Video Editing PC Build Help

[Deemo]

I am going to build a PC for video editing (1080) and need an bit of help.
I will NOT be gaming on the PC

Previous builds were AMD budget build HTPC's but this one is going to be i7

I have settled on the i7 930 which looks like it can be had for $300 now.
I already have a Antec 300 and a Seasonic 750W PS sitting idle right now

I am looking at the Asus 6PT unless someone can recommend better for around the same price.

The biggest issue is what video card???
I don't want to choke performance but I also don't want to get bent over ($$$) buying a card that is going to be overkill.
I assume almost all of the work is going to be done by the processor??

The rest is fairly simple.

Any input is greatly appreciated.

First post so thanks a bunch!

[Biker]

Are you going to use two or more monitors for this workstation?, and will one be a CRT for viewing the photos

[FiXT]

Let me put it this way:

My 3.2GHZ Core i7 + 6GB DDR3 currently struggles editing 1080 AVCHD video natively - especially in High Quality Mode (using Adobe Premiere CS4). I use draft mode mainly, and even then it occasionally struggles to play through when adding effects and touchups. If your going to be using HDV or are willing to render the initial AVCHD footage down immediately then most any high dual or quad core should be fine.

Pushing up the ram to 8GB and some even recommend 12GB would not be a bad idea as CS4 and later supports more than 4GB. If your using an earlier version or a different program, find out the app's limitations first.


I have found that a video card isn't doesn't have a huge impact except if your going to be using effects (for this reason a decent card like the GT220 or GTS250 ideally would be a good idea) or if your going with the $1500+ Quadro lineup. I would recommend sticking with NVIDIA no matter what because with Adobe's 5.0 suite and other programs are slowly adopting CUDA and the CPU--> GPU offset.


I would also HIGHLY recommend considering a Raid 0 setup, 10K RPM drive or better yet an SSD for your video editing drive. It makes a good difference using it for your cache and scratch disk.



On the plus side, all that power can spit out a 7-8 minute+ video in 720P in about 30 minutes :D



In the end it all depends on what kind of video your going to be editing, what kind of patience you have and what your budget is.

[Thund3rball]

I haven't done video on a PC in over 6 years so I can't really weigh in what's what there, but if you are at all open to a different platform I can attest that the Final Cut Suite is a fantastic set of tools for editing and compressing HD video. Up until today I was using it to edit DVCPro 720p on a 6 year old PPC G5 2.5Ghz with 4GB Ram. That hardware surely had its limitations with exporting final edits (hours and hours of compression) but I could do ANYTHING else on my machine while it was doing it (except maybe edit more video).

Today I just got a brand new Quad Core Xeon Mac Pro because I killed the PPC, lol. I literally just finished installing FCP Suite and am anxious to see what render times are like for me now compared to last week - wahoo! Anyways good luck with your machine.

[FiXT]

^ Curse you and your Mac Only FCP *shakes fist*

Apple would make a killing on the program if they sold it for PC's... though I guess they make a killing on people buying Macs just to use it as well.

I Still prefer Premiere for advanced editing (never used Avid) but by golly FCP is just so damned good and simple. One of these days I may get around to getting an emulator or seeing if I can tailor a system for OSx

[Thund3rball]

I know... I'm even jealous of myself. :)

[Biker]

I am looking into the Quadro CX or FX, anyone use one of these

[Grey13]

I have just finished working on a project where we cut in HD.
We cut using Avid editing software on a HPxw8200 system. Xeon 3.2ghz i think. Windows XP, 3 gigs of ram. THIS IS OLD!!!
Amazingly this little computer didn't struggle with the HD footage at all. (creating Quicktimes took all night however...)
We had an external 2Terabyte e-sata Lacie drive as our storage.

Anyway...if your going with Avid, they certify Nvidia graphics. That's not to say it won't work with an ATI card, but 300 bucks is a bit of a gamble.

I'm building a new computer:
I'm looking at the same CPU i7-930
Seriously thinking about Gigabyte GA-X56A-UD3 Motherboard.
GA-X58A-UD3R (rev. 1.0) - GIGABYTE - Product - Motherboard - Overview

[h46it]

I'm also looking to build a new comp for video editing aswell. I'm currently using Prem Pro CS4, but i am considering switching over to AMD/ATI rig to utilize the stream technology. Nvidia route is just too expensive to have the GPU help accelerate renders, as i don't have the budget for a Quadro+plug-in or CS5 w/quadro or gtx 285 that is due out in days.

So i have a question, has anyone used the AMD/ATI stream technology plug-in? I'm curious to your computer set up. It seems there is very little info on what works and doesn't work.

[Rison]

my girlfriend does a lot of rendering, both in maya and other stuff I don't exactly understand.

my recommendation would be looking in the quad core xeon line, E5520 or higher (or new 5600 when they are out, and price is ok) and a good 8-12 gig PC1600 ddr3.

It all depends on your budget, my girlfriend uses dual EVGA GTX 275 SSC in SLI that I picked up on ebay or from HWC members used (about $200 / each, still a wicked price)