Time to build a Gaming / blackmagic capturing rig

L

Ltor

Limp Gawd
Joined
Sep 7, 2010
Messages
159
1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
I'll be doing some middling gaming SC II, and some swtor and Guild wars 2 when they come out. I've been a console gamer aside from mmo's and SC but I'd like to have the option to play some portal 2 or dabble in some battlefield 3. I also plan on capturing those games and my xbox 360 gameplay via a blackmagic intensity pro. (Only problem is I do my video editing on a macbook pro w/ finalcut so i need to find out how to transfer large uncompressed files between the two...but thats irrelevant to this post.)
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
$1600 soft cap
3) Where do you live?
Upstate New York
4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. The word "Everything" is not a valid answer. Please list out all the parts you'll need.
My first build and i'm a real green so I might forget something, but here goes: CASE,CPU,GPU,RAM,MOBO,DVDDrive,SSD,HDD, & a Keyboard
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
Acer H243H, Razer DeathAdder, M-Audio Studiophile AV 40
6) Will you be overclocking?
If I can assemble this computer without snapping anything in half or accidentally creating a black hole then I'll worry about overclocking. But yes, I'd like to have the option to in the future.
7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
24
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
within the month if I can.
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? USB 3.0? SATA 6Gb/s? etc.
I googled sli and i wouldn't think i'd need two video cards and as far as raid I plan on having both SSD and the old mechanicals so i dunno if its possible or if id even want to do a raid set up on just the mechanical drives.(once i get more then one) But I don't really know shit so hopefully you guys can help me out here.
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If so, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?
I think I have 32 bit on a disk somewhere but I'll get 64bit windows...ultimate? I guess.


So here's where I'm suppose to put my current wishlist of parts...but to be honest I don't know much of anything about parts and manufacturers. The last and only pc I owned was dell with 512 mb of ram. Sadly my family were early apple adopters and since i got into video editing in highschool I havent had to think about anything besides if I want my computer screen glossy or matte.(matte obviously) But here's what I got so far...

Case : NZXT Phantom - not dead set on it but I think it's my favorite from what i've looked through thus far.

PCI Express Card: Blackmagic Design Intensity Pro HDMI Editing Card - Motherboard and everything need to be compatible with this and powerful enough to run it.

The rest of the parts were suggested by a friend and I have no idea what's good and what could use an upgrade or some tweaking. I wanna get the best price to performance I can. So tell me if anything here is a good call or if It's all wrong. Also from reading other threads I understand 4th of july sales on newegg are suppose to be pretty good so what and when should i look for there? Anyways heres the list: Link
 
For the BlackMagic requirements... That Intensity Pro card is pure software decoder/encoder, and seems to work well. You'll just need a reliable mobo with a PCIe x1 socket and a good PSU. Knowing your needs for it, I'd strongly recommend an i5 or i7 proc with plenty of RAM.

Slightly off-topic:
Are you only using the included BlackMagic hooks to FCP and other apps, or were you planning on rolling your own interface for media graphs/sinks with their SDK?
 
PTNL said:
For the BlackMagic requirements... That Intensity Pro card is pure software decoder/encoder, and seems to work well. You'll just need a reliable mobo with a PCIe x1 socket and a good PSU. Knowing your needs for it, I'd strongly recommend an i5 or i7 proc with plenty of RAM.

Slightly off-topic:
Are you only using the included BlackMagic hooks to FCP and other apps, or were you planning on rolling your own interface for media graphs/sinks with their SDK?
Click to expand...

I don't know much about the blackmagic other then it's the only thing that does 1080p and it's got hdmi in and out which is just what I need. So you'll have to explain to me what the hooks to FCP are all about. Since FCP is mac only and I plan on running windows 7 on this machine I figured id have to just capture with the suggested software and then transfer the raw files to my macbook pro by ftp'ing them or something. Is there a better way?
 
Ltor said:
I don't know much about the blackmagic other then it's the only thing that does 1080p and it's got hdmi in and out which is just what I need. So you'll have to explain to me what the hooks to FCP are all about. Since FCP is mac only and I plan on running windows 7 on this machine I figured id have to just capture with the suggested software and then transfer the raw files to my macbook pro by ftp'ing them or something. Is there a better way?
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Sorry, my post last post was a bit confusing. (Clearly no FCP on Windows :) )

My question was how you were planning on ingesting and outputting the HDMI content: using an included app or application hook that comes with the Intensity Pro card, or if you were writing your own C++ capture/output application that used the BlackMagic SDK. Though your response did answer my question, where you stated you would simply "capture with the suggested software". I think your approach is fine, and BM's support has been decent from my experience.

Edit: By application "hook", I am referring to a plugin BM has to a 3rd party app. One example is that they have a hook to Adobe Premier to output that application's video to a BM card. The PDF that comes with the driver download will list all of the applications they have written hooks for.
 
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You have a fairly large budget so I'm gonna take advantage of that:

$475 - Intel Core i5 2500K + Intel 510 Series 120GB SSD combo
$133 - MSI P67A-G45 Intel P67 ATX Motherboard
$70 - G.Skill Ripjaws F3-10666CL9D-8GBRL 2 x 4GB DDR3 1333 RAM
$280 - MSI R6950 Twin Frozr II Radeon HD 6950 2GB PCI-E Video Card
$65 - Samsung Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
$20 - LG GH22NS70 DVD Burner
$120 - Corsair 650HX 650W Modular PSU
$140 - NZXT Phantom PHAN-001WT White Full Tower ATX Case
$29 - Xigmatek Gaia SD1283 120mm HSF
$95 - Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64bit OEM
---
Total: $1427 plus tax and shipping

The parts list you posted had a number of glaring issues:
- Overpriced mobo with only a one year warranty
- Relatively slow SSD
- Overpriced HSF
- Overpriced RAM
- Budget PSU not so suitable for a build of this caliber

The above list I posted have the following advantages:
- Significantly faster, larger, and more reliable SSD
- Better warrantied motherboard
- Modular PSU for ease of cable management
- Faster video card
- better priced HSF and RAM
 
So glad I came here and talked to people that know what they are doing. Just from reading your well worded response and bullet points I feel much better about this selection. Though i'm still a little intimidated and don't know what im doing with the cabling I do know the word modular means less hassle so im glad about that. Not to mention 120gb ssd was exactly what I wanted. I have two questions that come to mind, does the case come with standoffs already in place and if so are they right for that mobo? And since you upped the graphics card does that mean I should definitely overclock the cpu to take full advantage of that card? Also how long should I wait on these newegg summer deals before I pull the trigger? Thanks again for the guidance Danny.
 
Ltor said:
I have two questions that come to mind,
Click to expand...
You actually have three :D
Ltor said:
does the case come with standoffs already in place and if so are they right for that mobo?
Click to expand...
Yes and yes.
Ltor said:
And since you upped the graphics card does that mean I should definitely overclock the cpu to take full advantage of that card?
Click to expand...
Not really. Even at stock that CPU is enough.
Ltor said:
Also how long should I wait on these newegg summer deals before I pull the trigger? Thanks again for the guidance Danny.
Click to expand...
Really can't answer this one as I don't have a crystal globe as to what parts will be on sale during the summer. With that said, Newegg does have a small sale going on now:
http://promotions.newegg.com/neemai...MC-IGNEFL070111-_-EMC-070111-Index-_-E0-_-All

Though the only item of note would probably the OS sale.
 
Danny's build is nice, but I'd suggest going with an even bigger hard drive, given the size of the files that your capture device will give you. I find that 1080p gives me about 1-1.5gb per minute of gameplay.
 
yea I know I'll deff be adding HD space in the future, i've never had more then 1 hd though so how much of a hassle is it to have stuff across multiple drives? Would it be better to get 1 2tb or 2 1tb?
 
Will I need a wireless adapter as well for wifi? Or do you guys consider a wireless internet connection for gaming blasphemy?
 
Ltor said:
yea I know I'll deff be adding HD space in the future, i've never had more then 1 hd though so how much of a hassle is it to have stuff across multiple drives? Would it be better to get 1 2tb or 2 1tb?
Click to expand...
It's not too much of a hassle to get have stuff across multiple drives as long as you're organized.

For capturing, I'd go for a fast 2TB or 1TB drive.
Ltor said:
Will I need a wireless adapter as well for wifi? Or do you guys consider a wireless internet connection for gaming blasphemy?
Click to expand...

Yes you will need a wireless adapter for Wifi. And yes, wifi for gaming is not a good idea. But if you have to:
$28 - Asus PCE-N13 Wireless Adapter
 
What should I look for in a hard drive spec wise besides 7200rpm and what brands are generally praised?

Also what can I get away with for a drive just to store my hd movies and shows?
 
Ltor said:
What should I look for in a hard drive spec wise besides 7200rpm
Click to expand...
You honestly have to read reviews to determine how fast a drive as specs alone don't tell the whole story.
Ltor said:
and what brands are generally praised?
Click to expand...
Samsung and Western Digital in my book.

Ltor said:
Also what can I get away with for a drive just to store my hd movies and shows?
Click to expand...
Something like this should be fine:
$80 - Samsung Spinpoint F4 HD204UI 2TB 5400 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
 
with each question you answer danny my confidence grows by half a percent...lets keep that going:

Now that you've shown me a well priced drive for movie and tv storage...can you suggest a larger performance 1.5 or 2tb drive for the 1080p compressed video capture? (incase i decide the 1tb one you suggested is too small)

Now a dumb question...optical drive bays that can be accessed from the front of the case...can you put harddrives in those or are they only suppose to go in the lower bays that you cant access from the front on this case?


And can you give me an idea of how well this build should perform on newer more graphic intensive games. Because I just saw a gameplay trailer for the new tribes game ([ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_jeBeP-kRjg&feature=feedu"]Link[/ame]) and with the pc being the lead platform for both this and battlefield 3, I may have to become a hardcore pc gamer. (since you obviously cant tell me how an unassembled build performs on unreleased games maybe just give me an estimate of how well you think it could handle crisis 2 and portal 2.
 
The best 2TB performance drive available is the WD Caviar Black 2TB. Though newer 3TB drives have been out for a few months, I haven't done enough research to recommend one.

Crysis 2 will be the more demanding game (especially with its updated DX11 drivers), so you're looking at the HD 6970, the GTX 570, and the GTX 580 for single-GPU options. The reviews generally show that the HD6970 is on par with the GTX 570 in both price and performance, and the GTX 580 is greater (though more expensive) for the most part.

You can place hard drives into the 5.25" drive bays, but you'll need some sort of adapter. There are also multi-drive bays that would allow you to use two or more 5.25" bays for multiple 3.5" hard drives.
 
tiraides said:
The best 2TB performance drive available is the WD Caviar Black 2TB. Though newer 3TB drives have been out for a few months, I haven't done enough research to recommend one.

Crysis 2 will be the more demanding game (especially with its updated DX11 drivers), so you're looking at the HD 6970, the GTX 570, and the GTX 580 for single-GPU options. The reviews generally show that the HD6970 is on par with the GTX 570 in both price and performance, and the GTX 580 is greater (though more expensive) for the most part.

You can place hard drives into the 5.25" drive bays, but you'll need some sort of adapter. There are also multi-drive bays that would allow you to use two or more 5.25" bays for multiple 3.5" hard drives.
Click to expand...

Ok I was just a bit confused after looking at all the cases. I think some included hot swappable hd bays in the front and It made me unsure if there was a differnece for optical drive bays and the ones just for hardrives. But what is the reason for 5 optical drive bays? What goes in them besides dvd/bluray drives? A fan lcd is the only think I can think of but even then why the need for 5?
 
I'd prefer they remove 3 of them and just put in a small microwave for bagel bites...
 
Ltor said:
Ok I was just a bit confused after looking at all the cases. I think some included hot swappable hd bays in the front and It made me unsure if there was a differnece for optical drive bays and the ones just for hardrives. But what is the reason for 5 optical drive bays? What goes in them besides dvd/bluray drives? A fan lcd is the only think I can think of but even then why the need for 5?
Click to expand...

I've seen fan controllers, A/V panels for sound or video capture cards, and even LCD panels placed in those drive bays. Some of those LCD panels take up two or three drive bays on their own.

What were you hoping to use the front bays for? You don't really need more than one optical drive nowadays.
 
Is this on sale $60 G.SKILL Sniper 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600

better than the $70 G.Skill Ripjaws F3-10666CL9D-8GBRL 2 x 4GB DDR3 1333 previously suggested?
 
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Not really. You won't use the RAM to overclock, as the K processors come with unlocked CPU multipliers.

Besides, the DDR3 1333 kit comes with its own $15 off promo code, which actually makes it a bit cheaper than the Sniper DDR3 1600 kit.
 
oh nice, they must have added that recently. Or else im just blind...

So should I just man up and order all these parts now or wait for potential sales on the horizon?

My one concern is that the heatsink might be too big and block the tall ram. Also the reviews on the heatsink say its hard to install and the directions are wonky. That has me a little worried.
 
If you're concerned about the height of the heatspreaders, go with this set of RAM:

$69 - Mushkin Enhanced Silverline 2x4GB DDR3 1333

Otherwise, go with Danny Bui's build. It's not worth picking nits over the price of everything as Danny found the best bang-per-buck performance parts available today.
 
I'm not so concerned with the height as I am the purported pain it is to install (according to newegg reviews) especially since this is my first build. But being that your the second person to whole heartedly approve danny's build. I think it's time I shut up, break open my piggy bank, and add all this to my cart. I'll wait till tomorrow to checkout just incase theres a 4th of july deal to be had. Also so I can pm danny one final line of last minute questioning. (sorry I'm ocd.) But I feel pretty confident now, especially considering my build was suggested by a fellow irishman.
 
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