Advice for my work rig (Video/Graphics/Web)

[CastleintheMist]

Hey there,

I'm looking for some advice on the build I've created for video editing and rendering, graphic design work, and web design/managment. I didn't bother to include a graphics card as the Adobe Suite doesn't benefit from one greatly, and the CPU/Motherboard should supply integrated graphics. I believe everything's compatible but I'd just like to see if anyone has any tips for me.

Budget: $1500
Resolution: At least 1920x1080
Games / Settings Desired: No games, but still high performance
Any other intensive software or special things you do (Frequent video encoding, 3D modeling, etc): It'll be running a variety of products from the Adobe Suite for video, graphics, and web work.
Country: US
Parts that can be reused: (Not exactly sure what is meant by this)
Do you need an OS?: Yes, Windows 7, 8, or 8.1
Do you need peripherals (e.g. monitor, mouse, keyboard, speakers, etc)?: Recommended Monitor would be nice but not necessary.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/JKPLpg

[Asera]

A lot of high end production software would see benefit from a discreet GPU, actually.

Is your budget for the software as well?

[Arbiter]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($338.98 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($34.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: MSI Z97-G55 SLI ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($108.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($169.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($129.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($101.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB Superclocked Video Card ($129.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Rosewill CHALLENGER ATX Mid Tower Case ($39.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($54.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($16.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 Pro (OEM) (64-bit) ($130.73 @ OutletPC)
Monitor: Dell U2412M 60Hz 24.0" Monitor ($251.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $1494.61
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-09-19 14:37 EDT-0400


As the above poster said, you will benefit from decent GPU. Any GPU load on the CPU will only hurt your CPU performance anyways. You're welcome to remove it if you really feel the need to.

I tried to match what specs you were looking for except for the HDD. I went down to 3GB and honestly would recommend just dropping it even lower and grabbing a WD Blue or something unless you really need that space. Feel free to change that HDD according. Went with a different SSD to give you higher capacity on that.

The mobo you showed was just way too expensive. Only different is the one I have doesn't have WiFi built in so if that's an issue just mention it and that can be changed. Also, I don't honestly believe you need 16GB and you could save some money by going for 8GB but it's your choice. I went with 16GB only because you seemed to feel the need for it on your proposed build.

Since you mentioned doing a lot of video and graphic editing I went with a higher end 1080P monitor assuming your budget was to have the monitor included. Can be changed as well for something larger or just cheaper if you want. I didn't add peripherals because you didn't mention it.

[Asera]

This is what I would do, assuming you aren't overclocking anything.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790 3.6GHz Quad-Core Processor ($299.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H97N-WIFI Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard ($95.99 @ NCIX US)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($149.99 @ Micro Center)
Storage: Crucial MX100 512GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($209.99 @ Adorama)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 760 2GB TWIN FROZR Video Card ($206.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Fractal Design Node 304 Mini ITX Tower Case ($89.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: SeaSonic S12G 550W 80+ Gold Certified ATX Power Supply ($81.30 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 Pro - 64-bit (OEM) (64-bit) ($129.94 @ OutletPC)
Monitor: Dell U2412M 60Hz 24.0" Monitor ($251.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $1516.17
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-09-19 14:37 EDT-0400

[Deleted]

Another option for you:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($338.98 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($28.65 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: MSI Z97-Gaming 3 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($137.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: A-Data XPG V1.0 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($154.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial MX100 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($109.99 @ Micro Center)
Storage: Western Digital RE4-GP 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($79.00 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon R9 285 2GB WINDFORCE 2X Video Card ($249.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($48.98 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($54.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($16.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 - 64-bit (OEM) (64-bit) ($90.26 @ OutletPC)
Monitor: Dell P2414H 60Hz 23.8" Monitor ($189.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $1500.80
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-09-19 14:59 EDT-0400

[CastleintheMist]

A lot of high end production software would see benefit from a discreet GPU, actually.

Is your budget for the software as well?

The software is paid for.

As for adding in a GPU (asking this as if I were a student and you were the teacher) how would it help? From what I've read I understand that programs like Maya only benefit from a dedicated graphics card when rendering in realtime in certain viewer windows, it's really the CPU that's doing any work when it comes to plain-jane rendering. Does Adobe just work differently? I'll admit, I've never looked into it, I just assumed that they would work in similar ways (probably a little ignorant come to think of it).

- - - Updated - - -

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($338.98 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($34.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: MSI Z97-G55 SLI ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($108.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($169.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($129.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($101.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB Superclocked Video Card ($129.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Rosewill CHALLENGER ATX Mid Tower Case ($39.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($54.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($16.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 Pro (OEM) (64-bit) ($130.73 @ OutletPC)
Monitor: Dell U2412M 60Hz 24.0" Monitor ($251.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $1494.61
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-09-19 14:37 EDT-0400


As the above poster said, you will benefit from decent GPU. Any GPU load on the CPU will only hurt your CPU performance anyways. You're welcome to remove it if you really feel the need to.

I tried to match what specs you were looking for except for the HDD. I went down to 3GB and honestly would recommend just dropping it even lower and grabbing a WD Blue or something unless you really need that space. Feel free to change that HDD according. Went with a different SSD to give you higher capacity on that.

The mobo you showed was just way too expensive. Only different is the one I have doesn't have WiFi built in so if that's an issue just mention it and that can be changed. Also, I don't honestly believe you need 16GB and you could save some money by going for 8GB but it's your choice. I went with 16GB only because you seemed to feel the need for it on your proposed build.

Since you mentioned doing a lot of video and graphic editing I went with a higher end 1080P monitor assuming your budget was to have the monitor included. Can be changed as well for something larger or just cheaper if you want. I didn't add peripherals because you didn't mention it.

Duly noted on the GPU.

As for the HDD I wish I didn't need that much space. The thing is I'm basically replacing some old WD external HDD's (a 4TB and a 2TB) that I have reason to believe are going to die at any moment. I need a sufficient amount of space to store my employers current content, in addition to backing those babies up. I agree though, 4's probably overkill.

The only thing about the monitor is that I currently have two older Dell monitors hooked up to my laptop, though neither is 1080p. I could always use those and up the value on other parts of the PC. That's a decision I haven't been able to make just yet.

Thanks again for all the advice. This is a lot more in depth than I anticipated!

[Deleted]

When you mention adobe, you mean premiere, after effects, photoshop, everything? Cause ppl buy proffessional gpu's for that, like quadros. We are talking expensive gpu's here, a quadro k4000 costs like 800-1000 bucks/euros. So how intensive is your work?

[Arbiter]

I work in AutoCAD and I see a big difference between integrated on my work PC and dedicated on my home PC as for as GPUs go. It's also the difference between an i3 and an i5 though. Not 100% sure about the programs you're using. But a quick google search showing benchmarks of the programs may help you make a decision.

I honestly don't think you're going to find better performance for your uses when it comes to hardware without going for something like a 6 core CPU with a 2011 socket board, but the price increase is substantial and I'm not confident the price will be worth the smaller difference.

CPU is pretty much your best option. Mobo is solid unless you need Wifi and you could always just grab a wireless PCI card if you needed it. RAM is probably overkill already. Video card will likely be more than enough for your uses. PSU will handle the hardware. Case works just fine but aesthetics is always an opinion. So other than that and the hard drives you don't have much room for improvement.

Monitor has great reviews and IPS is always a good option for monitors when considering your field of work. Plus when you're staring at a screen all day working you kind of want something pleasing and easy to look at. Much better on your eyes.

[Deleted]

Yeah well it depends really as i said. There is like 100 different uses for CaD. Your work may include simple non intensive stuff. But when i render an architectural design of a multistorey building, shit can hit the fan if the file is loaded. Sometimes have to break into different files to make it easier to work with. And the funny thing is it doesn't use alot of ram. never broke 5-6gb.

[Asera]

The software is paid for.

As for adding in a GPU (asking this as if I were a student and you were the teacher) how would it help? From what I've read I understand that programs like Maya only benefit from a dedicated graphics card when rendering in realtime in certain viewer windows, it's really the CPU that's doing any work when it comes to plain-jane rendering. Does Adobe just work differently? I'll admit, I've never looked into it, I just assumed that they would work in similar ways (probably a little ignorant come to think of it).

- - - Updated - - -



Duly noted on the GPU.

As for the HDD I wish I didn't need that much space. The thing is I'm basically replacing some old WD external HDD's (a 4TB and a 2TB) that I have reason to believe are going to die at any moment. I need a sufficient amount of space to store my employers current content, in addition to backing those babies up. I agree though, 4's probably overkill.

The only thing about the monitor is that I currently have two older Dell monitors hooked up to my laptop, though neither is 1080p. I could always use those and up the value on other parts of the PC. That's a decision I haven't been able to make just yet.

Thanks again for all the advice. This is a lot more in depth than I anticipated!

If the data is sensitive, I wouldn't get a drive for the computer itself.

I run a Synology DS212j NAS with dual 2TB mirrored drives, and I have it back up to an external 2TB drive I take with me out of the house so I have a copy if there is a fire.