Budget 90k+ Video Editing + VFX Workstation

dafreaking

Skilled
  1. What is your budget?
    • 1 Lakh
  2. What is your existing hardware configuration (component name - component brand and model)
    • Dell Inspiron Laptop
  3. Which hardware will you be keeping (component name - component brand and model)
    • Dell Inspiron Laptop
    • Also have a corsair VX450 that hasn't been turned on for 3 years so I have no idea about it's state so count it out.
  4. Which hardware component are you looking to buy (component name). If you have already decided on a configuration then please mention the (component brand and model) as well, this will help us in fine tuning your requirement.
    • CPU - Intel i7-4790K or i7-5820K
    • Motherboard - any compatible motherboard (Preferably Gigabyte due to hackintoshability)
    • GPU - GTX 760 or GTX 960. Would love a GTX970 but it's definitely out of budget.
    • RAM - 16 GB
    • Storage - 240-256 GB SSD + 4 TB Storage drive + 2x2TB in RAID 0 for work drives.
    • PSU - any compatible PSU with a little room for adding more disks later
    • Cabinet - Corsair Carbide Series 330R or similar
    • Monitor - a 24" 1080p IPS monitor.
  5. Is this going to be your final configuration or you would be adding/upgrading a component in near future. If yes then please mention when and which component
    • Yes, will upgrade the following within 6-12 months
    • PCIe/M.2 SSD
    • Another harddisk
  6. Where will you buy this hardware? (Online/City/TE Dealer)
    • Mumbai
    • Open to online purchase
  7. Would you consider buying a second hand hardware from the TE market
    • Yes
  8. What is your intended use for this PC/hardware
    • Video Editing (Premiere Pro)
    • VFX/Motion Graphics/3D (After Effects + Cinema 4D)
    • General Usage
    • 24/7 use.
  9. Do you have any brand preference or dislike? Please name them and the reason for your preference/dislike.
    • Since this is going to be my main rig would buy only reliable brands and brands that have good after sales support. Not really clued in about what's good what's not.
  10. If you will be playing games then which type of games will you be playing?
    • RTS games occasionally, but this is not a priority
  11. What is your preferred monitor resolution for gaming and normal usage
    1. Gaming - 1920x1080
    2. Desktop - 1920x1080
  12. Are you looking to overclock?
    • YES!!!
  13. Which operating system do you intend to use with this configuration?
    • Windows 7 64 bit
    • OSX if they

So my laptop can't handle some of the more resource intensive video work that I need it to do so I'm looking at building a solid workstation that should last a few years before components need to be exchanged out.
My Budget of 1 Lakh is not necessarily a hard budget but more indicative of what I am looking to spend. I haven't been able to figure out if the higher clock speed of the 4790K would be better or would the 6 cores of the 5820K be worth the premium one needs to pay with an X99 system due to the higher cost of RAM and the Motherboard. I believe this should increase the overall cost of the system by another 20K. Is it really that much of an improvement? can the 5820K be overclocked to give similar speeds for a single core?

How is the onboard RAID performance with these motherboards? I don't need the RAID for redundancy, but for speed due to the large size of 4K files as well as other renders. the 2x2tb RAID 0 will be the work drives.

@Crazy_Eddy , @bssunil , @terence_fdes, other usual suspects and others please advise. Looking to purchase this sytem within the next 2 weeks.
 
First of all check this performance comparison between Intel i7-4790K or i7-5820K & then decide which CPU you want.
https://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=Intel+Core+i7-5820K+@+3.30GHz&id=2340
Processor : You decide it
Motherboard
: We decide it ;)
Memory Corsair Vengeance or G Skill ripjaws 4X4GB 12k
Internal Storage
WD Red 4 TB or HGST Deskstar NAS 14.2k + WD 2TB Black 10.3k
Graphics Card You can wait for GTX 960 if you want
Power Supply
Seasonic S12II 620 Evo 6.9k
SSD
Samsung 850 Pro 256 GB 14k
Total 57.5k without CPU, MOBO & GPU
Regards
JJ
 
  • CPU - Intel i7-4790K -15500,
  • Motherboard - MSI Z97 PC Mate -8000,
  • CPU Cooler - Cooler Master Seidon 120V -4500,
  • GPU - Zotac GTX 960 2GB -18000,
  • RAM - Corsair Vengeance 16GB (4x4GB) 1600Mhz -12000,
  • SSD - Samsung 850 Pro 256GB SSD -14000,
  • HDD - WD Caviar Black 2TB -7500,
  • PSU - Seasonic S12II 620w -6000,
  • Cabinet - Corsair Carbide SPEC-03 -4000,
  • Monitor - Dell S2440L LED -12000.
  • TOTAL -1,01,500.
 
Right, so a few changes.

I've settled on the 5820K. Got a good deal on RAM from the US and someone is getting it next week. Looking for MoBo suggestions. Reliability and support is of prime importance. Looking at the cheaper board as I wouldn't be running more than 1 GPU. 8 RAM slots is a plus. Looking at a Corsair H100 as the cooler.

I've also purchased a Crucial MX100 512GB so don't need advise on the SSD. The other storage is a bit of a dilemma right now. The options I am looking at at the moment:
2 x 2 TB WD Red
2 x 2 TB WD Black
The Blacks cost at least 30% more and that would sort of be stretching my budget. But the advantage of the Black's is the single drive performance and warranty. If there are any other drives that one would recommend please chime in. I will be using the motherboards raid controller

Will also most probably be buying a used R9-280x as they seem better value than the 960x.
 
  • CPU - Intel i7-4790K -15500,
  • Motherboard - MSI Z97 PC Mate -8000,
  • CPU Cooler - Cooler Master Seidon 120V -4500,
  • GPU - Zotac GTX 960 2GB -18000,
  • RAM - Corsair Vengeance 16GB (4x4GB) 1600Mhz -12000,
  • SSD - Samsung 850 Pro 256GB SSD -14000,
  • HDD - WD Caviar Black 2TB -7500,
  • PSU - Seasonic S12II 620w -6000,
  • Cabinet - Corsair Carbide SPEC-03 -4000,
  • Monitor - Dell S2440L LED -12000.
  • TOTAL -1,01,500.

Where have you got these prices from? Especially the caviar black and cpu
 
^ He's always way off on prices. The i7 4790k is selling everywhere for around 23k. An 8k price difference is simply not possible.

For the PSU I would pick the S12G 550 ~6.5k (or G550 if you want a modular PSU ~7.5k) instead of the S12II 620.

The Dell S2440L is not IPS. LG has some decent IPS panels : http://www.lg.com/in/ips-monitors
 
@Crazy_Eddy yeah. at least 30% off. The LG IPS monitors seem to have D-SUB and HDMI only. Though the prices are excellent. I am purchasing a used R9-280x is it seems like a good option compared to the 760/960 for performance/cost http://xfxforce.com/en-us/products/...black-double-dissipation-edition-r9-280x-tdbd

The final specs of the system:

CPU - i7-5820k
Cooler - Noctua D-14 2011 (I won't to keep things stable and relatively quiet at around 4 Ghz)
Mobo - Asus X99-A - seems like the best 'budget' option at the moment. The Pro is just 3K more but I don't think I need it.
RAM - Crucial Ballistix Sport 4x4GB DDR4 2400mhz (Already Purchased)
SSD - Crucial MX100 512GB (Already Purchased)
GPU - BLACK DD RADEON R9 280X (Purchasing)
Case - Corsair 400R
PSU - Seasonic S12G-650 Watts
Monitor - Looking at one of the 24" LG IPS monitors, but I can't figure it if they are matte or glossy
HDD - 2x1TB WD Black in RAID 0 and a 4TB drive for general storage. Please advise as to which one.
 
The LG IPS monitors seem to have D-SUB and HDMI only
HDMI should be alright. Quite a few modern GPUs have HDMI outputs too.

Mobo - Asus X99-A - seems like the best 'budget' option at the moment.
One more option is the MSI X99 SLI Plus, cheapest of the lot and got a recommendation from Anandtech. But MSI support in India is a bit grey at this moment. On the plus side, there is an MSI rep on the board who seems helpful.

Looking at one of the 24" LG IPS monitors, but I can't figure it if they are matte or glossy
The MP55 is definitely matte.
 
You should spend money on a good monitor. IMO Color reproduction is very important for video editing.
 
HDMI should be alright. Quite a few modern GPUs have HDMI outputs too.


One more option is the MSI X99 SLI Plus, cheapest of the lot and got a recommendation from Anandtech. But MSI support in India is a bit grey at this moment. On the plus side, there is an MSI rep on the board who seems helpful.


The MP55 is definitely matte.

I'm really digging the MP77 and it's available on eBay for less than the MP55. The super narrow bezel will be nice when I want to add in a 2nd monitor.

The MSI board is a great option but as you mention the support is iffy at the moment. so the Asus seems the better option at a few thousand more.

I guess that sums it up. Now thinking against RAID 0 and just keeping the drive(s) in regular mode.

@booo Wouldn't one these LG monitors be a good budget option?
 
http://www.lg.com/in/monitors/lg-24MP76HM shows that it is color caliberated. so yeah, LG would work too until they are good at color reproduction. but when you buy a dell with premier color panel, you can also caliberate the monitor yourself with the tool that they provide. and also they provide the caliberation sheets in the box. not sure about the lg moniotors though.
 
http://www.lg.com/in/monitors/lg-24MP76HM shows that it is color caliberated. so yeah, LG would work too until they are good at color reproduction. but when you buy a dell with premier color panel, you can also caliberate the monitor yourself with the tool that they provide. and also they provide the caliberation sheets in the box. not sure about the lg moniotors though.

Can't find a suitable dell without spending almost 8=10K more. P2414H http://www.primeabgb.com/dell-p2414h-24-inch-led-monitor.html seems like the only option close to the LG's in price. I am getting the LG's for 14-14.5K. Another Option is the S2415H http://accessories.dell.com/sna/productdetail.aspx?c=us&cs=19&l=en&sku=860-BBEM but it is a glossy panel.

EDIT: How is the U2412M? http://www.engadget.com/products/dell/ultrasharp/u2412m/
How different is the eIPS to IPS/AH-IPS
 
Last edited:
eIPS is generally considered inferior to AH-IPS.

You can calibrate any panel. If you've read any reviews you will find factory calibration is strictly so-so, and reviewers often end up recalibrating it themselves.
 
eIPS is generally considered inferior to AH-IPS.

You can calibrate any panel. If you've read any reviews you will find factory calibration is strictly so-so, and reviewers often end up recalibrating it themselves.

Yep. I figured that out. So that way even the LG could be recalibrated in case the colours are off. Sadly I can't find any reviews of the LGs. The Dell P2414H seems to be a no frills version of the U2414H. I guess I need to do some final balancing of the components before deciding on it.
 
So the final specs I have decided on:

CPU - i7-5820k
Cooler - Noctua D-14 2011
Mobo - Asus X99-Pro
RAM - Crucial Ballistix Sport 4x4GB DDR4 2400mhz (Purchased)
SSD - Crucial MX100 512GB (Already Purchased)
GPU - BLACK DD RADEON R9 280X (Purchased)
Case - Corsair 400R
PSU - Corsair RM650
Monitor - Dell P2414H
HDD - 2 TB WD Black
Mouse - Logitech G300
Keyboard - El cheapo membrane keyboard for now. Would love a Corsair Vengeance K70 RGB but things are already beyond budget.

@Crazy_Eddy , @booo , @cranky , @JJ the great @Lord Nemesis and others, your thoughts?

TIA
 
Looks alright.

Except the Corsair RM series is a mediocre PSU for the price. If you have 8k to spend on the RM650, you might as well get the Seasonic G650.
 
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