9 Replies Latest reply: Oct 14, 2013 2:01 PM by Robert Holfter

Plan for editing rig to learn Premiere Pro, AE & Photoshop

Robert Holfter Oct 1, 2013 10:31 PM

I am building an video editing rig to learn Premiere, After Effects and Photoshop with a view to producing web based corporate videos and some project ideas I’ve had percolating. Original video will be shot DSLR & GoPro. ‘Back in the day’ (think 1” & Betacam SP tape…), I produced broadcast quality corporates, TVCs and TV programs, but that was before raising kids and a spouses’ career took precedence. Money is tight (divorce & still raising 5 kids), so I plan to build up my editing rig in stages. I’ve built a few low to medium spec gaming rigs, so initially to learn the software, I’ll upgrade one of the gaming rigs to minimum editing spec (Version 1), then upgrade a bit further to a Version 2 rig, and if things pan out as planned (and I can start earning a more little income), I can then justify the investment in a proper workstation based around a 3930K CPU or whatever its equivalent is then.

Existing mid spec gaming rig:

CPU - 2500K

Mobo – ASRock Z77 Extreme 4

RAM – 2 x 4GB 1600Mhz

GPU – HD7850

C: SSD – SanDisk Extreme 120GB - OS & Programs

D: HDD 1 – 1TB Samsung Spinpoint F1 - HD103UJ 7200rpm - Users

E: HDD 2 – 2TB Seagate Barracuda - ST2000DM003 7200rpm - Media

PSU – HX650W Corsair

Mid Tower Case with front USB 3.0

OS Win7HP

Version 1 Editing Rig basically takes the Gaming Rig, replaces the HD7850 with a GTX 660 to take advantage of CUDA, as OpenCL does not yet seem to offer as much performance advantage as CUDA. I’ll also upgrade the RAM from 2 x 4GB to a 2 x 8GB kit and add 2 x 1TB 7200rpm HDD in Raid 0 and a Cooler Master Hyper 212X to keep things temps down, as I plan to OC the 2500K.

Version 1 Editing Rig:

CPU - 2500K

Mobo – Asrock Z77 Extreme 4

RAM – 2 x 8GB 1600Mhz (G.Skill Ares F3-1600C10D-16GAO)

GPU – GTX 660 (Gigabyte GV-N660OC-2GD)

C: SSD – SanDisk Extreme 120GB - OS, Programs, Pagefile

D: HDD 1 – 1TB Samsung Spinpoint F1 - HD103UJ 7200rpm – Media, Projects

E: HDD 2 – 2 x 1TB Seagate – ST1000DM003 7200rpm - RAID 0 – Previews, Media Cache

F: HDD 3 - 2TB Seagate Barracuda - ST2000DM001 7200rpm – Export, Backup of raid

PSU – HX650W Corsair

Case: Mid Tower with front USB 3.0

OS - Win7HP

Version 2 Editing Rig adds a 3770K CPU, Windows 7 Pro and another 2 X 8GB RAM to total 32GB. Around this time I also plan to add a 27” WQHD IPS monitor.

Version 2 Editing Rig:

CPU - 3770K

Mobo - ASRock Z77 Extreme 4

RAM – 32GB - 4 x 8GB 1600Mhz (G.Skill Ares F3-1600C10D-16GAO)

GPU – GTX 660 (Gigabyte GV-N660OC-2GD)

C: SSD – SanDisk Extreme 120GB - OS, Programs, Page File

D: HDD 1 – 1TB Samsung Spinpoint F1 - HD103UJ 7200rpm – Media, Projects

E: HDD 2 – 2 x 1TB Seagate Barracuda – ST1000DM003 7200rpm - RAID 0 – Previews, Media Cache

F: HDD 3 - 2TB Seagate Barracuda - ST2000DM001 7200rpm – Export, Backup of Raid

PSU – HX650W Corsair

Case: Mid Tower with front USB 3.0

OS - Win7Pro

I’m still a bit confused about hard drives…

The motherboard has 4 x SATA3 ports – 2 on the main chipset, 2 on ASMedia ASM1061. My connection plan is C: SSD (OS, Program) and E: HDD 1 (Media, Projects) on main chipset SATA3 ports and E: HDD 2 RAID 0 (2 x 1TB Previews, Cache) on the 2 ASMedia SATA3 ports. Volume F: HDD 3 (2TB Export, Backup of Raid) would be connected via SATA2.

Currently here in Australia the prices for Seagate 7200rpm ‘Barracuda’ drives are approx.:

1TB $70

2TB $100 - $50/TB

3TB $140 - $45/TB

For $140 extra I could swap the 2 X 1TB drives for 2 x 3TB drives, drop the 1 TB Samsung Spinpoint F1 and have:

C: SSD – 120GB - OS, Programs, Page file

D: HDD 1 - 2 x 3TB Raid O – Media, Projects, Previews & Media Cache on the SATA3 ASMedia Chipset

F: HDD 2 – 2TB – Exports, Backup of Raid on main SATA3 chipset

I’m not sure which HDD setup would give a more responsive system and whether it’s worth the extra cost, given my current restricted budget... Currently I’m leaning towards just setting up what I have and revisiting it when I upgrade to the Version 2 3770K based rig.

Thanks in advance to the Adobe Forum Community and Harm & Bill @ ppbm7.com for helping me get this far.

Any feedback on any aspect of my plan is much appreciated!

1. Re: Plan for editing rig to learn Premiere Pro, AE & Photoshop

JEShort01 Oct 2, 2013 1:01 AM (in response to Robert Holfter)

Building a good rig for PPro requires balance. And, in the compromises of life - in your case budget constraints - one cannot have it all.

You seem to know hardware pretty well. Your post (#1, welcome to the forum!) is long, but obviously well though out.

For your specific case though, I would suggest turn common logic for building a "normal" rig on its head.

1) You are VERY cpu limited; your 4-core is not HT and you will need lots of CPU firepower for your codecs. DSLR and GoPro are inexpensive capture devices, but due to high compression rates rather difficult for post. You have already found ppbm7.com and that site has some sage advice regarding media vs. PC requirements. So, my #1 suggestion for extending what you already have is CPU. The Z77 has lots of choices, but definitely pick one with HT. Gaming rigs simply don't care much about core count, but rendering and to some extent even playback really care about core count.

2) Even fast rigs have can have trouble w/ real-time playback w/o rendering on GoPro. Your projects are short, so probably doing a full timeline render early on in your workflow will be your best bet.

3) Your drives are fine to edit already.Make sure you stick everything on Intel SATA ports (not Marvel), and don't worry too much about SATA 2/3, etc. And, don't forget adding something to backup your work - image backup for C: and data backup (not scratch, cache, etc.) for the rest.

4) RAM: I would suggest going to 16GB ASAP and probably never going higher for this rig. Save your 32GB, 64GB plans for a stronger, balanced, refresh down the road - if and when! 16GB will work fine and the only speed you will be giving up with that is for output renders.

5) GPU: I'd say try and start out without one (translate = w/o a nVidia GTX card, the normal staple for PPro these days). If you find you cannot put up with the waiting to render most everything after you've put media on your timeline, you can change cards then. Alternately if you can sell your ATI now to free up some cash, then you may want to do that. Your power supply is not very strong, so think GTX 660 or 760. EVGA and I think MSI models both have power limiting modes which could be handy to "configure" how hard your GPU pulls if you are overloading (crashing) with your current p/s.

B
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2. Re: Plan for editing rig to learn Premiere Pro, AE & Photoshop

Robert Holfter Oct 2, 2013 5:16 AM (in response to JEShort01)

Thanks so much for the welcome and taking the time read my post and write such a well considered reply!

I was hoping to get by with the 2500K CPU for now, but it sounds like the lack of HT is going to bottleneck things right from the start. I have already purchased a GTX 660, so it looks like I should scape together another $400 for a 3770K (Aus Prices) now and basically kick off with the Version 2 rig, albeit with 16GB of RAM rather than 32GB.
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3. Re: Plan for editing rig to learn Premiere Pro, AE & Photoshop

JEShort01 Oct 2, 2013 6:57 AM (in response to Robert Holfter)

Robert,

The 3770k is an excellent choice! I have not used one personally, but it is an excellent bang-for-the-buck cpu for PPro.

I do hope you have a decent cooler and plan at least some level of OC'ing. Done right it can be 100% reliable and robust and will definitely help timeline playback capability and render speed.

Don't have any buyer's remorse on the 660 so long as you can still fund the CPU; that is an excellent card for your rig.

As I said before, 16GB will be fine. As I did not say before, if you start getting into certain After Effects workflows, I've read that the more RAM the better! (yes, even past the 32GB mark)

Cheers,

Jim
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4. Re: Plan for editing rig to learn Premiere Pro, AE & Photoshop

Robert Holfter Oct 2, 2013 8:57 AM (in response to JEShort01)

Thanks JIm,
I do plan overclocking, hence the Cooler Master Hyper 212X I mentioned. I also have a Noctua which is about 1.5 times the size of the 212X, just don't have the model number with me atm. But after unboxing the 212X I am thinking of using the bigger Noctua from my old HTPC. I also have a few 120 & 90mm Noctua fans still in their boxes I haven't used yet, so I can put those to use to improve airflow within the case.

With the HHD's, you suggested using only Intel SATA ports, avoiding the Marvel - or on my mobo, ASMedia - altogether?
So the 2 x 1TB Raid 0 be faster on SATA2 connections than SATA3?

That would see the volumes connected as follows:
SATA3 C: SSD – SanDisk Extreme 120GB - OS, Programs, Pagefile
SATA3 D: HDD 1 – 1TB Samsung Spinpoint F1 - HD103UJ 7200rpm – Media, Projects
SATA2 E: HDD 2 – 2 x 1TB Seagate Barracuda – ST1000DM003 7200rpm - RAID 0 – Previews, Media Cache
SATA2 F: HDD 3 - 2TB Seagate Barracuda - ST2000DM001 7200rpm – Export, Backup of Raid

Sorry for the queries, this whole thing of getting the various forms of data in and out efficiently is a bit tricky to get my head around! ;-)
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5. Re: Plan for editing rig to learn Premiere Pro, AE & Photoshop

John T Smith Oct 2, 2013 9:31 AM (in response to Robert Holfter)

>workstation based around a 3930K CPU

Look at the 4930k instead... price difference over 3930k is very small, at least "today" at Newegg

Number 6 in http://forums.adobe.com/thread/1305373 is what I am looking at... but for my needs (home movies) I may go with the 4770k
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6. Re: Plan for editing rig to learn Premiere Pro, AE & Photoshop

Robert Holfter Oct 2, 2013 7:02 PM (in response to John T Smith)

Thanks John,
The 4930K would cost me around $680 vs $630 for the 3930K, plus the cost of a 2011 socket motherboard, plus suitable RAM - yes it's where I want to end up, but given my current budget constraints, I was planning this build to reuse as much as I already have, therefore a 1155 socket and so the 3770K ($400) is about the limit of my investment at this time - at least until I'm proficient enough with the software to see if I feel I can earn some income from production again.

FWIW, I don't have a video capable DSLR as yet, and I can convert the GoPro video and other sources to a more processor friendly codec for my immediate purposes, which is to get some hands on NLE experience - back in the day I did a lot of offline editing (tape) and logged 100's of hours supervising online Post Production, but the world has changed a lot since then obviously!
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7. Re: Plan for editing rig to learn Premiere Pro, AE & Photoshop

John T Smith Oct 2, 2013 7:25 PM (in response to Robert Holfter)

>4930K would cost me around $680 vs $630 for the 3930K, plus the cost of a 2011 socket motherboard, plus suitable RAM

I don't know where you are located, but only $10 difference at Newegg, as of today

ADDED - (Aus Prices) OK... you are in Australia, so I guess your prices are higher than in the US

$570 3930k http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116492
$580 4930k http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116939

Anyway... either CPU and the LGA 2011 motherboard at the link I posted in message#5 would be for the future

So, for now, the 3770k would be a good CPU for your current motherboard
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8. Re: Plan for editing rig to learn Premiere Pro, AE & Photoshop

Robert Holfter Oct 3, 2013 3:57 PM (in response to John T Smith)

Thanks John & Jim for your input!
Have ordered the 3770K CPU and whilst I was breaking the budget, bought Win 7 pro, so once this build is completed upgrading to 32MB of RAM will just be a plug n play job. Calculated my PSU load, and yes, the Corsair HX650W is getting a little on the low side, but hopefully will get me through for now..

Anyone with further feedback on my proposed drive volume setup?:

SATA3 C: SSD – SanDisk Extreme 120GB - OS, Programs, Pagefile
SATA3 D: HDD 1 – 1TB Samsung Spinpoint F1 - HD103UJ 7200rpm – Media, Projects
SATA2 E: HDD 2 – 2 x 1TB Seagate Barracuda – ST1000DM003 7200rpm - RAID 0 – Previews, Media Cache
SATA2 F: HDD 3 - 2TB Seagate Barracuda - ST2000DM001 7200rpm – Export, Backup of Raid
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9. Re: Plan for editing rig to learn Premiere Pro, AE & Photoshop

Robert Holfter Oct 14, 2013 2:01 PM (in response to Robert Holfter)

Managed to scrape together a few more $$, upgraded PSU, RAM & HDD.
Current spec is:
CPU - 3770K
Mobo - ASRock Z77 Extreme 4
RAM – 32GB - 4 x 8GB 1600Mhz (G.Skill Ares F3-1600C10D-16GAO)
GPU – GTX 660 (Gigabyte GV-N660OC-2GD)
C: SSD – SanDisk Extreme 120GB - OS, Programs, Page File
D: HDD 1 – 3TB Seagate Barracuda - ST3000DM001 7200rpm – Media, Projects
E: HDD 2 – 2 x 1TB Seagate Barracuda – ST1000DM003 7200rpm - RAID 0 – Previews, Media Cache
F: HDD 3 - 3TB Seagate Barracuda - ST3000DM001 7200rpm – Export, Backup of Raid
PSU – 850W Silverstone ST85F-P Strider Plu, 80Plus Silver Cert.
Case: Mid Tower with front USB 3.0
OS - Win7Pro

I still have a question about Disk Setup…
My plan was:
1 x 3TB - Media, Projects – Sata3 (Intel chipset)
2 x 1TB - Raid 0 - Previews, Media Cache - Sata2 (Intel chipset)
1 X 3TB - Exports and Backup – Sata2 (Intel chipset)
I just read Harm's clarification on the http://ppbm7.com Tweakers page that the drive setup should be 2 x Raid 0, which I had previously read as 2 drives in Raid 0 but now think should be two volumes, 4 drives. I could put the 2 x 3TB drives also in Raid 0 on Sata2 Intel and buy another 3TB drive for Backup on SATA3 (ASMedia chipset) of the two Raid 0 volumes.
Could I ask what you guys believe would be the most efficient allocation of file types across these volumes?
I’m guessing the following, but would value your feedback
2 x 3TB Raid 0 – Media, Projects,
2 x 1TB Raid 0 – Media Cache & Database, Previews
1 x 3TB Export, Backup

Many Thanks!
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