(Build Advice) Hack Pro for Video Editing (2.5K raw, DaVinci, Premiere, FCPX.)

[bhlebeau]

Hey all.

First I'd like to say thanks in advance for all the help you guys offer. This forum has already taught me more than I ever thought I'd know about computer hardware.

Like plenty of other people, I'm working on building a system used mainly for video editing of 2.5K raw footage from the Blackmagic Cinema Camera. I'll be primarily using DaVinci Resolve 9 (soon 10), and I do a lot of work in FCPX, Premiere, and After Effects. I wanted to copy someone else's build, but I haven't found something that perfectly fits everything I want.


From what I've seen from other Resolve builds, most people get some variation on the CustoMac Pro. I don't really want Thunderbolt, as I don't have the money to spend on all that extra hardware. My clients have relatively small projects, usually not more than 5-6 minutes apiece, so I'm fine with storing most of my footage externally on USB 3.0 drives and copying it over to my main internal HDD when I need it.

I have a handful of questions, but I'll get to those after I show my tentative specs.


My build is mostly lifted from the September 2013 Buyer's Guide CustoMac Pro and is a semi-update on Adam Roberts' 2012 DaVinci Resolve build.


CPU: Intel Core i7-4770K ($340)
Mobo: Gigabyte Z87 LGA 1150 2 Way SLI Overclock ATX Motherboard GA-Z87X-OC ($186)
Graphics: EVGA GeForce GTX 760 2GB ($260)
RAM: Corsair Vengeance 16GB 1600 MHz ($155) (I will upgrade this to 32GB later)
PSU: Corsair 650 Watt Modular ($94)
Storage: 1x SanDisk Extreme 120GB ($90)
Storage: 1x Seagate Barracuda 3TB 6Gb/s HDD ($120)
Wifi: TP-Link PCI Express Adapter ($43)
Tower: Corsair Carbide Series Black 300R Mid-Tower ($74) (If there exists a cheaper tower, I will gladly take it.)


QUESTIONS:


For the CPU, would I be able to save 40 bucks and just get the i7-3770K? Is there really much of any difference between the i7-4770K and the 3770K?

This is the most noob question I have: I don't understand what Haswell is, or if it has anything to do with my build. That is, if I buy the i7 4770K, do I have to have some special knowledge? Should I go with non-Haswell hardware? Am I forced to deal with Haswell if I get the 4770K?


I'm fine with spending money on a 120GB SSD as my camera uses these anyway, but I'm wondering how noticeable the difference in speed is if I have two drives? Would I be fine with only getting the Seagate Barracuda? Would I be able to add the 120GB SSD later?


Graphics card has definitely been the hardest choice, especially since DaVinci Resolve is very GPU heavy. A lot of people on these forums have different arguments for what's the best choice. I heard on a lot of forums that 256bit w/ 4GB is kind of a joke because of the physical limitations, the drive wouldn't be able to use all 4GB. Some people denied this, while others said go with 2x 2GB graphics cards. Blah. Not to mention other people recommend different graphics cards entirely...


Let's say I went with the 2GB. Are there any conflicts if I want to add a second GPU later?


If I get a dual monitor set-up, would I definitely need a second graphics card and/or more vram?


Thanks again, everyone.

 

[Erick89]

I recently just posted about z87 as well, now I guess how much does thunderbolt mean to you? It offers a great array of expansion externally and is so far the best method for external storage. If thunderbolt isn't needed than I think you're okay but what motherboard did you choose? I don't see a model number.

I would go with the GTX 680, if your editing video than this should be your most expensive part and maybe wait a bit to see if the new firepro cards are working I think they are in mavericks just not mountain lion but I have no way of testing this well unless I buy a thunderbolt pci-e chassis as I do have a w7000 unopened.

You may want to bump up to 24GB to 32GB of memory if you're editing high resolution video, but see if 16GB is working quick enough for you and most of that speed will be based on your CPU so I would overclock the 4770k, 4.5GHZ is a safe number to clock it to.

I'm doing my build whenever the z87-deluxe/quad is released and so far no release date can be found but it was announced 1 month ago.

Do you need Wifi? Will this not be near your router? If you do, does anyone know of any 802.11AC cards that work? Or if the built in wifi works on the z87 boards?

I'd also bump up the PSU to 850Watts, it's better to have more than less.

Personally if you're staying with the mainstream processors and not going with the extreme (more refined + more ram) than I'd go with the 4770k, as haswell now has native support in OSX it's on the front page.

Because you are going to be running GPU intensive applications I would recommend waiting to see if the new amd firepros will work in a hackintosh setup as I can not find anything on this. But if you're doing this now I would just get a 780 with 4GB of GDDR5, this is what I chose, ASUS GTX780-DC2OC-3GD.

How many monitors do you want to run? If it's 2 or 3 you're fine with Nvidia but any more amd really has the upper hand in multi-monitor display.

 

[tommyhollander]

I'm working on building a system used mainly for video editing of 2.5K raw footage from the Blackmagic Cinema Camera. I'll be primarily using DaVinci Resolve 9 (soon 10), and I do a lot of work in FCPX, Premiere, and After Effects. I wanted to copy someone else's build, but I haven't found something that perfectly fits everything I want.

I'm doing my build whenever the z87-deluxe/quad is released and so far no release date can be found but it was announced 1 month ago.

@bhlebeau @Erick89
Did you guys build it yet? Experiences, Tutorials, goldenbuilds ?
I'm looking something similar, but haven't found the golden build either.

I am really wondering if the 4-core will be strong enough...but as the 6-core still has quite some issues (and outdated mobo, etc) I am considering this:

i7 4770K
GA-Z87X-ud5-TH
GTX 770 (2 or 4GB)
Samsung EVO 250 GB OSX
LG Blu-ray Writer BH16NS40
Fractal Design R4
Seasonic X Platinum PSU 760W 760-XP
CPU Cooler Scythe SCMG-3PCGH Mugen 3 Rev.B PCGH

Already own:
2x 3 TB Seagate Barracuda (and some other disks)
Samsung Pro SSD 256 GB

Lacie eSATAII (3GBS) PCI-express card (2 ports)
Belkin Firewire 400, 3 port PCI Express Card
Many Esata, Firewire 800/ 400 , USB2 external drives

 

[bhlebeau]

I ended up going with a different build that works great for DaVinci Resolve (which was the main processing/video hurdle to get through).

For ease's sake, I built with an Ivy CPU, so that will already make this less relevant for you. Back when I was building my Hackintosh, Haswell was just released, so it seemed like a complication/expense not worth dealing with.

My specs:
i7-3770K CPU
Zotac GTX 670 4GB GPU
Asus P8Z77-V LE Plus Motherboard
16GB LP Corsair Vengeance RAM

Other specs don't really matter too much. Though I will say, as far as CPU coolers go, there's nothing better than the Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo (so cheap, so effective).

I'm in the process of changing my motherboard to the Ivy bridge equivalent of yours (the Z77X-UP4-TH), so I'll definitely recommend you get that one. I accidentally screwed my boot drive a week ago, so I figured I'd upgrade my mobo in the process, as that was the one mistake I made. I never got power management working (sleep, etc.) and I never got USB 3.0 working.

Aside from that, though, the build was fine. And it ran BMCC 2.5K raw editing in DaVinci Resolve fine.

 

[Goon07]

Hello,

Ive been looking for a build like this but one question. I edit 6k and color in davinci aswell... Are the 6 core working well? Also is usb 3 and thunderbolt working? thanks.

 

[graphicshut]

hi friends...

Sorry for the bad english...

I build my hack and it is half of the way.... I have yet to buy graphics card....

I can install Yosemite fine with out GPU.

could you suggest which graphics card is going fine with fcp and resolve. can we install autodesk smoke on hack?????

I plan to purchase GTX 770 4gb GPU. Kindly could you guide is this right GPU for editing..... I'm also working on After effects and 3d animation.

advance thanks and kindly help the people who are in the same boat...