First Build help - buying advice for a Video Editing machine

[jinjamal]

First Build help - Advice for an FCPX/AFTER EFFECTS/C4D machine

Hi,
I'm ready to upgrade my PC to a stable, reasonably powerful video editing mac. The goal is to run Yosemite and most importantly FCPX. I often shoot and edit in 4k so it needs to be powerful enough for that, I also need it to dual boot with windows 8. I won't be gaming on this system at all. I also use After Effects quite a lot along with Photoshop and some Cinema 4D.
I would happily spend up to $500, I really want to focus on stability with all features functioning properly.

Current parts owned:
128GB SSD
1TBGB HDD
TX650 Corsair PSU
Large Case (Coolermaster)
16GB RAM (will upgrade to 32 later on)


Needed:

GPU (I heard the AMD 280x is a favourite among FCPX users, but worried about performance compared with an nVidia card when using After Effects, C4D, Photoshop)

CPU (i5-4690k or i7-4790K?)

MOBO (Gigabyte UD3H, UD5H or UD7?)

Cooling (I have absolutely no idea when it comes to this, I've always relied only on the stock fans installed in my case)

I appreciate any advice you can give,
Thanks

 

[Going Bald]

Hi,
I'm ready to upgrade my PC to a stable, powerful video editing mac.

Have you looked at what others are using as video editing machines?

http://www.tonymacx86.com/video/

 

[jinjamal]

First Build help - buying advice for video/animation

Thanks for the response GoingBald! I have followed your advice and read many newer posts, rest assured I have read a fair ampunt of information on this site over the past couple of years, I just tend to get lost in a lot of the technical side of things :s
So I understand that the 280x apparently works perfectly out of the box which is great. Now the only problem, seeing as I use a lot of after effects & photoshop as well as fcpx, is that an nvidia card would suit those apps better. It seems there's a downside either way I go. Would really love some opinions on this. Am I being too critical? Would ae and ps still run great on a 280x? Or would an nvidia card be the better overall card? And what would be a good nvidia option for my needs?

I think after deciding on the gpu I will be able to choose the correct mobo and cpu, is this the best way to go about my build?

Thanks again!

 

[Going Bald]

Thanks for the response GoingBald! I have followed your advice and read many newer posts, rest assured I have read a fair ampunt of information on this site over the past couple of years, I just tend to get lost in a lot of the technical side of things :s
So I understand that the 280x apparently works perfectly out of the box which is great. Now the only problem, seeing as I use a lot of after effects & photoshop as well as fcpx, is that an nvidia card would suit those apps better. It seems there's a downside either way I go. Would really love some opinions on this. Am I being too critical? Would ae and ps still run great on a 280x? Or would an nvidia card be the better overall card? And what would be a good nvidia option for my needs?

I think after deciding on the gpu I will be able to choose the correct mobo and cpu, is this the best way to go about my build?

Thanks again!

ae and ps will work well on amd, just needs to use more RAM since it can't use the GPU for processing like it can with the nVidia card

 

[jinjamal]

That's good to know. So this might be a stupid question, but does the same apply when running windows? Or is it only OSX that takes advantage of gpu processing? I'm gonna go with the 280x. Which cpu & mobo would you recommend to run alongside the 280x (of the few I've listed) in terms of a balanced and decently powerful machine?Ill start looking at cooling options now, anyone recommend a good place I start?Thanks again!

 

[Going Bald]

That's good to know. So this might be a stupid question, but does the same apply when running windows? Or is it only OSX that takes advantage of gpu processing? I'm gonna go with the 280x. Which cpu & mobo would you recommend to run alongside the 280x (of the few I've listed) in terms of a balanced and decently powerful machine?Ill start looking at cooling options now, anyone recommend a good place I start?Thanks again!

For most powerful system and ease of install go with the X79 socket 2011 build in the Buyer's guide, especially if this is your $$$ making build.
If you want the challenge and are ready for the occasional of a system that is not fully supported, go with the X99 paltform.

 

[jinjamal]

I see, so to clarify, what is x99 and x79, is it just the type of motherboard? Are you recommending I scratch the 280x and just go with a standard build using parts listed in the socket 2011 section of buyers guide?From what I have read: "Ivy Bridge E/EP based systems are working with the native kernel, however workarounds are necessary for full support. Socket 2011 CPUs do not come with a CPU cooler- they require a separately purchased CPU cooler" this sounds like a more complex mission than a regular build, what makes these builds easier or more stable?Sorry for more questions, I hadn't even bothered trying to understand these socket 2011 builds as I thought they were a very particular and unusual kind of hackintosh.

 

[Going Bald]

I see, so to clarify, what is x99 and x79, is it just the type of motherboard? Are you recommending I scratch the 280x and just go with a standard build using parts listed in the socket 2011 section of buyers guide?From what I have read: "Ivy Bridge E/EP based systems are working with the native kernel, however workarounds are necessary for full support. Socket 2011 CPUs do not come with a CPU cooler- they require a separately purchased CPU cooler" this sounds like a more complex mission than a regular build, what makes these builds easier or more stable?Sorry for more questions, I hadn't even bothered trying to understand these socket 2011 builds as I thought they were a very particular and unusual kind of hackintosh.

X79 is the PCH on an Ivy Bridge-E CPU socket 2011 board
X99 is the PCH on a Haswell-E socket 2011-v3 board

Z97/H97 is the PCH on the latest Haswell refresh socket 1150 board

X79 is not necessarily easiest but is most powerful prior to X99, mostly used for heavy duty work stations.

You want easy, go with Z97/H97 board from the Buyer's Guide, choosing parts from each category to meet your budget or just do one of the the recommended builds.

 

[jinjamal]

Okay. Since I'm not sure exactly how much power I'll need, I'm thinking it might be a good idea to use the parts I have now and just get the 280x (because that will be useful either way, especially if I want to put a second one in later on). What do you think of this setup, is it balanced enough, or would you recommend upgrading some of it?

Mobo: Gigabyte H77M-D3H
CPU: i5-3470
GPU: 280x

Older posts show that the H77M-D3H & i5-3470 works on Mountain Lion & also Mavericks I believe, would this be the same for Yosemite?
If the H77M or 3470 is going to give me trouble then I will happily sell those off and buy more suitable parts. Once again concerned with reliability, decent power and a balanced system.
Thanks

 

[Going Bald]

Okay. Since I'm not sure exactly how much power I'll need, I'm thinking it might be a good idea to use the parts I have now and just get the 280x (because that will be useful either way, especially if I want to put a second one in later on). What do you think of this setup, is it balanced enough, or would you recommend upgrading some of it?

Mobo: Gigabyte H77M-D3H
CPU: i5-3470
GPU: 280x

Older posts show that the H77M-D3H & i5-3470 works on Mountain Lion & also Mavericks I believe, would this be the same for Yosemite?
If the H77M or 3470 is going to give me trouble then I will happily sell those off and buy more suitable parts. Once again concerned with reliability, decent power and a balanced system.
Thanks

If it works on ML and Mav it will work on Yosemite,
You should be good for a while with just the GPU upgrade to 280X, although there is not that much difference between it and your current GPU in your profile. Might want to think about upgrading the CPU to a faster i7 sometime later if it seems to be slowing down.