PC for photo and video editing

[vallekano]

Hello,

My brother is getting really into photography and timelapses. He needs a powerful PC because with the laptop he has right now, it takes forever to edit videos.

I'm already doing a bit of advertising for him... hehe
Timelapses - David de los Santos

Well, he asked for my advice and I've been looking at a possible configuration, but I'd like to know what you think since you're more experienced than me around here. First of all, let's forget about overclocking... no one wants to get into trouble, we'll go for something simple and fast.

Well, the base I had in mind was based on an i7 with an SSD for the OS and programs and another normal one for data. Also, a graphics card compatible with programs like Premiere and similar to get the most out of it. With that in mind and a budget of around 700€, this is what I came up with:

Motherboard: Asrock H87 Pro4 90-MXGPA0-A0UAYZ Mother Board
Graphics card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 660 OC 2GB GDDR5 GV-N660OC-2GD Graphics Card
RAM: Kingston HyperX Fury Blue DDR3 1333MHz PC3-10666 8GB CL9 HX313C9F/8 DDR3 Memory
Case: AeroCool V3X Advance Black Edition V3XADBK Case/Tower
CPU cooler: Cooler Master Hyper TX3 EVO CPU Cooler RR-TX3E-22PK-R1 Fan/Cooler
Power supply: L-Link Power Supply 950W PFC LL-PS-950 Power Supply
CPU: Intel Core i7-4770 3.4Ghz Box BX80646I74770 Processor
SSD: Samsung 840 Evo SSD Series 120GB SATA3 MZ-7TE120BW Solid State Drive
HDD: WD Caviar Black 1TB SATA3 7200rpm WD1003FZEX Hard Drive

And here's the budget:
Custom Budget. PcComponentes.com

There are a couple of things to comment on. On the one hand, the case I chose is a normal one, but that's a matter of taste, so I'll tell my brother to choose the one he wants, as long as it has at least one 120mm fan, which I think is the best option (more performance for less noise).

And the memory, I'm not sure if it's worth getting 2x4GB to take advantage of dual channel...

Well, what do you think? Do you see it as balanced? Anything to comment/change?

Thanks.

EDIT: My brother is considering increasing the budget a bit and getting a better graphics card like this one:
http://www.pccomponentes.com/gigabyte_geforce_gtx_760_oc_4gb_gddr5.html

[Obione]

Budget tailored to your needs. PcComponentes.com

G.Skill Ares DDR3 1600 PC3-12800 8GB 2x4GB CL9 F3-1600C9D-8GAO DDR3 Memory

I'll put low-profile memory aside, it didn't show up in the configurator.

For video editing, you could even work with an integrated one, but you should check the GPU acceleration because it depends on the software version and the graphics model that can accelerate or not, and in Premiere they don't certify anything current below a 770 in the CC (the latest Cloud version). Among the certified ones, the R7 appears, I suppose it will refer to the whole family that costs you less than half and you could accelerate through OpenCL. You have 2 versions of the 770 OC 2GB on promotion for 275€ but you may already have clear that you will get the most out of it because that is a lot of money and although certain processes can be accelerated a lot, what is always giving the most trouble is the CPU.

I would even consider working with the integrated one if it's only for video editing, that config is already 700€.

[vallekano]

@Obione:

Presupuesto a medida. PcComponentes.com

G.Skill Ares DDR3 1600 PC3-12800 8GB 2x4GB CL9 F3-1600C9D-8GAO Memoria DDR3

Te pongo memorias de perfil bajo a parte, no salían en el configurador.

Para montar video podrías funcionar incluso con una integrada, que se mire bien la aceleración por GPU porque depende de la versión de soft y el modelo de gráfica que pueda acelerar o no y en Premiere no certifican nada actual por debajo de una 770 en el CC (la última versión Cloud esa). Entre las certificadas aparece R7, supongo que se referirá a toda la familia que te cuestan menos de la mitad y podrías acelerar por OpenCL. Tienes 2 versiones de la 770 OC 2GB de promoción por 275€ pero ya puede tener claro que le va a sacar partido porque eso es un pastón y aunque se puedan acelerar mucho ciertos procesos, lo que siempre está dando el callo es CPU.

Yo me plantearía incluso ir tirarando con la integrada si sólo es para montar videos, que esa config ya son 700€.

Pues me acabas de dejar así <:( con lo de la integrada.

Según tengo entendido a día de hoy prácticamente todas las aplicaciones tipo premiere, after effects, etc… soportan CUDA, y en estos caso es más importante la GPU que la CPU...

Por ejemplo, premiere CS5 ya soporta CUDA aunque solo parcialmente.

Y aquí por ejemplo se ve la diferencia:
Premiere Pro CS5 (Render) - Adobe CS5: 64-bit, CUDA-Accelerated, And Threaded Performance

[Obione]

GPU is not more important than CPU, it speeds up some processes a lot but you are not always going to take advantage of it and I think it is important to go for an i7 that already eats up a good part of the budget. Ants I would go for a RAID 0 2x2TB, it will already get a 4TB of 5,900/5,400 RPM + USB 3 case when they go down a bit for backup (the important thing is that it backs it up with recycled disk for the moment). You synchronize it with software if that makes it more comfortable and it will have a safe copy by disconnecting it from the electrical network. By the way, you should look at the compatibility and performance of different graphics cards, the 970 and 980 are coming out soon, there should be price movement.

[whoololon]

+1
As strange as it may seem, you're going to use a lot of micro, not graphics. If you still insist, get a Gigabyte GeForce GTX 730 2GB GDDR5 (it gives a very acceptable resolution via HDMI), just to be on the safe side, and the rest of the budget on a good monitor, which is a must in this case.
As for storage, that's up to you. I prefer a raid 1 to protect against disk failures and an external one for backups and daily handling, the OS and the swap file, that is, on an SSD.
The power supply is a bit long, you're not going to light up a fair. :ugly: A 700W brand name one is already good.
Cases with fans on the side can cause problems with high heatsinks, check the dimensions carefully.

Edit: Yes, that graphics card is very good, I can vouch for it; but for what you're doing, it's throwing money away... if you're only going to use it for photo and/or video editing. ;D