Opinions on 4k video editing PC

[kshort100]

Hi everyone,

I am looking to build a 4k video editing PC with the specs below. Do you have any suggestions for alterations/improvements? I'm looking for something that should last for a good length of time. I have very little knowledge on PCs so any tips/advice would be appreciated.

Budget is £1,400
PC will be primarily used for 4k video editing on Adobe Premiere Pro and little use on Adobe After Effects and general PC stuff. It will not be used for any gaming or anything else.
I will be using two monitors, one 4k 60hz (Benq EW2780u) and 1080p monitor (Benq GW2280) - these are not in the budget as I have already got them.

Case
PCS P209 RGB MID TOWER CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i7 Eight Core Processor i7-10700K (3.8GHz) 16MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® PRIME Z490-P (LGA1200, USB 3.2, CrossFireX) - ARGB Ready
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3000MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
6GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 1660 Ti - HDMI, DP - GeForce GTX VR Ready!
1st Storage Drive
2TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 256MB CACHE
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB INTEL® 665p M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 2000MB/sR | 1925MB/sW)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 550W TXm SERIES™ SEMI-MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
CoolerMaster MasterLiquid Lite 120 High Performance Liquid 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 (Wi-Fi NOT INCLUDED)
Wireless Network Card
WIRELESS INTEL® Wi-Fi 6 AX200 2,400Mbps/5GHz, 300Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD + BT 5.0
USB/Thunderbolt Options
2 PORT (2 x TYPE A) USB 3.0 PCI-E CARD + STANDARD USB 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 - Approximately 31 to 33 working days
Welcome Book
PCSpecialist Welcome Book - United Kingdom & Republic of Ireland
Logo Branding
PCSpecialist Logo

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/intel-z490-pc/jA!fzNT3K7/

 

[Martinr36]

Ok, first things first, any reason you have chosen Intel? Read the link below to find out why it is a bad idea

AMD Vs Intel

So some of you aren't aware of the reasons why so many people are heading away from Intel to AMD, so thought it would be important to lay that out for people to refer back to. A lot of you will go to cpubenchmark or userbenchmark to find performance metrics for CPU's. These sites are complete...

www.pcspecialist.co.uk

 

[kshort100]

No particular reason to be honest, but reading that article, it looks like it is a bad idea. What equivalent AMD processor would you recommend? AMD Ryzen 7 3800X?

 

[Scott]

I'm struggling with the budget to be honest. This is where I would start, and it's £120 more than your choice above.

Even sticking with the Intel you would want a far better case, a far better cooler and a different M2 drive. This is a primary reason for the costs being higher on my build.

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® TUF X570-PLUS GAMING (USB 3.2 Gen 2, PCIe 4.0, CrossFireX) - ARGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3600MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
6GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 1660 SUPER - HDMI, DP - GeForce GTX VR Ready!
1st Storage Drive
2TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 256MB CACHE
1st M.2 SSD Drive
512GB PCS PCIe M.2 SSD (2000 MB/R, 1100 MB/W)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 750W RMx SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
CoolerMaster MasterLiquid Lite 240 High Performance Liquid 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 (Wi-Fi NOT INCLUDED)
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
NO RECOVERY MEDIA REQUIRED
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Firefox™
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
SATURDAY DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (BEFORE 2PM)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 31 to 33 working days
Price: £1,577.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-gen3-pc/PN9kZTenzX/

 

[kshort100]

I'm struggling with the budget to be honest. This is where I would start, and it's £120 more than your choice above.

Even sticking with the Intel you would want a far better case, a far better cooler and a different M2 drive. This is a primary reason for the costs being higher on my build.

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® TUF X570-PLUS GAMING (USB 3.2 Gen 2, PCIe 4.0, CrossFireX) - ARGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3600MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
6GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 1660 SUPER - HDMI, DP - GeForce GTX VR Ready!
1st Storage Drive
2TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 256MB CACHE
1st M.2 SSD Drive
512GB PCS PCIe M.2 SSD (2000 MB/R, 1100 MB/W)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 750W RMx SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
CoolerMaster MasterLiquid Lite 240 High Performance Liquid 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 (Wi-Fi NOT INCLUDED)
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
NO RECOVERY MEDIA REQUIRED
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Firefox™
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
SATURDAY DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (BEFORE 2PM)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 31 to 33 working days
Price: £1,577.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-gen3-pc/PN9kZTenzX/

Thank you for your configuration @Scott. Would be great to see some other opinions of how to go with this to weigh it all up.

I noticed you used Ryzen 7 5800X which is on pre order currently. The guys on the live chat couldn't give me an exact date when this would be in. If I'm looking to get something sooner, would the Ryzen 9 3900X be a suitable alternative? Is this a lower spec version or just older?

The GTX 1660 Super isn't in stock currently, is the GTX 1660 Ti a GPU i could use instead?

With the RAM, do i need this at 3600MHz or could I use something like 3200MHz or 3000MHz?

Thanks in advance!

 

[kshort100]

Unfortunately, I can't hang around for when the 5800X comes into stock. Taking on board your suggestions would the configuration below using the Ryzen 9 3900X be suitable? I have stretched my budget to £1,600 here but this is really as far as I can go.

What was the reason for choosing a different M.2 drive as well?

Case
CORSAIR 4000D AIRFLOW TEMPERED GLASS GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 9 3900X 12 Core CPU (3.8GHz-4.6GHz/70MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF X570-PLUS GAMING (USB 3.2 Gen 2, PCIe 4.0, CrossFireX) - ARGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3600MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
6GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 1660 Super - HDMI, DP - GeForce GTX VR Ready!
1st Storage Drive
2TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 256MB CACHE
1st M.2 SSD Drive
512GB PCS PCIe M.2 SSD (2000 MB/R, 1100 MB/W)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 750W RMx SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
Corsair H100x 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 (Wi-Fi NOT INCLUDED)
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
NO RECOVERY MEDIA REQUIRED
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Firefox™
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
SATURDAY DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (BEFORE 2PM)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 31 to 33 working days
Price: £1,578.00 including VAT and Delivery

 

[Martinr36]

Unfortunately, I can't hang around for when the 5800X comes into stock. Taking on board your suggestions would the configuration below using the Ryzen 9 3900X be suitable? I have stretched my budget to £1,600 here but this is really as far as I can go.

What was the reason for choosing a different M.2 drive as well?

Case
CORSAIR 4000D AIRFLOW TEMPERED GLASS GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 9 3900X 12 Core CPU (3.8GHz-4.6GHz/70MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF X570-PLUS GAMING (USB 3.2 Gen 2, PCIe 4.0, CrossFireX) - ARGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3600MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
6GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 1660 Super - HDMI, DP - GeForce GTX VR Ready!
1st Storage Drive
2TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 256MB CACHE
1st M.2 SSD Drive
512GB PCS PCIe M.2 SSD (2000 MB/R, 1100 MB/W)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 750W RMx SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
Corsair H100x 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 (Wi-Fi NOT INCLUDED)
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
NO RECOVERY MEDIA REQUIRED
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Firefox™
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
SATURDAY DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (BEFORE 2PM)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 31 to 33 working days
Price: £1,578.00 including VAT and Delivery

The intel M.2 is renowned for having a short life, whereas the PCS one is a very capable unit especially for its price (I've 2 in my desktop & 1 in my laptop)

 

[Scott]

Unfortunately, I can't hang around for when the 5800X comes into stock. Taking on board your suggestions would the configuration below using the Ryzen 9 3900X be suitable? I have stretched my budget to £1,600 here but this is really as far as I can go.

What was the reason for choosing a different M.2 drive as well?

Case
CORSAIR 4000D AIRFLOW TEMPERED GLASS GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 9 3900X 12 Core CPU (3.8GHz-4.6GHz/70MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF X570-PLUS GAMING (USB 3.2 Gen 2, PCIe 4.0, CrossFireX) - ARGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3600MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
6GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 1660 Super - HDMI, DP - GeForce GTX VR Ready!
1st Storage Drive
2TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 256MB CACHE
1st M.2 SSD Drive
512GB PCS PCIe M.2 SSD (2000 MB/R, 1100 MB/W)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 750W RMx SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
Corsair H100x 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 (Wi-Fi NOT INCLUDED)
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
NO RECOVERY MEDIA REQUIRED
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Firefox™
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
SATURDAY DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (BEFORE 2PM)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 31 to 33 working days
Price: £1,578.00 including VAT and Delivery

As above with the Intel.

You've selected the wrong cooler though. You want the H100i RGB Platinum. That's the one with the silent fans and higher performance. You will want that for extended use on the 3900X. You will want the STRIX motherboard with the 3900X too, for the VRM (Voltage) capacity. This helps greatly with boost clocks and stability.

In your shoes I would be remiss if I didn't say I think you should opt for the 5900X. It's just so much better.

 

[kshort100]

As above with the Intel.

You've selected the wrong cooler though. You want the H100i RGB Platinum. That's the one with the silent fans and higher performance. You will want that for extended use on the 3900X. You will want the STRIX motherboard with the 3900X too, for the VRM (Voltage) capacity. This helps greatly with boost clocks and stability.

In your shoes I would be remiss if I didn't say I think you should opt for the 5900X. It's just so much better.

Thanks again for the advice @Scott , it's really appreciated. If I had a bit more time where I could wait for the 5800X/5900X I definitely would but as I ideally need this as soon as possible, I think I will head towards the 3900X. This processor still would work for my purposes wouldn't it? Could I still use Premiere Pro with it? It just wouldn't be as good as the 5900X?

Thanks for the cooler and motherboard recommendations - I have added in the H100i RGB Platinum and the ROG STRIX X570-F Motherboard.

 

[kshort100]

The intel M.2 is renowned for having a short life, whereas the PCS one is a very capable unit especially for its price (I've 2 in my desktop & 1 in my laptop)

Thanks very much, that makes sense, I appreciate the help!

 

[Scott]

Thanks again for the advice @Scott , it's really appreciated. If I had a bit more time where I could wait for the 5800X/5900X I definitely would but as I ideally need this as soon as possible, I think I will head towards the 3900X. This processor still would work for my purposes wouldn't it? Could I still use Premiere Pro with it? It just wouldn't be as good as the 5900X?

Thanks for the cooler and motherboard recommendations - I have added in the H100i RGB Platinum and the ROG STRIX X570-F Motherboard.

Yes, the 3090 is a great processor. I completely understand

 

[RobSas]

Thanks again for the advice @Scott , it's really appreciated. If I had a bit more time where I could wait for the 5800X/5900X I definitely would but as I ideally need this as soon as possible, I think I will head towards the 3900X. This processor still would work for my purposes wouldn't it? Could I still use Premiere Pro with it? It just wouldn't be as good as the 5900X?

Thanks for the cooler and motherboard recommendations - I have added in the H100i RGB Platinum and the ROG STRIX X570-F Motherboard.

I was using Premier Pro and Adobe After Effects on a first gen Intel i7 (approx. 8 or 9 years old)? with 16GB memory and an antiquated NVidia GT770x up until December last year when I upgraded a new PCS system.

My old system ran fine (not 4K media) so I'm sure a newly purchased PC will run it providing it meets Adobe's specifications and your drivers are up to date.

There are ways of optimizing Adobe products for 4K projects such as ensuring your cache resides on a different internal physical drive and using proxys for the footage. Google is your friend - there are tons of articles online about this.

My only recommendation with your build would be to replace the SATA drive with at least an SSD.
SATA is significantly slower than an M.2 and will be the cause of any bottlenecking if you do split you project over different disks.

 

[kshort100]

I was using Premier Pro and Adobe After Effects on a first gen Intel i7 (approx. 8 or 9 years old)? with 16GB memory and an antiquated NVidia GT770x up until December last year when I upgraded a new PCS system.

My old system ran fine (not 4K media) so I'm sure a newly purchased PC will run it providing it meets Adobe's specifications and your drivers are up to date.

There are ways of optimizing Adobe products for 4K projects such as ensuring your cache resides on a different internal physical drive and using proxys for the footage. Google is your friend - there are tons of articles online about this.

My only recommendation with your build would be to replace the SATA drive with at least an SSD.
SATA is significantly slower than an M.2 and will be the cause of any bottlenecking if you do split you project over different disks.

That's good to hear and thanks for the input. This does meet and surpass Adobe's specifications for 4k video editing so fingers crossed!

Re optimizing the 4k projects, i have heard some of these ways but is definitely something i need to look into more.

Re the drive, that makes sense. Would it be worth tweaking the build slightly for something similar to the below:
1. 256GB M.2 Drive for OS
2. 1TB SSD to edit the media on
3. 1TB SATA to store the finished projects (i already have an external 4TB hard drive that i plan to utilise when storing media)

Or could I instead put the OS and edit the media on the M.2 and then just have an SSD instead of the SATA? If so, what size would you suggest?

 

[kshort100]

Yes, the 3090 is a great processor. I completely understand

Excellent, thanks again for you assistance @Scott!

 

[Martinr36]

That's good to hear and thanks for the input. This does meet and surpass Adobe's specifications for 4k video editing so fingers crossed!

Re optimizing the 4k projects, i have heard some of these ways but is definitely something i need to look into more.

Re the drive, that makes sense. Would it be worth tweaking the build slightly for something similar to the below:
1. 256GB M.2 Drive for OS
2. 1TB SSD to edit the media on
3. 1TB SATA to store the finished projects (i already have an external 4TB hard drive that i plan to utilise when storing media)

Or could I instead put the OS and edit the media on the M.2 and then just have an SSD instead of the SATA? If so, what size would you suggest?

yeah your 1,2,3 would work, I've a similar set up on my desktop that i use for editing, but i shoved a 1TB M.2 in mine

 

[RobSas]

That's good to hear and thanks for the input. This does meet and surpass Adobe's specifications for 4k video editing so fingers crossed!

Re optimizing the 4k projects, i have heard some of these ways but is definitely something i need to look into more.

Re the drive, that makes sense. Would it be worth tweaking the build slightly for something similar to the below:
1. 256GB M.2 Drive for OS
2. 1TB SSD to edit the media on
3. 1TB SATA to store the finished projects (i already have an external 4TB hard drive that i plan to utilise when storing media)

Or could I instead put the OS and edit the media on the M.2 and then just have an SSD instead of the SATA? If so, what size would you suggest?

Your suggestion should work - just ensure you configure drive locations when you launch Adobe PP or AE

I ordered a larger OS drive; AE add-ons such as Element 3D tend to place or request that you place assets on the C:\. Also I use VFX software such as Nuke, World Creator and several versions of Blender so needed the additional space.

Blender loves to place add-on assets in
C:\Users\username\AppData\Roaming\Blender Foundation\Blender\version\scripts\addons\ unless a config option is offered

That folder is running at a happy 20GB!

 

[kshort100]

yeah your 1,2,3 would work, I've a similar set up on my desktop that i use for editing, but i shoved a 1TB M.2 in mine

Thanks @Martinr36. For budget reasons i can't stretch to 1TB for the M.2. If i lowered the SSD to 512GB but increased the M.2 to 512GB would that just as well? I could then split the media over the SSD and M.2. Or will that do more harm than good?

 

[kshort100]

Your suggestion should work - just ensure you configure drive locations when you launch Adobe PP or AE

I ordered a larger OS drive; AE add-ons such as Element 3D tend to place or request that you place assets on the C:\. Also I use VFX software such as Nuke, World Creator and several versions of Blender so needed the additional space.

Blender loves to place add-on assets in
C:\Users\username\AppData\Roaming\Blender Foundation\Blender\version\scripts\addons\ unless a config option is offered

That folder is running at a happy 20GB!

Excellent thanks, that's really helpful to know! Do you edit your media on the SSD and keep the M.2 solely for the OS?

 

[RobSas]

Excellent thanks, that's really helpful to know! Do you edit your media on the SSD and keep the M.2 solely for the OS?

My config is as follows, a bit different to yours:

1 x M.2 for OS and applications
1 x M.2 for active projects
1 x SSD for cache / archiving

In Adobe you can point to a specific folder on any attached drive for the cache and set a maximum size.

Don't get too worried about setting the cache - you don't have to do it and Adobe will set one up for you if you omit to do it.
Do some research and satisfy your own thoughts.

 

[kshort100]

My config is as follows, a bit different to yours:

1 x M.2 for OS and applications
1 x M.2 for active projects
1 x SSD for cache / archiving

In Adobe you can point to a specific folder on any attached drive for the cache and set a maximum size.

Don't get too worried about setting the cache - you don't have to do it and Adobe will set one up for you if you omit to do it.
Do some research and satisfy your own thoughts.

That makes sense. Thanks very much @RobSas - i'll do a bit more research. Really appreciate your help!