In my previous article, I discussed setting aside a budget and what were the your needs out of building your first PC. I also briefly touched on the parts needed to build my new edit station. However I really did not go into to much detail, so let’s begin with my assembled laundry list of PC Parts I selected to build my PC.
Processor
First, I chose my processor, as this would enviably dictate every other piece of gear that I would need to support it. I chose an Intel i7 3770k. The k in the designation means the processor is unlocked, and I can over-clock the processor to gain even more performance gains. But I will go into that a little later.
Case
Next, I chose a case to fit all my parts. I knew I wanted something large, and that could be easily upgraded with various parts later on. Choosing a case with plenty of room and a great cable management is crucial. There is nothing worse than working with cables in a tight space, or finding out the parts you selected can’t fit in your case due to size. I chose the Cooler Master HAF X case. This case is quiet large and simply very easy to work with, providing me with plenty of options and cable management. I like how I am able to add and remove additional hard drives easily with their tray system. The case also supports USB 3.0 which is a great addition for editing.
Motherboard
Choosing a Mother is where you have to be very careful. First, remember the mother board must support the sockets on your processor. Otherwise it won’t fit, or worse you will break both the mother board and processor’s pins trying to ram them together. For my mother board I also wanted Thunderbolt support. This would give me better flexibility and faster transfer rates when working with large HD files or even RED files. After much research, I decided to go with the Asus P-877V Premium, as it ticked off all right boxes.
Cooling
Now this has actually changed since making this list, as I have now gone with a water cooling solution. However, I did initially pick an after market fan. I knew I was going to over-clock my processor, thus I would have higher temperatures. This meant an upgraded fan, as the stock Intel fan just wouldn’t be enough. I went with the well-received Cooler Master Hyper 212 plus.
Power Supply
When it comes to power, you can never have too much, especially when you decide to add more powerful graphics cards and additional hard drives. The other thing to remember is if you want a modular design or not. The benefit of a modular design is having everything built into the power supply reducing the amount of cables. The trade off is cost, as they usually cost significantly more. My current power supply is a Seasonic Platinum 1000w.
Graphics Cards
Choosing graphics cards for some reason has become a very personal thing. People get vicious and are quick to defend their manufacture. At any rate, I chose a card that I could work with Adobe and Avid. This meant Nvidia was my choice in order to take advantage of Cuda , and SLI. I was able to capitalize on the great Boxing day deals, and ended up choosing the Nvidia GTX680 4GB from EVGA. I already had great success with my EVGA GTX 570 on my MacPro, so I figured lets stay keep it in the family.
Hard Drives
Well, this is really simple, I picked up an Intel 250GB SSD as my main drive, and a 1TB mechanical drive as my backup. SSD’s really make my PC feel much faster.
Operating System
For professional editors, there are really 2 choices out there Apple OSX , and Windows 7/8. This is really was my first PC build, and I really did not want to mess with compatibility issues building a hackintosh. Also, I did not want to get involved with Windows 8, as there has not been a ton of support for drivers, and software manufactures as of yet. Therefore my OS of choice is Windows 7 Professional.
After reading that Laundry list of parts, you can see where this PC is starting to come together. In my next posting I will discuss testing the parts and assembling them into the case.
Tej Babra is a film maker and editor working with broadcast giants like Bell Media, CTV, Rogers, MTV, and Much Music, as well as a variety of film production companies. Tej is also a proud associate member of the Canadian Cinema Editors.
@TejBabra nice setup.. should run smooth as silk!
@FMatiasPhoto thanks !
Nice article Tej!
Im currently buying parts as well to assemble my second editing workstation. However, unlike you, I will build a hackintosh, due to positive experiences with my last build.
Your setup is actually great for hackintosh use. You could, in the future, buy another ssd and simply have a go at it.
My last comment is about the case. Haf x is great, no problem, but I went with the Corsair Obisidian 650D because it has a really cool feature: an hot swap sata dock on top of the case. Simply said, this allows you to use any 2,5 or 3,5″ drive and make backups in a second. This proved to be a very handy feature for me, as Im often fiddling with my system drive.
What ram did you get?
Greetings
Pepo
Thank you !
The Corsair Obsidian was my original choice, however I could not pass up the sale price on the HAFX, it was nearly half the price of the Corsair on my day of purchase. I like how the HAFX has 2 hot swappable bays, directly in front of the machine, making it super easy to swap out drives. Not as convent as the Corsair, but still effecitive.
I have also run OSX on it, but on a old mechanical drive I had sitting around. I plan on grabbing another SSD soon.
Opps I forgot to mention the ram… 32GB G.Skill Trident X.
@Tej Babra I’ve owned the HAF-X for two years now, and the swappable bays were one of the selling points for me. There’s a couple things I don’t like about them though, and why I’m not currently using them:
1) You still need to use tools to mount the hard drives. They’re not tool-less. Screws are required, so it slows the process down.
2) This may be a slight defect of my particular case, but the drives aren’t perfectly lined up with the SATA/Power ports in the bay. One of them goes in no problem, but the other is very hard to get to sit right. I’m afraid that one day I’m going to damage the PCB or port at the back of the bay trying to shove one of the drives in.
Other than that, the case is amazing. It’s been very clean, and the removable dust covers really keep it neat inside. I’m very happy with it overall.
@bkmvincent @Tej Babra I agree with you. It’s not really a tool-less case. Installing the graphics card support bracket was bit difficult. But then again my MacPro is not tool-less either.
I have not had any issues with my drives aligning up. You may have one that was built on a Friday. ;)
I really do like this case.
@bkmvincent @Tej Babra I agree with you. It’s not really a tool-less case. Installing the graphics card support bracket was bit difficult. But then again my MacPro is not tool-less either.
I have not had any issues with my drives aligning up. You may have one that was built on a Friday. ;)
I really do like this case.
@Tej Babra @bkmvincent Oh yeah, I just meant the swappable bays weren’t tool-less. I’m used to screwing everything else in.
Maybe I should have returned mine when I bought it! It’s really weird how my bottom bay just doesn’t want to line up as well as the other.
Interested to see how Thunderbolt works out, particularly if you go with a Hackintosh setup. I’m in the process of updating my system for it, and went with the X79 chipset over the Z77 for six-core and extra DIMM slots. I really wanted Thunderbolt, but that was the only thing I was giving up going with X79.
@bkmvincent it is weird that it does not line up.
X79 should run a little cooler too ? Loosing Thunderbolt is not that big of a deal as USB 3.0 is pretty much everywhere now. I just wanted Thunderbolt, as I got spoiled working with it already.
@RikitikProd thanks
@TejBabra cool post. Reminds me I need to do one :) — Though you didn’t go hackintosh, did you pick parts based on it as a possibility?
@westonWoodbury I did – based on a possibility. I have OSX installed on another drive. It’s seems to run fine. But needs more testing first
@TejBabra gotcha. Thanks
@westonWoodbury no problem. I will update it later, using it as a hackintosh
@TejBabra sweet. You’ve used Lightworks a bit right?
@westonWoodbury yes I have worked with it before .
@TejBabra @westonWoodbury oh really that is interesting ….keep us posted plz :)
@michaschmidt @westonWoodbury I will have second post soon.
@TejBabra @westonWoodbury cool cool cool :)
@TejBabra great post. Was thinking about building my own workstation and was contemplating using and AMD processor to save money.
@turgano thanks ! AMD may save you money, but if you plan on running OSX in it in the future. Intel would be a better plan.
@turgano @TejBabra for video editing, stick with Intel i7 processor. http://t.co/KB4PYOdVp9
@Tej Babra Great job on the DIY workstation article. A very nice machine that will run Avid, Adobe, Edius, & Vegas. Very simlar to our DIY 9.5 build http://www.videoguys.com/Guide/E/Videoguys+DIY9+Its+Time+for+Sandy+Bridge+E+DIY+95+Update/0xe9b142f408a2b03ab88144a434e88de7.aspx
@Tej Babra tiny URL for our DIY 9.5 Guide http://tinyurl.com/aszg8wr
@videoguys @Tej Babra thank you !
I would suggest developing a parts list in a different order:
1) software including OS. Informs hardware requirements. (e.g. avid approves workstation graphics cards; adobe approves cheaper gaming cards–yes, avid can be jiggered to use gaming cards).
2) CPU
3) GPU
4) MoBo
5) RAM
6) disk drives (OS & programs, video data, other data, b/u)
7) HD controller (as necessary)
8) potential future expansion (cards, disks, etc)
9) cooling (now that one knows what needs cooling & how much)
10) P/S (now that one knows how much power is needed)
11) case (now that one knows how much space is needed & where the bits get distributed for efficient quiet airflow)
Not to say one ends up with a different shopping list. Only this sequence strikes me as more efficient.
@mark p thanks ! That seems like a more logical order. I will keep that in mind
Was there any problems fitting your memory in the slots with the cooling fan you used
@KevinCotton no I did not. There was just enough room. I now switched to a water cooled fan. So there is even more room now.
Can you tell us what type of water cooler fan you installed
@KevinCotton I am currently using the Cosair H90. It works well. You just need to make sure you have a place to mount it in your case, as the fan is 140mm
Great job very helpful
@KevinCotton thank you.