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Ryzen 7 2700 build for Vegas Pro 17 – advice freely accepted!
Greetings,
I am planning a build for editing video as well as some audio work. I’ve built PCs before, but it has been a few years and am acquainting myself with the latest tech and would appreciate experienced advice.
I have decided on a Ryzen 7 2700 with 3200 32g memory, and probably a 650-watt PS – that’s where I am at so far. I also plan on a dual-boot configuration with Win 10 (for Win 10 only programs) an Linux Mint for just about everything else that I can get away with running on Linux. I would like the ability run VR video (though not edit or process) as I am a professional location sound engineer and am updating my gear to record and process VR audio stems using Reaper, so solid video performance is a must and plan on a mid-level graphics card.
What don’t plan on doing is any RGB lighting (I want a solid case for sound suppression), overclocking of the processor or RAM, or any gaming.
I have questions:
- Even on PcPartsPicker it seems like the entire motherboard industry is centered on gaming. Can anyone recommend a solid ‘pro applications’ board (that they have actually built and used, please) for video editing performance for Vegas Pro 17? (keep in mind I am trying to keep this build at or under $1000).
- I have an E-MU 1820M sound system that is amazing, however it requires a legacy PCI (not PCIe) slot. There are only a couple MBs with a legacy PCI slot out there (but they are relatively expensive – and scarier yet – older, inviting issues with newer gen processors). It would cost $1,000’s to replicate the 1820M’s abilities on a USB based audio interface. Has anyone used a MB with legacy PCI successfully for legacy audio or video cards without extensive scripts or patching? (Dammit, Jim, I’m a sound guy, not an IT geek!”) Has anyone successfully used one of those PCI-to-PCIe adapters for such a purpose? This is of secondary importance as i can use my Zoom F8 as an 8-channel audio interface.
- While I know high performance video cards aren’t necessary unless one is doing a lot of FX processing (though one might be advisable for VR work) do i want CUDA or Open GL? I’m a little confused because on my older versions of Vegas I thought it was OpenGL, but now I am hearing Nvidia CUDA is preferred by Vegas Pro…?
- I am planning on getting an NVME M.2 SSD for the OS(s). Should one load demanding processing software on the same SSD as the OS? Or video/audio clips being processed? Or should those reside on a separate SSD? I’ve seen people loading both processing software and data on the same drive, but it seems to me that is placing additional demands on the speed of the SSD, or can a high-performance SSD handle it? I do plan on an inexpensive large mechanical HD for long-term storage and no-speed intensive data & programs. Does newer video editing even benefit from the price difference of a NVME SSD, or should i save the $$ and use a second M.2 for a working data/scratch disk?
- Lastly, any first-hand experience with a solid (design as well as build, I need it as silent as possible on a budget) full or mid-tower case with at least one external front bay for a Blu-ray burner would be appreciated
Thanks in advance for your thoughtful input. I realize it’s a bit of a list, but as I said, the industry seems to be centered on gamers and professional media demands are certainly different, outside of processor and RAM, at any rate. And while there is tons of general theoretical advice out there – I would like feedback from people with hands-on use experience.
Thanks!
Curtis
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2 Replies
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Hi Curtis
I recently went thru the gruelling process of updating my computer. To paraphrase someone else on this post that shall remain nameless, Damn it Jim, I’m an editor, not an IT tech !!! . But I can share with you some of the caveats of putting one together.
In a perfect world, Magix would let us know what would be the ideal build for the software. They only give out the minimum requirements.
First off, I didn’t feel like spending any cash on things that I already had. I figured that I could re-use the power supply, the mid-tower, all of my drives and of course the keyboard and mouse. I did my homework and spent almost a year reading anything I could find that was pertinent. Like you, I found that 99% of what is out there is aimed exclusively at gamers. What’s left is mostly outdated. Not much out there to chew on.
I’ll start at the low end of things, the case, the lowly unassuming metal box. It’s only after I had installed the motherboard, the CPU, all of the drives (6) that I found out that the GPU that I had purchased was almost 1/2 an inch longer than what could fit in my Mid Tower. Back to the store. Bought a new case. Disassembled everything and started again. Everything fit… except that I realized after the fact that cases don’t automatically come with a slot for the DVD Burner. Sigh…
I originally bought a power supply on steroid. I remembered from way back, a comment from one of the maintenance techs at the TV station I started at, giving this analogy about power supplies: ”Compare your power supply with an engine rated to rev at no more than 4000 RPM. If you’re driving cross country at 3950 RPM versus driving a car with an engine rated to rev at 6000 RPM, guess which engine will die first.” I myself got a 1000W.
Apart from the obvious ”CPU type has to fit the Motherboard” look at the ones with a faster bus speed. No point in having a Ferrari, trying to get from point A to point B if you’re driving on a curvy narrow road. Get one that has strait highways. Data transfer rate counts.And most important, I found that offering the proverbial sacrificial chicken to the proper Gods helped a lot….
Cheers !
PC Win 10 Pro 64-bit 16gb
Ryzen 9 3900X 12 Core 4.60GHz
Radeon RX 5700 XT
Cameras: Canon XF305 + Canon XH-A1
Vegas Pro 16, User since Vegas 3.0\’\’When the cutting stops, the editing begins…\’\’
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You should prefer x570 motherboards, this will ease up future upgrades. “Gaming” variety are mostly shiny stickers and RGB outs. Just don’t use those. Consider motherboards with hi quality and hi performance MOSFETs on VRM. Avoid MSI, Gigabyte and ASUS at all costs.
You would want CUDA for everything. ATI could never produce videocards, they just got lucky with the Bitcoin craze.
I wouldn’t recommend anything lower than 1660, preferably 8gb.If you go for USB audio, make sure it is a real USB3.0. Just type-c connector is not enough, as currently most type-c devices are USB 2.0.
FHD video rending is a slow process, so even laptop 5400rpm HDD would be sufficient for taking fragments from and writing result back to the same drive. A 256gb M2 ssd for OS, apps and virtual memory page file and temp folder, and 1-2TB 7200hdd for source and result video would be enough. Again, that’s FHD.
I would recommend a good power supply. 650W Chieftec (GPM-650C) is really nicely built one with no shortcuts to save costs.
Cougar cases are nice, well built and relatively cheap.
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