4K video editing PC build under $1400

[Frosty23]

Hello, I'm not the best at picking out computer parts so I need some help with a build.

This computer is going to be used to edit 8 and 10 bit 4K in Adobe Premiere plus some Photoshop and After Effects work.

It needs to be able to render video fairly fast.

I also need to be able to use my Asus PQ321Q monitor if that helps.

Oh and I want to overclock

Thanks in advance for the help

 

[Sapphire Thunder]

Hmm...for 1400$ it might be a bit tricky but I guess you could do something like:

GTX 980
Intel i7 4770k/4790k
Z97 motherboard.

Not the greatest for 4k video editing, but can do the job.

 

[synphul]

Kind of a tight budget for 4k editing, not sure if it's more of a hobby for you or something you're serious about and do quite often. This would likely be a good starting point, though it's $100 over your budget. You could always save some money by dropping the storage down to 2 ssd's and lowering the mass storage drive from a 2tb to 1tb to get closer to $1400. The 750w psu is a bit overkill but a solid unit at one of the cheaper prices right now so the extra wattage is more or less a 'perk'. Without going to a more expensive hex core/ddr4 setup, this would do fairly well as a balanced system. 2x8gb giving room to upgrade with another 2x8gb later (you'll probably want 32gb of ram for multitasking and 4k editing). The reason for the drives, any editing machine will typically benefit from multiple drives. The 240gb as an os/programs drive (you might get away with a 120gb for this but the price difference isn't much for the additional space and 240gb drives have better performance than their 120gb counterparts). The 2x120gb ssd's, one for the source file the other for the output file, and the larger capacity hdd for file storage. There is no one magic ingredient for editing performance, it requires a strong cpu, gpu for accelerated features (and will be sufficient for decent gaming if you're into that), multiple drives for higher more efficient i/o operation reading/writing data without bottlenecking the storage system.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($325.99 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: CRYORIG H5 Universal 65.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($46.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97X-UD5H-BK ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($149.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($69.88 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($69.88 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($97.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital BLACK SERIES 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($123.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB FTW ACX 2.0 Video Card ($343.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Fractal Design Define R5 w/Window (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA 750W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($49.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer ($14.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $1493.64
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-05-28 17:14 EDT-0400

 

[iamacow]

synphul is close but I would replace those Evo drives with just a Single Temp 256GB 850 PRO. TLC drives and sandforce controller will be crushed doing any video work.

I would go with 4 drives total, 1 OS, 1 SSD for Temp and Raid-1 for all your files unless you are backing it up elsewhere. Than you can do Raid-0 if the files are safely stored elsewhere.

For the video card I don't understand why people think dual gpu cards work as 1 gpu. Premiere will only use GPU unless it's a Telsa card as a secondary. Blame it on marketing so AMD is crap unless you are doing 3d stuff in after effects. Otherwise CUDA is way better for Adobe. If you want a 10 bit workflow, you NEED a Pro card AMD or Nvidia (Quadro / FirePro) or you will not see it on your monitor. Plus you need a monitor also using DisplayPort. File wise you can work with it but it will be in sRGB workflow.

I would just buy a used quadro on ebay.

Also for memory 16gb is not enough for 4k editing. You will need 32GB if you want to render anything out to ram.

 

[synphul]

I tried including 32gb, even in ddr3 (let alone ddr4) it pushed the budget. Like I said, it's asking a lot from a build in that budget. Of course it can be done, it's a matter of whether it's a dabbling hobby, serious hobby, semi pro or whatever and how important speed is. It will just be slower on a $1400 budget is all, but still should do ok. "Good" or "great" 4k performance is going to cost a bit more though even being thrifty. For now, 4k editing is a "performance" or "power user" hobby and is best matched to an enthusiasts budget.

 

[Frosty23]

Thanks everyone for the help so far

 

[Frosty23]

Video editing is a paying hobby of mine but I hope this system will help me turn it into my job. If I can raise my budget to $2000 would that help for 4K editing performance?

 

[iamacow]

Maybe. What is your reason for 10bit workflow? It generally makes sense for photos working in RAW but with videos it's rare to need to see anything above sRGB as Rec 709 (sRGB) is the standard until UHD Blu Ray comes out. You also need to have a video camera that supports 10bit RAW as many just do 8bit and have no choice is options. Basically I think unless you have magic latern on your Canon 5D Mark 3 or are using a RED camera you won't have access to 10bit RAWS anyways.

Besides that the jump from 8 to 10bit workflow isn't just being able to see it on the monitor, your file sizes will be greatly increased too.

 

[Amencerment]

iamacow and synphul are in the ballpark.

I run 2 ssd's in RAID-0 for my os (samsung pros 840), and 1 ssd (samsung pro 850) per software drive for a total of 4 (Adobe/AutoDesk, MS Office, Games, and work data) with 3 more Velociraptor 500gig each as back up. Asus is my mobo, and gpu with 32g ram and 1200watt power supply, with all housed in a Phanteks Enthoo Primo.

I do editing with 3 monitors all 27" and I only stick with 1440p as 90% of people are at 1080p, so there is not real need for 4K at the moment. I will admit if you have the system to play it 4K is fun, but in the real world it is not even close to main stream. AND you need lots of storage when dealing with files that are large.

Now as iamacow stated if you are going to work with RAW files then it would benefit to have 4K, but you are looking at a real investment and even $2,000 will get you only the monitor...

I spent a stupid amount to run Adobe, AutoDesk, and 2 more programs at the same time, and looking back at it I would not do it again.

Just get a good cpu, gpu, 32gig RAM, and LOTS OF STORAGE, plus a good PSU and work in 1440p cause 95% of the people out there will not know the difference.

 

[iamacow]

I didn't think of needing a 4k monitor with 10bit support lol. Dell just announced it's Pro lineup for 4k and it was around $2000 just for the monitor. I was thinking 1080p which those only costs around $400.

So it sounds to me like your buget will get you a computer that can work with 4k video but primary 1080p as it will struggle to do anything fancy with 4k footage without some serious hardware. why do you think the RED camera have a card called RedRocket just for decoding 4k raw footage? because it will crush most computers!

 

[Amencerment]

Man to edit true 4K and this is what people tend to forget is it will be a system somewhere in the range of well lol $4,000 with 1 32" monitor, if you do say "Fluid Effects", you will be dropping close to $5,000.00 just on the hardware with no screens.

Editing 4K takes a stupid amount of power and storage so I'll say just stay away and to really edit, you have to have the right monitors and to edit ith 4K monitors it is REALLY, REALLY pricey...

You have to remember consumer "TV's, monitors" are not commercial "Editing" hardware, so the quality of 4K is way off for editing.

 

[Sapphire Thunder]

Just as Amencerment said. To do 4k editing/rendering, you will need to put in at least 4000$.
You need powerful cpu like Intel i7 5930x (though sometimes Intel i7 4790k may be enough). GTX Titan X preferably, maybe even 2. Fitting high grade motherboard, at least 16Gb RAM, but 32Gb would be ideal.
Then you need an actual 4K monitor. Also, you will need SSDs, at least 2 of them.

 

[iamacow]

a second card won't do anything....That's why nvidia has Tesla cards.