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$600 Video Editing Build for Wife - Looking for Feedbacks

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AwesomeRen

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Jan 24, 2016
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Edit: After listening to your comments, I made some changes to the build plan. Memory is doubled to 16GB. Separate video card is removed. Power supply is changed to EVGA 500B. Thanks! I will keep checking this thread for more comments.

Hi,

I'm building a computer for my wife as a birthday gift. The goal is to create a balanced PC for video editing within $600, pre-tax, not including monitor, peripherals and software.

Any advice or feedback are welcome!

Usages and expectations:

    1. She uses Adobe Premiere Pro CC, Photoshop CC and Lightroom CC for video/photo editing.
    2. Her videos are usually small, 1080p, 5 to 10 minutes, sizes between 500MB and 1GB.
    3. We already have a 3TB network drive to store her finished projects, so the new PC only needs a small SSD for on-going projects.
    4. No plan to overclocking.
    5. No plan to use multiple video cards.

Below is the build plan so far. Prices are from Amazon ($519.25 in total).

  • * CPU: Intel Core i5-6500 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($204.95)
    * CPU Cooler: Stock cooler ($0)
    * Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H110M-A Micro ATX LGA1151 ($49.99)
    [strike]* Memory: Crucial 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory ($37.99)[/strike]
    * Memory: Crucial 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory ($69.99)
    * Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($84.34)
    [strike]* Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB ($109.99)[/strike]
    * Video Card: Intel integrated graphics ($0)
    * Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($59.99)
    [strike]* Power Supply: EVGA 500W1 80+ 100-W1-0500-KR ($42.95)[/strike]
    * Power Supply: EVGA 500B1 80+ Bronze 100-B1-0500-KR ($49.99)
Any bottlenecks? Any overkill? Better alternatives? Any comments are appreciated! Thanks in advance!
 
Solution
basroil


Usually wrong. Intel QuickSync + HD graphics is usually fast enough, but usually the export will be sent 100% to CPU instead, for best quality. A faster CPU will almost always help more than a better graphics chip.

16GB of memory though is almost a must for 1080p video, the export size has nothing to do with the size of memory needed to speed everything up.
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I'de say skip on the 750Ti for now and get 16GB ram instead. Later on if you see slowdowns in Premiere Pro, you can consider adding a low end Quadro like the M600, but neither Photoshop nor Lightroom really benefit from graphics cards as much as Adobe wants you to believe.

Also, throw a 2TB+ HDD in there with an option for a second one (RAID 1/storage space mirror), 250GB SSD is actually quite small for most video edit builds. Uncompressed 30min 1080p 32bit (including alpha) video is quite large.
 
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Pick up a better PSU, that particular one is junk. Have a look at the tier list here on Tom's - don't get anything less than a Tier 3 PSU.
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/id-2547993/psu-tier-list.html

And a GTX 950 would be a better choice than the 750 if you really need a GPU now. Also, I agree with basroil, 16GB of RAM is a must have for video editing. DDR4 is pretty cheap right now - 16G kits can be had for about $70 (Corsair & G.Skill have some good deals).
 
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basroil, thanks for your quick reply.

One of my wife's major complains about her current computer is the long wait for exporting a video from Premiere Pro. I thought a video card like 750ti should greatly improve that. Am I wrong?

About storage, like I mentioned, we already has a 3TB network drive. She keeps most of her files there. However, I may consider adding a local HDD in case the storage demand increases. Thanks!
 
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PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD FX-8320E 3.2GHz 8-Core Processor ($122.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-970A-D3P ATX AM3+/AM3 Motherboard ($87.86 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Patriot Blast 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($38.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: XFX Radeon R9 280 3GB Double Dissipation Video Card ($173.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Fractal Design FD-CA-CORE-3300-BL ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic S12II 520W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($59.99 @ B&H)
Total: $558.79
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-01-25 00:34 EST-0500

That should be good. Those AMD FX-8's are supposed to be pretty good for workstation stuff.
 
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Hi rcxtra,
Thanks for the reply.
From the link that you provided, EVGA 500W is actually in Tier 3. Is it different from what I chose?
I agree GTX950 is better than 750TI. I just can't fit it in the budget.
Regarding the RAM size, as her video files are usually within 1GB, I guess 8BG might be enough. I do have my doubts too. That's why I picked one 8GB instead of two 4GBs. If the memory falls short, I can easily add another 8GB.
 
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Usually wrong. Intel QuickSync + HD graphics is usually fast enough, but usually the export will be sent 100% to CPU instead, for best quality. A faster CPU will almost always help more than a better graphics chip.

16GB of memory though is almost a must for 1080p video, the export size has nothing to do with the size of memory needed to speed everything up.
 
Upvote 1 Downvote
Solution


Great points, basroil! After reading your comments, I did some digging online. Looks like you are right! I will start without a separate video card, and only add if need it. Thanks!
 
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PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6500 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($204.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H110M-A Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($49.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory ($72.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($48.88 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 950 2GB Video Card ($139.99 @ Micro Center)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($47.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($38.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $590.81
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-01-25 01:34 EST-0500

If you can squeeze out another $100 or so for an I7-6700 it would make a big difference for video editing. Check your PM for suggestions...
 
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EVGA 500B Bronze is ok, but NOT the 500+

High speed RAM is better bought in matched kits/pairs. If you add RAM latter, even from the same manufacturer and model, it's not guaranteed to work. It's always a risk - sometimes it works great, other times not so mush.

 
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I'm actually going to counter rcxtra on that one, the 6700 MIGHT be better, but whether it's 50% better depends on the software. If you use an uncompressed intermediate file before export to h264/mpeg, the benefits of the 6700 are mostly gone. You can check charts for past versions of the chips (6500 to 6700 is like 4670 to 4770), and rather than 50% improvement it's closer to 33% in export-only scenario (which benefits high core count).

On memory though, fully agree, mixing memory is the easiest way to get into end endless cycle of errors you can't pinpoint (one idiot here not long ago had four different makes and manufacturers, and had constant crashes... he refused to admit the issue was his memory and had issues for months because of it). Buy 16GB now, and don't go for very high end or very cheap as those models might not be around for when you want to upgrade to 32gb.
 
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I would avoid the very limiting H110 motherboards and build something like this

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6500 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($199.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock Z170M Pro4S Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($99.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2666 Memory ($84.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Hybrid Internal Hard Drive ($69.89 @ OutletPC)
Case: Corsair Carbide Series 88R MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($38.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Silverstone Strider Gold 450W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular SFX Power Supply ($88.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $582.83
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-01-25 03:15 EST-0500

16 gig of RAM with space for more . Overclockable i5 . Hybrid hard drive , not as fast as an SSD but far more storage . Office style compact case .

If I had a couple of dollars more I would include a basic graphics card in the build
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/msi-video-card-r52302gd3hlp
This will free up system RAM and let you avoid the intel drivers which are probably still rubbish

 
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Thanks rcxtra! I've updated my build plan to 16GB RAM and EVGA 500B Bronze.
 
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I admit, faster CPUs are always tempting... However, normally I void top lines of products but choose second bests, because they offer better price-performance ratios. Thanks for all your suggestions!

 
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Hi Outlander_04,
I understand H110 is a lot more limiting than H170 and Z170. However, the limitations seem all acceptable to me. I don't plan to overclock. I will install at most one separate video card if any at all. I only need a fast SSD, so no need for RAID capability.

Any specific reasons that I need to go higher than H110?
 
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Why the SFX PSU?
 
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PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6500 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($199.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H110M-A Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($49.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Kingston HyperX Fury Black 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory ($89.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($67.54 @ Newegg)
Video Card: XFX Radeon R7 360 2GB Core Edition Video Card ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Thermaltake Versa H24 ATX Mid Tower Case ($37.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: XFX Core Edition 750W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($52.00 @ Newegg)
Total: $577.47
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-01-25 18:27 EST-0500
 
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Did you check your PM for savings suggestions?
Also, the 6700 is not the top - 6700K is. But you won't be overclocking so no reason for 'K'. And if you can save on the OS (check PM), that leaves a little in the budget for other things 😀
 
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Because I made a mistake . You would , of course , use an ATX psu
 
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Expansion options over time .
The Z or H board will support more RAM if you want to add it. There is also the option to add ultra fast M.2 storage .
And though you will not overclock now at some stage you are going to wish that hat video rendering would run 25% faster
 
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