Changing my PC for Video Edditing

[Roverno]

Hi, below i have listed the specs of a pc i currently have my hands on. I am going to be using it for video editing from now on and i just wondered what anybodies thoughts are on selling particular parts to upgrade to new parts. Also should i be looking to overclock if i do/do not change the CPU/mobo.

My personal thoughts were to sell mobo, both GPU, cpu, and half the ram. (most of the pc :-/) then buy 2600k, p8p67 (maybe pro), and a gtx 560. keeping 4gb ram.

Would really appreciate anybodies thoughts on this.

i7 870
P7P55D-E DELUXE
8GB 4X2GB RAM 1600mhz
1TB HDD
2X ASUS GTX 460 768MB- SLI only x4 on second card
X-Fi Sound Blaster Card
Noctua CPU Cooler
tx650W psu

 

[ps3hacker12]

i would reccommend overclocking that i7-870 to about 3.8Ghz or so maybe even higher with an aftermarket cooler, and keeping your current setup. your current setup is great, and an overclocked i7-870 would give roughly the same performance as the 2600K anyway. the SLI GTX460s have similar/better performance than a single GTX 560Ti:
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/315?vs=330
add about 75% to the GTX460 benches (SLI) and you can see that the GTX460 is the same/better.

[EDIT]: just read you have a noctua aftermarket cooler so overclocking to 3.8Ghz+ shouldn't be a problem (depending on the model of the noctua).

 

[FiftySiX]

Hey! I'm Joe. I used to use VEGAS daily with my old PR job!

My personal experience with VEGAS was with a similar setup. To be honest, I would'nt exchange any of your current parts. Depending on your H.D.D. size, cooling in the cage, and PSU capabilities, with your current setup I would consider the following.

CPU - Clock it at 3.8 as mentioned above. Unless you're getting into HIGH END multi-threaded software, that processor will do great.

H.D.D. - Set Page Filling (RedNeck RAM) to about 4096-4096.

COOLING - I would suggest getting a program allowing fan speed custom values, such as Speedfan or something similar, and set the values for the full speed setting to around 45c so that it doesn't get the chance to warm up ( I've seen I7's running VEGAS on full config with ARCTIC FREEZE systems run at 88c, so yeah, they can get warm.

RAM - I would keep the current ram, no real need for ugrade here, though I would suggest getting a 4gb stick for each slot if you plan on doing some SERIOUS editing. True, you may never use 16gb of ram, but it never hurts to overkill!

Video - Video is fine, no reason for upgrade or config changes.

Well, above are the suggested setting from me with your current setup for V.E. Happy Building!

 

[Roverno]

Thanks for the reply.
Will i definitely get an extra 75% for that SLI, because the second card is only on x4 bandwidth. Also is it best to keep 8gb ram or could i get rid of half to lower the cost a little?

For overclocking i have only ever used the newer UEFI style and the simple multiplier that you get on 2500k and new boards. This board is a little older with a proper blue screen style bios. Just wondering if there was a guide about to give me some help?

 

[FiftySiX]

If you're planning on video editing, you'll need at least that 4GBs. Don't we all miss Blue Screen BiOs? lol. No information for your board's bios multipliers though. You can get 4 sticks of 4gb ram from Kingston for like $70.00. DDR2 btw

 

[Roverno]

This mobo is deff DDR3 not 2. Will def look at getting that overclock guys. thanks for the help.

 

[FiftySiX]

Haha I apologize mate. When I looked over the specs I though I read ddr2. I'll be messaging you a video link with step by step adjustment for your BIOS. My friend says he has your EXACT build with the execption of a PCI HDD and a Nvidia 9900 V/Card

 

[Roverno]

Thats great, thanks very much!

 

[ps3hacker12]

heres a nice review of the i7-870:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/p55-motherboard-overclock,2460-2.html

your board supports auto-OCing too, if you scared of doing it manually you can use the auto tuning feature of your aus mobo too!:
http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/Intel_Socket_1156/P7P55DE_Deluxe/

i would also advise updating your BIOS, Asus seem to have improved overclocking capibilities in their latest BIOS revisions which may help:
http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/Intel_Socket_1156/P7P55DE_Deluxe/#download

an i7-870 overclocking thread that may help:
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?236281-**Official**-Core-i7-860-870-overclocking-thread

 

[Roverno]

I used the Turbo V EVO auto overclocking and it came up with this.

http://cl.ly/3V111b151L2e450X1m2A

A few minutes later the temps went up to 86C which is pretty darn hot? I put Prime on the setting that said maximum heat and i guess it wasn't joking. normally i just use the one it defaults to.

Tried again now and i pumped all the fans on my antec 902 to full. So its plenty louder but also down to avg 76C on the default prime testing.

 

[ps3hacker12]

are you sure the thermal paste you applied to your CPU was put on properly, but those temps are not that bad for prime95, prime95 puts stress that is not realistic on the CPU, as long as it could run for 3-4 hours or so without crashing then that should be fine, and in sure normally it wouldn't run that hot. also the thing about your case fans, it is more about your CPU cooler fan. Increasing the speed of your CPU cooler fan would help the most in keeping temps down.

 

[ps3hacker12]

also what software would you be using?

 

[Roverno]

Sony Vegas 10 and adobe after effects. Its actually for my brother and he is thinking of using cinema 4d too. But unsure yet.

 

[Roverno]

Also, i bought the system off ebay. was a pretty good deal. Not checked the thermal compound but i think i will since you mentioned it as well. The sytem was actually built by a company called 'UK Gaming Computers' but i can confirm they are fools because they didnt install the cpu cooler fans in push pull config. They put them both blowing inwards :-/

 

[ps3hacker12]

Sony vegas 10 has some great GPU acceleration, so SLIing that GTX460 would be a good option (the second PCI-E slot running at x4 will not restrict performance by much, that is why i said 75% not 80%~). i think upping the CPU cooler fan speed a touch and keeping it at 3.8Ghz or however high you can get (seems 3.8Ghz is stable).

[EDIT]: just read your other post, i think some £5/$8 thermal paste would help. (and clean out any dust.) and LOL at that fail.

 

[Roverno]

No dust at all, pretty much brand new pc. Got it for £391 overall. Pretty sure that counts as a bargain

 

[ps3hacker12]

meh, thats an OK price (if it only came with a single GTX460 768Mb), heres some thermal paste that would help keep temps down (over the cheapo paste most probably used by that company):
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/126410
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/135613
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/179074

the Arctic silver V is the one i would reccommend most.

 

[Roverno]

Just finished getting it all apart and cleaning the dust filters, they done a pretty good job tbh. Still got some arctic silver 5 from previous build so will use that. Its pretty expensive stuff though, puzzles me how it costs quite so much. £1800 per Kg, thats expensive stuff.

 

[ps3hacker12]

well it is a mixture of silver, aluminum oxide, zinc oxide, and boron nitride , and damn those elements are expensive.

 

[JackNaylorPE]

Be aware of AS5's "break in" period

Important Reminder:
Due to the unique shape and sizes of the particles in Arctic Silver 5's conductive matrix, it will take a up to 200 hours and several thermal cycles to achieve maximum particle to particle thermal conduction and for the heatsink to CPU interface to reach maximum conductivity. (This period will be longer in a system without a fan on the heatsink or with a low speed fan on the heatsink.) On systems measuring actual internal core temperatures via the CPU's internal diode, the measured temperature will often drop 2C to 5C over this "break-in" period. This break-in will occur during the normal use of the computer as long as the computer is turned off from time to time and the interface is allowed to cool to room temperature. Once the break-in is complete, the computer can be left on if desired.

Some reviewers have estimated that the thermal cycling requirement could equate to up to a year of normal usage. For that reason, I'd wouldn't finalize any overclocks until you are sure that it's not getting any better.

As for the GFX, the 460 does not natively support CUDA . Not many GeForce cards do and those are:

GeForce GTX 285 (Windows and Mac OS)
GeForce GTX 470 (Windows)
GeForce GTX 570 (Windows)
GeForce GTX 580 (Windows)

http://www.adobe.com/products/premiere/tech-specs.html

However you can unlock CUDA by following the instructions here:

http://www.studio1productions.com/Articles/PremiereCS5.htm