New PC for Photo and Video Editing?

Dinarius

I want a new tower for photo (mostly) and video (some) editing.

My existing tower is a DELL, bought back in the days when you could "build" or spec a computer exactly as you wanted. Alas, DELL no longer offer that.

I need a PC with a lot of kick, so I'm thinking of buying a gaming machine.

A quick Google threw up the following....

http://www.custompc.ie/

http://www.alienware.ie/

https://pczone.ie/

http://www.elara.ie/?gclid=CMOPldeUuc0CFQae2woduc0Gkg

I need a fast processor, tons of very fast RAM, and a very fast graphics card. Lots of HD isn't that important.

While the custompc.ie home page is a dog's dinner to look at, I like their flexibility in terms of custom specs.

Clicking on the Intel Core i7 tag on the top row and going from there gets me a lot of PC (32GB RAM, Nvidia GTX950 video card etc.) for around €1600 incl. VAT.

That alone is about €1000 less than a far inferior offering from DELL.

Thoughts?

Thanks.

D.

Digital Solitude

It's about twice as much as a self build would cost you if that's an option, it's fairly handy. For less than that, you could get the same PC but with higher quality parts.

Is a self build an option at all? It's very easy to do like.

Alanstrainor

Building the machine yourself is easy, and there are tonnes and tonnes of guides online for the process of doing it. I'd say it's your best bet.

mordeith

Dinarius wrote: »

Clicking on the Intel Core i7 tag on the top row and going from there gets me a lot of PC (32GB RAM, Nvidia GTX950 video card etc.) for around €1600 incl. VAT.

Check PC Specialist as well. i7 with GTX950, 240GB SSD and 2TB HDD with 32GB RAM comes in at around €1300.

ItHurtsWhenIP

Go to this forum, fill out the PC spec template and these guys will see you right.

Dinarius

Thanks all.

I'd love to go the self-build route, but I can hardly change a plug.

Maybe I should look on the cost of it as a learning exercise!

If I went that route, are Elara good for parts?

Thanks again.

D.

Ps. Will look at PC Specialist now.

Doh!. Just remembered, I had them build my laptop a couple of years back. They were great. It screams, but it's only for admin. I want a desktop for editing. images.

Dinarius

MMFITWGDV wrote: »

Go to this forum, fill out the PC spec template and these guys will see you right.

Is this the thread you're referring to in the above forum?

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=74542374

Thanks.

D.

ItHurtsWhenIP

Dinarius wrote: »

Is this the thread you're referring to in the above forum?

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=74542374

Thanks.

D.

Yes it is.

mordeith

Just on a side note, what level of image editing are you doing? A high end GFX card isn't need unless you are doing 3D stuff and the 32GB of RAM is overkill as well unless you are talking about serious size RAW images.

Alanstrainor

mordeith wrote: »

Just on a side note, what level of image editing are you doing? A high end GFX card isn't need unless you are doing 3D stuff and the 32GB of RAM is overkill as well unless you are talking about serious size RAW images.

Video editing would likely benefit from oodles of RAM. But I didn't think a GPU was a huge concern, I would have thought encoding video was a very processor intensive task.

However, it depends what OP means, if they're just making slight adjustments in lightroom and stitching a few video clips together all this talk is a bit meaningless as almost any computer around the €500 mark will do this with ease.

Dinarius

Thanks for the replies.

I started a thread here....

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=100109116&utm_source=notification&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=notification

Please, please...add you tuppence worth.

On the issues of GPU, RAM and general spec, I want to be able to move around large, layered files in a blink.

I also want security, reliability and longevity within a given spec. So, for example, if I want my graphics card, whatever capacity and speed it is, to be amongst the best in that spec range.

Thanks again.

D.

mordeith

Dinarius wrote: »

Thanks for the replies.

I started a thread here....

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=100109116&utm_source=notification&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=notification

Please, please...add you tuppence worth.

On the issues of GPU, RAM and general spec, I want to be able to move around large, layered files in a blink.

I also want security, reliability and longevity within a given spec. So, for example, if I want my graphics card, whatever capacity and speed it is, to be amongst the best in that spec range.

Thanks again.

D.

Regarding your concerns on future proofing the GFX is not something you need to spend a lot on in terms of your needs. If gaming isn't something you are concerned about then a mid range card will do fine. The CPU and RAM are priorities when handling large files.

Dinarius

mordeith wrote: »

Regarding your concerns on future proofing the GFX is not something you need to spend a lot on in terms of your needs. If gaming isn't something you are concerned about then a mid range card will do fine. The CPU and RAM are priorities when handling large files.

mordeith,

Thanks for that.

My only concern on that score are the problems (crashes) I've had with video editing in my current setup - one of my main reasons for a new machine. I want to be well covered in terms of graphics power and memory.

But, no, gaming is not a concern at all.

Thanks again.

D.

mordeith

Dinarius wrote: »

mordeith,

Thanks for that.

My only concern on that score are the problems (crashes) I've had with video editing in my current setup - one of my main reasons for a new machine. I want to be well covered in terms of graphics power and memory.

But, no, gaming is not a concern at all.

Thanks again.

D.

Out of curiosity did you identify the cause of the crashes? Were they complete systems crashes or jus confined to the editing software?

Dinarius

mordeith wrote: »

Out of curiosity did you identify the cause of the crashes? Were they complete systems crashes or jus confined to the editing software?

Video editing software. System just not up to it. It would close without warning.

But, in any case, I'd like to minimize/eliminate where possible the spinning wheels/drumming-of-fingers-on-the-desktop that occurs with my current setup.

Thanks.

D.

Alanstrainor

mordeith wrote: »

Regarding your concerns on future proofing the GFX is not something you need to spend a lot on in terms of your needs. If gaming isn't something you are concerned about then a mid range card will do fine. The CPU and RAM are priorities when handling large files.

I agree, but would also add an SSD to this. Even if you are using the SSD just for the OS and short term storage while editing these large files. The best combo is usually a reasonable size SSD + a set of larger HDD disks for longer term storage. 256gb or 512gb SSDs are getting cheap now, so it doesn't even have to be very restrictive.

Without an SSD the rear/write times using a HDD would cause big bottlenecks.

Dinarius

Alanstrainor wrote: »

I agree, but would also add an SSD to this. Even if you are using the SSD just for the OS and short term storage while editing these large files. The best combo is usually a reasonable size SSD + a set of larger HDD disks for longer term storage. 256gb or 512gb SSDs are getting cheap now, so it doesn't even have to be very restrictive.

Without an SSD the rear/write times using a HDD would cause big bottlenecks.

Yes, on the thread I referred to above, that's exactly what has been specced. 1 x 512SSD and 2 x 2Tb.

Thanks for your input.

D.