1st Time PC build. High end video editing and gaming

[doc]

Hi,

I'm looking to build a professional editing rig using Avid 6 and After effects and I'm also planning on using it for gaming (BF3, FC3, etc.) I'm moving away from macs and this will be my first PC in years and my first build. I've looked around the site and I think I'm looking for something in between the Jan 2013 and May 2012 builds featured on this site.
Best High End Video Editing/Gaming PC Build [May 2012] | Custom PC Review
Best High End Video Editing/Gaming PC Build [May 2012] | Custom PC Review

Right now I'd like to keep it under $2000, but have the major components to handle high end work and easily upgrade if needed.

Thanks

[sam.cpcr]

Hi,

I'm looking to build a professional editing rig using Avid 6 and After effects and I'm also planning on using it for gaming (BF3, FC3, etc.) I'm moving away from macs and this will be my first PC in years and my first build. I've looked around the site and I think I'm looking for something in between the Jan 2013 and May 2012 builds featured on this site.
Best High End Video Editing/Gaming PC Build [May 2012] | Custom PC Review
Best High End Video Editing/Gaming PC Build [May 2012] | Custom PC Review

Right now I'd like to keep it under $2000, but have the major components to handle high end work and easily upgrade if needed.

Thanks

Hmm... well the May 2012 build even though it's from almost a year ago actually is still quite viable. I'd definitely update a couple components on that though...

Amazon.com: Intel Core i7-3930K Hexa-Core Processor 3.2 Ghz 12 MB Cache LGA 2011 - BX80619I73930K: Electronics

Amazon.com: ASUS P9X79 LGA 2011 Intel X79 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard: Computers & Accessories

Amazon.com: Kingston Technology HyperX 16 GB Kit (4x4 GB Modules) 16 Quad Channel Kit 1600 (PC3 12800) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM KHX1600C9D3K4/16GX: Electronics

Amazon.com: Samsung Electronics 840 Pro Series 2.5-Inch 256 GB SATA 6GB/s Solid State Drive MZ-7PD256BW: Computers & Accessories

Amazon.com: Corsair Carbide Series Black 300R Windowed Computer Case (CC-9011017-WW): Computers & Accessories

Amazon.com: Asus 24xDVD-RW Serial ATA Internal OEM Drive DRW-24B1ST (Black): Electronics

Amazon.com: EVGA GeForce GTX670 FTW 2048MB GDDR5 256bit, Dual Dual-Link DVI, HDMI, DisplayPort, 4-Way SLI Ready Graphics Card Graphics Cards 02G-P4-2678-KR: Electronics

Amazon.com: Corsair Enthusiast Series 650-Watt 80 Plus Bronze Certified Power Supply Compatible with Core i3, i5, i7 and platforms - TX650: Electronics

Amazon.com: Seagate ST2000DM001 Barracuda 7200RPM 2 TB SATA 6 GB/s NCQ 64 MB Cache 3.5-Inch Internal Bare Drive: Electronics

Amazon.com: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO - CPU Cooler with 120mm PWM Fan (RR-212E-20PK-R2): Electronics

Amazon.com: Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64bit (Full) System Builder DVD 1 Pack: Software

Ended up being $1980.81 for me, so it should be perfect for your budget. Obviously, storage will be up to you so if you need more storage, feel free to go with a 3TB drive or go with a couple drives if you want. Seagate's Barracuda drives are pretty good and Western Digital's Caviar Black drives are great as well.

Overall, this machine will be an absolute beast of a video editing system and it'll be a beast of a gamer as well. If you want better gaming performance, feel free to drop in two of those GTX 670's or just upgrade to a GTX 680.

Hope it helps.

[Max CPR]

Hmm... well the May 2012 build even though it's from almost a year ago actually is still quite viable. I'd definitely update a couple components on that though...

Amazon.com: Intel Core i7-3930K Hexa-Core Processor 3.2 Ghz 12 MB Cache LGA 2011 - BX80619I73930K: Electronics

Amazon.com: ASUS P9X79 LGA 2011 Intel X79 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard: Computers & Accessories

Amazon.com: Kingston Technology HyperX 16 GB Kit (4x4 GB Modules) 16 Quad Channel Kit 1600 (PC3 12800) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM KHX1600C9D3K4/16GX: Electronics

Amazon.com: Samsung Electronics 840 Pro Series 2.5-Inch 256 GB SATA 6GB/s Solid State Drive MZ-7PD256BW: Computers & Accessories

Amazon.com: Corsair Carbide Series Black 300R Windowed Computer Case (CC-9011017-WW): Computers & Accessories

Amazon.com: Asus 24xDVD-RW Serial ATA Internal OEM Drive DRW-24B1ST (Black): Electronics

Amazon.com: EVGA GeForce GTX670 FTW 2048MB GDDR5 256bit, Dual Dual-Link DVI, HDMI, DisplayPort, 4-Way SLI Ready Graphics Card Graphics Cards 02G-P4-2678-KR: Electronics

Amazon.com: Corsair Enthusiast Series 650-Watt 80 Plus Bronze Certified Power Supply Compatible with Core i3, i5, i7 and platforms - TX650: Electronics

Amazon.com: Seagate ST2000DM001 Barracuda 7200RPM 2 TB SATA 6 GB/s NCQ 64 MB Cache 3.5-Inch Internal Bare Drive: Electronics

Amazon.com: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO - CPU Cooler with 120mm PWM Fan (RR-212E-20PK-R2): Electronics

Amazon.com: Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64bit (Full) System Builder DVD 1 Pack: Software

Ended up being $1980.81 for me, so it should be perfect for your budget. Obviously, storage will be up to you so if you need more storage, feel free to go with a 3TB drive or go with a couple drives if you want. Seagate's Barracuda drives are pretty good and Western Digital's Caviar Black drives are great as well.

Overall, this machine will be an absolute beast of a video editing system and it'll be a beast of a gamer as well. If you want better gaming performance, feel free to drop in two of those GTX 670's or just upgrade to a GTX 680.

Hope it helps.

Great rig! I've also read this article, on last summer Very helpful.

If I start from this updated rig here. What If i add about $500 to $800 to this buy. I know you already proposed to upgrade to a GTX 680. We all love SSD's, pricy but fantastic. What would be the best options? My use is around 90% of video editing and 10% of 3D (with programs like adobe after effects)

You went for Windows 7 64 bits instead of Windows 8 64 bits. Is it for a matter of compatibilty?

Thanks!

[eBombzor]

Great rig! I've also read this article, on last summer Very helpful.

If I start from this updated rig here. What If i add about $500 to $800 to this buy. I know you already proposed to upgrade to a GTX 680. We all love SSD's, pricy but fantastic. What would be the best options? My use is around 90% of video editing and 10% of 3D (with programs like adobe after effects)

You went for Windows 7 64 bits instead of Windows 8 64 bits. Is it for a matter of compatibilty?

Thanks!

You could buy a 512GB Samsung Pro, a 3TB HDD, a fancier & quieter case, a more efficient PSU, and a better cooler.

You could go with Windows 8 but there's a lot of criticism about the Metro interface. Almost every program that has Windows 7 compatibility is compatible with Windows 8.

[sam.cpcr]

Great rig! I've also read this article, on last summer Very helpful.

If I start from this updated rig here. What If i add about $500 to $800 to this buy. I know you already proposed to upgrade to a GTX 680. We all love SSD's, pricy but fantastic. What would be the best options? My use is around 90% of video editing and 10% of 3D (with programs like adobe after effects)

You went for Windows 7 64 bits instead of Windows 8 64 bits. Is it for a matter of compatibilty?

Thanks!

Glad it helped. It's almost a year old, but Intel isn't expected to refresh the LGA 2011 stuff until Q3 this year, so it should be relevant for some time to come. As for the extra budget, it would really depend on what you're planning to do. I'd definitely upgrade the CPU cooler for one. The H100i is a pretty good choice. If you want to go air, you can go with the Phanteks PH-TC14PE. Both are very powerful CPU coolers and will work great if you decide to overclock your CPU.

Amazon.com: Corsair Hydro Series Extreme Performance Liquid CPU Cooler H100i: Computers & Accessories

Amazon.com: Phanteks CPU Cooler with 5 x 8mm Dual Heat-pipes, 140mm Premium Fans and PWM Adaptor, Patented P.A.T.S Coating, PH-TC14PE_BK (Black): Computers & Accessories

If you need more storage, the 512GB Samsung 840 Pro is a good choice.

Amazon.com: Samsung Electronics 840 Pro Series 2.5-Inch 512 SATA_6_0_gb Solid State Drive MZ-7PD512BW: Computers & Accessories

The GTX 670 FTW is definitely a good graphics card, but yeah if you want better performance in games then the GTX 680 is there as well.

Amazon.com: EVGA GeForce GTX680 SuperClocked 2048MB GDDR5, DVI, DVI-D, HDMI, DisplayPort, 4-way SLI Ready Graphics Card Graphics Cards 02G-P4-2684-KR: Electronics

If you need more memory, you could always upgrade that as well. As far as processor upgrades go, I don't think it'll be worth it for you to drop the extra on the 3960x or 3970x.

As far as the OS goes, Windows 7 or Windows 8 is fine. It's a matter of personal preference. I for one am not the biggest fan of the Windows 8 interface, so I'm sticking to Windows 7 for now. Either way is fine. Pricing is still the same, so it's your pick.

Also, have you considered your choice in stuff like monitors? If you'll be doing a lot of video work or photo work, I'd definitely recommend picking up an IPS monitor. Make sure your colors aren't thrown off when you're color correcting and stuff.

[doc]

Hmm... well the May 2012 build even though it's from almost a year ago actually is still quite viable. I'd definitely update a couple components on that though...

Amazon.com: Intel Core i7-3930K Hexa-Core Processor 3.2 Ghz 12 MB Cache LGA 2011 - BX80619I73930K: Electronics

Amazon.com: ASUS P9X79 LGA 2011 Intel X79 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard: Computers & Accessories

Amazon.com: Kingston Technology HyperX 16 GB Kit (4x4 GB Modules) 16 Quad Channel Kit 1600 (PC3 12800) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM KHX1600C9D3K4/16GX: Electronics

Amazon.com: Samsung Electronics 840 Pro Series 2.5-Inch 256 GB SATA 6GB/s Solid State Drive MZ-7PD256BW: Computers & Accessories

Amazon.com: Corsair Carbide Series Black 300R Windowed Computer Case (CC-9011017-WW): Computers & Accessories

Amazon.com: Asus 24xDVD-RW Serial ATA Internal OEM Drive DRW-24B1ST (Black): Electronics

Amazon.com: EVGA GeForce GTX670 FTW 2048MB GDDR5 256bit, Dual Dual-Link DVI, HDMI, DisplayPort, 4-Way SLI Ready Graphics Card Graphics Cards 02G-P4-2678-KR: Electronics

Amazon.com: Corsair Enthusiast Series 650-Watt 80 Plus Bronze Certified Power Supply Compatible with Core i3, i5, i7 and platforms - TX650: Electronics

Amazon.com: Seagate ST2000DM001 Barracuda 7200RPM 2 TB SATA 6 GB/s NCQ 64 MB Cache 3.5-Inch Internal Bare Drive: Electronics

Amazon.com: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO - CPU Cooler with 120mm PWM Fan (RR-212E-20PK-R2): Electronics

Amazon.com: Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64bit (Full) System Builder DVD 1 Pack: Software

Ended up being $1980.81 for me, so it should be perfect for your budget. Obviously, storage will be up to you so if you need more storage, feel free to go with a 3TB drive or go with a couple drives if you want. Seagate's Barracuda drives are pretty good and Western Digital's Caviar Black drives are great as well.

Overall, this machine will be an absolute beast of a video editing system and it'll be a beast of a gamer as well. If you want better gaming performance, feel free to drop in two of those GTX 670's or just upgrade to a GTX 680.

Hope it helps.

Wow. Thanks this really helped a lot and I'm actually going to go with that rig. I do have one question, are there any pitfalls if I were to swap the DVD optical drive for a blu-ray one?
Thanks again

[sam.cpcr]

Wow. Thanks this really helped a lot and I'm actually going to go with that rig. I do have one question, are there any pitfalls if I were to swap the DVD optical drive for a blu-ray one?
Thanks again

Glad it helped. Multiple people too, haha.

Nope. No pitfalls with the Blu-Ray drive, just pricier than a standard DVDRW drive, but if you need Blu-Ray reading/writing functionality now or in the future, I say why not.

[Max CPR]

You could buy a 512GB Samsung Pro, a 3TB HDD, a fancier & quieter case, a more efficient PSU, and a better cooler.

You could go with Windows 8 but there's a lot of criticism about the Metro interface. Almost every program that has Windows 7 compatibility is compatible with Windows 8.

Thanks mate!

Glad it helped. It's almost a year old, but Intel isn't expected to refresh the LGA 2011 stuff until Q3 this year, so it should be relevant for some time to come. As for the extra budget, it would really depend on what you're planning to do. I'd definitely upgrade the CPU cooler for one. The H100i is a pretty good choice. If you want to go air, you can go with the Phanteks PH-TC14PE. Both are very powerful CPU coolers and will work great if you decide to overclock your CPU.

Amazon.com: Corsair Hydro Series Extreme Performance Liquid CPU Cooler H100i: Computers & Accessories

Amazon.com: Phanteks CPU Cooler with 5 x 8mm Dual Heat-pipes, 140mm Premium Fans and PWM Adaptor, Patented P.A.T.S Coating, PH-TC14PE_BK (Black): Computers & Accessories

If you need more storage, the 512GB Samsung 840 Pro is a good choice.

Amazon.com: Samsung Electronics 840 Pro Series 2.5-Inch 512 SATA_6_0_gb Solid State Drive MZ-7PD512BW: Computers & Accessories

The GTX 670 FTW is definitely a good graphics card, but yeah if you want better performance in games then the GTX 680 is there as well.

Amazon.com: EVGA GeForce GTX680 SuperClocked 2048MB GDDR5, DVI, DVI-D, HDMI, DisplayPort, 4-way SLI Ready Graphics Card Graphics Cards 02G-P4-2684-KR: Electronics

If you need more memory, you could always upgrade that as well. As far as processor upgrades go, I don't think it'll be worth it for you to drop the extra on the 3960x or 3970x.

As far as the OS goes, Windows 7 or Windows 8 is fine. It's a matter of personal preference. I for one am not the biggest fan of the Windows 8 interface, so I'm sticking to Windows 7 for now. Either way is fine. Pricing is still the same, so it's your pick.

Also, have you considered your choice in stuff like monitors? If you'll be doing a lot of video work or photo work, I'd definitely recommend picking up an IPS monitor. Make sure your colors aren't thrown off when you're color correcting and stuff.

Awesome.

You guys have heard anything on the eight core's ? It's a huge buy for me and since i work on a quad-core already, should I wait. The same freaking question over and over again hehe.

[sam.cpcr]

Thanks mate!



Awesome.

You guys have heard anything on the eight core's ? It's a huge buy for me and since i work on a quad-core already, should I wait. The same freaking question over and over again hehe.

Not on the consumer side, but I wouldn't expect it to be cheap. Look forward to Ivy Bridge-E in Q3 this year. Maybe... just maybe they'll have an 8 core as the flagship. Haven't heard anything about it, but it seems possible. If you need something now and you've got tons of money to blow, you can look at the enterprise side. Xeons are already 8 core.

Amazon.com: Intel Xeon Eight-Core E5-2687W 3.1GHz 8.0GT/s 20MB LGA2011 Processor without Fan, Retail BX80621E52687W: Computers & Accessories

[Max CPR]

Not on the consumer side, but I wouldn't expect it to be cheap. Look forward to Ivy Bridge-E in Q3 this year. Maybe... just maybe they'll have an 8 core as the flagship. Haven't heard anything about it, but it seems possible. If you need something now and you've got tons of money to blow, you can look at the enterprise side. Xeons are already 8 core.

Amazon.com: Intel Xeon Eight-Core E5-2687W 3.1GHz 8.0GT/s 20MB LGA2011 Processor without Fan, Retail BX80621E52687W: Computers & Accessories

lol

oook

Hexa-core. Overclocking.