are certainly less limited if you've decided that you just want to build a Windows PC. Dave Dugdale, from Learning DSLR Video, is building his first computer, and he has compiled all of this information to help you along in your own journey. Here is the video from Dave:
The list of parts from the build:
- Intel Core i7-3930k 3.2g 6 core at $569
- ASUS P9X79 Pro motherboard at $300
- 1600MHz 32GB of RAM
- GTX 680 “FTW” 4gb version which costs $560
- Corsair H100i liquid cooler with two Noctua NF-F12-PWM fans
- Fractal Design Define R4
CORSAIR HX Series HX750 750WI had to return this one because it made some weird fan noises. I replaced it with Seasonic SS-760XP ATX which is nice an quiet and 80PLUS Platinum Certified, I notice that is runs the same tasks as the other PSU but at slightly less wattages.- Corsair Force Series GT CSSD 240GB SSD
- Kingston 480GB SSD is existing and will be for my scratch drive.
- Windows 7 Pro
- Total Cost: $2,385
As Dave says, some people might think this is overkill, but this is a computer that's going to run all of the latest applications extremely well, like Premiere and After Effects, and since Dave believes he might be using a RAW camera a few years from now, this is a good system to handle those kinds of files. I'm not positive if all of these parts are 100% compatible with OSX, but most of them should work with a bit of fiddling (don't quote me on that). That doesn't necessarily mean they are the best choice if you're looking to build a system to handle both Windows and Mac, but if you're strictly looking at system for PC work only (or even Linux), this is going to be a blazing fast computer for the next couple of years.
How does this compare to any recent computers you have built? Do you have anything to add or subtract from the parts list above? Let us know in the comments.
Link: Dave’s Monster Video Editing Computer Build -- Learning DSLR Video
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Your Comment
127 Comments
I totally just built something similar, and blogged about it here: http://blog.yegfilm.ca/post/41170661635/building-a-pc-workstation-for-da...
I went with the 3820 CPU and a larger power source, and the 660ti, but pretty similar. :)
January 23, 2013 at 1:44PM, Edited September 4, 8:21AM
Nice blog
January 24, 2013 at 4:54AM, Edited September 4, 8:21AM
MAC IS BETTER HUR HUR CAN'T WAIT FOR THIS TO TURN INTO A MAC VS PC, FCP VS PREMIERE, CAMERA VS CAMERA, ETC DEBATE!!!!
January 23, 2013 at 1:46PM, Edited September 4, 8:21AM
A suggestion I have is that many compter retail part stores will build the system for you inexpensively. My local store, called Memory Express, will build a custom computer for $40. You buy the parts, they build it for $40.
January 23, 2013 at 1:57PM, Edited September 4, 8:21AM
Wow, that's really expensive! I know it's worth it because it will be the centre of all the workflow.
January 23, 2013 at 2:02PM, Edited September 4, 8:21AM
This nice part about building your own machine is the ability to work within your budget. If you don't have the budget for the top end latest and greatest, you can get new parts that are "out of date" by a few months and save a bunch of cash.
January 29, 2013 at 1:03PM, Edited September 4, 8:21AM
Yes, you are right about that. Thanks.
February 2, 2013 at 6:21AM, Edited September 4, 8:21AM
it´s really good that u can get both. mac osx and cheap pc parts...
January 23, 2013 at 2:06PM, Edited September 4, 8:21AM
This is pretty much the best setup you can have right now without spending a fortune. I wonder if anyone with a similar setup can edit RED RAW footage without RAID... I remember Tom Lowe had a similar system and said it could edit RED EPIC footage great.
One of the most important things that many people oversee/not know is the disk setup. It can make Premiere a lot faster and editing a lot easier on your current machine, simply by adding a second/third drive.
January 23, 2013 at 2:12PM, Edited September 4, 8:21AM
I do have a similar setup and Im editing 4k (Scarlet footage) at 1/2 in Premiere real time. It's a 11 min short. In Premiere you gotta hack to be able to use the Cuda (GPU acceleration) on the GTX 680, this card is not on Adobe's list. Its very simple to hack Premiere to recognize it though.
January 23, 2013 at 2:40PM, Edited September 4, 8:21AM
Do you use hard drives in RAID config? I have a first gen i5 and an older nvidia card with the hack and it won't even try playing 4k RED footage in Premiere...
January 23, 2013 at 4:52PM, Edited September 4, 8:21AM
Im using a simple WD 2TB 7200rpm, I have over 800gb of footage, it's working very nicely, again my setup looks very similar to the article's
January 23, 2013 at 6:14PM, Edited September 4, 8:21AM
All you do is find the cuda_supported_cards txt file under the main Premiere folder and add GeForce GTX 680 to the list.
January 23, 2013 at 8:56PM, Edited September 4, 8:21AM
Actually, the 680 IS on the list! It was added from a previous update, I believe.
I didn't edit my list, and here's what I have on it:
GeForce GTX 285
GeForce GTX 470
GeForce GTX 570
GeForce GTX 580
GeForce GT 650M
GeForce GTX 680
Quadro CX
Quadro FX 3700M
Quadro FX 3800
Quadro FX 3800M
Quadro FX 4800
Quadro FX 5800
Quadro 2000
Quadro 2000D
Quadro 2000M
Quadro 3000M
Quadro 4000
Quadro 4000M
Quadro 5000
Quadro 5000M
Quadro 5010M
Quadro 6000
Tesla C2075
January 24, 2013 at 12:09PM, Edited September 4, 8:21AM
You can just add whatever CUDA capable card you have, it is only a text file.
The 670 is a good budget choice, too. 10% slower at most but a lot cheaper. I'd rather buy a 670 now and in two years buy a new card for the system.
Graphics cards develop pretty quickly, better buy a new one every two years or so, then you don't always need the most expensive card, and still be up to date. Because in three years, the 680 will be just as outdated as the 670
January 24, 2013 at 2:01PM, Edited September 4, 8:21AM
ew, windows.
January 23, 2013 at 2:16PM, Edited September 4, 8:21AM
Yeah, I am not a windows fan either. But, so far so good with my new workstation.
January 23, 2013 at 2:39PM, Edited September 4, 8:21AM
They have a decent price/performance ratio, and play games well, ....and thats about it.
January 23, 2013 at 5:15PM, Edited September 4, 8:21AM
If you're editing, aren't you spending almost all of your time inside Adobe Apps? You hardly see the OS...
January 24, 2013 at 11:54PM, Edited September 4, 8:21AM
exactly.
If I had a penny for everytime I meet a pro that honestly believes you *can't* do pro work on a PC, I'd have.. well.. probably about 2 dollars by now.
From my experience the more smug someone is about mac, the less they know about computers.
January 25, 2013 at 5:14AM, Edited September 4, 8:21AM
Is that just an elitist comment, or do you like to share your insights on "ew"?
Do you run your Adobe CS/Avid/Photoshop on Linux? I don't think so!
Can you provide me with a release date for a new MacPro that will have modern technology? I don't think so either!
So please, elaborate your "ew" and let us know how the better people do their editing!
January 24, 2013 at 2:06PM, Edited September 4, 8:21AM
No, I have CS5 that I run on mac when I need it, and honestly I just use Illustrator (for credits, posters, art stuff) and soundbooth sometimes to work with audio files. And sometimes I use Flash to make seizure inducing frame-by-frame intro credits/animations for fun. I edit with fcp x and grade with resolve, havent touched premiere in ages and the last time i did the user interface was ugly and primitive, so there is no point in wasting my time with it.
macs are just plain designed better, and if you are butthurt about the mac pro not being "modern" enough, or whatever that means because every computer is modern, then wait for spring when the new models come out (said by Cook himself many, many times) and then we will see tons of articles on this website praising it. Ill bet we wont see much PC fanboyism going on anymore- people are just getting impatient is all.
again, the only thing i like pcs for are games, my mac does everything else with ease and grace.
January 25, 2013 at 12:23AM, Edited September 4, 8:21AM
Who give's a sh..??? Does it really matter? Everything comes and goes, all that remains are the real creatives, who in fact don't care what they are using, as long as they can create. And all those PC, MAC, RED, CANON, NIKON, blah blah fanboys... who probably never really created anything that lasts.. honestly.. this debate is for nothing... you should spend your time reading a good book, getting your inspiration somewhere out there.. and not arguing about BS like that!
January 25, 2013 at 5:24AM, Edited September 4, 8:21AM
Amen to that! Fanboys seem to miss the point that what they are praising are massive corporations that put products out there for money, not for love or whatever kind hearted way fanboys think of them. It's crazy.
February 2, 2013 at 6:24AM, Edited September 4, 8:21AM
I went to micro center and had one built with similar specs, same chip, RAM and Mobo.. I have the GTX 670 instead, probably should've went for the 680 but (Eric from ADK) says theres no major difference between the two. However you do need to add the 670 manually on your list of accepted video cards in Adobe Premire p6 to fully utilize the MPE. Once that's done you're set and its real easy to do. I'll admit I did have some issues early on. I've been a Mac guy for years, so I was really nervous in the beginning. Nothing worked, people building the same system, same specs had theirs running fine. It was painful, I was ready to give up and get the 2012 iMac. But after a few replacements (hard drives from Hitachi to WD black 3-2tb and 2- 600gb Volicirapters, Mobo p9x79 and my ram 32gb). Its running fine thank God. Despite what you may read online about micro center, they did good and I would recomend them vs going online. At least when you gotta yell its a real person standing in front of you. But my point is I didn't have to go through that with micro center. It eats through large DNxHD files like nothing from the pix240. I'm curious of how it will do with big ass 4k files? I'm sure mac will have a monster out soon but I know it will cost a ton. I spent around 3900 and that's with 8TB worth of drives and a 256 gb SSD system drive. Price is includes a $400 (auria) ips monitor 2560x1444 and a 2 year warranty. .
January 23, 2013 at 2:40PM, Edited September 4, 8:21AM
The 670 was the right choice. It comes dangerously close to the 680 in all the tests, Nvidia had to make the 670 that strong because of an equally priced AMD card. When you buy an 670 now, you have more money left to buy a new card in two years or less - and that card will then absolutely smoke the old 680.
So yes, good choice, I'm gonna get the 670, too.
The most expensive graphics card at any point in time has never been a good investment in my opinion. Just wait a year or two and buy a new one instead of spending all you have on the most expensive model. Even more so, when the cheaper card is THAT close to the more expensive one!
January 24, 2013 at 2:16PM, Edited September 4, 8:21AM
I just built my first Windows 8 based editing PC that I intend to use for private projects. (Note, a 240GB SSD is absolutely worth it. I went with two 2 TB WD's in Mirrored Raid assembly, with 6GB ps throughput. I love this machine. Having come from a 27" iMac, this is far superior.
Some notes: When working with clients who are Mac-based: Format all external drives shared between you and your client in exFAT. I made the mistake of buying Paragon Software's HFS+ for Windows (http://www.paragon-software.com/home/hfs-windows/) in order to read a client's external drive. Now, he can't read it off his computer, because Paragon corrupted the file system. So I have to buy another drive, format to exFAT and shuffle all his files to the new drive, then reformat the original, and give those back to him.
Also, big recommendation is Calibrated {Q} XD Decoder. Great for reading ProRes422 files on PC. It's pricey, but worth it.
January 23, 2013 at 2:42PM, Edited September 4, 8:21AM
MacDrive. It's fantastic. With it I can read or format to any drive a Mac uses with no issues ever.
January 23, 2013 at 3:07PM, Edited September 4, 8:21AM
Macdrive is all well and good, but there's no substitute for formatting a drive as something that most systems can read from the start. exFAT can read and write on both Mac and PC. When working across multiple systems, this is invaluable. All of my drives are formatted as exFAT and I would never go back to NTFS or HFS.
January 23, 2013 at 6:18PM, Edited September 4, 8:21AM
You should only use exFAT on those drives where you really need access from different systems. HFS+ and NTFS are much better and complex file systems, exFAT is made for flash drives and kept as simple as possible. It works on hdds, too, I know (and I love the fact that both Mac and PC can read and write it natively) but the other file systems are more secure and have a lot more options like rights-management.
January 24, 2013 at 2:20PM, Edited September 4, 8:21AM
Be careful when formatting a drive to HFS+ in MacDrive on a PC. They may have fixed in an update but for a long time you couldn't reformat that drive using a Mac. You had to go back to a pc with MacDrive, delete the partition, and then format.
January 24, 2013 at 10:41AM, Edited September 4, 8:21AM
Learning all this you mention is the next phase for me. Thanks for the insight.
January 23, 2013 at 3:11PM, Edited September 4, 8:21AM
So what did you think of that comment policy there at the top? I really like that part about constructive comments that added something to the discussion.
January 23, 2013 at 3:10PM, Edited September 4, 8:21AM
Great machine... A little overkill if you're only editing DSLR footage but for those running 3D softs and AE, this is a great computer.
January 23, 2013 at 3:15PM, Edited September 4, 8:21AM
Building a 680 rig atm isn't worth the money because the next series(700) is going to be out in less than months, just wait and you get 5-15% better gpu....
January 23, 2013 at 3:19PM, Edited September 4, 8:21AM
2 months*
January 23, 2013 at 3:25PM, Edited September 4, 8:21AM
5-15% more performance for... probably a 50-80% boost in price. Buying a newly released card is always crazy expensive while also running the risk of there not being the same level of reliable driver support as an established high-end card from the previous generation.
January 23, 2013 at 11:19PM, Edited September 4, 8:21AM
for those interested in dual boot win/linux, Nvidia graphic cards is way better than ATI, since, for example, Piranha 7 requires it as some other tools work better with Nvidia than ATI too by my experience. Also the nvidia proprietary drivers for linux are great, not the same with ATI.
January 23, 2013 at 3:31PM, Edited September 4, 8:21AM
Alright, I'm finally convinced. I'll start building a hackinstosh in the next few months. Let's do this shit.
January 23, 2013 at 3:39PM, Edited September 4, 8:21AM
I know so many pros who talk like that - said no one ever.
January 23, 2013 at 3:40PM, Edited September 4, 8:21AM
Nice dickweed comment.
Dave did a ton of research on building a PC that was optimized for video production. He may not be experienced in PC building, but the knowledge he gained in setting a computer up specifically for editing and rendering is useful for many of us, including those of us who are expert computer builders. Thank you Dave!
January 23, 2013 at 3:43PM, Edited September 4, 8:21AM
BOOM point proven. (see above comment)
January 23, 2013 at 4:32PM, Edited September 4, 8:21AM
What, the 'ew' comment? That's not constructive and only detracts from the discussion, let alone Dave's effort...
January 25, 2013 at 12:10AM, Edited September 4, 8:21AM
there was a comment saying something along the lines of "why do we care about dave, this site used to show pros" etc (in much lamer language). It seems to be deleted, but that's what everyone was responding to.
January 25, 2013 at 8:11AM, Edited September 4, 8:21AM
I run a very similar PC, and the one upgrade I would make (and that requires having enough PCI slots and enough physical space between them) is using 2 GTX 580s. Adding the second one cut my rendering time almost in half. Black Magic's computer guide suggested it, and I was skeptical at first, but it's the best thing I've done.
January 23, 2013 at 4:32PM, Edited September 4, 8:21AM
It's my understanding that Premiere doesn't support SLI (dual GPU card) setups. What editing system are you using that would benefit from this?
January 24, 2013 at 7:01AM, Edited September 4, 8:21AM
It's worth mentioning that Dave's setup will also run OSX. There are a few things missing from LGA 2011 in OSX like full power management(sleep), but for those interested in keeping OSX and building a comparable system, X79 is a possibility. I recently built a similar system using an Asus Rampage IV Extreme motherboard. Two of the big benefits to LGA 2011, are the 6 core CPU and the ability to add up to 64gigs of RAM. Anyone who regularly works in CS6, especially After Effects, knows that RAM could come in handy.
For those interested in editing 4 or 5k footage, a 3930k will allow you to edit realtime 4k at 1/2 res and 5k at 1/4 res in Premiere CS6 without an issue. Also, debayer is dependent on the CPU so the graphics card makes no difference in Premiere, unless you're adding effects or CC to the footage. Where the GPU will make a difference is in apps like Resolve where everything you're adding is an effect of some sort and the program utilizes CUDA.
January 23, 2013 at 4:40PM, Edited September 4, 8:21AM
Cool, I have a hackintosh already, but hadn't though that the box I built that is similar to the one in this post would possibly be able to run OSX as well. Something to look into.
January 23, 2013 at 4:44PM, Edited September 4, 8:21AM
Why no "normal" Hard Drives???
And what about da Monitor?????
January 23, 2013 at 4:56PM, Edited September 4, 8:21AM
Speed, that's the answer. Once you've switched to SSD you never want to go back.
January 24, 2013 at 11:59PM, Edited September 4, 8:21AM
Yeah, but they are good for OS and SW, but not for media files. This guy's PC cannot host the size of large projects. You need one SSD, but one or two "normal" hard drives too...
January 25, 2013 at 12:32AM, Edited September 4, 8:21AM
Good on half of the parts, but defiantly some inexperienced choices in other selections.
- ASUS P9X79 motherboard... Should be an ASUS Rampage IV or EVGA X79 FTW
- Vengeance RAM... Should be Corsair Dominator Platinum DDR3 2133
- Fractal Design Case... Should be a Corsair Obsidian 800D
- Seasonic SS-760XP PSU... Should be PC Power and Cooling Silencer Mk II 950W
- Corsair Force SSD... Should be SAMSUNG 840 PRO 512GB SSD
- Realtek on-board sound... Should be an HT | OMEGA card or RME HDSPe AIO card
- Monitor for color correction and grading should be from the Eizo ColorEdge or Eizo CX series
January 23, 2013 at 8:38PM, Edited September 4, 8:21AM
Razor's post is good satire as the Eizo monitor alone can cost as much as the entire computer, and the case Razor chose, although fantastic for water cooling, costs as much as most mid range i7 processors.
You can almost always "choose better" if you have infinite money! lol
January 23, 2013 at 9:42PM, Edited September 4, 8:21AM
In it to win it. I choose better.
January 24, 2013 at 2:41AM, Edited September 4, 8:21AM
I recently built something similar. My headache has been how to properly configure Adobe to put the software on the SSD, but all the associated files on another drive. I need a second SSD for a "scratch" drive, but I have no clue (beyond installation) how to set it up. Can you point me to a good resource?
January 24, 2013 at 8:22AM, Edited September 4, 8:21AM
Go to Menu: Edit> Preferences>Media .... change the file locations from there.
I hope that is what you were looking for.
January 24, 2013 at 9:40AM, Edited September 4, 8:21AM
Razor, We're all thrilled to meet someone with an unlimited computer budget. Doug's build is much more interesting because he's been forced by budget constraints to do a lot of research and make compromises most of us face every day. Doug has been willing to share his filmmaking journey from the beginning, warts and all, and NEVER presented himself as an expert on anything. Bottom line, he's far more trustworthy than the thousands who use their blogs to do nothing but promote products they've been gifted. Now if you want to spend a few years humbly sharing your expertise, maybe you'll be worth listening to.
January 24, 2013 at 8:29AM, Edited September 4, 8:21AM
Here's an alternative thought to investing the money in an ultra high end PC. You could invest in work horse PC like Dave's for editing and invest the rest in a Render Farm. Since he is using Premiere it is possible to Dynamic Link the entire timeline to an AE File, and After Effects can render the entire project across a cat5 network. What is really nice is that AE and most plugins for AE have "Render Only" install modes. AE Can install an unlimited number of Render Only modes off of 1 License. Red Giant Plugins, and Video Copilot plugins will do 5 installs off of 1 license. So for 6k you can get 5X PC machines running I7 4core 3.7ghz, with 8 gigs of ram, and a GTX680.
So instead of investing 10k into one Beast of a PC, you could do 4k for a workhorse PC and 6k for a Farm.
Note: The Farm can only output still images, but if your timeline is REALLY effects heavy, it may be better to have a Farm crunch the hard data and you just reassemble the Uncompressed Tiffs, or DPX files in premiere and export the final. Using the Farm does force you to do the Final Color Grade in AE or SGO Mistika, it can also be used with 3d programs like Blender, Max, Maya, and Cinema 4d. But it wont work with Speed grade or Resolve so it wont work for Dave's current work flow :(
January 24, 2013 at 11:44AM, Edited September 4, 8:21AM
I'm absolutetly with you on the SSD, but your choice of PSU is even less informed for a single gpu machine and the brand and type of RAM is really not that important. As long as its stable and good quality RAM with the optimal frequency, yu're good. Better RAM timings don't give you much these days (like cl9 instead of cl10)
About the case: if you really want to replace this beautifully designed Fractal Design case with an overpriced, ugly gaming tower, well, that is your choice. But don't say the fractal design was the wrong choice!
I am going to buy a Fractal Design XL for my new computer in the next few days. I have been researching cases for like a year and really didn't like any other case better. Not saying it is perfect, but cases are very much a personal choice, and just because you think the Corsair is better (and it is more expensive) really doesn't make it any better for everybody.
For me the Corsair would be a no-go because of the huge side window. This is nice for people who like to show off their skills of hiding cables and stuff, but it really makes the machine a lot louder than it needs to be. The FD has acoustic insulation that help to keep any little noise where it belongs: inside the case.
January 24, 2013 at 1:47PM, Edited September 4, 8:21AM
... I forgot, I am with you on the onboard sound thing, too. Should at least be an Asus Xonar essence - the Realtek onboard sound is going to torture your ears and certainly not help your editing.
Dave won't even be able to use headphones because the noises this device makes will drive him nuts.
January 24, 2013 at 1:53PM, Edited September 4, 8:21AM
@Heiko -
- The PC Power and Cooling Silencer Mk II 950W is superior to the Seasonic; do your homework and read the reviews. PC Power and Cooling has been ranked the best PSU by MaximumPC for many years running. I've never had any trouble with the several PC Power and Cooling PSUs I've owned.
- You are inexperienced about the Corsair Vengeance RAM - I've personally had a bad Vengeance stick and many others have had various issues with this cheaper option, but the Corsair Dominator Platinum is in no question the superior RAM to buy. They are built using only select memory ICs, highly-screened for performance and stability.
- The larger Corsair Obsidian 800D case was specified because you really need more room for the Corsair H100i liquid cooler. Corsair also recommends the 800D for their H100 and H100i.
- The HT | Omega is the superior card over the Asus Xonar Essence by far; do your homework and read the reviews. I have the HT | OMEGA Claro Halo XT and it's truly a great card (see Newegg reviews).
- Last thing... I've been building PCs since 1987... so against me you will lose.
January 25, 2013 at 8:42AM, Edited September 4, 8:21AM
Razor: 'against me you will lose'? Sounds like you've already lost with your attitude. The only thing you've won is in spending more than most on your PC.
January 25, 2013 at 9:49AM, Edited September 4, 8:21AM
Never. I see nothing wrong with competitive attitude. Maybe you should stand up, wipe those tears, and get some.
January 25, 2013 at 1:09PM, Edited September 4, 8:21AM
You need to look up a few words in a dictionary. What you are displaying is not a competitive attitude, but rather an arrogant/elitist attitude. Your behavior is like Peter Jackson berating a 20 year old filmmaker with a T2i for not being serious about his profession because he doesn't own 48 Red Epics.
January 26, 2013 at 10:46AM, Edited September 4, 8:21AM
I can see that you aren't going to give up on attacking me, so I'll warn you that NFS will ban you or even both of us if you don't stop... move along sir.
February 2, 2013 at 3:08AM, Edited September 4, 8:21AM
The question here is not "me", "me", "me". Is what you can do with the money and you're making us believe you don't understand that. Your so called 'competitive attitude' seems misplaced in a colaborative site, no one is here to give your ego a massage. So what you know which is the best? Good for you, can you tell us what are the best options, as much expensive as those?
If yes, why don't you write an article about how build a top machine within certain budgets ($2000 top, $3000 top and on)? Than you'll have respect from others, not demanding it with "against me you will lose".
March 8, 2013 at 9:49AM, Edited September 4, 8:21AM
I don't understand why he needs this system now, when he won't be editing RAW footage for a few years down the road. 2 years is an eternity in terms of pricing, and this same system will be significantly cheaper when he actually does edit RAW footage.
January 24, 2013 at 8:54AM, Edited September 4, 8:21AM
Thanks for the article. I'm curious to see what IvyBridge-E does in 3rd quarter, though. This build may be much cheaper when those are launched. Also, umm, where is all that RAW footage going to be stored? Backed up? 480gb scratch disk will go fast.
January 24, 2013 at 9:10AM, Edited September 4, 8:21AM
Interesting that according to Dave Dugdale an Apple system with similar specs would have been $5385. instead of the $2385 that Dave spent. I'm not technical enough to attempt this and don't care to go the Windows route, or a Hackintosh. Am interested in exactly what that Apple system would have been and who is buying that stuff...Hopefully Apple will address this grossly out of whack situation and come out with a modern MacPro that can kick ass at a more down to earth price. When my 27" iMac gets obsolete, I'd like to use it as one of the monitors with a "4K video edit ready" Mac Pro...
January 24, 2013 at 12:54PM, Edited September 4, 8:21AM
You know you don't need a PSU with more than 550W when you only have one graphics card? A good 550W will be cheaper and even more effective, meaning you might end up using 10W less for the same tasks on the same machine.
But hey, I appreciate he used a Seasonic, because people usually tend to buy the cheapest 750-800W PSU for their single gpu computers. That is the worst thing you can do, because cheap PSU are not only wasting a lot of energy, they might put out a lot less power safely than what their sticker says, plus they might set your house on fire when the fan fails (which is entirely possible all the time).
So his choice of a high quality Seasonic is a good example, I'm just saying you really don't need to spend the extra bucks for a 750W PSU when your machine even theoretically only ever uses 450W (and realistically will be below 400W even when rendering!)
January 24, 2013 at 1:29PM, Edited September 4, 8:21AM
I would use an equivalent mother board by Gigibyte. ASUS makes OK stuff, but the instant you start having any problems with any ASUS product, you will understand why I NEVER again will use ASUS. Even the stores who sell ASUS tell me what a pain they are to do business with. ASUS wants you to remove the motherboard, ship it to them (In El Paso) and within a week or so they will ship it back to you. Could take up to 10-12 days. Gigabyte? They send one to you and you send the dead one back.
January 24, 2013 at 1:36PM, Edited September 4, 8:21AM
As a Mac guy (who was in IT servicing Windows many years ago), I've lost track and haven't paid attention to Windows OS stability for a while. What's people's opinions of the most stable editing environment? Windows 7? I have no desire to try and test Windows 8 (looks very consumerish) but I'm still messing around running Windows 2000 on my Mac, and that sure isn't going to cut it. Suggestions?
January 24, 2013 at 5:09PM, Edited September 4, 8:21AM
Windows 7 64-bit is rock solid stable; just use proper drivers and don't install junk on your editing machine. I wouldn't touch Windows 8 for Pro Use.
January 24, 2013 at 9:38PM, Edited September 4, 8:21AM
Totally agree
January 25, 2013 at 12:07AM, Edited September 4, 8:21AM
agreed
January 25, 2013 at 11:05AM, Edited September 4, 8:21AM
You also need a BM Card or a Matrox or Aja, then a decent monitor for color reference. Eventually a color tangent or a wacom will come in handy. Then next steps would be a huge archiving data storage in an external RAID 5 box.
The list WILL grow over time.
January 24, 2013 at 8:23PM, Edited September 4, 8:21AM
Would DaVinci Resolve work on this?
January 25, 2013 at 12:03AM, Edited September 4, 8:21AM
With AMD FX8 - 8 core/3.6GHz+16GbRAM+800Wpsu ~ $600. It gives you sustain 56 giga instructions per second on Linux. The video card and 4k monitor will cost you more than computer, and you run UNIX/Linux on it as any other consumer OS can not scale to take advantage of SMP machines. The dual socket, so 16 core based on FX8 will bring to ~$1000 (before HD) why FX8 ???? ... cose .... it has 8 FPUs.
January 25, 2013 at 3:08PM, Edited September 4, 8:21AM
I see in Dave's video that he mounted the 2 Noctua fans above the H100i radiator both functioning as outtake fans.
However, some others install 1 fan on each side of the radiator.
What would be the proper install ?
February 18, 2013 at 2:44PM, Edited September 4, 8:21AM
If you want a high overclock, like 4.7,5.0 Ghz, its better to mount 4 fans (2 on top and 2 on the botom
March 24, 2013 at 9:29AM, Edited September 4, 8:21AM
All of the parts in that list are 100% compatible with Hackintosh. But you will need to use some codes to acess Mountain Lion for the 1º time. Watch BOB ROCHE on youtube. He has a series called Hackintosh Hardware with this Motherboard.
March 24, 2013 at 9:27AM, Edited September 4, 8:21AM
I just specked this package in Canada and bought it for $3k with tax. Thank you for doing the homework!
Jules
April 7, 2013 at 4:58PM, Edited September 4, 8:21AM
I love this system (built it from these specs- thank you for the homework!!!) .... runs fast but I would add one more hard drive for Client files and an SD card reader.
May 12, 2013 at 9:07AM, Edited September 4, 8:21AM
The computer you build for $2385.00 does it have FIRE WIRE PORTS, 4 AND 6 PIN PORTS?
I USE A P.C NEVER USED A MAC.
I USED ADOBE PREMIER 11
HOW MUCH TO BUILD ONE WITH THESE PORTS.
I LOVES TO DO VIDEO EDITING FOR FOR CABLE SHOW BUT SINCE THE COMPUTERS DOES NOT COME WITH FIRE WIRE IT IS HARD FOR ME, BECAUSE I PURCHASED A SONY DVCAM RECORDER TO EDIT MY TAPES FROM. CAN YOU HELP WITH THIS INFORMATION PLEASE. THANK YOU
June 28, 2013 at 8:32PM, Edited September 4, 8:21AM
There is a newer version of GTX 680 “FTW” 4gb, but is EVGA GeForce GTX 680+ 4096 MB GDDR5 Dual Dual-Link DVI/mHDMI/DP/SLI Graphics Card (04G-P4-3685-KR) the same? I get confused there.
July 25, 2013 at 8:22PM, Edited September 4, 8:21AM
What about a good sound card?
January 30, 2014 at 4:59PM, Edited September 4, 8:45AM
This is a great tip particularly to thosse fresh to the
blogosphere. Simple but very precise information… Many thanks for sharing this one.
A must read article!
April 18, 2014 at 3:22PM, Edited September 4, 8:56AM
For those of you with hardware questions and/or need certain features not talked about (i.e. Doris Johnson and her need for Fire Wire ports), I would suggest checking out the web site PC Parts Picker and take advantage of all the resources available there. PC Parts Picker (http://pcpartpicker.com/) is a place with a knowledgeable staff that perform numerous PC build projects using the tools (part search, compatibility database & lowest price search to name a few) that the site provides for anyone to use, while documenting the build with a video as well as a write up on the site. Add to that, a dedicated and active user community to supplement the staff and post their own builds and parts lists that are viewable to all (another site tool). While there are a few "experts" that take out their nerd frustration on people there, it's still one of the most "newbie friendly" I've seen and will help out with your questions. Hope this is helpful to all that need help and/or those that like to get the best price possible.
June 21, 2014 at 7:57AM, Edited September 4, 8:56AM
Pssst... Lets keep this "secret" under wraps. We don't need their elitist, smug attitude polluting the work environment.
June 21, 2014 at 8:04AM, Edited September 4, 8:56AM
I like it wnen people get together and share opinions. Great website, continue the
good work!
July 15, 2014 at 1:46AM, Edited September 4, 8:56AM
They're not doing it themselves, they're going to the Russians to do the same thing.
This is a competitive advantage for sports betting businesses
because the options that it gives are more than what anybody expects.
Some Asians prefer the long tedious hours playing Mahjong while
others gamble heavily on Toto or more popularly known as Lotto in Europe.
July 19, 2014 at 8:05AM, Edited September 4, 8:56AM
If you say that it was your fault when it really wasn't, you could potentially destroy your case.
This chapter continues the battle between mother and father
over Sonny, except that for the first time Sonny’s
father appears to care about the battle. Therefore, the layer grants you with high quality
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July 21, 2014 at 5:20PM, Edited September 4, 8:56AM
There's certainly a lot to know about this topic.
I like all the points you've made.
July 22, 2014 at 7:07PM, Edited September 4, 8:56AM
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me. Thanks, very great post.
July 22, 2014 at 7:14PM, Edited September 4, 8:56AM
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July 24, 2014 at 5:53PM, Edited September 4, 8:56AM
Hi! I know this is somewhat off topic but I was
wondering if you knew where I could find a captcha plugin for my comment form?
I'm using the same blog platform as yours and I'm having difficulty finding one?
Thanks a lot!
July 25, 2014 at 7:02AM, Edited September 4, 8:56AM
First of all I want to say superb blog! I had a quick question in which I'd like to ask if you do
not mind. I was curious to know how you center yourself and clear your thoughts
before writing. I've had a difficult time clearing
my mind in getting my ideas out. I do enjoy writing but it just seems like the first
10 to 15 minutes tend to be wasted simply just trying to figure out how to begin. Any ideas or tips?
Appreciate it!
July 25, 2014 at 6:01PM, Edited September 4, 8:56AM
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July 25, 2014 at 6:17PM, Edited September 4, 8:56AM
Hey, I think your blog might be having browser compatibility issues.
When I look at your website in Safari, it looks fine but when browsing in Explorer,
it has some overlapping. I just wanted to give you a quick heads up!
Other then that, wonderful blog!
July 25, 2014 at 10:31PM, Edited September 4, 8:56AM
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