Video production PC build: $1,500 - $2,200 budget

Hello,
can someone suggest a configuration for a computer?

Thanks

What software are you running?

Does the price include the monitor and other peripherals?

To start off, I need it for Adobe Premiere Pro... though it would be ideal if it could handle other software too... I'll need everything including the monitor and all that.

High Definition or Ultra High Definition? And when it comes to codecs, what should we be looking at for our input versus our final export?

wanderingbison9 said:High Definition, Ultra High Definition? What about the input and output codecs?

Ultra High Definition—honestly, I haven't a clue what that entails... my buddy is just starting out in this field, and even he's completely lost... basically, I'd suggest he at least gets an SSD for his Windows drive.

Given that budget and the specific software you're running, you should definitely go with the Ryzen 7 3700X. My only hesitation is deciding how much weight to give the GPU...

An NVMe SSD for your OS, plus a 500GB SATA SSD.

Timothy Kim60 said:Given that budget and what you're actually doing with the software, you should definitely aim for the Ryzen 7 3700X. My only hesitation is figuring out how much we should sink into the GPU...

An NVMe SSD for the OS, plus a 500GB SATA SSD might work, but I wonder if there's a better way?

If I were in your shoes, I’d probably grab an NVMe SSD to act as your primary workspace for things like render cache, while leaving a standard SSD for Windows, your software, and everything else—loading times will still be plenty fast enough for daily tasks, don't you think?

It really is tricky trying to hunt down specific parts these days because everyone is running such different software suites...

For instance, when looking at Adobe Premiere, Intel often holds the edge because they can leverage QuickSync for H. 264 and H. 265 encoding, and honestly, isn't higher IPC usually more critical than just having a massive number of cores? It’s a delicate balancing act you have to perform.

You really ought to dig into this resource:

https://www.pugetsystems.com/labs/ar...X-series-1535/

Once you look through that, you can see which Intel chip sits close to the Ryzen 7 3700X in terms of both price and actual performance in Adobe Premiere; for example, it turns out an i7-9700 is roughly equivalent to $933.

When it comes to the graphics card, Nvidia tends to play nicer with Adobe Premiere, so the RTX 2070 is likely your best bet for finding that sweet spot between cost and capability. Is it worth going for something like a $333 that costs significantly more without providing a massive leap in speed?

That high-end option would run about $2100... whereas you could find a motherboard for around $333, then pair it with a case that has solid airflow—maybe something with three front fans—and a power supply that stays as quiet as possible.

As for the monitor, it all depends on your workflow—would you prefer one single ultra-wide setup or perhaps two 16:9 screens? Either way, make sure you go with an IPS panel with decent calibration. It’s probably worth comparing professional reviews against what’s currently available in local US retailers; typically, LG models tend to be quite reliable for this kind of work...

Maybe someone here could try putting together a mock build using some specific products to see how it shakes out?

I guess AMD holds the edge when it comes to IPC, though an RTX 2070 is probably the absolute worst choice for a GPU right now. 🕺 Having access to QuickSync can be a huge advantage if you find yourself using it often.

crimsonstag84 said:AMD has the edge when it comes to IPC, and honestly, an RTX 2070 is probably one of the worst GPU choices you could make right now 🕺 whereas having QuickSync can be a massive advantage if you find yourself using it frequently.

Since this Computer isn't being built for gaming but specifically for video work, we really have to look at things through a different lens, don't we? I actually included a link earlier showing how these parts handle real-world performance within Adobe Premiere...

One thing to keep in mind is that QuickSync can drastically speed up your encoding to the final codec; while you might not need that every five minutes, isn't it crucial when you're looking for those smooth, fast previews during the edit?

The same logic applies to the GPU. You might hear people claim that a 2080ti is significantly faster than an RTX 2070, but when you're working inside Adobe Premiere, does that difference actually manifest? Not really! And when you look at the prices, it's even more obvious. Though, my mistake—I was looking at the specs slightly wrong—an RTX 2070 $1333 might be okay, but it would honestly be much smarter to aim for an RTX 2060 Super or perhaps a 2070 Super if the budget allows.

Of course, before making any big moves, shouldn't we first clarify whether the cost of the Computer and the Adobe Premiere Pro subscription are already factored into the total budget? ☕

A standard RTX 2060 would be enough for rendering, right? Or is there a massive difference compared to the 2070?

wiredotter14 said:Wouldn't a standard RTX 2060 be enough for rendering, or is there actually a massive gap when compared to the 2070?

Not really, since 6GB of VRAM is right on the edge when you're working with Ultra High Definition, so you'll likely hit a performance wall sooner rather than later. That said, the actual difference isn't huge; you'd really only see a significant drop if you stepped down to a 1660 Ti...

Take the Radeon VII, for instance, which performs about as well as—or maybe even faster than—an Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 Ti inside DaVinci Resolve, yet somehow ends up being slower when you switch over to Adobe Premiere.

GTX 1070 8GB WF OC EDITION was $57 on Craigslist, now it's $433 still has 18 months of warranty left

The Radeon VII used to be a total steal for a little while

So what now? Why don't you people just put some components together then 🙂

wanderingbison9

You also have to factor in the cost—specifically, how much of his budget this is going to eat up. I recommended the Ryzen 7 3700X as a total no-brainer because several reviews show it basically trading blows with the Intel Core i9-9900K during Adobe Premiere rendering, all while pulling significantly less power and, more importantly, being much easier on the wallet. In the link you provided, which looks at an average of various tasks, the Intel Core i9-9900K comes out about 10% faster.

Look, you have to consider that the Ryzen 3700X sits right in the middle of the pack—you've still got the 3950X, 3900X, and 3800X above it. That means you actually have a legitimate upgrade path, including Zen 3 chips coming to the same motherboards, giving you at least four faster Ryzen options down the road. On top of that, it’s roughly 30% cheaper. On the flip side, you're looking at an i9 flagship that essentially hits a dead end; once you're done with that socket, you're stuck, as it looks like a new socket will be required for the next jump. When you lay everything out on the table—performance, future-proofing, and price—the Ryzen 3000 series has effectively pushed Intel off the productivity map. Sure, Intel might hold a lead in very niche scenarios or specific software due to things like QuickSync, but even then, you really have to ask yourself if that marginal gain is worth the premium.

frozencrane10 said:So, what's the next move? Lay some component builds on me. 🙂

Look, just check the responses to this in the link provided by wanderingbison9. Take a look at what you actually need it for:

Are the Ryzen 3rd generation CPUs good for Premiere Pro?

Whether you view the choice between AMD Ryzen CPUs and Intel 9th gen CPUs as simple or complex really depends on your perspective. It’s straightforward if you focus on specific use cases where one clearly outperforms the other, but it becomes a headache when you try to crown a single, definitive winner for everything.

Based on our testing results, everything essentially boils down to whether you fit into one of these three categories:

Are you primarily working with H.264 or H.265 media in your workflow?

When you look at the numbers, Intel 9th gen CPUs hold a massive advantage—particularly when you're working with 10-bit footage. The reason is simple: Adobe Premiere Pro supports hardware acceleration of H.264 and H.265 (HEVC) media via Intel Quick Sync. Since this specific capability isn't found on AMD Ryzen CPUs or even the Intel X-series CPUs, choosing an Intel Core processor like the i9 9900K is quite literally the gold standard for handling this type of media.

Are you handling RED footage in your workflow?

In this arena, the superior raw power of the new AMD Ryzen CPUs gives them a massive edge over Intel 9th gen CPUs—though they still aren't quite in the same league as the high-end, premium-priced AMD Threadripper or Intel X-series CPUs. That said, this landscape could shift overnight. RED is currently focusing on shifting more of the heavy lifting for RED media from the CPU over to the GPU. We expect to see this integrated into upcoming Adobe Premiere Pro releases, and once that happens, the CPU might only play a minor role in how smoothly you can edit RED footage.

Do you rely on Neat Video for your noise reduction?

If you're running Neat Video, the choice is clear: go with an AMD Ryzen 3rd generation processor. When relying solely on the CPU, performance jumps by as much as 60%. Even when you configure Neat Video to leverage both the CPU and the GPU—specifically paired with an Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 Ti—the Ryzen still outperforms a similarly priced Intel CPU by a solid 20-30%.

Regarding the GPU, it’s probably most logical to aim for an RTX 2060 Super—specifically those models equipped with 8GB of VRAM. I'm just not entirely certain how much heavy lifting he actually needs from the GPU given his specific workload.

Timothy Kim60 said:Regarding the GPU, perhaps the smartest move would be opting for an RTX 2060 Super—specifically those models equipped with 8GB of VRAM? I just can't be entirely certain how much GPU power he actually requires given his specific workload.

Since we don't actually know what his workload looks like—we haven't seen any input or output details yet—there isn't much to go on. But maybe that's exactly why I’d agree with your logic regarding the Ryzen chips? After all, there is a free plugin available that utilizes GPU-based H.264/H.265 encoding via ffmpeg for both Nvidia and AMD hardware.

A GPU is always going to help when you're dealing with effects, scaling, motion graphics, or color grading, as the GPU handles those tasks unless you intentionally set the Mercury Playback Engine to "Software Only."

Just give me something... this isn't for me... it's for a buddy who's just starting out... he's no pro at this stuff... though he might play a few games here and there.

Let's all chip in and lend this guy a hand. For those of you who actually know the market, have access to the best deals, or just have a knack for crunching numbers on the fly, why don't you throw out some concrete pricing?

Ryzen 3700X
A cooler that won't sound like a jet engine under load
An X470 motherboard with solid VRMs for around $400—maybe the Asus Prime X470 Pro? (though I think the cheapest X570 would run about $567, right?)
32 GB of RAM at 3200MHz or faster
RTX 2070 Super
A 500 GB NVMe M.2 SSD (for that sweet spot of price versus speed)
Another 256 or 500 GB SSD
A quiet power supply, up to 650W
A case with three front fans and at least one in the back
A mouse and a backlit keyboard😬

The LG 34WK650-W monitor (factory calibrated)—roughly $833
Some headphones (like the Samson SR850) or speakers

So, let's see what kind of total we end up with... I did a rough mental calculation and landed somewhere around $4833

For the MSI X570 Gaming Plus motherboard, maybe just a bit over $433.
Looking at the RTX 2070 models, I guess the Palit Jetstream seems like the best value here.

RAM:

https://www.amazon.com/ddr4-32gb-2x16-co...m_medium=click

Power Supply:

https://www.newegg.com/search.php?q=antec+hcg+gold

Judging by the price point, it’s obvious this won't even be fast enough for High Definition workflows. Since we're talking about "The New Guy," a decent mid-range card like an RX 580 (around $200) is more than sufficient; its primary role here is simply handling the simultaneous display on two or three monitors in High Definition. The real trick lies in the storage configuration: you should have your raw footage on one drive and your project files/scratch disk on another. If the system isn't configured this way, you can always pull in a third dedicated drive just for the OS itself.
The Ryzen chips are undeniably impressive—my kid actually owns a total beast 😁—though there are certainly pricier builds out there. That said, I still find myself leaning toward Intel for heavy editing tasks, though I could list several older processors without having to dig through them all right now. There are some truly excellent options within the E. series.
An Asus Motherboard should cost no more than $100. Anything beyond that is essentially throwing money down the drain. While Adobe Premiere Pro is a powerhouse editor, there are much simpler programs out there that will get the job done perfectly well.