$2500 Video Encoding Server Recommendations

[bitfarmer]

Approximate Purchase Date: May 2013

Budget Range: $2500 Before Rebates and Shipping

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Video Encoding only

Are you buying a monitor: No

Parts to Upgrade: New Build

Do you need to buy OS: Yes (Windows)

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: NewEgg.com

Location: Bay Area, CA

Overclocking: Maybe

SLI or Crossfire: No

Your Monitor Resolution: 1920x1080

Additional Comments: Avisynth, MeGUI, Adobe Premier Pro

Why Are You Upgrading: Am interested in upgrading video encoding server farm.

My company is building a spec for multiple video encoding server units. We would like to phase these out older systems with 6-8 new units over the next year.

We work primarily in Avisynth, but due to tape sources, we're expanding our digital beta tape process and will be using Adobe products. We are only interested in CPU processing.

Here are some specs we've gathered so far. Would love to hear feedback.

OS HDD:
Samsung 840 Pro SSD 256 (SATA 6 Gbps)
$250
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820147193

Read HDD:
Seagate SV35 Series ST1000VX000 1TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Enterprise Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
$110
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148912

Write HDD:
Western Digital WD VelociRaptor WD1000DHTZ 1TB 10000 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive
$230

CPU:
Six-Core
Intel Core i7-3930K Sandy Bridge-E 3.2GHz LGA 2011
$570
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116492

Fan & Heatsink:
Noctua NH-D14 SE2011 140mm and 120mm SSO CPU Cooler
$90
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835608024

RAM:
G.SKILL Ripjaws Z Series 64GB (8 x 8GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 2400 (PC3 19200) Desktop Memory Model F3-19200CL10Q2-64GBZHD
$700
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231523

Motherboards:
ASRock X79 Extreme9 LGA 2011 Intel X79 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
$345
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157285

ASUS Rampage IV Extreme LGA 2011 Intel X79 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Extended ATX Intel Motherboard
$430
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131802

Power Supply:
SeaSonic Platinum-1000 1000W ATX12V / EPS12V 80 PLUS PLATINUM Certified Full Modular Power Supply
$230
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151105

Computer Case:
NZXT Phantom 410 CA-PH410-G1 Gunmetal Steel / Plastic ATX Mid Tower Black Trim Computer Case
$80
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811146093

 

[AMD Radeon]

and were is the video card?
i recommend GTX 670 / 680 for adobe application

 

[bitfarmer]

and were is the video card?
i recommend GTX 670 / 680 for adobe application

Thank you for the suggestion. We'll look into the GTX 670/680 cards.

Can you recommend ones at a lower price point? Our use of Adobe will be minimal: adding fades, cropping, output to intermediate file.

 

[g-unit1111]

Velociraptor HDs are a gigantic waste of money. Anything over 7200 RPM you won't notice any difference in terms of data transfer rates. It also doesn't take a 1KW PSU to power a single GPU setup either.

I'd suggest this:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i7-3930K 3.2GHz 6-Core Processor ($569.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14 SE2011 CPU Cooler ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Asus P9X79 DELUXE ATX LGA2011 Motherboard ($349.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LP 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($259.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LP 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($259.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: OCZ Vector Series 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($149.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($74.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: ATI FirePro V5900 2GB Video Card ($410.98 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT Phantom 410 (White) ATX Mid Tower Case ($87.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: PC Power & Cooling Silencer Mk III 750W 80 PLUS Gold Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($119.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($17.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $2391.87
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-04-23 13:51 EDT-0400)

Differences:

- Motherboard that is between the two suggested
- Professional grade GPU
- Case is the same
- Less wattage PSU
- Low profile RAM for Noctua D14

 

[bitfarmer]

Differences:

- Motherboard that is between the two suggested
- Professional grade GPU
- Case is the same
- Less wattage PSU
- Low profile RAM for Noctua D14

Thank you for the excellent advice. You make good points.

A few follow-up questions based on your recommendations:
1. RAM - Is there any advantage choosing DDR3-2400 over DDR3-1866?
2. OS SSD - Why do you prefer the OCZ?
3. Video Card - Will a consumer grade GPU work for light applications of Adobe?