Davinci Resolve Editing System, with a bit of gaming.

[RichLan564]

Hey folks, first post so go easy with me, looking at a system mainly for Davinci Resolve editing (will be mainly 1080p) with a bit of 4K and maybe a bit of gaming on the side, looking at the spec below, no idea when the 3070 will be in stock but seems to be best balance for performance vs cash in Davinci build guides

Gone with an M.2 drive for OS and applications, will be using normal SSD for scratch and project files, 2 x 4TB HDD in RAID 1 for bulk storage, i could go non RGB ad save a bit of cash but it's a home system and want it to look cool ;-)

Anything I need to improve or change ?

Case
CORSAIR iCUE 220T RGB AIRFLOW MID TOWER GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 7 5800X Eight Core CPU (3.8GHz-4.7GHz/36MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
ASUS® STRIX B550-F GAMING (DDR4, USB 3.2, 6Gb/s) - ARGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE RGB PRO DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
8GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 3070 - HDMI, DP
1st Storage Drive
4TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 5400RPM, 256MB CACHE
1st Storage Drive
4TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 5400RPM, 256MB CACHE
1st Storage Drive
250GB Samsung 870 EVO 2.5" SSD, SATA 6Gb/s (up to 560MB/sR | 530MB/sW)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
500GB SAMSUNG 980 PRO M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 6900MB/R, 5000MB/W)
RAID
RAID 1 (MIRRORED VOLUME - 2 x same size & model HDD / SSD)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 850W RMx SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
Corsair H100i ELITE CAPELLIX RGB Hydro Series High Performance CPU Cooler
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Extra Case Fans
1x 120mm Black Case Fan (configured to extract from rear/roof)
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Card
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT
Wireless Network Card
WIRELESS 802.11N 300Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Windows 10 Professional 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Google Chrome™
Warranty
3 Year Standard Warranty (1 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Subject to stock availability on pre-order products
Price: £2,272.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-gen3-pc/dVha!7cMkr/

 

[sck451]

First off, the combination of 5800X and 3070 is a great one for video editing at this price point, particularly for Resolve, I think. A few points.

First, for a system that's going to be pushed hard, I'd want a more airflowy case than the 220T. I'm going to suggest the Cooler Master MasterBox TD500, but there are other options as well.

Second, I'd be cautious of the RAID setup. RAID is not a backup: what RAID 1 offers is uninterrupted uptime in case of a hardware failure. It does not mitigate all kinds of other problems, such as theft, fire, flood, or accidental deletion of files. I'd counsel against the RAID setup and invest in a proper backup solution instead. I'd also suggest a better SSD for your project/scratch space: you can have a second M.2 SSD for almost precisely the same price. I'd actually suggest getting a much bigger one, as SSDs are slower the more data is stored on them. Finally, I'd get the Ironwolf drive instead of the Barracuda, because it's a 7200RPM drive.

Third, I'd also go for the H115i cooler (the 5800X is hot when it's pushed hard), the better WiFi card (unless you don't need WiFi at all) and the silver warranty (cos it's a fiver and might save you a lot later on).

This all comes out at just a tenner more than your original, and I think would be a significant improvement.

Case
COOLERMASTER MASTERBOX TD500 MESH ARGB GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 7 5800X Eight Core CPU (3.8GHz-4.7GHz/36MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
ASUS® STRIX B550-F GAMING (DDR4, USB 3.2, 6Gb/s) - ARGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE RGB PRO DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
8GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 3070 - HDMI, DP
1st Storage Drive
4TB SEAGATE IRONWOLF PRO 3.5", 7200 RPM 128MB CACHE
1st M.2 SSD Drive
500GB SAMSUNG 980 PRO M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 6900MB/R, 5000MB/W)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB PCS PCIe M.2 SSD (2000 MB/R, 1100 MB/W)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 850W RMx SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
Corsair H115i ELITE CAPELLIX RGB Hydro Series High Performance CPU Cooler
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Card
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT
Wireless Network Card
WIRELESS INTEL® Wi-Fi 6 AX200 2,400Mbps/5GHz, 300Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD + BT 5.0
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KUK-00001]
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
BullGuard™ Internet Security - Free 90 Day License inc. Gamer Mode
Browser
Microsoft® Edge (Windows 10 Only)
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Subject to stock availability on pre-order products
Price: £2,283.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-gen3-pc/YURBmjnvew/

 

[RichLan564]

First off, the combination of 5800X and 3070 is a great one for video editing at this price point, particularly for Resolve, I think. A few points.

First, for a system that's going to be pushed hard, I'd want a more airflowy case than the 220T. I'm going to suggest the Cooler Master MasterBox TD500, but there are other options as well.

Second, I'd be cautious of the RAID setup. RAID is not a backup: what RAID 1 offers is uninterrupted uptime in case of a hardware failure. It does not mitigate all kinds of other problems, such as theft, fire, flood, or accidental deletion of files. I'd counsel against the RAID setup and invest in a proper backup solution instead. I'd also suggest a better SSD for your project/scratch space: you can have a second M.2 SSD for almost precisely the same price. I'd actually suggest getting a much bigger one, as SSDs are slower the more data is stored on them. Finally, I'd get the Ironwolf drive instead of the Barracuda, because it's a 7200RPM drive.

Third, I'd also go for the H115i cooler (the 5800X is hot when it's pushed hard), the better WiFi card (unless you don't need WiFi at all) and the silver warranty (cos it's a fiver and might save you a lot later on).

This all comes out at just a tenner more than your original, and I think would be a significant improvement.

Case
COOLERMASTER MASTERBOX TD500 MESH ARGB GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 7 5800X Eight Core CPU (3.8GHz-4.7GHz/36MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
ASUS® STRIX B550-F GAMING (DDR4, USB 3.2, 6Gb/s) - ARGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE RGB PRO DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
8GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 3070 - HDMI, DP
1st Storage Drive
4TB SEAGATE IRONWOLF PRO 3.5", 7200 RPM 128MB CACHE
1st M.2 SSD Drive
500GB SAMSUNG 980 PRO M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 6900MB/R, 5000MB/W)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB PCS PCIe M.2 SSD (2000 MB/R, 1100 MB/W)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 850W RMx SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
Corsair H115i ELITE CAPELLIX RGB Hydro Series High Performance CPU Cooler
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Card
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT
Wireless Network Card
WIRELESS INTEL® Wi-Fi 6 AX200 2,400Mbps/5GHz, 300Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD + BT 5.0
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KUK-00001]
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
BullGuard™ Internet Security - Free 90 Day License inc. Gamer Mode
Browser
Microsoft® Edge (Windows 10 Only)
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Subject to stock availability on pre-order products
Price: £2,283.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-gen3-pc/YURBmjnvew/

Excellent info, thanks for that, i hear you about RAID, just thought for the money that RAID1 would at least give some resilience against mechanical disk failure, I do backup to cloud for important data

Have to admit I'm not a fan of the aesthetic of the case though, any other worthy suggestions that will take the 3 fan AIO ?

My only other thoughts were on the motherboard and is it worth going for something that will got to 128GB RAM in the future ?

 

[sck451]

In your shoes I'd probably go for the Tuf X570 motherboard as it has the potential for a second gen 4 SSD in the future. Any of the motherboards other than the B450 ones will support up to 128GB of RAM.

For RAID, I'd suggest looking into getting a NAS, ultimately. The protection RAID 1 offers is so minimal, as it can't deal with accidental deletions at all.

For the case, the option I'd go for is the 5000D Airflow. Personally I think it's really pretty in white, so I'd probably order that elsewhere and send it in for PCS to build in, but the black one on the configurator is really good too. It might need some more fans, though; I'm not really sure. It's also RGB-less, but you could buy ARGB stips to make up for that. The other options would be the 4000D Airflow (smaller than the 5000D) and then some much more expensive ones.

 

[Bigfoot]

To get 4TB of HDD I went with 2x2TB Barracudas. These are 7200rpm with a larger cache than the Ironwolf. You have better redundancy with this setup. They were also slightly cheaper than the Ironwolf.

 

[sck451]

To get 4TB of HDD I went with 2x2TB Barracudas. These are 7200rpm with a larger cache than the Ironwolf. You have better redundancy with this setup. They were also slightly cheaper than the Ironwolf.

I'm not sure about the redundancy thing, but otherwise that's a good shout.

 

[Bigfoot]

I'm not sure about the redundancy thing, but otherwise that's a good shout.

If a drive fails, you only lose half as much data. Having said that, HDDs don’t fail that often.

 

[SpyderTracks]

I’m still using HDDs I bought in 2003, and they’ve been in every system I’ve had since then.

If a drive fails, you only lose half as much data. Having said that, HDDs don’t fail that often.

 

[sck451]

If a drive fails, you only lose half as much data. Having said that, HDDs don’t fail that often.

I wouldn't exactly call that "redundancy", but yes, I can see how that could be considered an advantage. I'd prefer just to have a proper backup system in place, though.

 

[SpyderTracks]

I wouldn't exactly call that "redundancy", but yes, I can see how that could be considered an advantage. I'd prefer just to have a proper backup system in place, though.

NAS drive essential these days for any kind of professional workflow.

 

[Bigfoot]

I wouldn't exactly call that "redundancy", but yes, I can see how that could be considered an advantage. I'd prefer just to have a proper backup system in place, though.

Yes, there is no alternative for proper backup.

 

[RichLan564]

OK, with a bit of tweaking this is where i am with my spec, any comments, need to get it on order soonish as the 3070 situation doesn't look like improving....

If i'm honest i could do with it coming down in price without suffering any performance knocks, any suggestions ?

Case
CORSAIR 4000D AIRFLOW TEMPERED GLASS GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 7 5800X Eight Core CPU (3.8GHz-4.7GHz/36MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
ASUS® STRIX B550-F GAMING (DDR4, USB 3.2, 6Gb/s) - ARGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE RGB PRO DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
8GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 3070 - HDMI, DP
1st Storage Drive
4TB SEAGATE IRONWOLF PRO 3.5", 7200 RPM 128MB CACHE
1st M.2 SSD Drive
500GB SAMSUNG 980 PRO M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 6900MB/R, 5000MB/W)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
500GB SAMSUNG 970 EVO PLUS M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 3500MB/R, 3200MB/W)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 850W RMx SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
Corsair H115i ELITE CAPELLIX RGB Hydro Series High Performance CPU Cooler
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Card
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT
Wireless Network Card
WIRELESS INTEL® Wi-Fi 6 AX200 2,400Mbps/5GHz, 300Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD + BT 5.0
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KUK-00001]
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Google Chrome™
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Subject to stock availability on pre-order products
Welcome Book
PCSpecialist Welcome Book - United Kingdom & Republic of Ireland
Logo Branding
PCSpecialist Logo
Price: £2,379.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-gen3-pc/yjg45zXytP/

 

[Steveyg]

Looks solid on everything except the motherboard, I would want a X570 TUF or STRIXX for the 5800X

Storage is a little wonky too but I imagine you have your reasons?

 

[sck451]

Your build actually shows up for me as £2284, so that's an improvement in itself!

You could lose the RGB from the RAM (it doesn't actually make it faster, though it feels like it does). In your shoes I'd like the 1TB PCS M.2 SSD rather than the 500GB 970 one. Do you need WiFi or will you be using a network cable? If the latter, you could lose the WiFi card.

Finally, if you have an older Windows computer that you're retiring, you could probably transfer your Windows licence across and save the £100ish it costs.

 

[RichLan564]

Looks solid on everything except the motherboard, I would want a X570 TUF or STRIXX for the 5800X

Storage is a little wonky too but I imagine you have your reasons?

Cheers, the 980 will be boot, 970 scratch and project drive, 4TB is bulk storage

 

[RichLan564]

Your build actually shows up for me as £2284, so that's an improvement in itself!

You could lose the RGB from the RAM (it doesn't actually make it faster, though it feels like it does). In your shoes I'd like the 1TB PCS M.2 SSD rather than the 500GB 970 one. Do you need WiFi or will you be using a network cable? If the latter, you could lose the WiFi card.

Finally, if you have an older Windows computer that you're retiring, you could probably transfer your Windows licence across and save the £100ish it costs.

cheers, will probably lose the RGB from RAM, looks good but serves no purpose, take your point about the PCS drive, its just for scratch drive anyway

What's the difference between the Corsair H115i CAPELLIX and the non CAPELLIX one ? Is the CAPELLIX purely for aesthetics ?

 

[sck451]

I believe, as you say, that the Capellix model is the same but with RGB (including, AIUI, an RGB controller). You could certainly go down to the non-Capellix version and not lose cooling ability.

I'm not sure there's going to be much performance difference for a scratch/project drive; personally I'd rather have more capacity but I know opinions vary...

 

[RichLan564]

I believe, as you say, that the Capellix model is the same but with RGB (including, AIUI, an RGB controller). You could certainly go down to the non-Capellix version and not lose cooling ability.

I'm not sure there's going to be much performance difference for a scratch/project drive; personally I'd rather have more capacity but I know opinions vary...

Cheers, i'm happy with the drive config just swapping to the PCS drive, it will work fine

Just need to decide on a monitor now, any suggestions for a decent value for performance balanced 27" QHD monitor ? Will possibly add a second one at a later date.

 

[sck451]

Cheers, i'm happy with the drive config just swapping to the PCS drive, it will work fine

Just need to decide on a monitor now, any suggestions for a decent value for performance balanced 27" QHD monitor ? Will possibly add a second one at a later date.

For video editing you want a flat screen in my view. The AOC Q27G2U is a good bet at £280. For a bit more you can go for an IPS panel such as the LG 27GL850-B, which might be a good call for video editing.

 

[RichLan564]

For video editing you want a flat screen in my view. The AOC Q27G2U is a good bet at £280. For a bit more you can go for an IPS panel such as the LG 27GL850-B, which might be a good call for video editing.

Great thanks, the LG looks perfect.