Nagging questions about a 3930k build for high end video production

Questions about 3930k build

I've searched the forum for example builds using 3930k (and there are some good ones), but I still have some nagging questions to which I can't get a definitive answer (some of them because the example builds aren't with the newest 10.8.2). So, I'm throwing these semi-noob questions out to the community in the hopes that answering them might also help other people considering a 3930k build:

1. I know that there is no native power management features with 3930k. But what are the real-world practical consequences of no power management on 3930k build? Will my CPU's life be shortened relative to a 3770k because of this? Will it run louder or hotter because it's always at the max stock clock speed relative to a 3770k?


2. Is there anything different in terms of the install of the OS for a 3930k build in 10.8.2 than with a 3770k build? I would still use Unibeast, and then Multibeast yes? Would I need to mess around with DSDTs or kexts? I had a pretty smooth and easy ride installing the OS via slugnet's guide.


3. I know that 10.8.2 supports certain Nvidia GPUs out of the box--like the gtx 670? Would a GTX card like the 670 work OOB on a 3930k 10.8.2. build or do I need to mess around with stuff (kexts etc)?

4. Is it possible to get USB3 working as USB3 on a 3930k build? So far, I can't find an example of anyone that has!?

5. For all 3930k owners (especially those who've had a 3770k): what are the biggest advantages and disadvantages 3930k owners experience? What do you like and what don't you like? Will a 3930k build better handle decoding of things like 4K or 5K R3d files to playback smoothly at 1/4 (or 1/2?! ) resolution and render / transcoding in a program like Premiere?

Thanks for any responses! This community is great--my donation is coming soon!

Made the questions a little cleaner / clearer. Any one answering any of these questions is much appreciated!

I don't have any personal experience owning this type of equipment, but I have read up a ton as I would be upgrading if I had the money. I'm in the market for a 680 currrently, may wait for 7xx if it's better for video.

If you are working with RED footage, I'd recommend a RED rocket. Especially if deadlines are tight.

As far as I know Nvidia cards work great in 10.8+. Only thing you have to watch out for is making sure cuda/openCL/MEP is up and running, especially with premiere and things like after effects. Search around the forum for the small adjustments people have had to make, nothing to stress over though.

For the 3930k, as long as you have that sweet, sweet hyperthreading, that's the best you can do for CPU in terms of video production. Is there a reason you don't want to wait for Ivy Bridge 6 or 8 core?

A question for someone else more knowledgable...is he better off with a 4core and hyperthreading(theoretically 8), or a 6core without?

Thanks for getting the responses going! Red Rocket I can't afford as I'm currently just a film school student plus I won't be working with RED all the time.


When would an ivy bridge 6 or 8 core come out? I haven't heard of anything like that in the near future....

Ok for x79 its not an issue of no power management, its an issue of no chipset support. When using x79 in OSX u may have issues with Sleep/Speedstep/Turbo/AGPM/USB3/Audio and LAN. Having the CPU at max 100% of the time will definitely shorten the CPU's lifespan incredibly and will run a lot hotter, default cooler will not be enough.

As for the rendering and transcoding, this is done more by the GPU then the CPU so i see no advantage of using the x79 platform. If you want fast rendering speeds use a 680 or 690, better use of money then on the x79 with a 3970k.

to answer question one, the cpu will run at 2 speeds; highest and lowest.

eg. youll run at 1600mhz or 3400mhz.
nothing inbetween.
so when idling, you wont have higher temps or noise, but when your cpu has to do pretty much anything, youll hear it and the temps will rise.

for example, you are doing something which isnt that cpu intensive, the cpu will still clock up to the highest speed. if you use a rubbish or stock cooler, and your tower is close to you, itll be annoying as youll keep hearing the cpu fan ramp up and down so get a nice aftermarket cooler which is known to be quiet.

doubt itll hurt the life span of the cpu.


question 2.
installation is the same.
which options you select all depend on the board you go for. all boards use a dsdt, whether or not you have to edit the native dsdt depends on the board and what you want to do.
all x79 boards need to use nullcpu, and onboard audio has to use the older audio kexts (not the audio kexts in MB). search for toleda's interim solution for audio.

question 3.
itll be the same

Thanks for the feedback.... but now we have seemingly contradictory opinions: it will shorten CPU lifespan ("incredibly) vs it won't!!

Assuming I will use a nice after market cooler--which I plan on to help with noise and cooling--will it shorten the lifespan or won't it? And if so, by how much? How many years / hours of usage should I realistically expect?

Not too worried about audio as I have an mbox pro.

@PJALM: at least for playback of footage in Premiere, the GPU only affects this / helps with effects processing --> check out Adobe's own page for what CUDA, etc does. I'm unsure about rendering... I'll do a test with and without CUDA using my slugnet build... but I think the GPU won't have any effect in terms of render times or transcoding... I also see my processor cores maxed out when I'm doing things like rendering or playing back 4K footage

IMO a 680/690 is overkill for video editing. Those are 3D gaming cards. Here's a good read on GPU's for video: http://www.personal-view.com/talks/discussion/3823/graphics-card-for-video-editing/p1

dtrvndrn said:

IMO a 680/690 is overkill for video editing. Those are 3D gaming cards. Here's a good read on GPU's for video: http://www.personal-view.com/talks/discussion/3823/graphics-card-for-video-editing/p1

Click to expand...

Well for me a 690 really decreased render/trasncode times, for a 2 hour 4k RAW video i went form 8 hours to render to 28 minutes by adding the 690.

I also disagree that nVidia is for gaming as games don't take advantage of CUDA cores, I have been gaming for longer then I can remember and thats why I prefer ATI for gaming and nVidia for CUDA/OpenCL.

AS for the 2 speed states with x79, I cannot confirm, all I can note is what I have seen so far and I have not seen any states except the max work and being a electronics designer and IC developer, I can definitely say running at max all the time will definitely shorten the lifespan. The transistors were not designed to be used like that, thats why they have speedstep.

qwerty123 said:

@PJALM: at least for playback of footage in Premiere, the GPU only affects this / helps with effects processing --> check out Adobe's own page for what CUDA, etc does. I'm unsure about rendering... I'll do a test with and without CUDA using my slugnet build... but I think the GPU won't have any effect in terms of render times or transcoding... I also see my processor cores maxed out when I'm doing things like rendering or playing back 4K footage

Click to expand...

You keep mentioning 4K playback, but mention you won't be using RED. Are you shooting on an F65 or scanning film to 4K? Or are you just trying to attempt to future-proof yourself?

Honestly, you'll be fine with 1/4 to 1/2 playback on higher resolutions offline and with that build you will destroy any other consumer and prosumer type of footage, even at 2k and especially at Prores. Otherwise you'll have to step up in price to get multiple high end GPUs to work with 4k at full resolution at the desired frame rate.

It seems there are also some conflicting ideas on whether the 6xx is worth paying for in terms of video rendering. In my experience the hyperthreading on the CPU has had more impact on my rendering. That's something to research more on your own, especially as people have differing opinions on this thread. I've read that the 5xx were better for video rendering and that the 6xx dropped the ball(on this forum). Personally I do high end gaming and video rendering, so I'm looking for the best mix for the most reasonable price. A 690 is kind of ridiculous, but it's also thousands less than a red rocket. Then again, do you feel you will be in a situation where cutting your rendering time in half is worth the extra money? Does your film school have editing facilities? In that case if you get in trouble maybe you can use them if you get in a bind for time. I mean you can even get resolve and scratch, iridas and various other programs on your home PC(or hack) now for thousands less than it used to cost so...maybe it's worth thinking about your upgrade path in the future as resolutions get higher and cameras delivering those resolutions become more common.

Sorry for the rant, I'm probably adding more questions to your query, but it's all worth thinking about since I went through the same thing as you a year or so ago.