Solved New Build Tweak Suggestions

Last week I built (assembled) a new computer......

Corsair Obsidian Series 450D ATX Mid Tower
Asus X99-A II LGA 2011-v3, Intel X99 SATA 6 Gb/s USB 3.1/3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
Intel Core i7-6800K 15M Broadwell-E, 6 core 3.4 GHz LGA 2011-v3
32GB Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4 3200
Corsair Hydro Series H110i GTX 280mm Extreme Performance Liquid CPU Cooler
MSI Radeon R9 390 DirectX 12 8GB Video Card
Corsair RMx Series RM750X 740W 80 Plus Gold power pack
Corsair Neutron XT 2.5 480GB SATA III SSD 'C' drive
Western Digital Black 6TB 7200 RPM SATA 6Bb/s 128MB Cache 3.5 data drive
Western Digitial 1TB 7200 RPM SATA working drive
Bluray Disc burner drive
Microsoft Window 7 Professional

At this point, I'm still installing programs and configuring the new computer to resemble the look and feel of the old, so I have not alter anything in the bios or the R9 390 video card, it's still 'as installed defaults'.

Primary use is Vegas Pro (currently on version 13), Blackmagic Resolve 12.5 and Hitfilm 3 Express.

Any suggestions for tweaking settings?

Wow! That looks like a great system you have built.

One suggestion is to make sure you install all the ASUS Suite software for the Motherboard and configure your cooling fans and CPU.
There will be an Auto Tune button you can press that will perform an overclock for you.

I am running ASUS Suite II and I use FAST settings - I don't know if they still use the same terminology in latest Asus software?
This will find the perfect first level overclock for your CPU, so you get the best performance out of it.
Before I did this, I created a Custom Profile to save the Default Settings.
Then if the overclock causes any problem (it shouldn't), you can quickly set back to defaults.

You should notice a significant increase in core clock speed after the overclock.
Please note that it is normal for the computer to turn on/off a few times while it works out the correct settings.

The other thing you should definitely check, is all the BIOS settings.
On my computer, I had to manually set the RAM in BIOS to XMP (Extreme Memory Profile), so that it runs at peak performance settings.
Your RAM should have a profile that can be selected if it does not auto select it.
There are also lots of other tiny settings you can turn on/off in the BIOS - all depends on what functions the Motherboard offers you.

Also make sure you install Corsair Link for your CPU Cooler and then configure to your liking.
I just upgraded Corsair link on my own PC and have fans set to Quite Mode.
You can create custom profiles if you like.
When I am rendering in summer time, I quickly go into the software and increase fan speed temporarily.

If you experience anything weird with the Corsair link software, I know a hack that will fix problems in the Windows Registry.
Some people like myself, had a problem with Corsair Link software on Windows 10, but should be fine on Windows 7.

Regards
Derek

Thank You Derek, I'll get into the bios and cooler on Thursday and follow your suggestions.

Congratulations George!

Nice build you have there. Think you'll enjoy the Asus X99A-II with the newer Broadwell-E chip. Machine I am currently on has an Asus Deluxe X99 (first revision, i7-5930K, 64GB Crucial DDR4-2133 RAM, blah, blah, blah stuff). I do have an Asus GTX 980 Strix for my video card, but that is because of other software I use that either CUDA is supported, or the few games I play run better on nVidia chipsets. (Here's to hoping that Magix will fix GPU acceleration in Vegas Pro 14!)

For using the Asus AI Suite software, if you do the "5-Way Optimization", make sure you click to enable the "AVX" parameters, as it is for people that use their machines for video editing. If you go to YouTube, on both "Dave Dougdale" and "JayzTwoCents" sites, they both had JJ from Asus when the original X99 boards were released, and they covered in the videos about using AI Suite 3 (that's what I am using with my board), not sure if the updated Broadwell-E platforms have an updated version like your board. What I did was let it run (did the longest test), then after it finished with the results, actually dropped it down another 200 Mhz, and had all the cores synched to that speed. Been stable for me so far, have the voltage set to "Adaptive", with all cores "synched" at 4 GHz. Going higher tended to produce different issues in different software I would run. And of course, very rarely would it be some error that was "easily replicated"! That, or I lost out on the "Silicon Lottery", which would match my luck on the Lottery!

Also great advice from our "Zen Master" concerning the Corsair H110i GTX cooler and the Corsair Link software. I actually updated the rig I listed above to the same cooler as well, when the pump on my CoolerMaster Nepton 280L "went South". Been running great and quiet since early March (did change the default Corsair fans out with 2 Fractal Design Venturi's). And since the build has a Corsair 760T Graphite case, got the picture showing in the link software as well, so can put the "component" tags in the proper place! Cool!

Have a question for you concerning the fit of the motherboard and cooler into that Obsidian 450D case. Planning to possibly get the same case, but put the current motherboard (pc listed on profile page) into that case and was wondering how "tight" the fit at top is? My nephew is looking at possibly doing CAD/CAM in his last two years of High School, including Graphic Design work, so possibly helping him out with a computer for use at home that will work with the programs he might use from school. I like the smaller footprint, and knowing his bedroom that he shares with two brothers, having a larger case would not be possible. Plus, have seen a lot of builds on YouTube, where it seems rather difficult. Yeah, know that I would have to pre-route the EPS cable for the CPU, but not as much a concern for me, as it would be for him later on.

Again, congratulations on your new rig. I'm sure you'll find editing on it to be a lot of fun, and fast.

Sincerely,

Mike "The Chief" O'Sullivan

Hi Mike,

Thank You for the suggestions and recommendations. I did take a few minutes yesterday and run the Asus Easy Configuration, which brought the clock speed up from 3.50 to 3.98. That is most likely plenty of overclock for me and my purposes. I would rather have solid performance rather than be on the edge, and prefer not to spend the time monkeying around and learning all the in's and outs of overclocking. I don't run any games, just video processing on this box.

It did take the render times of a small test video from 5:11 on the old box, to 3:18 on the i7 (3.50) down to 2:14 (3.98) with the overclock, CPU only render, for comparison.

As for the case size.....I've never had a full frame tower case! Back in the days of my computer life, our servers were in racks within a computer room shared with the main frame and most of the desktop units spread throughout the world were in similar sized mid-frame towers as the 450D.

However, the H110i cooler fit well at the top of this 450D with the hoses extending down the back in front of the rear fan and looped up to bolt onto the CPU. The hoses are a bit close to the rear fan, so I recommend a optional internal grill cover for the rear fan to ensure the hoses will not tough the fan blades.

Other than that, everything fits rather well. The case is aluminum with a lot of plastic. It works for me, as it will not be moved around very much and there is little access to my office. However, in a corporate or military type environment, I doubt it would last long (considering soldiers and sailors can break anything!!), which might be the same as a dorm, but if it is for your nephew in a home environment, it should be fine and the price is hard to beat.

All the bolts and fasteners seem to align well and I didn't need anything other than what came with the unit, and PSU to mount everything and get everything connected. The only cable from the PSU which wasn't included was a 4-pin power to the secondary on the R9 390. I'm not doing any gaming, so that isn't necessary. If there is no need for external drives, the 400D case is about the same with a little more case head room where the external drive bays are located in the 450D. This would also permit mounting the H110i cooler with either the hoses coming down in the front or back. Hope this is of some help.

Again, Thank You Mike and Derek for the excellent recommendations and information.

Hi George,

Thanks for letting me know about how your configuration with the 450D and H110i GTX went.

"Respectfully decline to comment on 'Soldiers and Sailors can break anything'"! :silly:

Yep, in 2001 after 24 years, decided it was time to "pass on the torch". Last 8-10 years, though a mechanic, got more involved with IT, which is what I did at a School District for over 12 years after the Navy. Servers, Network, Phones, Desktop Support, etc.. So definitely understand what you were dealing with, though not so much with the "Main Frame" days; that was on one of my ships. Glad, and sad those days are gone.

Anyway, thanks for the feedback on your rendering times. Been doing a lot of research on the rendering part of Sony, trying different settings from what I see on Youtube, as well as what our Good Doctor mentions. Really am looking forward to seeing how Magix is going to address at least some of these issues that Sony "handed off" to them. Actually downloaded some 4K footage from a site, to this machine (my profiled computer still waiting on upgrades at the moment and down), used MSPS 13 Platinum, loaded about 30 seconds of the different clips to the timeline, watched MSPS build the proxy files, did some minor color correcting, white balance, brightness/contrast, then rendered out to XAVC S for a test. This guy did it in about 1 minute, 30 seconds. Thought it was pretty good, considering all the negativity I see on Youtube and the internet. Using an EVO 850 500 GB for OS/Apps; and two others (not in RAID) for footage from my Panasonic and T5i, with the other for GoPro Converted footage. Seems to work really well. Still have local 2TB HDD for locally storing the footage, with a server that has over 24 TB of server for main backups. Learned that lesson the hard way a couple of years ago with footage I didn't back up right away after moving the files off the SD cards, then playing with settings on the computer. Lost all of the pictures and movies I shot!

Now, just learning all the ins and outs correctly for my T5i, actually paying for some tutorials (should have done it sooner!) to help learn to shoot photography/video correctly, and of course learning from the Zen Master himself!

Have fun with that computer and enjoy the video creations!

Mike

Hi Mike,

The T5i is a great camera. I'm sure you are getting some high quality stills and video. It's not easy to take some types of video with an DSLR. Although it is superior for some video work, other types can be challenging.

Many years ago, when I started in photography I was lucky to find a mentor who knew the fine art of photography and how to pass it on to an aspiring 17 year old 'no nothing' kid. As that kid, I did the best to suck his brains dry! Then a few years later with his encouragement I actually took some formal training. That provided me with the foundation to dive into self-learning which consumed most of my spare moments.

Making the transition from real film to digital was pretty easy on the actual 'take the picture' side. It was the digital side that stumped me for a while (and I often feel I'm still stumped in certain areas of knowledge). But I do have a pretty good grounding of knowledge to get the best I can out of the equipment I have.

In the old days I had every big name camera known to man at my finger tips. Today, I have been long gone from that business and have just a few prosumer and consumer grade cameras. Out of the bag they are set on automatic. When I see something I like, I shoot. If I have time and want to fine tune, I'll switch everything to manual get into the specifics for the environment.

Digital video has tripped me up a bit, as I continue to figure out some of the tough stuff, and at my age I'm glad I don't have to make a living at it! I'm more involved with the filming part and rely on basics for the NLE production part, occasionally diving in the black hole of codec construction, color correction/grading and improving my work flow.

So, I will tinker around with this new computer for a while and when I drag out the Canon XLH1 for the next shoot, it will be furthest from my mind unless something goes wrong. I have a few more weeks before a shoot, and in that time I want to get the workflow nailed down.

With the old box, I found it rewarding to first make intermediate files from my ProRes 422 10 bit source files to CineForm Filmscan 1. The CineForm intermediates were the only files I could get to run smoothly in preview (Best/Half) at full 29.970 fps, with some other considerations. With this new box, the ProRes source files play easily at Best/Full, so it appears I can drop the initial intermediates from the workflow. There still may be an issue with the amount of ProRes source media I can stack on the timeline before Vegas Pro 13 crashes, but that I will test next week to find the working limit.

On the old box I could not run Resolve 12.5, and version 12.0 was so horribly slow in preview and rendering, I gave up on the learning process. Now that this new PC will run 12.5 at full speed, I will get back into the learning process. If that works out, the first step in my workflow will be to color correct in Resolve 12.5 and render to an intermediate from there to pass into Vegas for editing (which may end up ProRes 422 10 bit or DNxHD 220x).

By the time I get a new workflow finalized, hopefully Magix will have released VP14 and depending on that version capability, the workflow most likely will change again!! I don't have much faith that Magix will be able to fix everything for this first release, so I will keep working on the basis of VP13 capability.


OT: As for the soldier/sailor. I'm former Army Infantry and have several close friends who are former Navy (my eldest brother Navy, middle brother Coast Guard). My closest friend (now passed) was a Naval SeaBee rigger (he knew 1001 knots!). He and I would often joke about which branch, Army or Navy, was the best at breaking equipment! We would also joke, when equipment gets broke (by not using it correctly) how often does that equipment mysteriously end up on the surplus inventory of the TO&E....answer, every single time if you have a good supply sergeant!!

Oops....sorry for the book!