HD Video Editing, only small files though

Tomcat825

Tomcat825

Tomcat825

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A colleague of mine has asked me to spec up a machine for HD video editing, but says they're only going to be a few hundred meg and won't be doing massive 10GB files for example.

He's looking at spending ~£400 and my main question is, is a half sensible GPU generally neededfor VE'ing? If not, would the Sandybridge i3 onboard graphics be more than adequate? I know a decent bit of RAM is needed, but as he won't be doing heavy VE'ing, I think 4GB would suffice, however 8GB is preferrable.

Whilst I want to give this as good a shot as I can, I'd be more than happy to take build suggestions from everyone too as no doubt a couple of you will make a much better build.
He only needs the typical base unit, with the only real requirement being a 1TB drive with the possibility of an SSD is budget allows (This isn't needed).

Cheers in advance.
 
But is this with or without a monitor, mouse and keyboard :p

I am assuming it is without and will get speccing now with this assumption :D
 
OK I would suggest this


YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor £173.99
1 x Asrock Z68 PRO3 Intel Z68 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £105.98
1 x Corsair XMS3 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMX8GX3M2A1600C9) £62.39
1 x BeQuiet Pure Power L7 530W '80 Plus' Power Supply £44.99
1 x Zalman Z9 Plus Tower Case with Fan Controller - Black £42.98
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 32MB Cache - OEM (ST31000524AS) £39.98
1 x OcUK 22x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £14.99
Total : £499.40 (includes shipping : £11.75).

I didn't put in an SSD, it could be done but then there would have to be a serious downgrade in CPU power, probably to an AMD Phenom x4 and if you look here. (Some tests are lower is better) There is basically no comparison. Also remember you can overclock the i5 further than you can the AMD on a stock cooler.
 
Take into account what software he is planning to use to edit. Adobe Premiere has support for GPU accelerated playback but is only supported by CUDA Nvidia cards.
 
Bones said:
Take into account what software he is planning to use to edit. Adobe Premiere has support for GPU accelerated playback but is only supported by CUDA Nvidia cards.
Click to expand...

I think that a 2500k is necessary really. I don't see how I can fit a dedicated graphics card into the build that would really be worth getting over the integrated.
 
The only real problem with that is I think the 2500k would be wasted as he's not interested in overclocking... possibly downgrade to 2500?
 
 
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Christ, an i7 for £500 :O I think that's possibly too powerful though as he's not going to be editing huge videos as stated, so that's possibly overkill, I'll have a toy around with what you've given me as ideas then see what I can come up.

Thanks for the help, I'll post back with what I come up with. =)
 
Well yeah, I do tend to try and get the best possible rig for the budget and it is sometimes overkill. I suppose if you just switch to the i5 you can save some money. I still don't think an SSD can be fitted in there either way. Maybe a 30GB one which should fit the OS and maybe the editing software but basically nothing else. Something to think about :)
 
Am I right in thinking that the SSD won't effect how quickly the video edits? A mate seems to think it will effect it as it's reading the video quicker... but I think he's talking out of his ass.

As you can tell, I have no idea about video editing. =)
 
The SSD will not affect speed of video rendering if that is what he means. If he wants to spend extra on an SSD for this purpose then the i7 would be the worthwhile purchase although as you say, a bit overkill. I can say from experience of my friend that a 10 minute 720p video renders in 10 minutes on 2600k so you could tell him that so he knows what to expect performance wise of either that or the i5 which would take a little longer. SSD would just speed up booting up of computer and booting up program as well as loading resources that are inside the program.
 
Product Name Qty Price Line Total
Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor £173.99
(£144.99) £173.99
(£144.99)
MSI Z68MA-ED55 Intel Z68 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard MSI Z68MA-ED55 Intel Z68 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £129.98
(£108.32) £129.98
(£108.32)
Cooler Master Elite 430 Windowed Case - Black (with 500w Elite Power PSU) Cooler Master Elite 430 Windowed Case - Black (with 500w Elite Power PSU) £64.99
(£54.16) £64.99
(£54.16)
Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 32MB Cache - OEM (ST31000524AS) Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 32MB Cache - OEM (ST31000524AS) £39.98
(£33.32) £39.98
(£33.32)
Corsair XMS3 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMX4GX3M2A1600C9) Corsair XMS3 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMX4GX3M2A1600C9) £34.99
(£29.16) £34.99
(£29.16)
Sony Optiarc AD-7260S 24x DVD±RW SATA Lightscribe ReWriter (Black) - OEM Sony Optiarc AD-7260S 24x DVD±RW SATA Lightscribe ReWriter (Black) - OEM £17.99
(£14.99) £17.99
(£14.99)
Antec Kuhler Box High Performance CPU Cooler (Socket LGA775/LGA1156/LGA1366/AM2/AM2+/AM3) Antec Kuhler Box High Performance CPU Cooler (Socket LGA775/LGA1156/LGA1366/AM2/AM2+/AM3) £16.99
(£14.16) £16.99
(£14.16)
Akasa Internal Media Card Reader (AK-ICR-07) Akasa Internal Media Card Reader (AK-ICR-07) £9.98
(£8.32) £9.98
(£8.32)

Total : £488.90

That's what I've put forward to him and he's happy with it, I would have preferred to put 8GB in there but didn't wanna go over £500 and after looking at things the 8GB isn't needed for the size of video's he's editing...
Will just get another 4GB later down the line if it becomes an issue.

I'm going to put a 4GHz on the i5, don't think anymore is needed to be perfectly honest... and the airflow isn't going to be fantastic!

Thanks for the help with everything Martin and Bones!
 
A saving could be made on the motherboard to incorporate the 8GB of RAM. Video editing is very RAM dependant.

I would suggest going for this motherboard and then this RAM.

This would be at only £4 extra cost.

Other than that, looks great and good luck with the build. Also that cooler you have chosen is an absolute bargain :eek:
 
The mobo doesn't have Sata 6GB/s though? That's the only reason I didn't use that previously as the 1TB drive is Sata 6GB/s primarily with backcompatibility.
 
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