Building a PC for video editing and After Effects/Premiere Pro

[Vlade]

Hi, I'm building a budget PC for Adobe After Effects and Premiere Pro for video editing and SFX. I can put about $1000 towards this PC. My skill level at PC hardware is "intermediate" and I have some idea of what I'm doing, having upgraded PCs before, but I have never built one from scratch before. Video editing is demanding on hardware and I'm aware my budget is tight but I'm determined to take it as a challenge and squeeze every last dollar into rendering performance. (That's where you guys come in. ) This PC is going to be used to render a lot of heavy After Effects projects for prosumer purposes. I am not experienced at overclocking.

VIDEO EDITING PC

I'm thinking of getting an i7 for the hyperthreading; despite the cost I think it's worth it since video work benefits so much from hyperthreading. I would prefer a Micro ATX case for portability but regular ATX is also an option. I can upgrade the RAM as I go along but I'm thinking of starting with 16 gigs (maybe 8 at first just to run the system to free up some budget). I want a solid HDD with space for video files. I don't know whether getting a solid state is worth it for video editing at this budget. I don't think getting a good GPU is critical for After Effects but I may be wrong. I'd either want to go with a "placeholder" GPU that just covers the video work before I can upgrade to a gaming GPU or just go all-out and get a GPU that can run Arma 3 and Warhammer Total War on High settings right from the start. Obviously budget is a big factor in this but I'm alright with getting the placeholder if it means I have a solid core build for the video work. Can you skip the GPU altogether for video editing if your CPU is up to par? I have a keyboard, mouse, speakers, and monitor along with an external disk reader and a copy of Windows 7.

CASE: Micro ATX?
CPU: Intel i7?
MOBO: ???
RAM: 16 gigs of ???
GPU: ???
PSU: ???
COOLING: ???
OS: Windows 10

BUDGET: $1000
PURPOSE: Adobe Creative Cloud Video Editing (AFTER EFFECTS and PREMIERE PRO with heavy renders and plugins)

Thanks guys!

 

[bob4933]

This is an occasion to go ham with ram. More is more for this. It's cheap as can be right now , so go ham in that department.

Your budget does limit you to a quad core i7, but that should be enough grunt.

All that said, this sounds more like hobby work than "real" work, so make sure you are prioritizing properly. 1000$ is plenty for work and play, unless you're Canadian lol.

 

[ATMINSIDE]

This would be my recommendation:
http://pcpartpicker.com/list/2bDxYr

 

[Vlade]

This would be my recommendation:
http://pcpartpicker.com/list/2bDxYr

Looks great! I'm buying this list, but before I do, is it alright if I swap the RAM from this to this? I prefer the red look as I'm going with the white version of the case you linked, and I might get a clear side panel for it in the future. To my knowledge the only thing that changes between those two RAM choices is the timing. Don't know if you had any special reason for the Ripjaw 4's instead of the 5's other than it being 10 dollars cheaper. Any suggestions, speak now or forever hold your peace!

Also, the case doesn't come with a slot for the SDD apparently, should I buy velcro to hold the SSD in place? Are there any mobos you might also recommend within +$0 to +$40 of that price instead of the ASRock that come in combinations of white, red, or black? (trying to get a red-white theme going )

 

[bob4933]

Ram swap is fine if you're ok spending more money on something you really won't see.

I would say, spend the 20$ and bump up to a gtx 960. Prices on those have plummeted. Some for sale for less than 150 now

 

[EarthDog]

This would be my recommendation:
http://pcpartpicker.com/list/2bDxYr

Boom.

Ham on ramy too!

 

[ATMINSIDE]

Looks great! I'm buying this list, but before I do, is it alright if I swap the RAM from this to this? I prefer the red look as I'm going with the white version of the case you linked, and I might get a clear side panel for it in the future. To my knowledge the only thing that changes between those two RAM choices is the timing. Don't know if you had any special reason for the Ripjaw 4's instead of the 5's other than it being 10 dollars cheaper. Any suggestions, speak now or forever hold your peace!

Also, the case doesn't come with a slot for the SDD apparently, should I buy velcro to hold the SSD in place? Are there any mobos you might also recommend within +$0 to +$40 of that price instead of the ASRock that come in combinations of white, red, or black? (trying to get a red-white theme going )

Changed to all red/black and added a case with a window. This case also comes in white, and other color combos, FYI.

http://pcpartpicker.com/list/97JM8K

 

[bob4933]

Seriously. Spend the 20$ and bump up to a 960...

 

[EarthDog]

Does After Effects use the GPU so would he see improvements? Did he mention gaming and I missed it?

Its $20..Im in your corner more or less, but maybe justify it or give the reasoning behind spending $20 more... for no reason or good reasons.

 

[bob4933]

yes he mentioned gaming (arma 3 and warhammer).

 

[EarthDog]

Thanks! Missed it.

960 is the minimum I would go for a placeholder gpu too.

 

[Vlade]

Changed to all red/black and added a case with a window. This case also comes in white, and other color combos, FYI.

http://pcpartpicker.com/list/97JM8K

That case looks great! I think I'm going to take your guy's suggestion and go with the GTX 960 also.



I'm tempted to go with a white/black theme now; the white case with black RAM and a white/black mobo with cable management would be pretty striking. Are these mobos up to your guys' standards? (Listed in order of aesthetic preference).

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...&cm_re=atx_motherboard-_-13-130-801-_-Product
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...&cm_re=atx_motherboard-_-13-130-900-_-Product
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...&cm_re=atx_motherboard-_-13-132-566-_-Product

...and if there's some black RAM sticks you guys can find around the $120 - $140 price range that would be awesome. Is the RAM speed important for After Effects?

 

[ATMINSIDE]

Can you list the names instead of links? Posting from my phone.

Could always do black/red in the white/black case, you keep some color that way

 

[Vlade]

Can you list the names instead of links? Posting from my phone.

Could always do black/red in the white/black case, you keep some color that way

MSI Z97S SLI Krait Edition LGA 1150 Intel Z97 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
MSI Z170A SLI Plus LGA 1151 Intel Z170 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.1 ATX Intel Motherboard
ASUS Z170-A LGA 1151 Intel Z170 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.1 USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

I thought about color in the mobo but with the white/black all it takes is some red cable coverings, some colored RAM, and a red cold cathode to bring the whole thing to life. I can add and swap colors easily in the future as long as the mobo and GPU are black and white, just by adding LED's. A blue cold cathode turns all the white inside the case into blue at the flick of a switch. Just thinking out loud.

 

[bob4933]

The krait was well reviewed when I was debating z170 for a minute. Great colors too.

 

[Vlade]

The krait was well reviewed when I was debating z170 for a minute. Great colors too.

Just noticed it's actually a DDR3 board, not DDR4.

 

[EarthDog]

Not sure which one you are looking at...but here is ddr4: https://us.msi.com/Motherboard/Z170-KRAIT-GAMING.html#hero-specification