Computer build for 4k editing and 3d rendering, advice needed.

turramin · Mar 1, 2016

Hi, Does anyone on here build their own computers? I'm planning to build one for editing 4k video and using 3d rendering / photogrammetry software.
However it will be my first build so I'm trying to find out what others have used successfully to do the same.
What CPU / graphics cards ect I should be considering.
Any advice would be great thanks.

ringolong · Mar 1, 2016

I just recently built an i7-4790k hackintosh that works great for editing and rendering. What is the budget?

turramin · Mar 1, 2016

+ - £1000 ($1400) , could stretch a bit more though.

unyks · Mar 1, 2016

turramin said:
+ - £1000 ($1400) , could stretch a bit more though.

That's a challenge...

pixl45 · Mar 1, 2016

Double or triple your budget for a start. A good monitor and video card for pro-level work will eat up much of your stated budget. And after you build your tower up you'll still need to think about fast BIG drives and gobs of RAM.

turramin · Mar 1, 2016

Could probably stretch to double, I've been using pcpartpicker.com to keep track of everything. Still looking for advice on specific video cards, ect.

ringolong · Mar 1, 2016

I have less than 1k in mine without the monitor. Purchased every part on sale during Christmas

This was geared for the mac os.

Asus 97-A
Corsair Vengeance Pro 16GB 1866Mhz
i7-4790k
EVGA NVIDIA GeForce GTX 760 SC
Antec Eleven Hundred V2
EVGA 600 B1 80+ BRONZE
Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO - CPU Cooler
Sandisk 256gb ssd
1tb wd Black

seanmclean · Mar 2, 2016

turramin said:
Could probably stretch to double, I've been using pcpartpicker.com to keep track of everything. Still looking for advice on specific video cards, ect.

There's no need to double or triple your budget (excluding the monitor - that is a very important piece). I built this computer last year for $1300, and the only thing it could use more of is storage (which is cheap).

Your Sale Information
SKU Description Quantity Price Per Total Price
846212 SEAGATE 3TB 3.5 7200RPM INT SAT

S/N: 1 84.99 84.99
553727 SAMSUNG E 250GB 850 EVO SSD

S/N: 1 99.99 99.99
Match Competitor
734152 EVGA 600W 80+ BRONZE PSU

S/N: 1 74.99 74.99
139824 CORSAIR CARBIDE SERIES 300R CASE
1 69.99 69.99

297267 CRUCIAL 16GB 8X2 D3 1600 DIMM C9
1 109.99 109.99
Discount Coupon

090761 IPSG LG 16X SATA BD BURNER

S/N: 1 56.99 56.99
250811 ASROCK Z97EXTREME4 ATX

S/N: 1 94.99 94.99
Price Protection

302273 INTEL BOX INTEL CORE I7-4790K

S/N: XXXXXXXXXXXX 1 279.99 279.99
819565 MS OEM WIN8.1 64BIT ENG 1PK DVD
1 99.99 99.99

975805 NZXT 5.25 USB3 BAY CARD READER
1 39.99 39.99

109280 EVGA GTX750TI SC 2GB D5 DHDP
S/N: 1 144.99 144.99

Edit: Moderator removed serial number

The Editor · Mar 2, 2016

seanmclean said:
There's no need to double or triple your budget (excluding the monitor - that is a very important piece). I built this computer last year for $1300, and the only thing it could use more of is storage (which is cheap).

Your Sale Information
SKU Description Quantity Price Per Total Price
846212 SEAGATE 3TB 3.5 7200RPM INT SAT

S/N: Z500WT9J 1 84.99 84.99
553727 SAMSUNG E 250GB 850 EVO SSD

S/N: S21NNSAG101246 1 99.99 99.99
Match Competitor
734152 EVGA 600W 80+ BRONZE PSU

S/N: 1403530605816990 1 74.99 74.99
139824 CORSAIR CARBIDE SERIES 300R CASE
1 69.99 69.99

297267 CRUCIAL 16GB 8X2 D3 1600 DIMM C9
1 109.99 109.99
Discount Coupon

090761 IPSG LG 16X SATA BD BURNER

S/N: 412HFME014771 1 56.99 56.99
250811 ASROCK Z97EXTREME4 ATX

S/N: 51M0XE027672 1 94.99 94.99
Price Protection

302273 INTEL BOX INTEL CORE I7-4790K

S/N: XXXXXXXXXXXX 1 279.99 279.99
819565 MS OEM WIN8.1 64BIT ENG 1PK DVD
1 99.99 99.99

975805 NZXT 5.25 USB3 BAY CARD READER
1 39.99 39.99

109280 EVGA GTX750TI SC 2GB D5 DHDP
S/N: 1512533753804664 1 144.99 144.99

Edit: Moderator removed serial number

Whilst I'm sure it would not be an issue I have removed your Windows 8.1 serial number from your post.
This is a public forum and you never know who is trawling.

seanmclean · Mar 2, 2016

The Editor said:
Whilst I'm sure it would not be an issue I have removed your Windows 8.1 serial number from your post.
This is a public forum and you never know who is trawling.

Thanks, didn't even notice!

ringolong · Mar 2, 2016

No worries. I copied it, and shared it on utorrent before The Editor deleted

NJAdam · Mar 16, 2016

What about an iMac? I'm a PC person myself and am comfortable building my own boxes, but there's something to be said about the convenience (and elegance) of the all-in-one iMacs. Granted, you pay a premium for that convenience and "elegance", but they do have some pretty capable machines. It's possible to get a decently powered i7 16GB AMD GPU 27" 5K iMac for around $2500. Anyone here use iMacs specifically for editing 4K video?

pixl45 · Mar 16, 2016

NJAdam said:
What about an iMac? I'm a PC person myself and am comfortable building my own boxes, but there's something to be said about the convenience (and elegance) of the all-in-one iMacs. Granted, you pay a premium for that convenience and "elegance", but they do have some pretty capable machines. It's possible to get a decently powered i7 16GB AMD GPU 27" 5K iMac for around $2500. Anyone here use iMacs specifically for editing 4K video?

Though I'm a dyed-in-the-wool Mac user (since 1987), at this point I'm less enthusiastic about them. They truly are elegant machines and really capable out of the box, but the current iMacs offer little path forward over time. Sure, 5K video is state of the art now, just as 4k video was state of the art 18 months ago. The problem with iMacs now is that all upgrade paths are sealed off. Need a memory upgrade later? You're **** out-of-luck -- the RAM (get 32gb to be safer) is soldered to the motherboard. Need more internal hard-drive... sorry, also not upgradeable. Need a better GPU? Sorry....you get the idea.

The big video houses that are doing high-res video are often opting for the Mac Pro, which, while very powerful and upgradeable, has had a lot of reliability issues. If you have any access to Mac repair forums online, you'll see many comments about the appropriateness of it's trash can shape. They do also use iMacs, but generally upgrade to newer machines as they come out.

I have a significant investment in software and peripherals on the MacOS, so I probably won't switch anytime soon. But my next machine will probably be a Hackintosh, since having a true upgrade path is so much more sensible than buying into a dead-end machine that has a likelihood of obsolescence in 18 months.

If you're comfortable assembling your own (and installing software patches and drivers), this is the place to go for all your needs: tonymacx86.com