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Best PC builds under $1,500 for multimedia editing?

Started by Mark Wright6 · · 👁 5 views · 26 replies

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Participants Mark Wright6Adam Moore3wiredotter14crimsonstag84Peter GreenRobert Rodriguez2Alexander Moore67wanderingbison9
Mark Wright6 Mark Wright6 MemberOP
13 messages
joined Oct 2014
#1 ·
Hey there,
My old buddy finally decided it’s time for a new rig! Right now, he’s rocking an i9 5820k, an RX480, and 64GB of RAM—a setup he put together back in the day. Now, he’s itching for an upgrade. He’s already got all his peripherals and Windows ready to go, so we just need to focus on the core components and a case.

He’ll mostly be using it for Adobe After Effects and other video editing/multimedia software. He mentioned wanting to jump over to a Ryzen 9 if that actually makes sense for his workflow. He asked me to pull together a few build ideas to pitch to him—so, if you guys could help me whip up some configurations, that would be awesome! Thanks in advance!
Adam Moore3 Adam Moore3 Regular
322 messages
joined Jun 2014
#2 ·
AMD Ryzen 9 3950 x (4.7GHz, 70MB, 105W, AM4) BOX
MSI X570 GAMING PLUS MPG, AM4
4xDDR4 16GB (1x16) G.Skill 3000MHz AEGIS, F4-3000C16S-16GISB
Intel SSD 1TB, 660p, M.2, 1800/1800 MB s, SSDPEKNW010T8X1
Toshiba 2TB 3.5" 7200rpm, 64MB, P300, HDWD120UZSVA
Innod3D GTX1650 Twin X2 OC, 4GB GDDR5, N16502-04D5X-1510VA25
Corsair w RM850 Black 2019, CP-9020196-EU
Noctua NH-D14
Zalman R1 Black Midi Tower

Total $5046 YOLO

YOLO 😬

From what I've gathered, After Effects prefers an Nvidia GPU, but the performance gap between different cards in the lineup is pretty negligible, so there's no real point in overspending on a high-end card.

The motherboard is an entry-level X570, but it's more than capable of handling the 3950X as long as you aren't attempting any extreme overclocking.
wiredotter14 wiredotter14 Regular
433 messages
joined Aug 2007
#3 ·
Hold on, the 5820K uses DDR4 too, so you can probably keep your RAM

What RAM are you running right now?

I'm not sure how much of a difference it'll make in After Effects compared to an RX480.
Adam Moore3 Adam Moore3 Regular
322 messages
joined Jun 2014
#4 ·
wiredotter14 said:Hold on, the 5820K uses DDR4 too, so you can probably keep your RAM

What RAM are you running right now?

I'm not sure how much of a difference it'll make in After Effects compared to an RX480.

🤦

You just suggested spending nearly $2,500 on 64 GB of RAM. My bad, I wasn't thinking...😵

wiredotter14 said:Hold on, the 5820K uses DDR4 too, so you can probably keep your RAM

What RAM are you running right now?

I'm not sure how much of a difference it'll make in After Effects compared to an RX480.

Based on this, even the best AMD card out there (the 5700XT) can't touch Nvidia's mid-range stuff like the 1660Ti.
Honestly, I have no idea if there's any point in switching or how much of a boost he'd actually get.
Mark Wright6 Mark Wright6 MemberOP
13 messages
joined Oct 2014
#5 ·
Oh, I forgot to mention—I'm actually planning on parting ways with my current PC soon!
I've been reading that Adobe really leans on Nvidia GPUs to get things moving. Also—quick question—is that new Ryzen better than Intel for the kind of work he'll be doing?
wiredotter14 wiredotter14 Regular
433 messages
joined Aug 2007
#6 ·
Mark Wright6 said:Oh, I forgot to mention—I'm actually planning on parting ways with my current PC soon!
I've been reading that Adobe really leans on Nvidia GPUs to get things moving. Also—quick question—is that new Ryzen better than Intel for the kind of work he'll be doing?

Not sure about the specifics for Adobe After Effects, but basically, the 3950X is worst case compared to a 9900K, and generally much stronger for professional work. Man, it has double the cores; it often beats out an Intel HEDT platform. Even for gaming, it's top-tier.

Check this review and dig a little deeper if you know which specific programs he's running.

crimsonstag84 crimsonstag84 Regular
518 messages
joined Jun 2010
#7 ·
Is the AMD Ryzen 9 3950 x good for After Effects?

If we're talking raw power, AMD Ryzen 9 3950 x is currently the fastest CPU available for After Effects. That said, it’s only pulling ahead of the Intel Core i9 9900K by a tiny margin, which might make the steep price tag a bit tough to swallow. But, I guess if you're really looking to shave some time off your render speeds, it does offer about a 10% boost over both the Intel Core i9 9900K or the Ryzen 9 3900X.

https://www.pugetsystems.com/labs/ar...-9-3950X-1614/
Peter Green Peter Green Member
20 messages
joined Jan 2020
#8 ·
Honestly, I think dropping cash on a 3950x when you could just grab a 3900x is basically throwing money straight into the trash. There is zero chance he’s ever actually going to need that many cores, no matter how much he thinks he does. Instead of wasting that extra budget on overkill CPUs, he should be putting that money toward a better GPU. Like, at the very least, he needs to step up to an RTX 2060.
Adam Moore3 Adam Moore3 Regular
322 messages
joined Jun 2014
#9 ·
Peter Green said:Honestly, I think dropping cash on a 3950x when you could just grab a 3900x is basically throwing money straight into the trash. There is zero chance he’s ever actually going to need that many cores, no matter how much he thinks he does. Instead of wasting that extra budget on overkill CPUs, he should be putting that money toward a better GPU. Like, at the very least, he needs to step up to an RTX 2060.

That is the absolute worst place to sink that extra cash. The performance gap between a Titan and a 1660Ti in Adobe After Effects is barely 15%.

Besides, how can you possibly claim there's 'zero chance he'll ever need that many cores, no matter what'?

A better, larger, faster SSD, a better case, a better motherboard, or even just keeping the money in his pocket—those are all valid moves. Dumping it into a GPU where you won't even notice the difference? Not happening. 🍿
Mark Wright6 Mark Wright6 MemberOP
13 messages
joined Oct 2014
#10 ·
He just told me that price doesn't matter—he actually Googled how to build an editing rig! He stumbled upon some guy online who builds PCs based on budget tiers, and this is what his search turned up:

CPU AMD Ryzen 9 3950 x (4.7GHz,70MB,105W,AM4) BOX, !! no cooler included !! 7.398,00
Gainward RTX 2080 Super Phantom, 8GB GDDR6, 0962, 4710562240962 6.399,00
ASUS TUF X570-Plus Gaming Wi-Fi, AM4, 90MB1170-M0EAY0 1.948,00
DDR4 64GB (4x16) G.Skill 3600MHz Trident Z Series, F4-3600C17Q-64GTZKW 3.294,00
Samsung SSD 500GB 970 EVO PLUS M.2, MZ-V7S500BW 975,00
Samsung SSD 1TB 860 EVO 2.5" SATA, MZ-76E1T0B 1.139,99
WD 2TB 3.5" 5400rpm, 64MB, WD20EZRZ, Blue 485,00
Power Supply Seasonic 850W, SSR-850FX 1.080,00
NZXT Kraken X52, liquid cooling, RL-KRX52-02 1.049,99
NZXT H510 Black Window, CA-H510B-B1 799,00

TOTAL: 24,567.98

So, I'm wondering—will all this actually work together? He'd probably grab everything from Micro Center—do you guys think they can put the whole thing together and install Windows for him?
wiredotter14 wiredotter14 Regular
433 messages
joined Aug 2007
#11 ·
Yeah, everything will work fine.

IMO, I’d just stick with air cooling. Liquid doesn't offer any real advantage here—just more potential headaches and the risk of leaks.

https://www.bestbuy.com/product...93%2E100%2E195

Sure, Best Buy can handle the assembly, but you could just install it yourself.
Mark Wright6 Mark Wright6 MemberOP
13 messages
joined Oct 2014
#12 ·
Thanks so much for all the help, everyone! 🙂
wiredotter14 wiredotter14 Regular
433 messages
joined Aug 2007
#13 ·
Mark Wright6 said:Thanks so much for all the help, everyone! 🙂

By the way, that board looks like the best bet for keeping temps low under $667.
Robert Rodriguez2 Robert Rodriguez2 Regular
353 messages
joined Jul 2015
#14 ·
So, before I drop any cash, I gotta know: is this level of work in After Effects just some amateur hobbyist stuff, or can you actually make a living out of it?

If it’s a real career, then spending $200 might be worth it, but $350 feels like total overkill to me...

But if it's just for messing around at home, there's zero point in going that high.
Mark Wright6 Mark Wright6 MemberOP
13 messages
joined Oct 2014
#15 ·
It’s definitely overkill for casual home use—I know, I know, I already said it’s too much! But hey, he knows exactly what he wants. Regarding that parts list he put together, he actually scaled things back to an RTX 2060 Super and swapped out the Kraken for a Noctua air cooler instead. So, with those tweaks, he can snag the whole setup for just under $2,000.
Alexander Moore67 Alexander Moore67 Active Member
137 messages
joined Jun 2013
#16 ·
If he’s planning on pushing that 3950x with a heavy overclock, he really ought to pick up a better motherboard.
Gigabyte X570 Aorus Master X570 AORUS Master

The Gigabyte X570 Aorus Master X570 AORUS Master features a high-end Infineon multiphase PWM controller. It utilizes 14 phases for the vCore and SOC, paired with IR PowIRstage MOSFETs that deliver at least 50A per phase, bringing the total to 700A.
Peter Green Peter Green Member
20 messages
joined Jan 2020
#17 ·
Adam Moore3 said:That is the absolute worst place to sink that extra cash. The performance gap between a Titan and a 1660Ti in Adobe After Effects is barely 15%.

Besides, how can you possibly claim there's 'zero chance he'll ever need that many cores, no matter what'?

A better, larger, faster SSD, a better case, a better motherboard, or even just keeping the money in his pocket—those are all valid moves. Dumping it into a GPU where you won't even notice the difference? Not happening. 🍿

It’s kind of hilarious when someone builds a $2,500 rig and tosses in a 3950x—which basically gives you maybe 7-8% more juice than a 3900x but costs 70% more—only to pair it with a GPU that’s worse or the same as what they already own. 😁 In some editing software, the difference between a GTX 1650 and an RTX 2060 isn't exactly negligible.
He'd mostly be using it for Adobe After Effects and other video/multimedia editing tools.

Spending $3,500 is massive overkill if the investment isn't going to pay itself back, and let's face it, it won't since this is a hobby, not a career. But hey, whatever, everyone knows their own budget and priorities best.
wiredotter14 wiredotter14 Regular
433 messages
joined Aug 2007
#18 ·
Alexander Moore67 said:If he’s planning on pushing that 3950x with a heavy overclock, he really ought to pick up a better motherboard.
Gigabyte X570 Aorus Master X570 AORUS Master

The Gigabyte X570 Aorus Master X570 AORUS Master features a high-end Infineon multiphase PWM controller. It utilizes 14 phases for the vCore and SOC, paired with IR PowIRstage MOSFETs that deliver at least 50A per phase, bringing the total to 700A.

You can't really push an overclock on a 3950X without a custom loop water cooling setup—and even then, what's "heavy"? A 200MHz bump? It's pointless. Just turn on PBO. This motherboard will handle that just fine.
Adam Moore3 Adam Moore3 Regular
322 messages
joined Jun 2014
#19 ·
Peter Green said:It’s kind of hilarious when someone builds a $2,500 rig and tosses in a 3950x—which basically gives you maybe 7-8% more juice than a 3900x but costs 70% more—only to pair it with a GPU that’s worse or the same as what they already own. 😁 In some editing software, the difference between a GTX 1650 and an RTX 2060 isn't exactly negligible.
He'd mostly be using it for Adobe After Effects and other video/multimedia editing tools.

Spending $3,500 is massive overkill if the investment isn't going to pay itself back, and let's face it, it won't since this is a hobby, not a career. But hey, whatever, everyone knows their own budget and priorities best.

Having 4 extra cores/8 threads makes a much bigger difference than a mere 7-8% once you run applications that actually know how to utilize them. 🙂
wanderingbison9 wanderingbison9 Active Member
159 messages
joined Jan 2018
#20 ·
It feels like After Effects just can't seem to handle multi-core processing efficiently, and honestly, you have to wonder why they haven't fixed that yet—especially when they're so quick to charge us those subscription fees. Does it really make sense to go for something massive like the 3950 when it feels like such a letdown for AE workflows? You won't actually lose much performance by picking a slightly weaker, more budget-friendly Ryzen instead. I've rarely seen all the cores pinned at 100% in After Effects; usually, they aren't even hitting the 50% mark. Then there's the GPU side of things, which only kicks in for specific effects, though those tasks still run much faster on a dedicated card than on the CPU. In that regard, an RTX 2060 is actually a fantastic value for what you get. I’d definitely suggest sticking with Nvidia over anything else, simply because so many essential After Effects plugins are built specifically to rely on CUDA.

Looking back on it, I think my recommendation aligns pretty closely with what you can find in that Puget Systems report...

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