Looking for a CPU for Video Editing but that will handle Gaming too

[mulder68]

hi folks, first time poster

After reading thread after thread I am still none the wiser so would like some advice please.

I currently use a laptop from PC Specialist for video editing, web design and gaming. The specs are I7-2670QM Processor, 8GB Ram and NVidia GT555M GPU. This served me quite well for a while but cannot cope with the graphical demands of Adobe Premiere CS6 and After Effects CS6. It is also struggling with COD Black Ops these days.

Anyhow, I am looking to build a desktop PC primarily for video editing but that will also cope with music production and gaming (think new COD and Battlefield games, nothing more really)

I have been looking at the I7-3930K build such as this one http://www.learningdslrvideo.com/new-editing-computer-build/ but think that may be overkill and overpriced and then I have been looking at the Haswell I7-4770K which obviously has very good performance but won't render HD video as well as the I7-3930K

Will the difference between the two be purely how quickly the output files will render or is there something more to it than that?

I was thinking maybe a Nvidia GTX 760 card.

Many thanks in advance.

 

[CTurbo]

And I presume they would be ok for gaming too?

Of course. They are basically i7s

 

[mulder68]

Like this- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819117286

That's very cheap!

 

[CTurbo]

I know!

 

[mulder68]

lol, well that is a dilemma. Do the LGA1155's support all the video cards we have discussed previously?

 

[CTurbo]

Of course they are the LGA2011 xeons too. I'm pretty sure the 6 core ones start cheaper than the 3930K. It may worth checking out.

All of the 1155 and 1150 xeons are quads.

 

[CTurbo]

lol, well that is a dilemma. Do the LGA1155's support all the video cards we have discussed previously?

Of course.

 

[mulder68]

Well I need to now look at those CTurbo. this could give me massive power for a better price.

 

[CTurbo]

Alright after looking around, the cheaper 6 core xeons for the 2011 socket are like 2.0ghz (2.5 turbo) x6 so they wouldn't really work for gaming. I would stick to the 1155/1150 xeon quads.

 

[mulder68]

Thanks CTurbo

I will take a look around and come back to this thread soon.

 

[Sangeet Khatri]

Well.. there is one thing that matters quite a bit when dealing with Video Editing.

What programs are you using to edit videos and stuff? I mean there are basically two types of technologies when it comes to GPU computing.

1. OpenCL - This is what AMD cards excel in.

2. CUDA - This is what Nvidia cards excel in.

So, if an application uses CUDA, like Adobe products then Nvidia cards would perform much better in that case.

But if an application is more optimized for OpenCL performance than the AMD cards would be way better than the Nvidia ones.

Something to keep in mind. So, what apps are you going to use for Video Editing. This is somewhat of an important thing to note.

 

[Sangeet Khatri]

Anyways this is the build that I would suggest:

+ 3930K, we all know it is better than the 4770k and 8350. Even Though it is priced very higher but still it is worth it.
+ 16GB quad channel RAM is best fit for Socket 2011
+ Samsung 840 EVO 250GB SSD
+ 2TB HDD For storing the videos.
+ Nvidia 780, awesome for gaming.
+ Fractal Design Define R4, probably the most elegant looking case.. Just beautiful
+ An awesome CPU Cooler. Phanteks PH-TC14PE is one of the best CPU Coolers on the market.
+ XFX 850W PSU, if you ever feel like going dual GPU in the future. Just to give you headroom for expansion.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i7-3930K 3.2GHz 6-Core Processor (£371.99 @ Aria PC)
CPU Cooler: Phanteks PH-TC14PE_BK 78.1 CFM CPU Cooler (£67.37 @ Scan.co.uk)
Motherboard: Asus P9X79 ATX LGA2011 Motherboard (£187.52 @ Ebuyer)
Memory: Patriot Viper 3 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory (£93.55 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" Solid State Disk (£127.49 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£62.70 @ Amazon UK)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 780 3GB Video Card (£395.74 @ Scan.co.uk)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case (£76.97 @ Ebuyer)
Power Supply: XFX ProSeries 850W 80 PLUS Gold Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply (£115.36 @ Dabs)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer (£12.56 @ CCL Computers)
Total: £1511.25
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-11-06 19:01 GMT+0000)

I hope this helps. If the app you use uses OpenCL, then swap the 780 with the 280x or the 290x.

I recommend waiting for the 290x to come with custom coolers if the app you use uses OpenCL more.

 

[mulder68]

Well.. there is one thing that matters quite a bit when dealing with Video Editing.

What programs are you using to edit videos and stuff? I mean there are basically two types of technologies when it comes to GPU computing.

1. OpenCL - This is what AMD cards excel in.

2. CUDA - This is what Nvidia cards excel in.

So, if an application uses CUDA, like Adobe products then Nvidia cards would perform much better in that case.

But if an application is more optimized for OpenCL performance than the AMD cards would be way better than the Nvidia ones.

Something to keep in mind. So, what apps are you going to use for Video Editing. This is somewhat of an important thing to note.

Hi

Thanks for your input. I am using adobe products ie premiere pro and after effects

 

[Sangeet Khatri]

Then the Nvidia 780 would serve you the best. Hence go for the build that I suggested above. Adobe products use CUDA and hence Nvidia is better than AMD when it comes to CUDA performance. The AMD cannot do much here. Just because the hardware of AMD is limited when it comes to CUDA performance.

Same applies for Nvidia or OpenCL.

Hence go for the build I recommended above. It is a beast for anything, Editing, Gaming, Anything that you want to do with it. Go for it.

I hope this helps.

Is there anything else I can help you with.

 

[8350rocks]

Then the Nvidia 780 would serve you the best. Hence go for the build that I suggested above. Adobe products use CUDA and hence Nvidia is better than AMD when it comes to CUDA performance. The AMD cannot do much here. Just because the hardware of AMD is limited when it comes to CUDA performance.

Same applies for Nvidia or OpenCL.

Hence go for the build I recommended above. It is a beast for anything, Editing, Gaming, Anything that you want to do with it. Go for it.

I hope this helps.

Is there anything else I can help you with.

Actually Adobe is OpenCL optimized...hence the "Optimized for AMD" listed directly on the product packaging...(I use photoshop)

 

[CTurbo]

^^^This is not really as big of an issue as it was in the past.


OP have you decided on a processor? Did you check out the xeons?

 

[sora]

And over here in the UK a system with 3930K and GTX 760 is about $2500 whereas the 4770K is around $1500

Well the 3930K is absolutely NOT worth an extra $1000 over the 4770K that's for sure!!! Is that really true? The difference here is around $200.

No... Plus, OP, you'd be fine with the 4770K as it suits both video rendering and gaming pretty well.

 

[genz]

As a Video Editor, Music Producer (first and foremost), gamer, UK resident AND 3930k owner (as currently my only desktop), I thought I'd chip in on this decent if somewhat inefficient build by Sangeet.

I replaced the Phantek for the Dark Rock. £20 cheaper and much quieter (Important for your music work).

Replaced the mobo with the Gigabyte UD3, great reviews, better price and the UD copper plating reduces internal noise and thus the noise floor for your audio interface is lower. I tested this personally back when I used a passive (bus powered) interface. (I personally have the UP4, but that's because I plan to max out the RAM and UD3 goes up to 32GB not 64.)

Replaced the 780 for the R9 290. Faster at gaming, brand new, cheaper, and better at OpenCL (which is the main acceleration language for Adobe Suite products, they dropped CUDA back at CS3 or 4)

Definitely stick with the 3930k though. You're looking at a 50% increase in rendering speeds at the very least over the 4770k, OC and you'll have more.

Also dropped the 850W PSU for a Platinum rated 600W. You'll get around 100W less power, but it's power you don't need and you'll get a lot more efficiency out of it (less power wasted in the PSU converting process). I run a 3930K/560Ti/7 HDDs/3Optical/128 Track studio off a Bronze Rated 600W, and you're machine won't use more than 500 at peak. Much more importantly, Platinum means Quality. A lot of it, it's much harder and often more expensive to make a platinum rating 500w than a unrated 1000w. This will mean your PSU will last much longer.

[PCPartPicker part list](http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/1YYW0) / [Price breakdown by merchant](http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/1YYW0/by_merchant/) / [Benchmarks](http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/1YYW0/benchmarks/)

Type|Item|Price
:----|:----|:----
**CPU** | [Intel Core i7-3930K 3.2GHz 6-Core Processor](http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/intel-cpu-bx80619i73930k) | £371.99 @ Aria PC
**CPU Cooler** | [Be Quiet DARK ROCK ADVANCED C1 50.5 CFM Fluid Dynamic Bearing CPU Cooler](http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/be-quiet-cpu-cooler-bk014) | £39.77 @ Scan.co.uk
**Motherboard** | [Gigabyte GA-X79-UD3 ATX LGA2011 Motherboard](http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/gigabyte-motherboard-gax79ud3) | £147.35 @ Aria PC
**Memory** | [Patriot Viper 3 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory](http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/patriot-memory-pv316g186c9qk) | £93.55 @ Amazon UK
**Storage** | [Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" Solid State Disk](http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/samsung-internal-hard-drive-mz7te250bw) | £129.99 @ Amazon UK
**Storage** | [Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive](http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/seagate-internal-hard-drive-st2000dm001) | £61.40 @ Amazon UK
**Video Card** | [Gigabyte Radeon R9 290 4GB Video Card](http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/gigabyte-video-card-gvr929d54gdb) | £325.55 @ Scan.co.uk
**Case** | [Fractal Design Define R4 (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case](http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/fractal-design-case-fdcadefr4bl) | £76.99 @ Amazon UK
**Power Supply** | [Fractal Design Newton R3 600W 80 PLUS Platinum Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply](http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/fractal-design-power-supply-fdpsunt3b600w) | £92.98 @ Ebuyer
**Optical Drive** | [LG CH10LS28 Blu-Ray Reader, DVD/CD Writer](http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/lg-optical-drive-ch10ls28) | £48.38 @ CCL Computers
| | **Total**
| Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available. | £1387.95
| Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-11-08 01:43 GMT+0000 |

 

[CTurbo]

^This would be one hell of a build!

 

[CTurbo]

Of course you could probably get the newer 4930K for just a few more $$$

 

[genz]

Of course you could probably get the newer 4930K for just a few more $$$

That is definitely an option!

Call the people selling the mobo up though and make sure they have the latest BIOS. It really is hell if they send you the board and it's using a version of the BIOS (mobo software) that is older than the chip and therefore incompatible without an update. You actually have to find a 3930k or 3820 just to turn it on in order to update it.

 

[CTurbo]

Not only does the 4930k have a 5-10% better IPC, it's clocked 200mhz higher base(100mhz turbo) also. That should put it at LEAST 15-20% better.

And the best thing is it's 35-40% more power efficient.

 

[genz]

Here it is:

http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/intel-cpu-bx80633i74930k

At £50 more it certainly is a better option, budget allowing. As was mentioned before make sure you check with Amazon about the BIOS. Having seen a mate literally have to go begging on forums after Amazon refused to take a mobo they sold him with old firmware (this was AM2+ days and he ended up buying a CPU from CeX) I really hate to think how it would be for someone with a much rarer socket 2011 board.

 

[Sangeet Khatri]

I still have no idea what is wrong with the build I suggested:

1. There is nothing wrong with the board at all.

2. The Phanteks cooler that I suggested is very quiet and very efficient, it is one of the best CPU Cooler on the market right now joining the league of Noctua NH-D14 and Themralright Silver Arrow.

3. There is seriously nothing wrong with the Power Supply. It is 80+ Gold and it would come in handy if you ever wanted to go dual GPU. That is why I suggested that 850W PSU. It is built by Seasonic, the best PSU manufacturer and is 80+ Gold and is very high quality. It can handle any upgrade that you do to it. Even add another GPU.

4. And since the newer versions of the Adobe products use OpenCL, hence I would suggest the R9-290 too. But I would suggest you to wait for the models with the custom coolers. Both the R9-290 and the R9-290X are having problem keeping up with the extreme high temperature. So, I would suggest you to wait for the models with the custom coolers.

5. And to those who are advising you to stick with the 4770k. They are extremely wrong. The 3930k performs like 50% better in Multi Threaded applications as it has 50% more cores and threads. For gaming there is no advantage of the 6 core over the 4 core version. But in content creation this thing is really a lot faster.

If it takes 30 minutes to process something with the 4770k, then it would take just 20 minutes to do the same on the 3930k. The advantage is quite a lot when it comes to processing tasks which required a lot of time. The 3930k is a big winner there. And since the 3930k is based on Sandy Bridge architecture hence you can take that to 4.8 Ghz and it would perform even better.

So, there is no going back to the 4770k.


The only thing that I would change in the build I recommended would be to swap the Nvidia 780 with the R9-290, but would wait for the custom cooler R9-290 from the manufacturers as the reference cooler is unable to keep up with the high temps of the R9-290. But it is hell of a card. Seriously, awesome for 400$

3.

 

[genz]

This is why I hate helping people online. Someone always comes along feeling sore about me refining their advice. You can be the CPU and gaming authority all you want, it's quite obvious that you are not the A/V authority and you should have respect when another opinion is given from a side of the market that you are not familiar with. I've been in Audio since 13, two years after I started building computers. I know what I am talking about.

1. No. There isn't. I just picked a board that was better for Audio work. Solid state caps (originally an audio technology), ferrite core choke and lower resistance on the MOSFETs. All of these compete to lower EM output, but all are not as important as as the 2oz copper PCB, something I personally found to be a great reducer of EM noise in the system (and thus background hiss in your audio signal even when using balanced cables)

2. Define best. Best is best for a task. This task (Audio) takes sound first and performance second, whereas gaming (Where you are the authority) takes performance first and sound second. It doesn't matter what you are running, you CAN'T produce well if you can hear your PC buzzing in the background, you CAN however game if your PC runs hot. The Dark Rock is much quieter at idle (18dB is well below background noise). It's more powerful per dB too, the Dark Rock is still and excellent cooler and is only a few degrees behind the louder Phanteks in the benches.

3.Why would a guy running an Audio system want to double the noise level of that Audio system and kill the already compromised (by the noise damping in the case) airflow. If you go dual GPU and you are serious about your Audio/Video work you are a fool. Work first, play later.

4. This is true, and I would too, but I know that he asked for it now, so to me that's not a factor. He will only hear the card whilst gaming (DAWs don't put cards under load) and even then thanks to the case it won't be that loud. Temps can be corrected by using a fan controller, as the 290 only goes up to 40% by default.

5. So, basically what I said. Thanks for reminding people.

 

[mulder68]

^^^This is not really as big of an issue as it was in the past.


OP have you decided on a processor? Did you check out the xeons?

Hi

I did check out the xeons but everything I read suggested that they wouldn't be suitable particularly the 6 core models.

There is some seriously good advice on this thread, especially the post from Genz who is using the 3930k

How would that build be if I were to replace the amd card with a gtx card? I am just thinking of saving money here but I could change to the Radeon at a later date maybe?