PC Build vs Mac Pro

[lewnworxx]

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Geez thats some cheap 970's.

Here a X will set you back 1500 and a pair of 970's will be 1100...

Yikes! Both my 970's purchased locally at retail were just under $700. Probably could have saved a bit more mail ordering but was in a rush.

 

[fathergll]

https://forums.adobe.com/thread/1718948
https://forums.adobe.com/thread/1726309

 

[monokakata]

That 8 TB Hitachi is pretty new. I like Hitachi drives, but I'd wait on it.

At Amazon, you can get the 4 TB Hitachi, retail pack, for about $165. You could own 4 of those for less than you're paying for the 8 TB, and you could either RAID a couple of them to get 8 TB that would be a lot faster than a single 8 TB, or you could just have 16 tb to do with as you wish. Or just get a pair.

Basically, drives are cheap. Start small, see how it works, add more later.

I'd look at a classier case, though -- check out the Lian Li line. I used to always use them. I did a build for somebody in one of these. Beautiful case.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811112312

 

[gpzjock]

Lian Li get my vote too.

I had an i7 Hack Pro built in an older Lian Li V1000 case, a little modding for the cable runs and it was fine.
Still looks and runs great, over 2 years later.
Sandybridge 2700K at 3.5 GHz standard with 16 GB RAM, 2 x 250 GB SSD and a 4 GB GTX770, £1200 for a decent lick of speed Mac in 2013. Roughly equal in speed to an old Hexcore Mac Pro 2012 at 3.33 GHz.

http://static.bootic.com/_pictures/1419450/270x350/lian-li-pc-v1000z.jpg

The wheels help with mobility and even have a brake. Much better than heaving 25kg of MP 3,1 about on sharp metal handles, as my previous beast had me do.

Currently having a Hack Mini built out of a smaller Lian Li case, max weight 10kg. All aluminium cases save mass.

This quiet PC i7 build looks like a nice thing for the price, fantastic cooling layout. Put the other $4000 into upgrades or the next thing 3 years later.
http://www.silentpcreview.com/article1445-page1.html

 

[carylee2002]

Hi everyone,

I'm sick of waiting for a mac pro refresh, and have decided to buy a computer this week for 4k editing in premire(and maybe avid later), after effects, and gaming. I was still considering getting a nMP, but after realizing what I'd get from a pc build for the same money, I'm leaning towards going that route. I've never built a computer from scratch before, and might take it to Fry's to get it assembled, but here's the build that I'm looking at:

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/29t4vK

I'll eventually get 3 4k monitors and want the system to last 7-10 years and be extremely upgrade friendly. What do you guys think?

Questions:

1. Can you see any compatibility issues?
2. How do I make it work with thunderbolt? USB3 and wireless/wired networking is built into the motherboard and case right?
3. If I decide to add more hard drives internally and set them up in a raid, what would I need? A raid card? I would use these drives for 4k uncompressed editing.
4. Can I improve the cooling? One thing I love about the mac pro is the cooling. How would this build compare to the noise lvl of the mac pro?
5. Would I be able to add a 2nd cpu into this build if I ever wanted more cores?
6. What am I missing? What would you do differently? Is there any reason to still consider a mac pro?

Thanks! I appreciate any advice hat you can throw my way!

First of all…I would not even be looking into a mac or try to build a computer. I built computers for years and the technology changes too rapidly that your savings in money is not really worth the headache of trying to upgrade all the time. I would therefore look into companies that could do the job. Hewitt Packard Z series is where I would look at first. If your a gamer, then Alienware has overdrive computers but then it is gamers and not for editors. As for 4k footage, you can edit down to 1/4 image and it is still HD. I would use proxies on a 1080p timeline then when all the editing is done, go back up to 4k so you won't be eating so much hard drive space. Think that your computer is good for about 5 years because by then 4k will be like 1080p right now. As for raid, it is better to an external raid vs using software raid internally. Youtube has videos by editors who edit red footage on a laptop and desktops and they will help you decide what to do. But stay clear of trying to build a computer yourself unless you have experience.

 

[--AG--]

You don't want to build a 6k$ computer from parts. Buy a HP workstation with similar spec, e.g. Z640 or Z840, and include some kind of extended guarantee if it is a long-term "investment". The performance will be very similar for the money plus you can call someone if/when it breaks.