Advice Requested on New System Build

[BryanBend]

Would appreciate suggestions re: New system Build. Using Video X4 Ultimate.

Use for cad, some video editing, no game use. Probably not 3d video. Vid size under 1 Hour. Mostly short clips, some longer vids compilations of and remixes of other dvd content from owned dvd's for personal use.

Proposed:
i-5 2500 considering i-7 Use I-5 overclock to 4.2 to 4.5, save $100 120, apply towards ssd boot drive or video card.
i-7 advantages threading, worth it?

win7 64 home premium considering: Pro: more ram access than 16GB in pro or ram issues with home premium?
Use premium, save $60 apply towards SSD boot drive or video card.

16 GB Corsair Vengeance ddr 3 1600

ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 or Asus P8Z68-V PRO/GEN3 : Price better on ASRock. Using Intel 3000 on chip graphics via the I-5 2500, vs a MB w/o onboard video, save $50 and apply toward video card? Video card suggestions?

MB comparison: like the Asus, ability to use SSD and hard drive combo, not sure if the ASRock supports similar, also considering Gigabyte Z68XP-UD4. Also want to use virtual drive to load win-xp 32, for older software. Not sure if ASRock and Gigabyte supports virtual drive.

Drives:
Boot: 500GB 7200rpm sata Caviar Black or similar.
Boot: (future) OCZ-VERTEX III 60GB ATA Device
Storage 1TB sata
Backup clone 1TB sata

Power Supply:OCZ600MXSP

Any comments would be appreciated, or links to other threads, similar content.
Bryan.

[TonyP]

What is the primary function of the computer going to be? CAD? If so, see what THAT program requires to run efficiently. IF it works with hyper-threading, then go that way. You will essentially see 8 threads running in Task Manager with the i7 2600. I would opt for the i7 2600K (that can be overclocked. So can the i5 2500k but it does not have hyper-threading). If you plan on overclocking the CPU's , get yourself a CPU cooler (I would not stay with a stock cooler). I use the Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo. Price is right and it works. I overclocked my AMD Phenom II X6 1090t from 3.2 to 3.9Ghz. It was easy to install and there are videos on youtube to show you how.
SSD will speed up boot time and program access but at a cost of storage size. A lot of programs do not like being placed on anything other than a c: drive, so if you have a lot of them, consider the choice of a slower, but more space mechanical drive.
As for video cards, well, again, it depends what will be the primary purpose of the computer. I use ATI. Others, Nvidia. Choose your poison.
As for RAM, if the programs are 32bit, the most (IIRC) they will access is 2gigs of RAM. If they are 64bit, then what you have is what they will use. I have 16gigs because it was cheap to get. IF you run a lot of programs at one time, then the more RAM the better, with a 64bit OS. I will have VSP, PSP, web browser and a few other programs open at the same time and have no issues. I am using Corsair Vengeance low profile because if you get an aftermarket cooler, it might cover some of your RAM slots.
I am sure that others will chime in with some good suggestions.

[BryanBend]

Thanks Tony:

My Cad program does not require much cpu etc, works fine on my existing old machine. So just wondering if there is a particular configuration that is best for Video X4 or 5 to speed rendering.

I have been reading a bit about how Win 7 pro may be superior to home premium, in ways besides the additional ram support over 16gb. I seem to see many of the members running pro, vs home. Hoping to get some comments on that.

And video cards: Was initially planning on using the onboard graphics, on the I-5 or I-7 chip, I think it is Intel 3000.
And cannot seem to find any articles on rendering, with respect to if a dedicated graphics card will speed that.
I think the playback of hd vid should be fine on the integrated Intel 3000 on chip processor.

So wondering if there is a particular GPU card that works well with x4.

I have read articles on other software video editing programs that have specific GPU chip components that work well with those particular programs, so thought there might be some info around for the X4. Perhaps X4 is not that challenging to the processor or video card?

ps: was planning on the same processor cooling you noted.


Thanks:
Bryan.

[TonyP]

The faster the machine, the faster the rendering and the smoother it will behave if you edit AVCHD, .mov and use a lot of filters and effects.
I use Win7 Pro 64bit because I can use more than 3.2gigs of ram (the amount that will show if you use Win 32bit with 4gigs installed). I would opt for 64bit Win7. I do not think with using VSP that there is any distinct advantage between Win Pro and Home Premium as long as they both are 64bit.
I am not a fan of onboard graphics because a lot of programs do not like them and they do not have the processing power of a video card. I use Magic Bullet Looks and forget about using onboard graphics with that program. VSP X5 takes advantage of GPU (graphics processing unit) and multicore CPU's for faster rendering and operation.
You choice of either i5 or i7 depends on the chip you will use. Ideally, the i7 2600k would be an awesome choice, but the chip costs over $300 as opposed to the i5 2500k at about $100 less. Both are fast, it's just that the i7 multi-threads and the i5 doesn't.
The choice in video cards? Hmmm... I use ATI. Others, Nvidia. How much are you looking to spend will determine which card you should buy.
I have used NLE's that make use of the GPU in transition, effects and filter usage. GPU's are faster than CPU's.
Decide on the total cost of the computer and start from there.

[BryanBend]

Thank you Tony: this helps!

I am planning on win7 64 bit, with 16gb ram, had read that there could be some other issues with the home version, besides the 16 gb limitation, and have noted that many that do video work opted for the Pro edition. As I was planning on using 16 GB I opted for the home, version, got it for $80 on sale, and will try it, can always do the upgrade to pro.

So X4 or X5 does take advantage of multi-threading? then the 1-7 would be great.
But both popular versions of the i-5 and i-7 have onboard graphics, perhaps then the mb choice, to one that does not support the onboard graphics of the processor, to avoid conflicts. I have read a bit about this in some NLE related sites.

Bryan.

[TonyP]

With the i7, you will see 8 threads displayed in Task Manager, not 4 cores. So you see where multi-threading will be an advantage. Again, I bought 16gigs because it was cheap for me to do it.
I upgraded from XP Pro to Win7 Pro 64 because I wanted to be able to use more RAM for what I was doing. Try Home Premium and see how it goes. Like you said, you can always upgrade!
Yes, X5 will make use of the GPU and multi-core CPU.
As for onboard graphics, you can buy a mobo like that and just disable the feature in the BIOS if you are comfortable with it. Once that is done, you should have no issues because you have set up your video card as your display device. Or, get a mobo without built in video. Do not worry about using any of the i7's.

With the release of Ivy Bridge and it's slightly improved speed and lower power consumption, you are at the right time of buying. That should hopefully drop the price of say a i72600k a few dollars. Also, Nvidia has just released a new high end video card (along with ATI) and you should see a lowering of prices on video cards. You do not have to have the "latest and greatest" for editing. There are good mid range cards that will work just fine.

Do not scrimp on a power supply either. Stick with the name brands (Antec, Thermaltake, BFG, Corsair, OCZ, Cooler Master, etc). The bigger the power supply, the easier time it will have when you overclock. The same with mobo's.