Solved PC Spec for VP12 to edit raw XAVC footage

I have put together the following spec for a VERY highly specified PC to use for editing XAVC footage. This is based on comments I have read here on this forum and from Creative Cow Forum. Anyone wish to make suggestions / comment?

Processor (CPU) Intel® Core™i7 Six Core Processor i7-5820K (3.3GHz) 15MB Cache
Case STYLISH BLACK/SILVER TRIDENT CASE + 2 FRONT USB
Motherboard ASUS® X99-S: ATX, HSW-E CPU, USB 3.0, SATA 6 GB/s
Memory (RAM) 32GB CRUCIAL DDR4 2133MHz (4 x 8GB)
Graphics Card 3GB AMD RADEON™ R9 280X - DVI, HDMI, mDP - DX® 11, Eyefinity 4 Capable
1st Hard Disk 240GB KINGSTON V300 SSD, SATA 6 Gb (450MB/R, 450MB/W)
2nd Hard Disk 1TB 3.5" SATA-III 6GB/s HDD 7200RPM 32MB CACHE
3rd Hard Disk 1TB 3.5" SATA-III 6GB/s HDD 7200RPM 32MB CACHE
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive 24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
Memory Card Reader INTERNAL 52 IN 1 CARD READER (, MS, CF, SD, etc) + 1 x USB 2.0 Port
Power Supply CORSAIR 650W VS SERIES™ VS-650 POWER SUPPLY
Processor Cooling INTEL SOCKET LGA2011 STANDARD CPU COOLER
Thermal Paste STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card ONBOARD 8 CHANNEL (7.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
USB Options MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 6 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Power Cable 1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Operating System Genuine Windows 7 Professional 64 Bit w/SP1 - inc DVD & Licence
DVD Recovery Media Windows 7 Professional (64-bit) DVD with paper sleeve

Power requirements specified as: 575W

Hi Chris

Very busy working on tonnes of new material, but I will make some quick comments.

Theoretically XAVC video should be easier to edit in any computer, because it is less compressed.
The higher the compression, the more difficult it is to playback in the Preview window because it is getting decompressed in real time.
I'm sure someone on Creative Cow mentioned this about XAVC video and I remembered it.

I have become a big fan of Samsung SSDs, although most brands are pretty amazing these days.
I know that Intel SSDs are torture tested to the highest specifications.

I would get larger capacity Hard Drives for 2015.
Back in 2011 when I built my computer, I put in 1TB drives. However they are now maxed out with video and I need to do a major upgrade to 3TB or 4TB drives.
I still recommend Western Digital Black HDDs if you want fast and quiet drives. I have never had one crash yet.

I upgraded my CPU water cooler about 18 months ago to a Corsair H100i dual fan radiator.
This comes with a fantastic software app that gives you very fine control, so you can make the fans as silent as possible.
CPU is always running cool even when rendering.
www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=207_160_1694&products_id=22307&zenid=a13830769daf1fbafc5f969d544967d9

I better stop and get back to work.

Derek

Thanks for your help here Derek. I am a bit confused re choice of processors. How do these compare in terms of running VP12:
AMD FX-9590 Eight Core CPU (4.7GHz-5.0GHz/16MB CACHE/AM3+
Intel® Core™i7 Six Core Processor i7-5820K (3.3GHz) 15MB Cache

The former is less cost than the latter but would it provide equal or better performance do you think?

Hi CeeDee,

To me, either processor would be fine, though the FX-9590 is "one hot cookie", so going with Dr. Zen's advice on water cooling is a definite. You can go to Will Urbina's site and watch his two builds he did using the 9590 and then his own rig at home with an 8350 (if I remember correctly). He uses Adobe, but the same would pretty much apply to us using Vegas for processors. That said, you would then need to change the motherboard to an AM3+ compatible, along with dropping down to DDR3 memory (1600 or 1866 MHz speed is fine). Video card is a good choice, as that has been a "sore" topic with Vegas users the past couple of years (concerning nVidia naturally!). Also, the Doc's advice on hard drives is a good recommendation. Better to get a couple of bigger ones now then having to worry about copying everything to another drive and back (too much chance for Mr. Murphy to show his unwanted presence!). If you do decide to stay the X99 route, I did notice that you didn't specify a cooler at all - seems that it was taken from a site or something. So, with the X99 platform, no matter which processor you get (5820K, 5930K, or 5960X), you will need a cooler. And if your case is on the smaller side, be careful if you go Air Cooling, as something like the great Noctua Coolers may be a bit too large. I currently have two rigs, one with the 5930K (my main rig with 64 GB of RAM, lots of drives on an Asus X99 Deluxe in a Corsair 760T), and this machine I am currently on with a Gigabyte X99 UD5 WiFi, 32 GB of RAM, waiting on a couple of more drives, with both machines working great (both have Win 8.1 Pro 64-Bit). Only real bummer is that they both use nVidia cards, so their usefulness in rendering is pathetic - but the processors rock! Hope this helps some.

I don't trust AMD processors any longer since they released the "Bulldozer" series of CPUs a few years back.
I have no idea how the current models stack up. All I know is that there was all this hype about how great the new AMD CPUs were going to be and their performance was way off where it should have been. Just because it says 8 x Cores for the AMD CPU, does not mean it is more powerful than the Intel 6x Core chip.

I'm not saying the current AMD processors are crap, just that I prefer to stick with the guy I can trust.

My advice would be to stick with Intel. If you can afford the extra dollars, go with the i7-5930K for more boost.
If your budget is getting too stretched, go back to the Intel i7-4970K 4x Core.
The best thing about all these Intel chips, is they have a lot of extra room for over-clocking.
Using the Asus Suite software that comes with the Motherboard, all you have to do is literally press one button and software will automatically over-clock your motherboard safely. My 4 year old Intel i7-2600K 4x Core is still going very strong. It's base clock speed is 3.4 GHz and Turbo speed is 3.8 GHz. Using Asus software, I have it safely over-clocked to 4.3 GHz - it good go higher if I wanted to push it.

I plan to build a new computer in the next 12 months.
I will be using an Intel i7-5930K or i7-5960X if I can find a money tree in back yard.

Cheers Derek! I really appreciate you taking the time to help me on this one!

Thanks mmcswnavy24! Really appreciate your helpful comments. I think as Derek suggests, I will go with the more expensive Intel as it is tried and tested. The company through whom I am creating this spec (PCSpecialist.co.uk) did flag up the need to add water cooling with the AMD, this in turn means using a taller case etc. I think I will stick with the Intel proc.

In terms of storage I tend to work with 2x 1TB drives for DV editing and archive the entire project to external drives of 3-5TB each. I find this keeps defrag times lower and quicker to manage them for premium poerformance.

Cheers!

One last one.....I have a choice within my budget of two mother boards:

ASUS® X99-S: ATX, HSW-E CPU, USB 3.0, SATA 6 GB/s
or
Gigabyte X99M gaming5, mATX LG211-3, USB3, SATA 6Gbs XFIRE SLI

Any preferences or aspects-to-be-aware-of here gents?

Get the Asus !
Asus has the best software apps for managing BIOS, Motherboard and CPU.

I'm with the Doc on this one. Get the Asus X99-S. I just went to the site you'll be purchasing from, as we don't have the "S" model here in the states. So looking at it compared to my Asus X99-Deluxe, you're pretty much getting the same board, minus two USB 3.0 on the back and 802.11 AC onboard. As I said in previous post, this Asus board looks "nice" in the Corsair 760T White case! Just remember to get some cooling for the processor! If the case you get supports it, I would recommend either the Corsair H100iGTX (its their newer model), or the CoolerMaster Seidon 240L. I have used both on older X79 platforms (previous LGA 2011 processors), and both worked fantastic on keeping the processors cool with a good overclock on them. If you want to go the 280mm radiator way, again providing the case supports, Corsair H110GT (new model) or the CoolerMaster Nepton 280L (this is the one I am using in my rig now, 5930K OC to 4.3GHz). Waiting to hear/see your new rig, but more importantly, how well it performs. Happy Editing!