Editing Workstation - CPU's and Motherboards - question

T

TimAkers

Member
Hi there,

Before I state what I need. This is what I will be using it for: Audio Editing, and Video Editing (Primary).

(I have everything else I need, except CPU and Motherboard.)

I have been researching this for a while now. I've been to CreativeCows, Intel, Adobe, general google, and so on, I have enough to invest in a Xeon or i7 4770k processor motherboard. Adobe says to go with the Xeon, but doesn't state which processor. CreativeCows state Xeon, but do not state which one either. Everyone else, even Dave Dugdale, with his monster build, state to stick with the i7 series.

If I stick with the i7 "k" series, what motherboard should I stick to? I don't want a "gaming" motherboard. But, I do want a higher-end board that will give me better results. Is there a reason for the label "gaming?"

Is Xeon better, and why? If I stick with a Xeon processor, which one? What motherboard? If I have to use dual CPUs, I will.

If any of you have experience, I would like to know your direct opinion. If you have would have gone a different route, what would it have been?

Thanks,

Tim
 
What is your budget?

"Gaming" systems are also generally excellent for video editing as the requirements for each are similar.
 
I have $1,000.00. I have most everything that I actually need except a case, CPU, CPU-Cooling, and Motherboard. But, the case and the CPU-cooling are entirely dependent on the CPU and Motherboard.

At first, I considered this:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131989
zvwfop.jpg


And, paired with this processor.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116901
28kk9ww.jpg

This leaves me room for at least a 256Gb SSD.

But, as I started researching deeper into this, it looks like the industry standard is changing over to Xeon.
 
Going to Xeon will up the price pretty considerably. IMO sticking to a good i7 will get you along very well. Assuming you are gonna edit in PPro, what kinda of video card do you have? Or were you planning on using the onboard video from the motherboard. This will also have a drastic effect on your computer's performance. If you don't have a CPU and Motherboard picked out, you can't have you RAM picked out either. Probably gonna have to add that to your list as well.

I gotta ask, is this your first build? If so, great! We can help you along. If not, cool, that processor and board look fine.
 
For the most part, most of everything is already owned, including memory.
Here is the GPU that I recently picked up:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...abb3r-_-Video+Card+-+Nvidia-_-EVGA-_-14130841

I have 16Gb's of DDR3 waiting to be used. I know this sounds bad, but this is my first build. Though, I have a Bachelor's degree in Information Security and have been dealing with hardware for the past five years, after much research, building an editing workstation isn't like a typical build. The GPU doesn't matter until you get into serious color grading and rendering, and even then, it shares much of the processing power between the GPU and the CPU constantly, until that final render, which is where the GPU really make a difference.

As for editing software goes, I am currently using Vegas Pro. I have Adobe Premiere Pro and After Effects, but haven't been able to use them until the new workstation is built. Also, I have a new office specifically for editing. So everything is being built around the workstation, which is why I am just considering Xeon.
 
Tim it depends a lot on what you will be editing. Different formats cut differently. For some you need a stronger machine and for some a lighter.
A good GPU is a substantial bonus. Not just for rendering but for general timeline work (if talking about Ppro).

When considering a new build you should consider:
- how many disks you need and how fast do you need them to be:
You probably want an OS disk (240GB SSD), a disk for project files, a disk/s for render (ie. a scratch disk, maybe you need more than one if you'll want to keep multiple projects seperated or something...), and multiple disks for the material.
- how many GPUs you need and which ones
Ppro supports most GF cards, quadros are generally not needed although there maybe some stability isues.
- what motherboard, is 24GB enough or do you need more?
When considering a motherboard you should watch out for how many SATA3 connections does it have and what kind of disk controllers does it have...among other things...
- what memory, how fast, watch out that the memory won't become a bottleneck
To much memory actually can be a problem. Do you need ECC ram or normal ram?
- what processor, will the processor get along with the motherboard and your memory?
Xenons are generally used because of greater stability. This is then paired with ECC ram and if the system is going to be build carefully together with good software and correctly installed software you should get good results on long renders and general stability. But if you don't plan on having your PC on for multiple days at a time or even weeks I don't see a need for a xenon if we are talking stability. One other thing that comes to mind when talking xenon or i7 is how much processors do you need? You can put multiple xenons on some motherboards paired with lots and lots of RAM that can't be put on a normal motherboard...

As for the exact models and stuff...I'm to out of date to comment on that. Also you didn't mention what are you going to be cutting? This plays a big role in deciding on you hardware. Also check your software manuals on specific hardware needs regarding different workflows (what it needs for 4k uncompressed, raw, HD compressed h264, etc. etc.). And if we are talking after effects 16GB is really not enough ram. And I wouldn't limit myself to a motherboard that doesn't support more than 4 ram sticks.

I would buy:
- a reasonable priced i7
- lots of disks (some single platter, some multiple platter, some "green" disk for archive, some SSDs for OS and for big uncompressed workflows that require fast disks)
- two GF cards (does Ppro support 2 cards?) if not then only a single quadro card K4000 3GB
- minimum of 24GB of fast ram
- a big tower that has lots of room and good ventilation
- a solid, stable PSU

This is a generic build. Specifics depend on your workflow.
 
Last edited:
Kind on the track of what I asked on hte other thread below.

Interesting what you say about the Xeons vs the i7....thats one of the big choices for me also.
 
Server grade motherboards and Xeon processors have a couple of significant advantages: more memory bandwidth, more PCIE lanes, and error correction for better stability. Lots of room to grow.
But at $1k budget I would be (and am) sticking with a 4770K class machine. Just bought a new case, power supply, and blue ray writer for myself, but it is being used as a proof of concept demonstrator for a BYOD soft client web conferencing system for small corporate conference rooms. It is currently fitted with a micro ATX industrial motherboard ( lots of com ports) that eventually will get mounted in a micro case to go behind flat panel displays.
You want at least 16GB of ram, maxing out to 32GB is even better. The GPU makes a huge difference in real time NLE performance if you are editing multiple video tracks. One good midrange consumer GPU is enough unless you want to support 3G-SDI or do a lot of H.264 encoding. Quadro's have better drivers for that sort of thing, and the new Kepler series (K2000, K4000) just hit the streets with better performance and lower cost than the older generation.
The MOBO you picked looks like it would serve just fine. I like the WD Blacks for video editing drives.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=22-136-792

Or the WD RED series for small RAID arrays.
 
Thank you everyone for the advice. I have a total of 6 PC's here at my house:
1 - XP - Dell D410 (laptop)
1 - xp - HP Compaq 6510b (laptop)
1 - xp/linux - Dell gx280 (tower)
1 - XP/Server 2003 Asus Core Duo (Older Gaming Tower)
1- Win 7 64-bit Pro - HP Pavillion ay747aa-aba p6310y (Out-of-Date) (Tower)(Using currently with Sony Vegas Pro)
1 - Win 7 64-bit Pro - Lenovo G570 (SandyBridge i5) (Laptop)

What I will be using for the Editing Workstation is almost identical what Luke Neumann at NeumannFilms has accomplished. However, he has no clue as to hardware, so it's hard to ask him what he uses.

I will be editing all of the standard formats, eventually leading into ProRes, 4k+, and HDR. As for space, I have that covered with 4-5 Terrabytes, though I just cancelled a Samsung 840 pro 256Gb SSD so I could support a persons KickStarter project. I will be using Raid once I am set up. Ram is covered, as I have 16Gb's waiting here to be used.

I also write and arrange my own music, so, the other side of this Workstation must accomplish that. That though, is the easy part, and is covered. The drive that would be more ideal, if I was to invest in one, are a few 10,000RPM drives, eventually.

I made a post when I first joined this place about getting the "film look" that everyone seems to be getting. Well, I have achieved that. I figured out how to get that "look." However, the PC I am currently editing really sucks, even with a decent GPU-Card, and I can really only use Sony Vegas Pro with it, as the Adobe products are constantly yelling at me, forcing me to wait forever to load anything into it. I have only used Adobe a few times, which is what I am centering my new Editing Workstation around.

The primary software consists of Windows 7 or 8, haven't decided, as 8 uses less resources, Microsoft Office 7, Screen Drafting Software, Adobe Ppro and After Effects, Davinci Resolve Light. Other software may consist of Add-Ons like Twixtor, Magic Bullet Mojo, and other things I can just use in Ppro and AE later.

Since I am under the guidance of filmmakers that I am molding the blockbuster look from, it's easy to say that my projects are going to be at the level of entering Film Festivals in one more year from now, starting with the Ann Arobor Film Festival in March 2015.

My budget can stretch, and I can use parts from other machines. For the most part though, this post is also to determine why Xeon is better, which model is the best for what it is, and same for i7. That way, others like myself can get your viewpoints as to why. For instance, Intel sells an i7 for 1k alone; that doesn't mean it's worth it for my current needs. And, the same with Xeon. I have done my research, but with all of the research I have performed, one thing remains, the "why." Why not AMD? Why not Intel over Xeon? What exact model and why?

I think everyone here is pretty much on my page, and I am leaning into the 4770k. I have a list at NewEgg and Amazon of the different things I need. The 4770k has been on my list since it came out. But, I heard the Xeon e5 and e3 series processors also rock. So, it's a tough choice.
 
RAM isn't plug and play. DDR3 is a type of memory, not a specification. I have like 4-6 sticks of RAM laying around at work that have no use anymore because they aren't compatible with the motherboards around. Your 16GB of DDR3, if you want to use them, you HAVE to get a motherboard that is compatible with them. Memory for a Xeon system HAS to be ECC, so if your RAM isn't ECC, there is no way for you to use that memory if you buy a Xeon. Can you post the model number and/or MHz timing?
 
TimAkers said:
What exact model and why?

I think everyone here is pretty much on my page, and I am leaning into the 4770k. I have a list at NewEgg and Amazon of the different things I need. The 4770k has been on my list since it came out. But, I heard the Xeon e5 and e3 series processors also rock. So, it's a tough choice.
Click to expand...

This isn't a very technical forum,, regarding computer hardware, so I doubt that you'll get such specific answers.

I can contribute another thought about multiple CPUs. If going the multiple CPUs route make sure that the software and the codecs that you will be using support multiple CPUs, if not, it's just a waste of money. I remember 3 years ago when I worked as an editor at a TV station...there we had 2 CPU xenon Avid certified workstations, together with logic cores that meant 16 cores! At the time, this was really a lot:) But when testing it, let's say for exporting to some compressed codec, usually only half the cores were utilised and even those weren't at 100%.
 
When I was building my system for Premiere Pro, I found helpful information on the Adobe website. Some of the information is geared to software settings but there is good information on hardware, too. In addition, there is a PP benchmark test at ppbm5.com that users can run and then post results for their builds. These test results are included in a spreadsheet that anyone can review and determine what hardware features help with performance. Good luck with your build!
 
Thanks again, everyone.

@Metalvapor:
Wow. Thank you so much for this information. I am transferring money right now, and will order all of my necessary parts this week. I will try to keep this thread updated, and maybe even start a new thread with the ppbm5.com results.

Thanks

Tim
 
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