Jump to content


Please note: You can easily log in to MPN using your Facebook account!

OT Building a PC


Recommended Posts

I want to build/buy a PC for the purpose of video editing. I found a couple of Youtube videos that price a budget version around $6-700. I'm wondering if I can get away with trying to spend maybe even a little less, since I don't think I need to do 4K, probably fine with 1080p. Also it's kind of intimidating since I've never built one and there are so many options for each type of part. I know I at least need:

 

CPU

Motherboard

GPU

RAM

PSU

Case

 

Am I forgetting anything?

 

There is a store called Re-PC near where I live that I wish was open but obviously it's not right now due to the demic. But they specialize in used PC parts and refurbished/rebuilt computers - it would make things easier for me but maybe this is a good challenge. is anyone good at this stuff? just wondering.

dreamcommander.bandcamp.com

Link to comment
Share on other sites



  • Replies 18
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Top Posters In This Topic

I used to build PCs specifically for Video Editing.

 

I would suggest the following:-

 

Asus or Gigabyte motherboard

 

Intel i7 CPU with at least 4 cores

 

RAM is related to CPU cores, with at least 2Gb per core so for a 4 core I would actually use 16Gb

 

nVidia GPU, now which one depends upon which editing software it is intended for since Adobe Premiere uses the processing of the GPU to help out with rendering the more cores the GPU has the better.

 

Power supply depends upon the internal configuration of components but a top quality branded one is paramount as is the CPU heat sink.

 

Case, personal choice with plenty of space.

 

Hard drives, 1 SSD for Operating system and programs, 1 off c2Tb for storage of media/documents etc, 1 off c 2Tb scratch disk, 1 c2Tb for backup.

 

Good luck trying to keep the cost down

 

BTW

My own PC is an Asus MOBO, i7 6 core, 24Gb RAM, nVidia GPU, 6 Hard drives with two configured as a RAID which is for the media being used and the scratch disc but mine is now10 years old and handles 4k and will easily play 6 streams of video at the same time.

Col

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Over the years, I have built 4 different PCs for the purpose of running audio software. So I want to assure you that yes you can successfully build a computer. I had zero hardware issues with any of the computers I built (I did have a software issue with one of them which required some frustrating troubleshooting).

 

You should add to your shopping/cost list the purchase of the operating system and software you want to use. You will also need keyboard, mouse, and video monitor.

 

In my experience, choosing the parts is the most difficult task - make sure you get the motherboard with the correct form-factor for your case and socket to accommodate then CPU you plan to use. But if you get the right parts, they will all fit together nicely like those plastic model race car kits we used to glue together when we were 10. Some attention and patience help, so go easy on the coffee that day.

 

I like TigerDirect.com where I can compare a wide variety of parts and get pricing. TigerDirect also sells combos (they call them "barebones") such as case-PSU-Mobo-CPU already assembled: you get a bundled price and your build is halfway completed for you.

 

My first two builds were based on AMD processors. AMD CPUs are a little less expensive than Intel, so I chose them for the savings. My second two builds were Intel CPUs. I did not notice any difference in quality/effectiveness between AMD and Intel - tho' obvious each subsequent computer I built was more powerful because the technology is improving.

 

Yes, you can do this. Have fun.

J.S. Bach Well Tempered Klavier

The collected works of Scott Joplin

Ray Charles Genius plus Soul

Charlie Parker Omnibook

Stevie Wonder Songs in the Key of Life

Weather Report Mr. Gone

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You should repost this in the Studio Workshop. Devon Brent has been building audio-optimized and video-ready PCs for many years and loves to help folks do it right.

 

mike

Dr. Mike Metlay (PhD in nuclear physics, golly gosh) :D

Musician, Author, Editor, Educator, Impresario, Online Radio Guy, Cut-Rate Polymath, and Kindly Pedant

Editor-in-Chief, Bjooks ~ Author of SYNTH GEMS 1

 

clicky!:  more about me ~ my radio station (and my fam) ~ my local tribe ~ my day job ~ my bookmy music

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Video editing is pretty resource intensive especially for the GPU so that budget is awfully small. When I was working in media as audio editor/mastering and the IT person all the video computer had 2-3 times the spec's of the audio computers. I'd say decide on what video software you're going to use then ask people who use that software what they consider a minimum system requirements are. Then start scanning the internet for close outs.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

As an alternative, Dell's Outlet offers a couple of refurb options that are close to @Biggle's recommendations around your price point, although you may need to start off 8GB of RAM and upgrade at a later date along with an SSD.

 

Dell Outlet

 

I agree that you should source your PC to meet the requirements of whatever software you are going to use.

Nord Stage 3 HA88, Nord Stage 3 Compact, Casio CT-S1, Radial Key Largo, Westone AM Pro 30, Rolls PM55P, K&M 18880 + 18881, Bose S1 Pro, JBL 305p MKII, Zoom Q2n-4K

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm sure there should be some video editing builder forms out there.

These clowns here don't have a clue what's going on with current tech.

Triton Extreme 76, Kawai ES3, GEM-RPX, HX3/Drawbar control, MSI Z97

MPower/4790K, Lynx Aurora 8/MADI/AES16e, OP-X PRO, Ptec, Komplete.

Ashley MX-206. future MOTU M64 RME Digiface Dante for Mon./net

Link to comment
Share on other sites

honestly, if I can accomplish what is needed with yesterday's tech all the better for me (with limited $$). I'm not looking to join a video editing forum just yet, I wanted to get two cents from this community. thx for your input.

dreamcommander.bandcamp.com

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Even though I built my first PC decades ago, I've quit building them. Back in 2001, I had enough $$ coming in I wanted a high end PC. Figured up the parts cost for top of line processor (Pentium 4 at the time), RAM, HD, all the other stuff. Looked at HP XW4100 high end workstation - my cost was $60 more than assembling it myself, and it came with a 3 year warranty where they would send someone to fix a hardware problem to me Monday through Friday.

For close to new machines, I go to Hewlett Packard Business PCs, refurbished direct from them. Machines are less than 30 days old (if a new sale fails in that time, they FedEx out a new one with a tag to send the first one back. Then they go through thoroughly, fix anything that needs it, reload the factory software, and sell it generally for about 30% less than the new. If it stays around for a while (long enough for the next generation to arrive), they cut the price some more.

In recent years, I've bought HP high end workstations used on Ebay. There are hundreds of thousands of computers leased to large corporations. Three years later, they lease new ones, and the leasing company has to do something with the old ones, so they sell them to refurbishing companies who refurb the machine, make sure it works, and place them for sale. A top of line workstation 3 to 5 years old will have 90 to 95% of the performance of the latest similar unit, for 10 to 20 % of the money.

I'm talking quad i7 or Xeon processor (i9's will start showing up in a few years), very expandable RAM (this computer has 32GB), 1TB or larger HD or SSD, high end graphics.

Recently bought a HP Zbook17 notebook, huge thing with a beautiful 17" full HD screen, blu ray writer, 256GB M.2 (PCIe bus) SSD, 1TB HD, and added room for another drive, put a 1TB SSD in it and use the HD for an image backup. 32GB RAM, bluetooth, good audio. Paid $400 plus another hundred for the SSD and 25 for the matching HP docking station. This for a machine that retailed new for $4390.00.

 

My Mac is similar, bought about 5 years ago. 2011 Macbook Pro, quad i7, 16GB RAM, had a 500G HD, now a 1TB SSD instead, DVD burner. Running High Sierra on it now (latest OS it will run). Paid $800 for it 5 years ago, would sell for close to that amount now, spent $100 or so on the SSD.

 

Oh yeah, I do know how to build them. I just don't see a good reason to do so now. All 3 of my Z220 SFF (small form factor) have quad Xeon. So do the Z200 and Z210. The Z400 (big tower) is a dual core Xeon. The Z400 and one Z220 are running win 8.1 Media Center edition, with TV tuners in them, used for recording and playing back TV shows when I want to see them. All the others are Win 10 Pro.

 

Got rid of all the Win XP and 7 stuff in the past couple of weeks, after formatting and installing Linux on them before giving them away. One machine was kept, also quad i7 for a Linux workstation. The more recent DAW was converted from 7 to 10 today, still have a bit of work to do on it to try to get the old eMu 1820 MIDI/Audio card and box working. If I can't make it work with W10, I'll just use the Focusrite 18i8 that I use with the Mac, it connects with USB.

Howard Grand|Hamm SK1-73|Kurz PC2|PC2X|PC3|PC3X|PC361; QSC K10's

HP DAW|Epi Les Paul & LP 5-str bass|iPad mini2

"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."

Jim

Link to comment
Share on other sites

@OP:

I did a new PC build two weeks ago; my son wanted a gaming rig, he ordered the components, and we proceeded to build it together with a little help from Youtube.

It"s ridiculous how easy it has become, it"s basically like Lego or K"nex. The CPU coolers come with thermal paste pre-applied, so no more messy stuff either.

I"ve been a Mac-guy for the last 13 years, and I remember the bad old Windows days, but this was a swift and easy process.

 

He went with all AMD, because their CPU"s are kicking Intel"s butt right now, and their GPU"s are better suited for his games than Nvidia. He spent just under $1000 for a killer rig that runs rings around my vintage 6-core MacPro.

 

He got a Ryzen 3600X CPU, 2x8GB RAM, W5700XT GPU, and a 1TB M.2 NVME SSD.

 

It"s amazing how much performance you get for so little money, and it has convinced me to ditch Mac desktops. Windows 10 is a mature platform, maybe not quite as robust as MacOS, but most software actually performs better on Windows, if the benchmarks are to be believed.

 

Puget Systems has a very informative website with PC builds optimized for a wide variety of software, including Adobe CC and DaVinci Resolve. Take your time to read through it, and you"ll get a better idea of what it is needed. https://www.pugetsystems.com/

Link to comment
Share on other sites

To add to my spec post

 

Editing software

 

It has improved over the years and currently the best that is available and best of all it is free for none business users is Black Magic Design"s Da Vinci Resolve.

 

HD and 4k is no problem with the right spec PC there are limitations with the freebie but that is more to do with the Pro Output formats, the free output formats of MP4, Youtube etc are all there.

 

https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/davinciresolve/

 

Good luck

Col

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I can tell you that a lot of YouTube content providers that were 4K have backed off and gone back to HD. Many have decided that the rendering time and storage space for 4K is not worth it. I've uploaded a few thing and for me the big thing was upload time. So not targeting 4K is not a bad thing at all.

 

I used to build all of my own DAW's. At some point I decided that it was cheaper to buy a complete system that was expandable than it was to buy all the parts and put it together myself. Desktop or laptop, I immediately look to see if I can expand the memory and easily upgrade the hd. If not, I move on.

This post edited for speling.

My Sweetwater Gear Exchange Page

Link to comment
Share on other sites

When I was working in media as audio editor/mastering and the IT person all the video computer had 2-3 times the spec's of the audio computers.

Yep. I shoot and edit a weekly TV show. My co-editor and I just got new Puget Systems computers built specifically for Adobe Premiere and After Effects. They kick the ass of any other computer in our whole company. Our 2013-era Mac Pro machines were good and stable. These new Puget machines render about 5 times faster.

 

Also, I will never use anything other than Premiere Pro again. Final Cut, Avid, and Vegas can go suck a railroad spike.

Stuff and things.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I second the motion for Davinci Resolve - It is Pro level, on par with Adobe Premiere. AND it is FREE!!!!

 

My personal budget would be more like $1,500.

 

Below is a quick overview of a $1,300 budget. which would be towards the low end of a video build. - IMO. These are just approximate numbers.

CPU 300, Motherboard 200, Ram 200, Case 100, PWR supply 50, M.2 NVME SSD 150, OS 100, GPU 300 (Min - More is better) - $1,300. My preferred brands are Motherboard - Asus, CPU - Intel Core i7, Ram - GSkill, PWR supply - Corsair, SSD - Samsung, Case - Lian Li, GPU - Nvidia by ASUS.

 

Note: You may consider waiting on a new video card until later this year when Nvidia comes out with their new Ampere platform. RTX 3000 series. They are supposed to be significantly more powerful and more Watt efficient.

 

AVOID Adobe Premiere at all costs if you care about money. While it IS the industry standard, it costs about $20 per month. After 5 years of use, this would be $1,200 and will double the cost of your project. And Davinci Resolve is Free. While I had always been a fan of adobe, my last upgrade was CS5, Their subscription model is VERY costly for anyone but a professional. I replaced their entire $50 per month suite ($600 per year, or $3,000 per 5 years) with Affinitiy Photo, Designer and Publisher and Davinci Resolve for only a one time fee of $150. $3,000 Versus $150, for software that is just as good. Adobe has taken advantage of their user base and other software companies have stepped in to provide alternatives. Adobe now only makes sense if you are a Professional Designer. For anyone that says well it is ONLY $50 a month for the suite. $50 per month is equivalent to $12,000 in the bank.

Yamaha S90XS, Studiologic VMk-161 Organ

Small/powerful (i7, 32GB, M.2 SSD) PC controlled by 10" Touch Screen

Cantabile, Ravenscroft 275, Keyscape, OPX-II, Omnisphere 2, VB3, Chris Hein Horns, etc.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

When I was working in media as audio editor/mastering and the IT person all the video computer had 2-3 times the spec's of the audio computers.

Yep. I shoot and edit a weekly TV show. My co-editor and I just got new Puget Systems computers built specifically for Adobe Premiere and After Effects. They kick the ass of any other computer in our whole company. Our 2013-era Mac Pro machines were good and stable. These new Puget machines render about 5 times faster.

 

Also, I will never use anything other than Premiere Pro again. Final Cut, Avid, and Vegas can go suck a railroad spike.

 

Yes Premiere is great but at $250 a year just for Premiere and $600 per year for all apps that is the problem.

 

Adobe are subscription only and had I been subscribing for the last 8 years it would have cost me $2000.

 

There is only one editing app that sucks and that is Premiere.

 

As I advised Da Vinci Resolve is the way to go.

Col

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Unfortunately, your content contains terms that we do not allow. Please edit your content to remove the highlighted words below.
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...