Budget Range: <= $2500
System Usage: Video editing - Enthusiast (not pro; maybe prosumer), adding transitions, captions, and some special effects from multiple video sources that will currently be captured from Canon HV20 (HDV) and then copied from Hard Drive / Flash camcorder as Full HD (AVCHD, 1080i) and then exported/rendered in original source ( H.264 1920 x 1080/60i 24 Mbps). I plan on saving the original footage (before editing) on DVDs, etc. and bringing in source files for editing onto external hard drives. Intended NLE: Cyberlink PowerDirector 11 Ultra but I want to make sure the computer can handle it if I switch to a different prosumer / enthusiast NLE (I know that the NLE has to be specifically written to leverage CPU cores/multiple CPUs and Multiple GPUs/CUDA cores).
Note: Storage configuration was distributed into 3 drives using following recs:Click - Video Guys Storage FAQ and Click - 2010 post showing storage distribution (w/o RAID)
SPECS:
OS: Win-7 Pro Should I get Win 8?
Mobo: ASUS P8Z77-V Pro; (Click - ASUS Specs) Cons: only 4 SATA III, no firewire, expansion not as good as Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD5H
CPU: Core i7-3770K w/ HD4000; Reasons: fast (Click - Current CPU benchmarks/ratings), has integrated HD4000 graphics controller that performed well in testing with PowerDirector (see GPU)
Power Supply: CORSAIR Pro Gold (CMPSU-850AX) 850W (Click - CORSAIR Pro Gold Details)
RAM: G.SKILL Ripjaws Z Series 32 GB (8x4GB) DDR3 1600; (Click - G.SKILL Memory) Reasons: G.SKILL recommended; above 1600 MHz not needed?
CPU Cooling (all-in-one - cools only the CPU): Which one? All-in-one Corsair Hydro Series H100 (Click - H100) or Noctua NH-D14 Processor cooler (Click - Noctua) or Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo RR-212E-20PK-R2 (Click - Hyper 212);
Boot drive (OS and programs): Which one? Internal SAMSUNG 840 Pro Series MZ-7PD256BW 2.5" 256GB SSD (Click - 840 Pro 256GB) or Mushkin MKNSSDCR240GB-DX: 240 GB, SATA 6Gb/s (Click - Mushkin 240GB); Reasons: fast OS and NLE bootup (won’t speed rendering/editing); 256GB b/c PD needs 100 GB of free space (WinOS + PD size < 100 GB); Connection: SATA III. Reasons: 6 Gb/s for SSD
Export/Render Drive: Internal SAMSUNG 840 Pro Series 128GB SSD (Click - 840 Pro 128 GB); Reasons: Faster video rendering/exporting; Connection : SATA III Reasons: 6 Gb/s for SSD
Video Storage (including source files for editing): One or two 2TB external 7200 RPM WD RE4 WD2003FYYS 2000 drives (CLick - WD RE4) Reasons: SSD and 10000 RPM HDDs too expensive, >=7200 RPM HD for higher video formats, >= 32MB cache; fast: (Click - Internal HD Tests) If I don't put them into RAID0, I should just get one for now or two and have write/read on separate drives?
Case: Which one? COOLER MASTER, HAF 932 Advanced (RC-932-KKN5-GP) (Click - HAF 932) or Cooler Master Storm Enforcer SGC-1000-KWN1 (Click - Storm Enforcer); Reasons: HAF 932 has recommended fan locations: front, back, and on top; fits at least 4 HDs and SSDs, good cable management
GPU: Which one? 2 x MSI R7970-2PMD3GD5/OC: Radeon HD 7970 3 GB (Click - Radeon HD 7970) In CrossFire (Toms Hardware - see below) or GTX 580 (Click - GTX580). Do I need to use SLI/Crossfire? Do I even need an extra GPU given the HD4000 on the CPU? 2 tests w/ PowerDirector Ultra 11 show HD4000 is sufficient: Click - PowerDirector test with AMD HD 7750 GPU and HD4000 and Click - PowerDirector testing with HD4000 and EVGA GTX470 PDF )
Display: ASUS, VW246H Black LCD Monitor, 24" TFT Full HD, 1920x1080, w/ Speakers (Click - ASUS Display)
Blu-Ray: Pioneer BDR-207 (Click - BDR-207)
Additional Questions:
1) Should I instead just go for Toms Hardware configuration: Click - System Builder Marathon, Q4 2012: $2,000 Performance PC
2) Is this system overkill for what I explained my usage is?
3) Use RAID0 for speed? One site recommended configuring the two 7200 RPMs in RAID0 for speed - if I use a h/w RAID controller (to avoid load on CPU for RAID), should I or is this overkill?
4) Should I overclock the cpu? If so, should I wait until the next stepping of Ivy Bridge in hopes that the heat issue will be resolved? Click - Ivy Bridge runs hotter when overclocked
5) Are the fans sufficient to cool the other components (not the CPU)? Should I use a fan controller?
Thanks -
Bill