Question Video Editor Build Check

[EMILY66]

Hello TH Members,

I am currently building my first workstation PC and eagerly facing my departure from Apple. I will be using my PC for video work with The Foundry's NUKE, AVID MC, Houdini, and Silhouette. I hope to use Linux/CentOS as my operating system. I hope to hear from anyone with familiarity with this type of build or the products on my list.

Build - Current State:

CPU: Intel - Core i9-9980XE 3 GHz 18-Core Processor ($1999.00 @ B&H)
CPU Cooler: NZXT - Kraken X62 Rev 2 98.17 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($155.89 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Asus - WS X299 SAGE/10G SSI CEB LGA2066 Motherboard ($677.62 @ B&H)
Memory: G.Skill - Trident Z 64 GB (4 x 16 GB) DDR4-3600 Memory ($710.98 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital - Black NVMe 1 TB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive ($229.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Samsung - 860 QVO 4 TB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($547.99 @ B&H)
Video Card: EVGA - GeForce RTX 2080 Ti 11 GB XC ULTRA GAMING Video Card ($1249.99 @ B&H)
Power Supply: EVGA - SuperNOVA T2 1600 W 80+ Titanium Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($339.87 @ OutletPC)
Total: $5911.33

Thank you in advance for any advice/suggestions in this endeavor.

Emily66

 

[kanewolf]

You have SSD everywhere. That may be OK, but you do need to be aware of the limited write life that solid state disks have. That is ESPECIALLY true for the 860QVO -- it has a 1.4PB written life span and only a 3 year warranty for a 4TB disk. An intel Optane 900 PCIe 480GB card has an 8+ PB written lifespan. You don't want to use that 4TB disk for scratch or other write intensive use. A 8TB or larger HDD might be more appropriate than the 4TB SSD depending on the use case.

I wouldn't spend too much for RAM speeds above 3000. The performance benefits just aren't worth it.

For graphics card(s), you should look at whether multiple cheaper 2070? 1660ti? cards can provide equivalent performance.

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

Why did you choose a 1600w PSU?

 

[EMILY66]

You have SSD everywhere. That may be OK, but you do need to be aware of the limited write life that solid state disks have. That is ESPECIALLY true for the 860QVO -- it has a 1.4PB written life span and only a 3 year warranty for a 4TB disk. An intel Optane 900 PCIe 480GB card has an 8+ PB written lifespan. You don't want to use that 4TB disk for scratch or other write intensive use. A 8TB or larger HDD might be more appropriate than the 4TB SSD depending on the use case.

I wouldn't spend too much for RAM speeds above 3000. The performance benefits just aren't worth it.

For graphics card(s), you should look at whether multiple cheaper 2070? 1660ti? cards can provide equivalent performance.

Thank you for the response.

The SSD drives included in the build would be used only for writing current projects. All RAW media and rendered projects would be stored on inactive RAID drives. The limited/unstable lifetime would not be so much an issue for data loss, but more for economic waste in this case. What would you suggest for a drive with this type activity?

The RAM I chose is to keep from the project workload from bottlenecking and because it seemed to have a good low latency rating. I will look into the lower costs of 3000 speed.

I plan to introduce a second graphics card, but am still trying to understand what is the best solution for the workstation requirements. 2x 4k Monitors and 1X HD FSI Color Management Monitor.

The costs are running very high so far for the initial planning of this build, but my priority to create the fastest frequency workstation.

Thanks Again, Kanewolf. Looking forward to your response if you feel so inclined.

Emily66

 

[EMILY66]

Why did you choose a 1600w PSU?

I chose the 1600w for OC and reliability.

Again, I am a total beginner at PC building and it maybe overkill... I am guessing that is what you are ensuing.


Thanks for your response DL of T! Killer GIF btw.

Emily66

 

[TCA_ChinChin]

Does the software you mention specifically benefit from GPU acceleration? Do you happen to know if the program you run will benefit from a possible second graphics card? For the overall power consumption of the system, you could aim for slightly lower wattage rating with slightly lower efficiency such as platinum instead of titanium for close to 100$ less. Power supplies from reputable companies such as Seasonic can be had for about 200-250$ for 1200-1300 watts at platinum efficiency. Even if you're planning on overclocking, that should be more than enough. Maybe get several smaller size 1/2TB TLC SSDs for less money than a single 4TB SSD. Could have you some more $$$ again.

Also, are you familiar with Nvidia driver updates on Linux operating systems? Just wondering, since sometimes, having the right drivers for the graphics cards you're using in certain programs can important for maximum performance.

 

[kanewolf]

The SSD drives included in the build would be used only for writing current projects. All RAW media and rendered projects would be stored on inactive RAID drives. The limited/unstable lifetime would not be so much an issue for data loss, but more for economic waste in this case. What would you suggest for a drive with this type activity?

The RAM I chose is to keep from the project workload from bottlenecking and because it seemed to have a good low latency rating. I will look into the lower costs of 3000 speed.
Emily66

What size do your project files actually require? A 4TB disk sounds like a good choice but, if your projects are 500GB and a 2TB disk has a much higher write endurance then a smaller disk would make more sense.
Memory timings are obsessing over minutia, IMO. The difference you see in real world applications is tiny.
Even your CPU choice needs to be looked at relative to what your software can use. Having 18 cores sounds like a good thing, BUT if you can't keep them busy, then you have wasted money. You need to find benchmarks to see how the software YOU use scales. A lot of software has trouble scaling above about 8 cores. You may find that 9920X (14 core) CPU with a higher base clock speed might be a better choice.

 

[King Dranzer]

Here is the list:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel - Core i9-9980XE 3 GHz 18-Core Processor ($1999.00 @ B&H)
CPU Cooler: Corsair - H115i PRO 55.4 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($129.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Asus - TUF X299 MARK 2 ATX LGA2066 Motherboard ($240.23 @ Amazon)
Memory: Corsair - Vengeance LPX 64 GB (4 x 16 GB) DDR4-3000 Memory ($382.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung - 970 Evo Plus 1 TB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive ($247.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Samsung - 860 QVO 2 TB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($257.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: PNY - Quadro RTX 5000 16 GB Video Card ($2475.99 @ Dell)
Case: Phanteks - Enthoo Pro ATX Full Tower Case ($94.00 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Corsair - HX Platinum 1200 W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($199.89 @ OutletPC)
Total: $6028.07
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-03-03 12:01 EST-0500

Quadro will be useful to handle massive renders which utilize huge chunks of VRAM. It also has 10-bit color support which can make a big difference if paired with suitable monitor.

10GBE ports can be added by using 10GBE expansion card. Besides that factor the TUF motherboard is enough for this particular build and usage. Below is the link for one
https://www.amazon.com/XG-C100C-Net...coding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=Z9SRPACRY9KRGJSSPBKM

Storage can be expanded as per the requirement.

1200W PSU is enough as long as you don't plan on using 3-4GPUs. In case of of using 3-4GPUs that motherboard will also not be suitable.

Rest of the build remains same.

 

[kanewolf]

Here is the list:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant
Total: $6028.07
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-03-03 12:01 EST-0500

How is that useful without any explanation of WHY you chose what you did? For example why did you change motherboards? The OP choice had 10GE, yours does not.

 

[King Dranzer]

How is that useful without any explanation of WHY you chose what you did? For example why did you change motherboards? The OP choice had 10GE, yours does not.

Will edit the above post

 

[kanewolf]

Will edit the above post

Thanks for stating your justifications. Build lists with no justifications don't provide any long term knowledge. I don't know if the RTX5000 will improve the OP's performance or not. Looking at these benchmarks it depends very much on the software. I personally wouldn't jump to the P5000 without specific benchmarks that say the price can be justified. I also wouldn't jump to the 18 core CPU without benchmarks that back it up.

 

[King Dranzer]

Thanks for stating your justifications. Build lists with no justifications don't provide any long term knowledge. I don't know if the RTX5000 will improve the OP's performance or not. Looking at these benchmarks it depends very much on the software. I personally wouldn't jump to the P5000 without specific benchmarks that say the price can be justified. I also wouldn't jump to the 18 core CPU without benchmarks that back it up.

Based on the software listed and to my limited knowledge only Houdini uses GPU for render based workload and uses huge chunks of VRAM depending on the workload. If OP will be doing professional work then there is a decent possibility of color scaling for which in majority of supportive software Quadro has edge over Geforce. If none of the above is relevant to OP Quadro can be swapped with Geforce no problem.

Few of the software listed do scale well in multi-core processing and few are better with higher clocked single core. Intel 18core is better suited in this case.

 

[EMILY66]

Kanewolf, King Dranzer, Dark Lord of Tech, and TCA ChinChin -

Thank you all for the information you have shared. My delay in response is due to my attempts to incorporate all of your great information to the build. All is well so far. I will update when I have the build solidified and of course look forward to sharing the bench tests of this monster you all are helping to create!

What are you thoughts on sourcing used or (new)ebay components?

Sincerely,
Emily66
👽

 

[King Dranzer]

When buying this expensive components we recommend staying clear of ebay. If you are not able to allocate enough budget for all the components we recommend scaling down on performance.

 

[EMILY66]

When buying this expensive components we recommend staying clear of ebay. If you are not able to allocate enough budget for all the components we recommend scaling down on performance.

Thank you, King Dranzer.


I've taken everyone's knowledge here into consideration and now I am sitting with all of these parts:

CPU: Intel - Core i9-7980XE to be delidded
CPU Cooler: This is the Major Question????
Motherboard: Asus - WS X299 SAGE/10G SSI CEB LGA2066 Motherboard
Memory: G.Skill - Trident Z 64 GB (4 x 16 GB) DDR4-3600 Memory
Storage: 2x Samsung 970 PRO Series - 1TB PCIe NVME - M.2 Internal SSD
Storage: 2x Samsung SSD 860 EVO 2.5" SATA III 4TB
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti Black Edition GAMING
Power Supply: EVGA - SuperNOVA T2 1600 W 80+ Titanium Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply
Case: Caselabs STH10

How do I cool this CPU? I understand it is "hungry, hot, and fast"? I've done the research to do an open loop with two Black Ice Nemesis 560 rads, Singularity Computers res/mounts with d5 pumps, and bitspower fittings and aryclic. This being said I would be more interested in smacking on a Noctua NH-D15(s) and getting started with this workstation. The downtime since beginning this venture has taken a toll and a custom loop will mean $$$ and many hours of modding. Which I was completely prepared for until I saw some people on the www claiming the NH-D15 as a monster air cooler, which would require little to no effort now and throughout the future.

Any help with cooling this workstation - specifically the 7980xe - is greatly appreciated.

Again, Thank you all for your support thus far.

Emily66

 

[King Dranzer]

Thank you, King Dranzer.


I've taken everyone's knowledge here into consideration and now I am sitting with all of these parts:

CPU: Intel - Core i9-7980XE to be delidded
CPU Cooler: This is the Major Question????
Motherboard: Asus - WS X299 SAGE/10G SSI CEB LGA2066 Motherboard
Memory: G.Skill - Trident Z 64 GB (4 x 16 GB) DDR4-3600 Memory
Storage: 2x Samsung 970 PRO Series - 1TB PCIe NVME - M.2 Internal SSD
Storage: 2x Samsung SSD 860 EVO 2.5" SATA III 4TB
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti Black Edition GAMING
Power Supply: EVGA - SuperNOVA T2 1600 W 80+ Titanium Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply
Case: Caselabs STH10

How do I cool this CPU? I understand it is "hungry, hot, and fast"? I've done the research to do an open loop with two Black Ice Nemesis 560 rads, Singularity Computers res/mounts with d5 pumps, and bitspower fittings and aryclic. This being said I would be more interested in smacking on a Noctua NH-D15(s) and getting started with this workstation. The downtime since beginning this venture has taken a toll and a custom loop will mean $$$ and many hours of modding. Which I was completely prepared for until I saw some people on the www claiming the NH-D15 as a monster air cooler, which would require little to no effort now and throughout the future.

Any help with cooling this workstation - specifically the 7980xe - is greatly appreciated.

Again, Thank you all for your support thus far.

Emily66

How much is the total adding up to. I hope it is way below $6K otherwise it is not worth spending that much.

 

[EMILY66]

How much is the total adding up to. I hope it is way below $6K otherwise it is not worth spending that much.

Don't worry looking at a couple $K under that estimate of your right now 😉

But the cooling is stressing me out!

Emily66

 

[King Dranzer]

Don't worry looking at a couple $K under that estimate of your right now 😉

But the cooling is stressing me out!

Emily66

Unless you wanna do crazy OC. Corsair H115i PRO will be enough for the CPU. If the difference between GTX1080Ti and RTX2080Ti is of $300-$400 recommend going with RTX2080Ti.