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Need to Build A New Computer – Suggestions?
I need to re-build my NLE system. The MOBO has met it’s limits. I need suggestions for a new mobo and CPU(s). Do I really need a single or dual CPU mobo? What are the pros & cons of each? And how much RAM do I really need?
Here’s what I have: RocketRAID eSATA card for 2 external RAID-5 boxes, PNY Quadro 4000 graphics card and Black Magic DeckLink Studio card for HDMI and analog I/O.
Here’s what I’m running: WIN 7 64bit, Vegas Pro 12 (main NLE), After Effects, Photoshop, Encore, Premiere and Boris FX.
I want speed, reliability without breaking the bank. I want clean, real-time playback from Vegas to HD external studio monitor.
What do you suggest?
Thanks.
Ken Bennett
Video Adventures
Capturing Your Life’s Adventures! -
11 Replies
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Hi Ken,
I was reading some interesting articles on the Tom’s Hardware website about some of the new Xeon’s vs. i7’s:
Intel Xeon E3-1280 v2 Review: Ivy Bridge Goes Professional
https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/xeon-e3-benchmark-review,3258.html
There are links to some other articles as well. I usually try to not be on the bleeding edge when building a new workstation. I would also recommend talking to tech who builds them regularly. That being said- If you have a good volume of professional work happening, it’s probably worth it to go to a video workstation specialty retailer. They will usually have tested the config with most of the software you have listed. Hope this helps. -
In February 2011 I followed the recommendations from the Video Guys Blog DIY project and have been very happy with the results. I ended up with i7 hex core with 12GB RAM.
Below is the link to their current recommendations.
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[Mark Barton] “I followed the recommendations from the Video Guys Blog DIY project and have been very happy with the results. I ended up with i7 hex core with 12GB RAM.”
Likewise I just built my new workstation around the VideoGuys DIY9 specs and I’m very happy with my hex core 16GB system. My final specs are on the PC Equipment page of my web site. If I had to do it again I might have gone with the ASUS P9X79 WS motherboard because it has built-in firewire which I still use a lot.
~jr
http://www.johnrofrano.com
http://www.vasst.com -
I also just built a Videoguys DIY machine that has 32 GB of RAM and a solid state boot drive. It screams. I love it.
Mary Waitrovich
Media Plus You, LCC
http://www.mediaplusyou.com -
Colin, yeah, I wouldn’t attempt to build my own nowadays. Too many headaches for me and don’t have the time. And I don’t want to be sold Ferrari when I really only need a Lexus.
Ken Bennett
Video Adventures
Capturing Your Life’s Adventures! -
John, thanks for the info. Is that a really quiet system? My current NLE system is loud with all the cheap fans. My office Dell however makes no noise at all. The only indication it is on is the power LEDs. And that box looks like it has the same quick-snap HDD slider trays for quick HDD swapping.
Ken Bennett
Video Adventures
Capturing Your Life’s Adventures! -
Mary, how do you like the SSDs?
Ken Bennett
Video Adventures
Capturing Your Life’s Adventures! -
The SS boot drive is amazingly fast in starting Windows and opening applications. Rendering time also seems quite fast. I like it so much I am in the process of upgrading my MacBookPro to have a SSD and replacing the optical drive with the original hard drive. The removed optical drive will go into an enclosure to convert to an external drive for the few times I need to use a CD or DVD with the MacBookPro.
Mary Waitrovich
Media Plus You, LCC
http://www.mediaplusyou.com -
[Ken Bennett] “Is that a really quiet system? My current NLE system is loud with all the cheap fans.”
Oh yea, I can’t use a system that isn’t quiet because I create training videos live as I’m sitting at the keyboard. You can hear that the system is on, but it’s definitely very quiet because the fans are large and rotate slowly to push the same amount of air as smaller fans running faster and making more noise. The only fans I can rally hear are the two on the top radiator of the liquid cooler. The front side and back fans are silent as is the PSU fan.
~jr
http://www.johnrofrano.com
http://www.vasst.com -
Ken, I took some measurements for you using a Sound Pressure Level meter (SPL C weighted which is what I use to calibrate my speakers with Vegas Pro). At 16 inches from the case (which is where I sit when I edit and create my live tutorials) the room level was 41dB with the computer OFF. After turning the computer ON, the reading was 50dB. So the computer added 9dB of noise at 16 inches. This is in the quiet of my home office. By comparison, my office at work has an SPL reading to 61dB! So if I took my PC to work, you wouldn’t even know that it was on over the din of office environment. Hope that helps.
~jr
http://www.johnrofrano.com
http://www.vasst.com
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