Need advice on uncomplicated build for medium-duty video and photo editing...

[cloudcover]

hi there -

i have a circa 2007 core 2 duo iMac running at 2.4 GHz and with 4Gb ram that i've been using as my general purpose machine. i use it for some video editing (probably 90% iMovie and 10% final cut pro) and also for some photo editing (using lightroom and photoshop). now, my son wants to start using it for audio mixing (he's starting with garageband but might move to something else down the road). i'm finding it painfully slow for the video and photo editing that i'm doing and am interested in building a machine that will last me for a while (realizing that things become outdated in time).

here are some of my main criteria:

1. ease of build. this is probably my top criteria, since this is my first time doing this. i'm fairly tech savvy and can probably track down mods if needed, but i'd really prefer to avoid spending time doing that. as much as is possible, i'd like to find a set of components that i can assemble together and will work well and reliably without too much effort from me.
2. a build that will be speedy but not overkill. also, i'm not limited by any particular budget (i'm fine with anything up to maybe $1600), but i do care about value (i.e., is the additional cost worthwhile). and again, i don't want to build a system that's way overkill.
3. i am not looking to do any kind of gaming (we have an xbox and ps3 for that already and are not big gamers anyway).
4. quiet would be good.

based on what i've read so far, i was thinking that something along the lines of the following might work well -- comments would be appreciated:

1. case: Fractal Design Define R4 ATX Mid Tower
2. motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD5H
3. cpu: need advice here -- is an i5 3570k plenty or should i spend the extra $60 on an i7 3770k?
4. gpu: need advice here also -- i really have no idea how much gpu power i need if i'm not gaming. i see that amazon has the gigabyte geforce 660 for $190, but i have no idea whether that's overkill or not enough. an evga gt640 looks to be about $95 on the lesser end while a 660Ti is $295 on the other end.
5. power supply: corsair professional 650W (looks like it's about $160).
6. memory: corsair vengence 2x8Gb (16Gb total).
7. storage: 120Gb ssd (sandisk extreme sdssdx-120g-g25) as primary and 1Tb hard disk (seagate barracuda st1000dm003) for data.
8. firewire: syba low profile pci-e (sd-pex30009)

would love comments on these initial thoughts. and am i missing anything obvious? for example, do i need a cooler of some kind? etc.

also, while i'm at it, i'd like to put together a setup that gives me lots of screen space to work with. i thought that maybe a two-monitor setup would make the most sense, but i'm open to suggestions otherwise. if i do end up with a 2-monitor setup, does that affect what video card i'd want? and any suggestions on the monitors?

thanks!

 

[Going Bald]

hi there -

i have a circa 2007 core 2 duo iMac running at 2.4 GHz and with 4Gb ram that i've been using as my general purpose machine. i use it for some video editing (probably 90% iMovie and 10% final cut pro) and also for some photo editing (using lightroom and photoshop). now, my son wants to start using it for audio mixing (he's starting with garageband but might move to something else down the road). i'm finding it painfully slow for the video and photo editing that i'm doing and am interested in building a machine that will last me for a while (realizing that things become outdated in time).

here are some of my main criteria:

1. ease of build. this is probably my top criteria, since this is my first time doing this. i'm fairly tech savvy and can probably track down mods if needed, but i'd really prefer to avoid spending time doing that. as much as is possible, i'd like to find a set of components that i can assemble together and will work well and reliably without too much effort from me.
2. a build that will be speedy but not overkill. also, i'm not limited by any particular budget (i'm fine with anything up to maybe $1600), but i do care about value (i.e., is the additional cost worthwhile). and again, i don't want to build a system that's way overkill.
3. i am not looking to do any kind of gaming (we have an xbox and ps3 for that already and are not big gamers anyway).
4. quiet would be good.

based on what i've read so far, i was thinking that something along the lines of the following might work well -- comments would be appreciated:

1. case: Fractal Design Define R4 ATX Mid Tower
2. motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD5H
3. cpu: need advice here -- is an i5 3570k plenty or should i spend the extra $60 on an i7 3770k?
4. gpu: need advice here also -- i really have no idea how much gpu power i need if i'm not gaming. i see that amazon has the gigabyte geforce 660 for $190, but i have no idea whether that's overkill or not enough. an evga gt640 looks to be about $95 on the lesser end while a 660Ti is $295 on the other end.
5. power supply: corsair professional 650W (looks like it's about $160).
6. memory: corsair vengence 2x8Gb (16Gb total).
7. storage: 120Gb ssd (sandisk extreme sdssdx-120g-g25) as primary and 1Tb hard disk (seagate barracuda st1000dm003) for data.
8. firewire: syba low profile pci-e (sd-pex30009)

would love comments on these initial thoughts. and am i missing anything obvious? for example, do i need a cooler of some kind? etc.

also, while i'm at it, i'd like to put together a setup that gives me lots of screen space to work with. i thought that maybe a two-monitor setup would make the most sense, but i'm open to suggestions otherwise. if i do end up with a 2-monitor setup, does that affect what video card i'd want? and any suggestions on the monitors?

thanks!

1.
2.
3. Do you plan to overclock? Do your apps support multithreading? If OC + MT, go for i7 3770K, if no OC + MT, go for i7 3770. If no MT, go i5 3570K
4. If you are using a Mac Mini right now, how is the graphics when you run your apps? Does it lag? IIRC, lightroom and photoshop are CPU intensive rather than GPU, so try HD4000 without a gfx card at first. If you find you are needing more GPU, then add one.
Would not use the 640. Go for the 660 or the 660TI if you have to get a discrete card.
5. - but check to see if it will support Haswell if you plan to upgrade in the future and want to use the parts on a Haswell build.
6.
7. , but you might want to get another HDD later for storage.
8. Should work, but see http://www.tonymacx86.com/buying-advice/59767-firewire-800-400-card-own-100-compatibility.html

cpu cooler will only be needed if you find temps too high or if you OC.

Get a good IPS display - look at some of the builds parts lists in the User Builds/Golden Builds for Video/Graphics/Photo editing builds and see what they used and if it will fit your budget.

Seems I read somewhere the new nVidia gfx cards support 3 or 4 displays in OS X - forum search is your friend there.

 

[thewisemac]

I need a firewire card that has minimal latency and works well with an audio interface.

 

[Solidww]

hi there -

i have a circa 2007 core 2 duo iMac running at 2.4 GHz and with 4Gb ram that i've been using as my general purpose machine. i use it for some video editing (probably 90% iMovie and 10% final cut pro) and also for some photo editing (using lightroom and photoshop). now, my son wants to start using it for audio mixing (he's starting with garageband but might move to something else down the road). i'm finding it painfully slow for the video and photo editing that i'm doing and am interested in building a machine that will last me for a while (realizing that things become outdated in time).

here are some of my main criteria:

1. ease of build. this is probably my top criteria, since this is my first time doing this. i'm fairly tech savvy and can probably track down mods if needed, but i'd really prefer to avoid spending time doing that. as much as is possible, i'd like to find a set of components that i can assemble together and will work well and reliably without too much effort from me.
2. a build that will be speedy but not overkill. also, i'm not limited by any particular budget (i'm fine with anything up to maybe $1600), but i do care about value (i.e., is the additional cost worthwhile). and again, i don't want to build a system that's way overkill.
3. i am not looking to do any kind of gaming (we have an xbox and ps3 for that already and are not big gamers anyway).
4. quiet would be good.

based on what i've read so far, i was thinking that something along the lines of the following might work well -- comments would be appreciated:

1. case: Fractal Design Define R4 ATX Mid Tower
2. motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD5H
3. cpu: need advice here -- is an i5 3570k plenty or should i spend the extra $60 on an i7 3770k?
4. gpu: need advice here also -- i really have no idea how much gpu power i need if i'm not gaming. i see that amazon has the gigabyte geforce 660 for $190, but i have no idea whether that's overkill or not enough. an evga gt640 looks to be about $95 on the lesser end while a 660Ti is $295 on the other end.
5. power supply: corsair professional 650W (looks like it's about $160).
6. memory: corsair vengence 2x8Gb (16Gb total).
7. storage: 120Gb ssd (sandisk extreme sdssdx-120g-g25) as primary and 1Tb hard disk (seagate barracuda st1000dm003) for data.
8. firewire: syba low profile pci-e (sd-pex30009)

would love comments on these initial thoughts. and am i missing anything obvious? for example, do i need a cooler of some kind? etc.

also, while i'm at it, i'd like to put together a setup that gives me lots of screen space to work with. i thought that maybe a two-monitor setup would make the most sense, but i'm open to suggestions otherwise. if i do end up with a 2-monitor setup, does that affect what video card i'd want? and any suggestions on the monitors?

thanks!

I can honestly say that nothing is overkill.(Well, X79 in your case) Spending a little more now pays off with less upgrading time and cash in the future. Intel is already showing that it will focus on efficiency and Intel internal graphics more then processor performance jumps. So, a current i7 is definitely a good buy. If you don't desperately need a new build then why not wait for Haswell and see what kind of support OSX will have.

Now, to your parts list.
1) That case is awesome! I would also recommend an Antec P280. It is a great case and has a lot of room for expansion. Plus, it is quite!
2) Score
3) 60, is worth it if your using Premiere Pro, Final Cut Pro, After Effects, Motion, etc.....
4) 660Ti, if you again will be using the software listed in answer 3. Maybe, consider a 650Ti. Just a thought.
5) With a 660Ti, would you need such a big PSU? Then, again a little more power can't hurt if you would like to expand the computer build as time goes on.
6) SCORE!
7-8) SUPER SCORE!

Good luck with your build.