Building a PC for Video Editing (High Res/Bit Depth Footage) and Ideally VR/Animation Capabilities

[Marc Parroquin]

I am totally new at this and am excited to build my first workstation.

Ideally I want to build something that can handle dealing with at least 6K RAW footage, Unreal Engine, and motion design in After Effects. I've been slowly learning about different visual effects rendering engines and if anyone has any expertise in that, would love to hear your take.

I hope to have at least 64GB of RAM, 8TB+ internal storage, Thunderbolt ports, SATA ports or PCIE available for SATA, and ideally dual 4K monitor out.

If possible, will replace the graphics card recommendations below as I have this available through a friend who is gifting it to me provided it's compatible with what I get.

https://www.amazon.com/EVGA-GeForce-GAMING-Graphics-12G-P4-2990-KR/dp/B00UVN21RQ

CGDirector.com Parts List: https://www.cgdirector.com/pc-builder/?=6LR0J

CPU: Intel i9 10980XE 3.0GHz 18-Core Processor ($1028.99)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D15 chromax.Black ($99.95)
Motherboard: EVGA X299 Dark E-ATX LGA2066 ($370.74)
GPU: AMD Radeon RX 5700XT - Gigabyte Gaming OC ($634.95)
Memory: 32GB (2 x 16GB) G.Skill Trident Z Neo DDR4-3600 C16 ($179.99)
Storage SSD: Samsung 870 QVO 4TB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($419.99)
Storage PCIe-SSD: ADATA XPG SX8200 Pro 2TB NVME M.2 Solid State Drive ($229.99)
Storage HDD: Seagate IronWolf 8TB, 3.5" ($205.99)
Power Supply: Corsair CX Series CX550M 550W ATX 2.4 Power Supply ($79.99)
Case: Corsair Graphite Series 780T ($199.99)
Total: $3450.57

CGDirector.com Parts List: https://www.cgdirector.com/pc-builder/?=6LR0I

CPU: Intel i9 10900k 3.6GHz 10-Core Processor ($579.99)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D15 chromax.Black ($99.95)
Motherboard: ASUS ROG Strix Z490-E Gaming ATX LGA1200 ($285.99)
GPU: Nvidia RTX 2080TI 11GB - EVGA FTW3 Ultra Gaming ($1137.14)
Memory: 64GB (4 x 16GB) G.Skill Trident Z Neo DDR4-3600 C16 ($364.99)
Storage SSD: Samsung 860 EVO 2TB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($199.99)
Storage PCIe-SSD: Sabrent Rocket 2TB NVMe Gen4 M.2 Solid State Drive ($369.99)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA 850 P2 80+ Platinum Power Supply ($180.00)
Case: Corsair Carbide Series Air 540 ($142.99)
Total: $3361.03

CGDirector.com Parts List: https://www.cgdirector.com/pc-builder/?=6LR0P

CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 3950X 3.5GHz 16-Core Processor ($722.82)
CPU Cooler: be quiet! Dark Rock Pro 4 ($89.90)
Motherboard: MSI X570 Tomahawk ATX AM4 ($263.00)
GPU: Nvidia RTX 2080TI 11GB - EVGA FTW3 Ultra Gaming ($1137.14)
Memory: 64GB (4 x 16GB) G.Skill Trident Z Neo DDR4-3600 C16 ($364.99)
Storage PCIe-SSD: Samsung 970 EVO PLUS 2TB M.2 Solid State Drive ($303.83)
Power Supply: EVGA 650 B5, 80 Plus Bronze 650W Power Supply ($93.95)
Case: Corsair Carbide Series Air 540 ($142.99)
Total: $3118.62

 

[Jerry James]

I'd go with Build 3 and swap out the 3950X for a Ryzen 9 5950X. The speed upgrade is quite noticeable in applications like After Effects and Unreal Engine and if you're shopping in this price range, I wouldn't compromise.

As for GPU, Nvidia released new graphics cards and you should be able to find cheaper options that give you the same performance. But since you already got a Titan, that's cool

You might also want to bump up that power supply for future upgrades (750/850 depending on pricing in your region), especially if you get into GPU rendering with Redshift or something.

Ideally I want to build something that can handle dealing with at least 6K RAW footage, Unreal Engine, and motion design in After Effects. I've been slowly learning about different visual effects rendering engines and if anyone has any expertise in that, would love to hear your take.

I hope to have at least 64GB of RAM, 8TB+ internal storage, Thunderbolt ports, SATA ports or PCIE available for SATA, and ideally dual 4K monitor out.

Overall, looks solid. Would you be planning to go the CPU or GPU rendering route?

 

[Marc Parroquin]

It'll likely be

I'd go with Build 3 and swap out the 3950X for a Ryzen 9 5950X. The speed upgrade is quite noticeable in applications like After Effects and Unreal Engine and if you're shopping in this price range, I wouldn't compromise.

As for GPU, Nvidia released new graphics cards and you should be able to find cheaper options that give you the same performance. But since you already got a Titan, that's cool

You might also want to bump up that power supply for future upgrades (750/850 depending on pricing in your region), especially if you get into GPU rendering with Redshift or something.



Overall, looks solid. Would you be planning to go the CPU or GPU rendering route?

Thank you so much! I'll look into the 5950x. It seems that Adobe Premiere/After Effects are more CPU intensive so that'll likely be the main focus. Have you used the Tomahawk MB before? Have you had issues with the Thunderbolt expansion? Just want to make sure it's as future proofed as possible.

 

[Jerry James]

It'll likely be




Thank you so much! I'll look into the 5950x. It seems that Adobe Premiere/After Effects are more CPU intensive so that'll likely be the main focus. Have you used the Tomahawk MB before? Have you had issues with the Thunderbolt expansion? Just want to make sure it's as future proofed as possible.

Thunderbolt support seems to have been revoked after the first few releases of the X570 Tomahawk motherboard. That's a bummer. Go for the ASRock X570 Taichi instead. You'll need an add-in card like this one as well - ASRock > Thunderbolt 3 AIC R2.0

 

[Marc Parroquin]

Because the Ryzen 5950x isn't going to be available for a while potentially, what other CPU/GPU combos do you recommend for the TaiChi?

 

[Marc Parroquin]

Because the Ryzen 5950x isn't going to be available for a while potentially, what other CPU/GPU combos do you recommend for the TaiChi?

Ideally in the $1200-$1400 range if possible.

 

[Jerry James]

Because the Ryzen 5950x isn't going to be available for a while potentially, what other CPU/GPU combos do you recommend for the TaiChi?

Oh, are you able to find a Ryzen 9 5900X? My region has them in stock now while the 5950X is still hard to come by.

 

[Marc Parroquin]

Unfortunately that isn't available either.