Budget video editing box

[LMHmedchem]

This a for a video editing box in the $600 range. I have never build a video box and I am unfamiliar with the specific hardware requirements.

I don't know how firm that budget is, or the extent to which parts will be re-used. I already have a 22" monitor, and I don't need an OS. I am not sure about a video card yet. There is already a video card available, but I don't know what it is. I may keep it for now, or look to CF if it is a decent card. The main performance use will be to run Pinnacle and possibly CakeWalk sound editing software.

Here are two possible lists,
NZXT M59 001BK ATX Mid Tower ($40 w/PROMO +freeship)
CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W ($80 AMIR)
GIGABYTE GA-890GPA-UD3H 890GX SATA 6 USB3 ($115 MC w/bundle)
AMD Phenom II X4 Quad-Core Processor 955 BE ($160)
G.SKILL Ripjaws 2x2GB DDR3 1600 F3-12800CL7D-4GBRM ($105, 7-8-7-24)
Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST3500418AS 500GB ($40 w/PROMO)
LITE-ON CD/DVD Burner SATA Model iHAS124-04 ($18)

~$560 shipped

the second build is the same as above, except with,
Intel Core i5 750 Processor Boxed ($170)
GIGABYTE GA-P55A-UD3 P55 SATA 6 USB3 ($130 AMIR)

~$580 shipped

Important questions are,
- what are the video card requirements
- is 8GB of RAM useful, or will it go unused by the software
- is a hex core CPU useful, or will the extra cores go unused
- which platform gives the best performance with video editing software
(Phenom II 955, 965, 1055T w/890GX or i5 750, i7 860 w/p55)

I think that the 650TX is much more than may be needed, but there aren't many good PSUs that cost significantly less, so I would appreciate suggestions on that front. The case is also not my first choice (a bit funky looking), but again, there is not much for $40 shipped with the feature set I would like.

At the moment I am leaning toward the AMD (probably with a 965BE) because the motherboard has a nice feature set and is only $115 at MC. If I end up doing CF on the card, the AMD board has 2x8x lanes. I would need a much more expensive Intel board to do that, although there appear to be some low cost MSI boards (MSI P55A-G55) that have the same feature set as the GIGABYTE GA-890GPA-UD3H 890GX for ~$125. I am very interested to know more about these MSI boards as well if anyone has some experience with them. The comperable Asus and GA boards are $50 more.

Obviously SSD or a raid0 would be very nice, but I don't think that is in the budget at the moment, although I could look at a second 500GB, since they are $40 at the moment.

Comments and suggestions would be very much appreciated,

LMHmedchem



Possible upgrades,
COOLER MASTER RC-692-KKN3 CM690 II Basic ($70 +freeship)
CORSAIR HX Series CMPSU-650HX 650W Modular ($100 AMIR)
AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition ($180)
AMD Phenom II X6 1055T AM3 Processor ($200)
Intel Core i7 860 Processor Boxed ($230)
OCZ Reaper 2x2GB DDR3 2000 OCZ3RPR2000LV4GK ($80 AMIR, 9-9-9-30)

 

[LMHmedchem]

No comments on this thread? I thought these questions would be fairly straightforward.

Did I post in the wrong place or not provide adequate information?

LMHmedchem

 

[Grief]

Well i dont think you need the Black Edition procesor, since the only diffrence is unlocked multiplier for overclokcing, and you're not gohna overclock.Or are you?

 

[Bobnova]

Unless you get a very powerful GPU you don't need that large of a power supply, if you're using the onboard video a corsair 400w is plenty.
If you're using an add-on card with a 110w or less TDP that 400w is still plenty.
Over that GPU wise and you'll want a larger PSU.

I'm not familiar enough with the software to know how many cores it uses or whether it uses >4gb of ram.

 

[LMHmedchem]

Well i dont think you need the Black Edition procesor, since the only diffrence is unlocked multiplier for overclokcing, and you're not gohna overclock.Or are you?

I tend to overclock most everything, but the 965BE is already at a fairly high clock and seem to be difficulty to push past 3.8GHz or so without allot of effort, so I probably wouldn't bother. I would not save a great deal by dropping to a lower model CPU, so that is one reason I picked the 955-965BE. Even dropping to an Athlon II quad, the savings would be in the $50 range. If I get the 1055T, then it will definitely be overclocked some.

Unless you get a very powerful GPU you don't need that large of a power supply, if you're using the onboard video a corsair 400w is plenty.
If you're using an add-on card with a 110w or less TDP that 400w is still plenty.
Over that GPU wise and you'll want a larger PSU.

When I looked at pricing, the cost of the 400W or 450W Corsair models were only about a $30 savings from the 650W, so again I went with the higher grade part. Some of this will depend on prices when I order. I think the 650W is $70AMIR right now. Is it common for video editing boxed to make use of crossfire/SLI? That is another part of the mix, there is a video card, and it it's not quite enough I will think about CF, which would require a bit more juice. Do you have any suggestions about the video card capacity that is necessary?

This is lower capacity hardware than I am used to building with, so I am finding my self tending toward more than is necessary. It is still pretty amazing what you can put together for $600 or so.

LMHmedchem

 

[Bobnova]

I don't think many video editing programs use the GPU these days, but i'm not really in touch with that area.

I don't see CF/SLI being useful, i doubt that there are any situations where it would save money for a given amount of GPU horsepower (math wise) compared to a single larger card.

Pinnacle doesn't appear to use GPUs, so you could just use the onboard video. That saves a bunch of money and power.