I am currently using a four year old AMD Phenom II x4 2.6Ghz system with 8GB RAM. It is time to upgrade. I don't mind being behind the cutting edge of technology but I do want to see some serious improvement over what I'm running now. I am not a computer geek. I understand a little more than the basics and I am good at research. My budget is $2500, less would be better. That said, here is what I'm considering:

CybertronPC Doom II Gaming PC - 4th Gen. Intel Core i7-4770K 3.50GHz, 32GB DDR3, 2TB HDD, 120GB SSD, Blu-ray, 3GB NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780, Windows 8 64-bit, Keyboard & Mouse, (TGM2113C) at TigerDirect.com (http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=8512214&CatId=114)

The only downside I see to this system is that it has Windows 8 which I find to be annoying. Is there anything about this computer that would make it inappropriate for use with moderate Premiere Pro, light After Effects and heavy Photoshop use? In Premiere Pro, I mostly edit footage from my XA20, 70D, and GoPro Hero 3, 1080p60 and 720p120.

Bob

Get a Mac. You can configure a very well-hung iMac for $2500.

Get a Mac. You can configure a very well-hung iMac for $2500.

Really? I thought the days of these comments were past. Just for the "Get a Mac" crowd, I will add that I also run a pretty robust CAD/CAM package. I will be sticking with a PC. I just need to find the best bang for the buck.

Bob

Bob,

Have a look at Tweakers Page (http://ppbm7.com/index.php/tweakers-page) and the articles there.

You will see several types of PC's listed and you will see that the 780 is overkill on a quad core system. A 650 Ti would be more appropriate on the system you linked to. The savings on the video card could go to some extra disks to get more balanced system.

Really? I thought the days of these comments were past. Just for the "Get a Mac" crowd, I will add that I also run a pretty robust CAD/CAM package. I will be sticking with a PC. I just need to find the best bang for the buck.

BobSorry, I was making serious suggestion as you already said that you find Windows 8 annoying. A common argument against buying a Mac is the price but your budget is ample & the iMac is a brilliant editing system with a superb screen. If your CAD/CAM package only works under Windows then you can either run it in a VM or use Boot Camp.

Not to get into a PC - Mac argument, but the objections to Mac go further than price alone:

* Price is one.
* Limited hardware options (video cards, memory, controllers, etc.).
* Less effects and transitions on the Mac side for PR.
* Outdated performance on the Mac Pro.
* No DVD or BD burner options.
* No eSATA options on the Mac.
* Far fewer utilities / software to manage the system.

An iMac is very limited when compared to a PC in the same price range.

Glad I found this thread. Im in the exact same position. And, Im getting out Mac's at the same time.

My budget is much less. 1500

You might find this interesting reading https://www.videoguys.com/Guide/E/Videoguys+DIY+10+++Our+wait+for+Thunderbolt+is+over/0x86959ff2ee4098c3eef68b2070f368dd.aspx

You might find this interesting reading https://www.videoguys.com/Guide/E/Videoguys+DIY+10+++Our+wait+for+Thunderbolt+is+over/0x86959ff2ee4098c3eef68b2070f368dd.aspx

Thanks for that link Mark!!

Their DIY 10 "$2000 Target Premium Workstation" looks like a great setup / value.

I contacted Gary about this list and his only consideration in putting it together like this is a $ 2000 price for Avid users. Otherwise he would have been off much cheaper and with better performance by choosing a GTX 660 Ti instead of a super slow K2000. He could have used that to get a big tower instead of a mid tower. But Videoguys are steering their clients to more expensive external storage (I assume they have better margins on those), rather than internal storage.

The Quadro K2000 is even less than a GTX 650, only it costs around 5x more without any performance gain.
A mid-tower is always ill-advised for reasons I mention on my Tweakers Page .
I would not even consider Windows 7 anymore, since Microsoft is stopping the sales of it shortly.
Why the Crucial M500 SSD and not the Samsung 840 Pro? For the boot drive, since you leave out all storage drives, 120/128 GB is enough.

Harm what tower enclosure would you recommend?
And for a Davinci Resolve/Premiere Pro system which 2 graphics cards would you go with?

Thanks for the warning advice on the DIY10 list - had my doubts about the Quadro 2000

John,

I think a lot of questions people have about what components to go for are answered on Tweakers Page (http://ppbm7.com/index.php/tweakers-page) and the articles included there.