Computer - $1000 Budget

I

IndianaPete

New member
Can I get a computer with as much RAM as possible that will run CS6 Premiere Pro / After Effects for a grand?

If so, can you recommend the hardware and/or the merchant where I can get it?

I'm just getting started in this, so any help will be appreciated.

Thanks, Pete
 
Well...you can build a decent PC for $1000. I suggest a custom build with a good Intel chip. Here's a quick setup thrown together. It's missing the HD choice, optical drive, and heatsink (don't think the cpu comes with one). Comes in around at $1100. You could probably get a cheaper GPU to save money but make sure it's on the approved CUDA mercury playback engine list at Adobe's site. I'll let you dial it in from there, but that setup should do decent. The 2600K is well known online for being an ideal overclocking CPU.

i7-2600K $325
Gigabyte GA-Z68XP-UD3 $155
EVGA GTX 480 1.5GB $250
Corsair TX750V2 $130
Corsair 650D $155
Corsair Vengeance 16GB $110
 
As Kyle points out, it would be about impossible for you to even be able to build an adequate computer yourself for $1,000 in parts.

Here is a link to a very decent computer from IBUYPOWER.COM, already built for you, for only $1,079:

http://www.ibuypower.com/Store/Special-A

That configuration would be the bare minimum that I would recommend.

You can also custom fine tune the PC when you order it from IBUYPOWER.COM. So if there is any special feature or upgrade you want, you can easily add it.

For example, by adding options to this PC, you could turn it into a really nice one for less than $300 more.

For example, if you doubled the RAM from 8 Gig to 16 Gig, upgraded the hard drive from 1 TB to 2 TB, upgraded the power supply to 800 w, and upgraded the video card to the super fast NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 - 1.5GB, you would then be looking at a total cost of $1,354 That would be a configuration that I would be more comfortable in recommending to you, if you want some decent performance.

COSTCO sells IBUYPOWER systems from time to time, and occasionally has some good deals from them. Although, I just checked their website, and they only have one really inexpensive system available currently. The IBUYPOWER website is very easy to use. The advantage is that you can get a system totally customized to your needs. And they are quality well-built computers with good components. The only drawback is that ordering a system from them does take time. So if you need something really soon in the next couple of weeks, they may not be the best vendor to go with.
 
Shooter said:
What about the HDs,monitors....?
Click to expand...


Both the motherboard and the hard drives should have the new, faster 6 Gb/s SATA III interface.

A monitor from any name brand should be fine. It is the graphics card that you choose that will have the influence on performance.
 
Kyle and Lance, thanks so much for this info and links. This helps tremendously!:D

Shooter - I've got a couple monitors, they are not great but will do for now. Thanks.:smile:
 
if say true my self i hate changing things every other month when something become cheaper or else.......... so with pc i always take best i can afford so that it could do the job for the next few years, as there is a rule about how often new CPU are out, buying what is new now will keep your system top for the next 2-3 years.

Of course INTEL only, i would`t buy Xtreme version, as if say true i just dont see the needs for it, i never saw the significant improvement that would be equal to the price, plus i never over lock.... from other hand i would not buy 4 core , if there is already 6 core . i remember the speed improvement from 2 core to 4 core, if was like day and night! so i would highly recommend 6 core - Core i7-3930k 3.20Ghz , for me its an easy chose - and its what i am getting.

based on my experience i recommend to buy intel mother board only, for better compatibility! my last purchase of I7 950 with msi mother board and Ram - brought to many problems, pc was just restarting from time to time, i went to exchange road and changed Processor twice, mother board 2 times, and 2 times changed my ram.......... but nothing helped i only lost 1 month of work...., so i just lowered the RAM from 1333 to 800, and its start working ok. btw i also changed my GPU 1 time.... and updated bios and so on and so on..... nothing helped me ..... each part of my pc separately worked fine on other systems believe me i checked, but as soon i put them all together - restart! so i came to the conclusion its just a compatibility!

also dont save on ram, 1st of all the minimum u should have is 2GB per core, but its a very minimum, but also dont save on brand..... plus ram its self is kind of cheap ...

Hard drives well i would choose SSD for the system, just make sure to TURN OFF all of the defragmentations or disk optimizations processes - as it will make your SSD die faster! for sure dont bother with raptors, was there already ...... sata 3 looks promising - thats what should be used for the rest of work or more ssd if your budget will allow. dont bother with Raid unless u have an extra 500-1000 usd for the good controller. SSD HDD - if u choose to use it - INTEL only

GPU - is important but i would buy it last, of course Nvideo, but what model to choose from - i would say based on money you have left. my self i love new toys and never buy old stuff, so i would buy GtX 580 or Quadro 4000, still did not receive the direct answer to what is better for Premier....., also its possible that newer versions 590 and 680 are not supported as they are not in supported list!.... so 580 or lower. Just when u ll choose one keep in mind that for example GTX 580 standard is like 1500mb , but there are better versions with 3000mb, probably same will apply to order / cheaper GPUs.... as i understood the amount of mb is not very important for Premier , but it important for other CS applications

monitors are so cheap now, that i dont even know if i should include it in the list...... if u have no money left use your old one, or buy a used one for extremely cheap, do some savings for the next few months and buy something decent. the monitor i have now i payed for it 2.5y ago 400usd, now the price for new is 160usd, so used one will be like 80usd.... and its still working ok, i dont think i ll change it for now. so i dont think its something u should think about at all when buying NEW System, good monitor for sure can be added later... there are better and more expansive monitors with more accurate colors.....but its easy to change!

Probably my ideas broke your budget , but that system will last for long. And my self i just don't like changing it often , as i have to go online and start reading everything about all the new Toys are out and so on, again braking my head with questions what is better for the money i have.... its just takes too much time, also selling what u have now.....its really terrible for me, i am not even talking about the needs of installing all soft again.
 
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Take a look over at avadirect.com. They have built two computers for me. This is what I came up with which is pretty close to your budget ($1,149.80). This is a "bare-bones" editing system with really good components although not the latest and greatest. If you add more componets or go up to a 130 watt i7 processer then I would recommend upping your power supply to 650 watts.

  • ANTEC Nine Hundred Black Mid-Tower Case, ATX, No PSU
  • HEC X-Power 585 Power Supply, 585W, 24-pin ATX12V, Dual 80mm Fans, OEM
  • ASUS P8Z68-V LX, LGA1155, Intel® Z68, DDR3-2200 (O.C.) 32GB /4, PCIe x16, SATA 3Gb/s RAID 5 /4, 6Gb/s /2, VGA+DVI+HDMI, USB 3.0 /2, HDA, GbLAN, ATX, Retail
  • INTEL Core™ i5-2550K Quad-Core 3.4 - 3.8GHz TB, LGA1155, 6MB L3 Cache, 32nm, 95W, EM64T EIST VT-x XD, Retail
  • G SKILL 8GB (2 x 4GB) Ripjaws PC3-10600 DDR3 1333MHz CL7 (7-7-7-21) 1.5V SDRAM DIMM, Non-ECC
  • EVGA GeForce® GTX 550 Ti FPB 951MHz, 1GB GDDR5 4356MHz, PCIe x16 SLI, 2xDVI+mini-HDMI, Retail
  • WESTERN DIGITAL (system drive)500GB WD Caviar® Black™ (WD5002AALX), SATA 6 Gb/s, 7200 RPM, 32MB Cache
  • WESTERN DIGITAL (video storage) 1TB WD Caviar® Black™ (WD20EARS), SATA 3 Gb/s, IntelliPower™, 64MB Cache
  • RAID No RAID, Independent HDD Drives
  • SONY AD-7280S Black 24x DVD±R/RW Dual-Layer Burner, SATA, OEM
  • MICROSOFT Wired Keyboard 400, Black, USB, OEM
  • MICROSOFT Wireless Optical Mouse 1000, Black, 3 Buttons, 2.4GHz RF Wireless, USB, Retail
  • MICROSOFT Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit Edition w/ SP1, OEM
  • WARRANTY Silver Warranty Package (3 Year Limited Parts, 3 Year Labor Warranty)
 
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The more cores, cache and the higher the clock speed, the better. Intel processors are preferred over AMD, that lack SSE 4.1+ support, which is heavily used during CPU intensive (read AVCHD, MPEG taks). The basic entry point level for new systems appears to be the i7-930/950 for economical systems and the i7-970/980X for more high-end systems. i7 systems from any series below the 9xx series are not advised, let alone the i3 or i5 series. They suffer too much from the memory controller, the chipset on the motherboard or the lack of Hyper Threading.

Intel® Core™ i5-2550K
http://ark.intel.com/products/65647/Intel-Core-i5-2550K-Processor-(6M-Cache-up-to-3_80-GHz)
Intel® Hyper-Threading Technology - NO


[TABLE="class: specs infoTable"]
[TR="class: tech even odd"]
[TD]
[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]
 
just wonder what kind of help exactly are u looking for?

to choose a CPU , motherboard or SSD hard drive - there is nothing much to think about - INTEL only! go to intel.com and pic the processor u d like (should be 64bit) - most of them have a suggested price for resellers, so u ll know how much it is. as soon the processor is chosen u ll get a list of suggested motherboards.....and again u ll be able to compare and spec and price.

SSD HDD - if u choose to use it - INTEL only, there are no other options, most reliable, longest life - its the easiest chose really!
everything else u ll build around it!

Tower , power, other hdd accessories - i recommend http://www.chieftec.com/ - high quality that will last for yearsss! if u need a tower with many hdd space - its the answer for you!

Power i highly recommend 700w or more - GPU will eat a lot, and especially if u plan to use alot of hdds

ram u ll have to choose based on what processor and motherboard can support (ag 1066/1333/1600)- normally u want to buy the highest number supported by both processor and motherboard. the only thing is brand, but its kind of related to your budget. 1st u choose the amount of GB u need, and only then u can choose the brand based on how much u can spend on it. Unfortunately as far as i know intel does not make ram....

GPU - video card, - again based on your budget..... but should be Nvideo and minimum 1 GB vram. would not recommend Zotac - too many bad reviews...., but any popular brand should be fine

extra HDD - keep in mind that your mother board will support only certain amount of SATA3 the rest will be SATA2 , so if u plan to buy 10 SATA3 HDDs- dont do it, check your mother board spec to see how many sata 3 it supports, unless u are going to buy an extra SATA3 controller..... WD seems like a best chose now also good warranty. forget raptors. blacks for working, green or blue - depending on what is cheaper for storage only!

Win 7 64bit - it does make a difference!

mouse - my old usb mouse works great, so i would not spend a single $ extra on it in order to buy something fancy or wifi.

Monitors is the very last thing - just based on your budget left.
 
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If your just wanting to run those programs, you don't need $1000. My computer was $650 and runs them both fine.
 
Anatusa - thanks for taking the time and the input.

I had pretty much decided to go with a machine from iBUYPOWER with everything you and Lance recommended. With all the upgrades, I definitely broke my budget,.. closer to $1500. But, I'm sure that it would last me for at least 3-4 years. I haven't pulled the trigger yet...



Mark Williams - thanks for the link, I'll check it out.
 
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for CS6 Premiere Pro / After Effects have a fast GPU+SSD+16gb rqm for 1k$

for CS6 Premiere Pro / After Effects have a fast GPU+SSD+16gb rqm for 1k$

IndianaPete said:
Can I get a computer with as much RAM as possible that will run CS6 Premiere Pro / After Effects for a grand?

If so, can you recommend the hardware and/or the merchant where I can get it?

I'm just getting started in this, so any help will be appreciated.

Thanks, Pete
Click to expand...

to have the best bang for the buck i would recommend a big nvidia GPU/small CPU/fast ssd (the gpu acceleration list for CS6 can be tweaked to support cheaper non quadro nvidia card) for your need, cpu is far less important than the gpu. be prepared for a lot of noise because a gpu at full charge will be very hot.

the best pre-built configuration i could get for your needs is 975$ for gtx560ti(1.2 tflops)/16gb ram/120go ssd sataIII/amd 4cores@4.2ghz (http://www.cyberpowerpc.com/system/Gamer_Dragon/)

or better, you might get twice the speed for 932$ (same setup with a radeon hd6950 (2.2 tflops) instead of the nvidia card) but then you must check that the opencl performances is smilar to cuda, has someone done a benchmark yet ?
edit : no support for opencl on windows so you'll have stick with the slower nvidia card for now.​

 
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its just my opinion, but i would not go with amd over intel for video edit not in any case.....


System+requirements+CS5.png
 
Here's the latest update....


Everywhere I looked, to get what I wanted, it was coming up around $1500. Soooo, I ended up buying a very slightly used Dell i7-2600, 3.4 ghz quad core with hyper-threading, 16 gb and 3 tb hard drive for $800. The card that came with it is an AMD Radeon HD 6700. I'm happy with this rig although Premiere doesn't recognize the OpenGL in this card. It's definitive way better than my old machine.

"i would recommend a big nvidia GPU/small CPU/fast ssd"

From what I've read on Personal View, I went the other way. I bought a $50 GT-240 video card and I'm upgradig to CS6 to take advantage of the CUDA support and the Mercury engine. The card will be here in two days. I will report if this combo works.

Thanks again for all the input.
 
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Try this.

startingeditpc.png


It's a fairly budget-minded edit PC with CUDA capability. Note that peripherals and optical drives have not been included.

Some ideas:

- Have a copy of Windows already? Get rid of it from your current computer and use it on the new one. Saves you about $140.
- Have a case already? Clean it out and repurpose it. I've used the same case for nearly 10 years now.
- I used an i5 2500k which also has four cores as the baseline i7 2600k. You lose hyperthreading, but you still highly clocked quad core in there.
- Your GPU is fully CUDA compatible and an excellent nvidia mid-range card. Typically with nvidia, the 80 series are the flagship, expensive cards (480, 580, 680, etc), the 70s are a bit below that but still a lot of money, and the 60s are considered mid-range cards. In my opinion the mid-range cards are the best bang-for-your-buck. You can change this out.
- I've included a 120GB SSD for your OS and applications. With just Windows 7 and Adobe CS5.5, I can still manage on a 60GB SSD. The 1TB drive is included for general storage, and uses SATA3 instead of SATA6, because the throughput on a 7200RPM drive will never go over SATA3.
- You can save a few bucks by using the locked version of the 2500k, the 2500, which doesn't allow multiplier overclocking. It's not a big savings though.
- The motherboard has a number of nice little features on it such as USB3, SATA6, HDMI out, etc. You can sacrifice most of these for other boards if you wish, but the ASRock is, well, rock solid. I use it at work on a daily basis to edit without a problem.

- Seems in my haste, I forgot to add RAM, how stupid of me! For an extra $93, here you go with 16GB: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231315

Accessories:

Keyboard/Mouse - Buy them separately or use preexisting ones (I'm sure you have them). Together, you can spend anywhere from $60-$100, depending on your taste, but let's be real here, you don't need a crazy keyboard or mouse to edit.

Optical Drive - You'll need this to install Windows unless you have a copy on a flash drive (very easy to do from another computer), but you'll want it anyway as an editor. These are dirt cheap at $20-$30. You can find them for $18-$19 if you look hard enough, but $30 is much more common. Get a DVD burner of course. Blu-ray drives are still a bit pricey at roughly $65 for a reader, and around $100 for a burner last I checked.

Good luck.
 
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