Help me Build a Video Editing PC

Sunny_33

Commendable
Oct 6, 2016
4
0
1,510
Greetings:

Have been a long time lurker on the forums and did my best to educate myself before posting this.

I am a photographer thus far editing stuff on my MacBook pro but the need for storage space and better performance finally convinced me to start building my FIRST PC. I am getting into Video editing and need a strong PC to run Softwares such as Adobe LR, Premier, After Effects, etc. I am new so please don't assume that I know the obvious. So far, my research has brought me to the following config:

CPU: Intel Core i7-6700K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($324.95 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: CRYORIG H5 Ultimate 76.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($46.88 @ OutletPC) [Good?]
Motherboard: Asus Z170 PRO GAMING ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($127.98 @ Newegg) [Can i better this]
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($79.89 @ OutletPC) [Should I upgrade to 32GB]
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO 500GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive ($166.99 @ Newegg) [Lost on this vs PCI vs SATA]
Storage: *Hitachi Ultrastar 7K3000 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($79.50 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1070 8GB G1 Gaming Video Card ($409.99 @ B&H)
Case: Fractal Design Define R5 (Titanium) ATX Mid Tower Case ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair RMx 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit ($84.88 @ OutletPC)
Total: $1471.04

I am timing this now to leverage any deals coming up in the next one month but I really want to lock into a configuration first. There is a dizzying amount of feedback out there but its not easy to determine which is reliable. This is what I need help with:

Storage - Is the M2 a good option? I tried reading on M2 versus SATA vs PCI Express but I got lost in whats better versus using PCI lanes.
Is this a strong configuration to get into deeper Video Editing incl. 4K/Drone/GoPro footage?
Is this config semi-futureproof to be able to upgrade annually?
Do I need liquid cooling instead of 212?
Hyperthreading and Video Editing + H.265 - Does this check out?
What improvements can I make to this or am I overkilling it?
How should I go about sourcing parts?

I appreciate any guidance from the experienced members here.

Thanks in advance.
 
Solution
Do you intend to overclock? If not, you don't need the K CPU or Z chipset. If you do stick with the 6700K, the 212 is plenty for moderate overclocking, and overkill for a stock CPU.

Motherboards make no difference in performance, they're largely just places to stick things. There are Z170 boards that are reliable and $30 cheaper, if there aren't any connections or ports you'd miss. You can pair a $60 B150 board with your CPU if you don't intend to overclock.

The 850 EVO is not a native M.2 drive, it has a SATA controller on it and performs no better than the SATA version. However, it'll save room in your case and cut down on wire mess, so unless the M.2 version is significantly more expensive, there's no reason not to.

The 1070 might...
Do you intend to overclock? If not, you don't need the K CPU or Z chipset. If you do stick with the 6700K, the 212 is plenty for moderate overclocking, and overkill for a stock CPU.

Motherboards make no difference in performance, they're largely just places to stick things. There are Z170 boards that are reliable and $30 cheaper, if there aren't any connections or ports you'd miss. You can pair a $60 B150 board with your CPU if you don't intend to overclock.

The 850 EVO is not a native M.2 drive, it has a SATA controller on it and performs no better than the SATA version. However, it'll save room in your case and cut down on wire mess, so unless the M.2 version is significantly more expensive, there's no reason not to.

The 1070 might be overkill for editing. Those programs are GPU-accelerated to some degree, but there probably won't be a ton of difference when compared with the $200 cheaper GTX 1060, or even the $300 cheaper GTX 750 Ti. I'd recommend getting a second opinion on this though, as I don't do a ton of editing myself.

Any CPU will work, it's just a matter of how quickly you want things to move along. There's no real upper limit to how much you can throw at image processing, but I expect many professionals who rely on it as their primary income probably use 6 or 8 core CPUs and Quadro video cards.
 
Solution

Sunny_33

Commendable
Oct 6, 2016
4
0
1,510


Thank you very much for the generous response. Reponding in reverse order.

Processor + Mobo - I read through a lot of benchmark tests and it seems i do not gain much by moving to a 6 core processor. Sticking to i7 6700K since I plan to OC and therefore the choice of Mobo. I just checked there is a sale at Newegg for a few hours more i7 6700k going at $290 and Pro Gaming going at $124. WOndering if that is a good strike price or should I wait for Black Friday. I suspect that I will feel the need for OCing at some point in the future since I would not be throwing money at this rig anytime in the near future.

GPU - Point noted, will do more research on how much is enough for video editing.

M2 - Point noted, not significantly more.

Motherboards - I understand they drive the connections and more and I do plan to add external peripherals for music editing alongside video so want to go broad in abundant caution.

Again, thank you for your attention to this. Trying to research as much as possible.