Help / Advice in Editing / Graphics PC Build

[fxlibrary]

Im looking to have a PC built for me and im not up on what plays nicely inside the Computer

So any advice would be really helpful as I have spent 2 weeks looking around and getting more and more confused

Ive got 3,000.00 GBP = 4,730 USD to build the PC .. it will be used on a 42 inch HD LCD Screen and 2 Smaller 32 inc Samsung monitors

it will be used only for HD Editing and 3D Graphics .. no Games .. no internet (smaller old PC will be doing all web / office stuff

Programs Used AutoDesk Maya (3D) Avid Media Composer for Editing all Full HD 1920 x1080 and Adobe CS5 master Suite

this is what im looking thinking of getting


CASE: Coolermaster HAF-X 942

CPU: Intel® Core™ i7-980X Extreme Edition 3.33 GHz

FAN: CoolerMaster V6 GT CPU Cooler

SSD 128 GB V Series Kingston X 2
(One for Software Programs and One for Graphics Video im working on)
HDD2: 1TB SATA-III (For Archiving)

MOTHERBOARD .. ASUS Rampage III Formula LGA 1366

MB_ADDON:Asus U3S6 True 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x SATA-III PCIe X4 Expansion Card

MEMORY:24GB (4GBx6) DDR3/1333MHz Triple Channel Memory
(G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 24GB (6 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9T2-24GBRL)

POWERSUPPLY:* 1,000 Watts - CoolerMaster Silent Pro Gaming 80 Plus Power Supply

Graphic Cards X2 ATI Radeon HD 5970 2GB GDDR5 16X PCIe

TEMP:Aerocool V12XT Dual Bay Touch Screen Fan Control

Extras
OS: Microsoft® Windows® 7 64 bit
MOUSE:Logitech MX620 Cordless Laser Mouse

Any Suggestions Please are very welcome and needed

Im worried about the Case as I live in a very hot Humid place so Steel will rust very Quickly

Im worried if I have the right Memory to go with the motherboard (I looked at the Asus site and downloaded the PDF of approved Memory and after looking at Newegg the codes / Serials didn't seem to match anywhere


I really don't want Water Cooling .. had a nightmare in the past with it .. leaking onto motherboard and not being able to buy spares once it was broke and cooling liquid (I live in the middle of nowhere and thermaltake was no help at all .. So I said never again

Graphic card heard ATI / AMD 6000 series out and that all 5000 series would have prices slashed sometime in December ... So should I wait till January to buy all this etc etc


Any advice would be great .. thank you for your time

[Nikon]

although SSD's are very fast, that use (video editing) would be poison to the drive. SSD's have a limited unmber of write cycles before they become useless, so the more edits/saves you make, the shorter the life of the drive.

i am far from an expert on this note but: those are gaming grahpics cards, optimized for gaming. Im thinking you want a workstation card such as a firepro or quadro card, but i will allow someone else speak on this note. also, i have heard bad things about running multiple monitors that were different sizes, sometimes OK, sometimes crippling the performance of the machine.

[glc]

I'm afraid your priorities are misdirected. What you need is a workstation-grade video card or cards, not high end gaming cards. I also caution you about building on a 1366 platform, but if you want the ultimate in speed, that's the way to go. You do not need a 1000 watt PSU if you equip this thing with proper video cards. You can get quad head Quadros and FirePros. Contact your software vendors for lists of tested and recommended graphics cards.

Why do you need that addon card? The motherboard has native USB 3/SATA 6.0 support.

DO NOT BUY G.skill memory, there have been major quality and compatibility issues.

[fxlibrary]

thank you Nikon and glc Valuable advice .. I was advised by a computer vendor here even though I said it was for editing only and did my research around what they suggested

I will spend today rethinking my options and looking around .. but im glad I have been guided in a better direction before I buy something thinking its the best I can get for my money when im completely wrong

Ive been editing over 25 years and always think Computers struggle with multiple Video and loads of layers when compositing graphics .. walk round any edit suite anywhere and you will always here an editor saying piece of crap PC .. although Editors do like to moan

even now I have a render on and its saying 3 days ... (granted PC 4 years old and only 4 gig of Ram and 4 year old Hardware) ... but I want to get a PC that will work with me not fight me every time I try to do something and render in a realistic timeframe ... that when I press to watch a Ram Preview I don't have to knock the quality down to a quarter and only see 3-4 seconds of the work and have Photoshop / After Effects / Avid all open and easily switch between them rather than having to close everything down to get one program to run sufficiently

Im going to re think - Redo my Specs today and would appreciate some expert advice from you guys again if you don't mind as I am so glad you warned me now before I bought


Cheers Guys

[quartet-man]

Originally Posted by glc DO NOT BUY G.skill memory, there have been major quality and compatibility issues.

Be sure and listen to this or you'll be sorry. After the time, hassle and expense G.Skill cost me in the computer in my signature, I have made it a priority to stop everyone (even if someone else has warned first).

[fxlibrary]

thanks quartet-man .. ruled out and gone the Gskill ... still looking around for what to replace them with

at the moment reading up on the video cards

looking at

Quadro 5000 2.5GB works better with Autodesk and gives the possibility of getting 3D glasses to do 3D work soon and plays nicely with Avid for Editing

or the

ATI FirePro V8800 2GB

Surprised that neither of these 2 cards has a HDMI output for HD Monitoring and I just wanted to check one of these cards would work better than 2 X Radeon HD 5970 2 GB even though this is a gaming card it also has a HDMI output ... and the price of one of these is more expensive than 2 Gaming cards

also looking at the CPU is something like

AMD Phenom II X6 1090T Black Edition Thuban 3.2GHz


be better than Intel® Core™ i7-980X Extreme Edition 3.33


as you said GLC about the 1366 platform huge price difference as well

[Jbc223456]

Corsair, Crucial, Kingston, and A-Data are all good brands for RAM.

[David M]

Lets try a build for your application and your budget.

First, $4,730 is a lot more than you need to build a really fast computer, unless in your case you need an expensive Quadro or FirePro graphics card.

Case..the one you chose. Cases are a personal preference since pretty much all of them work.
HAF X - Cooler Master - Leading Provider of Computer Case | Cooler | Power Supply

Corsair has a new 600T model which I think look pretty nice, not like a teenagers case. Corsair also makes good cases.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...39003&Tpk=600t

Lian-Li makes really high end aluminum cases...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...=1&PageSize=20

Motherboard....
ASUS P7P55D-E LGA
Newegg.com - ASUS P7P55D-E LGA 1156 Intel P55 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

CPU....Intel Core i7-870 Lynnfield 2.93GHz 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1156
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-213-_-Product

I picked this CPU because its very easy to overclock. You can easily do a mild overclock above 3.07 using TurboV EVO. By doing this you have essentially bought yourself a CPU faster than the equivalent featured i-7 880, which originally sold for $583.

RAM...CORSAIR XMS3 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)
Newegg.com - CORSAIR XMS3 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMX4GX3M2A1600C8

The board I picked will natively run 1600 RAM without the need to overclock. I picked two 4 Gig DIMM's in case you ever find that 8 gigs is not enough. You would still have the option to purchase more RAM without having to remove what you already purchased.

PSU...CORSAIR Professional Series AX750 750W
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-016-_-Product
I picked this PSU because you have the budget for it, it's as good as power supplies get, its super quiet, it will run any single card out there and it has a 7 year warranty.

Graphics card...I have no idea about professional workstation cards. You may want to do as glc or Khalil recommends.

Hard drive...
Western Digital Caviar Black WD2001FASS 2TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5"
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...%20black%202tb
I would imagine you will have quite a bit of media to store.

Optical drive....
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-276-_-Product

Or you may want a BluRay drive. glc has been recommending LG.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-183-_-Product

OS....Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit 1-Pack for System Builders - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-754-_-Product

[glc]

You don't necessarily need HDMI - you can use a DVI to HDMI or DisplayPort to HDMI adapter. I would further investigate what type of video card is going to work the best with your particular apps.

More research will probably be required, but if you are looking for the best machine for this kind of work, perhaps you should be looking at professional workstation boards and Xeons or Opterons.

I'll try to get Khalil to look at this thread, he's our most experienced professional builder.

David, this kind of work needs more than just a fast consumer-grade computer.

EDIT: Well, let's not say "need" - let's say "will benefit from". The OP is using a 4 year old box now and it "works".

[fxlibrary]

thanks Guys David M .. glc really appreciate wish I had posted something on here a couple of weeks ago .... as i was looking in the wrong direction completely

Im going to spend the weekend .. really going through whats needed and what works with what program ... Nvidia .. seems to really work well with all the programs Im using so really being steered in this direction .. as I wasnt even looking at this before and told ATI was the way to go ...

im going to full on this weekend research .. thank you guys ... its a minefield help from somebody who knows is invaluable

thank you ..

I want to get it very soon ... the money is sitting there ready to buy and I think the budget should be enough to get something that can do as I need

I will be back with a plan

[David M]

Originally Posted by glc You don't necessarily need HDMI - you can use a DVI to HDMI or DisplayPort to HDMI adapter. I would further investigate what type of video card is going to work the best with your particular apps. More research will probably be required, but if you are looking for the best machine for this kind of work, perhaps you should be looking at professional workstation boards and Xeons or Opterons. I'll try to get Khalil to look at this thread, he's our most experienced professional builder. David, this kind of work needs more than just a fast consumer-grade computer. EDIT: Well, let's not say "need" - let's say "will benefit from". The OP is using a 4 year old box now and it "works".

Do we know what the software he runs says is the minimal and optimal hardware?

[fxlibrary]

Hi David

Software is

Autodesk Maya / Mudbox (3D Graphics Program)
Avid Media Composer (Editing program)
Adobe CS5 (After Effects / Illustrator / Photoshop / Soundbooth (Compositing / design / Audio)

that's it pretty much putting nothing else on the new PC, going to use the old PC for Office / Internet connection .. I don't want this one bogged down with any unnecessary crap .. only what I need to work .. no printer connection nothing not needed

Its the amount they have to do though .. eg After Effects regular 20 - 30 layers of Graphics and HD 1920 x 1080 (Quick-time Animation or H264 codecs / or Targa Sequence if from Maya)

Avid Media Composer (OMFI files) ..

Its video at 1920 x 1080 that slows everything down at full resolution or rendering on Maya ...

and looking now I see Nvidia .. seems recommended by these companies with the products .. well over ATI

[glc]

Dave, if this guy has 3000 quid to drop on this thing, that puts him squarely in the professional workstation category with appropriate motherboard, processor(s) and graphics card.

[David M]

Hardware requirements:

Autodesk...

http://www.autodesk.co.uk/adsk/servl...32&id=14595158

Autodesk - Autodesk Maya Services & Support - Certified Hardware Click on Maya 201/Windows. Open PDF and go to page 3 and page 6. Certified graphics cards are listed there.

Then scroll down to certified workstations and click again on Windows to bring up that PDF.

Avid Media Composer...
http://avid.custkb.com/avid/app/self...p?DocId=380551

Avid - Pro Tools 9 Qualified Graphics Cards

[fxlibrary]

Thanks for taking the time Dave .. above and beyond mate .. thank you

and if I can swap your avatar to Constantly flashing "Rendering" that's how my PC always looks

I think Nvidia seems the best option for these 2 programs even though Autodesk works with AMD as well Avid is a stickler and fussy .. the main problem is getting enough Processing power to render of big Scenes and textures and shading

even now my render from 3 days ago is just coming to an end .. and that's just way to long .. so more than just video card ... but the machine im on is a trooper but its struggling and its time to put it out of its misery

Today and tomorrow .. im going to get something together .. was hoping lastnight but had my little ones Christmas school play .. so got dragged out .. bah humbug .. but back to the grindstone today finding the right bits

Is buying computer hardware seasonal .. just wondering if there is a January sale or anything like that and everything half price so I can buy 2 graphic cards etc for the price of one and if im searching now but wait I will get more for my money (even though I want and desperate to buy now)

[David M]

You're welcome.

Although you have the hardware requirements, you may want to wait for Khalil to give the green light on your build. He has not been in here much recently so you may want to PM him for his opinion. Just Private Message him a link to this thread and hopefully he will have the time to help you....just so he does not miss your thread when he does log in. Khalil owns a custom computer business that has built thousands of computers.

Originally Posted by fxlibrary I think Nvidia seems the best option for these 2 programs even though Autodesk works with AMD as well Avid is a stickler and fussy .. the main problem is getting enough Processing power to render of big Scenes and textures and shading

One of the software packages, I forgot which, says that only Nvidia is on their certified list.

[glc]

I question why you are thinking of 2 video cards.

I have already sent Khalil a PM asking him to check this thread.

[fxlibrary]

Hi GLC

Maybe Im Wrong again it came from a few sites I read saying that 2 cards spread the load and not quite double the Processing power of the video cards eg two .. two gig cards would give just under 4 gigs .. the sites I was reading said you don't quite get double for some reason I forget now ...

and also the Computer shop I originally asked for a quotation on this PC build who said I need two cards and pointed me towards the Gaming cards originally ... even though I told them It wasn't for Games but editing .. they was probably just trying to get me to buy old stock and not really either knowing or not .... what was right for this PC and knowing I didn't know enough to question it


Thank you for pm'ing Khalil I also Pm'ed earlier today and was waiting for divine help

Most appreciated though great forum and great help to people who operate PC's but don't know the inner workings well enough to be confident enough to go out and build a PC to each persons own requirements

It has been a real eye opener .. wading through the Minefield of information .. correct or false on the internet

[glc]

I think you need to research your software some more - I do not believe SLI or Crossfire will benefit you in anything but gaming.

[fxlibrary]

Is this Spec good enough

Case


COOLER MASTER ATCS 840 RC-840-KKN1-GP Black Aluminum ATX Full Tower Computer Case


Graphic Card

Quadro 5000 2.5GB 320-bit GDDR5

CPU

Intel Core i7-980X Extreme Edition Gulftown 3.33GHz

Motherboard

ASUS Rampage III Formula LGA 1366

Memory

Kingston HyperX 16GB (4 x 4GB)

SSD Drive

Crucial RealSSD C300 2.5" 128GB SATA III


Hard Drive

Western Digital Caviar Black 2TB

CPU Fan


CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W


Power Supply

CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W



I really thought the budget was ample to get something that could handle what I needed it to do ... boy was I wrong .. this is just under at the moment but only by a couple hundred dollars which will probably go up if I forgot anything


Thanks again everybody

[David M]

Originally Posted by fxlibrary I I really thought the budget was ample to get something that could handle what I needed it to do ... boy was I wrong .. this is just under at the moment but only by a couple hundred dollars which will probably go up if I forgot anything Thanks again everybody

Don't feel bad, there are 2560 x 1600 professional grade monitors that will sink your budget.

[glc]

You should be using triple channel memory - this means modules installed in threes - and that ram you chose is unneccessarily expensive. I might take a chance on this stuff:

Newegg.com - Patriot Viper II Sector 7 Edition 24GB (6 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model PV7324G1333ELHK

You don't need the CPU cooler, the stock unit will be plenty good enough unless you want to overclock that beast.

[fxlibrary]

cheers David and GLC .. so if I knock of the CPU Fan and get more memory for less as you have pointed out .. nice one thank you


Does the rest all look good and play nicely ... right power etc .. as I have a job come through for January .. so I might start ordering this in the hope I can have it built before Christmas

Ive checked the list of approved Memory for that Motherboard and although Patriot is on there that model number isn't .. would that still be OK


thank you again for your invaluable help .. man was I barking up the wrong tree earlier

[glc]

Have you concluded that the Quadro 5000 is what you need? Everything else looks good, albeit expensive! You may be able to use a less expensive case, if you like Coolermaster the CM690 series cases are real nice.

Ram should be fine - it's tested on the X58.

Read the reviews on that motherboard in regards to the SATA 6.0 controller.

[fxlibrary]

Thanks GLC

yep Graphic Card seems good looked at all the tests using the software that I will be using and it scored high on all and seem nice bed partners with Adobe / Avid and Autodesk

Motherboard .. Looked at ASUS P6X58D Premium bit concerned about the amount pf reviews that say memory slots not working and problems for $10 more ... but will bow to your expertise .. do you think this one is better

Case

Agreed the one you sent looks a much nicer case .. im not bothered about it lighting up or knight rider type led's more about the inside working well

the main reason I have gone for this is

its aluminum .. I live by the sea so the salt and humidity eats steel and metal really quickly and within 8 months it will just be a rust bucket

one reason I went with this is Power supply is wall socket outputs here are 220 but power is irregular so I have a 110 regulator and I have blown 1 DVD Player and the power unit in this PC by forgetting to switch the regulator switch over this is auto so that's a relief and one less thing to worry over


Thanks for all your help ... dying to start ordering and getting something working .. just checking last time before I email order .. power supply is sufficient and memory will work with the board (Rampage III) as its not on the recommended memory


Once this is all built .. I will post some pictures to show ... thank you again GLC and David .. invaluable Help

[glc]

Look at the P6X58D-E board. One Newegg review indicates that the Patriot Viper II Sector 7 ram works fine. The USB 3.0 and SATA 6.0 appears to work well.

If you want a high quality aluminum case, look at Lian-Li.

Newegg.com - LIAN LI PC-60FN Black Aluminum ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

[Khalil]

I have been under the weather and have not checked the forums for a while.
If you have not made a purchase yet drop the RAM to 12GB, you will never use more than that with a single processor. I would highly recommend you stick to Kingston or Crucial if they are available to you!
I agree with glc, 1 video card is enough. The CPU I do not recommend, it is a waste of money for the price. If you have to go with the 1366 platform the i7-950 is all the CPU you will need.

[fxlibrary]

cheers Khalil

Hope your feeling better and nothing to serious like man flu

Ive already put an order in for the parts for a local vendor .. but he didn't have the Video card in stock till after Christmas so I may try and ask him if he could change the parts if you think it would work better ... I bow to your experience mate

and really appreciate your help .. the company I have been working for are paying the bill .. So I don't mind spending it and even though you say drop the ram I have never been on a PC that can handle video well enough and these are all big companies who supposedly buy the best ... and its always a struggle .. PC editing and graphics is always laborious and takes to long and always has ... render render render

So you think the Patriot Viper II Sector 7 Edition 24GB (6 x 4GB) Would not be the best choice ... because I have to wait till after xmas for the video card to arrive at the vendors would like to get the best I can afford for the budget

thanks again Khalil