PC Tech Thread

No.

;-)

RGB isn't my thing, but it looks like you've got a couple of choices. You can get cases that have controllable in-built lighting, some for not much money either
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/kolink-void-rgb-midi-tower-case-black-window-ca-04l-kk.html

Or you could get whatever case you like and put in an RGB controller, some plug into a USB socket on the mobo and let you install software to control them. Some just use a Sata connection for power then have a little remote control. You can get complete systems or make your own
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/corsair-lighting-node-pro-rgb-lighting-controller-with-individually-addressable-rgb-led-strips-cm-000-cs.html

I think you're out of luck trying to sync it to the accessories unless you move to Corsair, their Icue software looks like it'll do the job.
https://www.corsair.com/uk/en/icue

Otherwise I imagine even using two different pieces of software to control the RGB in the case and the accessories it should be possible to make them match, like if you use the 'breath' fade you can usually control which colours and how long on each.

Does anyone here have any experience with PC workstations for video production?

I'm coming from mac but everything I use is cross platform so there's zero benefit to me staying on a mac anymore. I'm not totally clueless about pc's as I've had to work on them for the last 20 years I just haven't had to build one in about the same amount of time.

The video production offerings on Scan look really good (happy to be told otherwise) but I guess my main question mark is amd or Intel as there seems to be a lot of conflicting info online.

Any knowledge would be greatly appreciated.

Are you buying new top end?

Intel rule the lower 2/3 of the market
AMD now rule the top 1/3 of the market

But obviously you need to be buying chips in those regions... Cheap AMD is pointless, absolutely top end Intel in a desktop can be bettered by AMD.

Exception is laptops where Intel still rule because of the integration of so many other chipsets

It'll be i9 or amd's equivalent (thread ripper I think?) are they the top offerings?

Mac and pc video production workstations have typically been xeon chips but Intel's I chips are actually better for video editing.

Edit - I think the it's amd ryzen which is the equivalent of Intel's I series. From what I can tell 3 grand will give me more than enough machine (which is a hell of a lot less than I'm used to paying)

Yeah, Thread Ripper is the top AMD that is currently kicking butt.

The problem with Intel is that even though on paper they look compelling, there are trade-offs. For example you get great built-in video codecs... but they've had so many security issues with their chips that there's actually a software performance penalty with Intel due to Meltdown and Spectre, two issues which force them to downgrade their performance to be secure (and no you can't effectively disable this, the updates shipped was operating systems).

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2018-01-18/intel-has-a-big-problem-it-needs-to-act-like-it

So on paper the top Intel is super fast, but AMD don't have the same security issues that Intel does so even equivalents make AMD faster as the Intel are being held back, their optimisations disabled.

But... Intel optimisations like the hardware encoding for video... well that isn't disabled, and does make a difference.

So yeah... it's confusing and murky as to what is best... in pure benchmarks the Thread Rippers are really outperforming the Intels, but in real world the Intels remain good enough.

At £3k though... well you aren't looking at the top AMD Ryzen Threadripper chips as those are around £3k. So you're still just below the point where AMD massively pulls away from Intel in performance... you're shopping at the cusp of top i9s and lower Ryzen Threadripper... so I'd actually say... meh, no huge difference... highly comparable... buy what makes you happy :D

I built a AMD machine end of last year and it cost me around £2000, I use it for video editing and 3D animation. I purposefully went for 32GB RAM only and a just enough graphic card but I went for a big case so I can upgrade in the future.

Happy to dig out my invoice share the specs. with you.

I had it custom built with OCUK and getting individual parts ended up being cheaper for me.

Was so close to getting it from Scan but they pissed me off with their lack of will to close the deal with me and when they did get round sending me a quote that made sense, they pressured me into paying within a couple of hours. But I am sure that was just a one off.

I bought a AMD system from Scan last year based on Ryzen 9 3900x, has just had to go back for repair as it’s not turning on! Guess something to do with power supply, annoyingly they are so busy they can’t give me a timeline for repair, and as I use it for work I can’t really roll back to a crappy PC so have bought an Alienware PC system based on a Ryzen 9 3950x with 65gb of RAM so about as good as I can get without stepping into threadripper territory.

Cheers, really good info. As I don't do 3d work the top spec thread ripper won't actually be that beneficial (cost to performance wise) as most of the software I use doesn't seem to be written to really take advantage of the architecture.

I'm not sure about happiness but if you buy a threadripper is it mandatory to get a case with neon flashing led go faster stripes?

If you don't mind sharing the specs that would be really helpful. What's the performance like? My main work tools are premiere, avid, after effects and ableton live. No 3D stuff so if you're doing it well with your set up it'll probably be alright for me?

@Sam_w what work are you using it for if you don't mind me asking? Are you post production?

Use mine for financial and statistical modelling, so need fast processor and ram, the graphics are just a bonus for me.

Performance is awesome, so fast! So so fast!

So whenever I go back to using my work MacBook Pro for any editing, I am like... meh... what is this shit! 🤣 My main day job doesn’t require me to do much editing of any kind.

I’ll send you a PM in a bit when I turn on my computer.

Most people would tell you to buy the most expensive you can afford, I could have gone for 64GM ram and a better graphics card as my budget was about £2.5k, but they would only be beneficial for me once in a long while, if ever. I am not too worried about rendering time for final projects as that’s something to do overnight anyway...

Mind you, I am pretty sure video editing software and 3D software take advantage of slightly different areas of the computer and as I do both, mine is considered as an all rounder.

Nice one, thanks.

From what I've specced up the 3 grand mark seems to give me what I need but like you said I don't see the point in spending more money to have power I won't really take advantage of when I can use that cash to buy other kit.

I've just done what you are doing.
Some good reading here... assuming its adobe you are using for video editing.

https://www.pugetsystems.com/recommended/Recommended-Systems-for-Adobe-Premiere-Pro-143

I spent 2k

Amd 3900x
64GB ram
Rtx 2070 super

Pcpartpicker is a good place to do your shopping list

Thanks, I checked out puget, they do a good break down of things. I'm mostly Adobe and Avid.

I'm going for the 3900xt, 128gb ram 3 separate ssd's for os/apps, projects and scratch. I'm just waiting for next month when nvidia bring out their card updates. It'll still all come in under 3k when I get the vat back.

No NVME? Also how have you budget for the 3000 series Nvidea cards, if that's what you mean? They haven't announced anything yet.

My app and project ssd's will be nvme/m.2.

All the rumours are for a September launch for the next Nvidia cards and they've just announced an event for the 1st of September, and if there's a price change it should actually less than the current lot as they're cheaper to manufacturer.

Sounds like it'll be great machine, I want something similar to get in to all the realtime visualisation stuff that's getting big now, but I can't justify if it's not paying for itself.

but I can't justify if it's not paying for itself.

Completely, if it wasn't for work I wouldn't be dropping that sort of money on a machine. Coming from apple land though it's outrageously cheap by comparison. Plus I haven't invested in new kit in quite sometime as most of my work was still at post houses (pre covid) and I've been waiting on the mac pro development before deciding whether or not to switch to PC.

if I wanted to have a custom PC built with the following specs in the UK, who would I go to?

Chassis FragBox
Chassis Logo Insert RGB Light
Power Supply EVGA SuperNOVA G3 - 750 Watt
Motherboard Asus® TUF Z390M-Pro Gaming WI-FI
Processor Intel® CoreTM i7-9700K 8 Cores - 8 Threads - 4.9GHz
Processor Overclock No Overclock
Processor Cooler Asetek® Liquid Cooling 650LS
Memory 64GB - 4x16GB - 3000MHZ
Video Card NVIDIA® Quadro RTXTM 6000 24GB - Professional
Sound Card On-Board Audio
Networking On-Board Ethernet
Operating System Drive - SSD Intel® 660P - 512GB SSD - M.2 - PCI Express
Optical Drive DVD Writer Slot Load
64-Bit Operating System Windows 10 Pro
Rescue Drive USB Rescue Drive
Warranty 3 Years Parts and Labor

How imporant is the warrenty to you? It doesnt sound like a very difficult build, but I can understand why it would be intimidating.

Looks like you have copied those spec's from somewhere?

That GPU is £4k by itself, for that much money if you're not building yourself and so buying each part yourself, I'd for a complete build from somewhere so you have a warranty.

Fair point

What are you up to Fred?