Budget PC mainly for video editing

[theb52s]

myself and my daughter have recently ordered new laptops via PCS and now it looks like my son may be getting in on the act, so I'm looking for a little advice.
He currently has a desktop which is 6 years old. He doesn't do any gaming on it but he does use Adobe Premiere Pro, After Effects and Photoshop. These are mainly used producing an ongoing audio fan series to which he also adds some occasional live action sequences and special effects. He isn't working with 4k or anything like that.
His current PC has been acting up. We are currently looking into trying to solve the issue but he is now wondering about a new desktop altogether. Unfortunately he doesn't have a lot of spare cash because he is saving to get married and so he would need something which would allow him to continue his hobby at a low a cost as possible. Finances are further complicated by the fact that he is presently using old non subscription versions of the Adobe software and would likely have to subscribe to get full versions on any new PC.
So, to get to the point, what sort of minimum requirements should he be looking for as a starting point? I'm looking at something which would do the job to an acceptable level, upgradeable in future, but not break the bank.
He would just use his existing monitor. His current PC runs Windows 7 at the moment. If we wanted to use that Windows key to save money could he do that on the new PC to load Windows 10 or would he need to upgrade on his existing PC first?
Any suggestions would be welcomed.

 

[SpyderTracks]

myself and my daughter have recently ordered new laptops via PCS and now it looks like my son may be getting in on the act, so I'm looking for a little advice.
He currently has a desktop which is 6 years old. He doesn't do any gaming on it but he does use Adobe Premiere Pro, After Effects and Photoshop. These are mainly used producing an ongoing audio gan series to which he also adds some occasional live action sequences and special effects. He isn't working with 4k or anything like that.
His current PC has been acting up. We are currently looking into trying to solve the issue but he is now wondering about a new desktop altogether. Unfortunately he doesn't have a lot of spare cash because he is saving to get married and so he would need something which would allow him to continue his hobby at a low a cost as possible. Finances are further complicated by the fact that he is presently using old non subscription versions of the Adobe software and would likely have to subscribe to get full versions on any new PC.
So, to get to the point, what sort of minimum requirements should he be looking for as a starting point? I'm looking at something which would do the job to an acceptable level, upgradeable in future, but not break the bank.
He would just use his existing monitor. His current PC runs Windows 7 at the moment. If we wanted to use that Windows key to save money could he do that on the new PC to load Windows 10 or would he need to upgrade on his existing PC first?
Any suggestions would be welcomed.

We’d really need to know a max budget, something like this could run from £1k up to £5k quite easily.

 

[theb52s]

He told me he was looking at between £600 to £700 which I had thought would be pushing it. I am certainly not looking at anything more than around £1k.
This is his current PC.
Case
SHARKOON BD28 GAMING CASE (Green LED)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i7 Quad Core Processor i7-4790 (3.6GHz) 8MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® H81M-PLUS: Micro-ATX, LG1150, USB 3.0, SATA 6GBs
Memory (RAM)
16GB Kingston DUAL-DDR3 1600MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
2GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 770 - 2 DVI, HDMI, DP - (Special!)
1st Storage Drive
120GB INTEL® 530 SERIES SSD, SATA 6 Gb/s (up to 550MB/sR | 520MB/sW)
1st Storage Drive
2TB WD BLACK 3.5" WD2003FZEX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE (7200rpm)
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
Power Supply
CORSAIR 650W VS SERIES™ VS-650 POWER SUPPLY
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
Super Quiet 22dBA Triple Copper Heatpipe Intel CPU Cooler
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless/Wired Networking
WIRELESS 802.11N 300Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 4 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
4G Module
NONE, I WILL BE USING BROADBAND
Operating System
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit w/SP1 - inc DVD & Licence
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit) DVD with paper sleeve
Office Software
NO OFFICE SOFTWARE
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Google Chrome™
Monitor
IIYAMA E2273HDS 22" LED WIDESCREEN, 2 HDMI/DVI-D 1920x1080

That has been fine for what he had needed.

I came up with this build as a starting point but I'm not really sure what he could get away with in terms of the individual components.

Case
PCS 6003B BLACK CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i7 Eight Core Processor i7-9700 (3.0GHz) 12MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® PRIME Z390-P: ATX, LGA1151, USB 3.1, SATA 6GBs - RGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE RGB PRO DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
4GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 1650 - HDMI
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)
Memory Card Reader
USB 3.0 EXTERNAL SD/MICRO SD CARD READER
Power Supply
CORSAIR 350W VS SERIES™ VS-350 POWER SUPPLY
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
STANDARD CPU COOLER
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless/Wired Networking
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
NO OPERATING SYSTEM REQUIRED
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
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 21 to 23 working days
Price: £919.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/intel-z370-pc/!pEhCxeWsX/

 

[SpyderTracks]

He told me he was looking at between £600 to £700 which I had thought would be pushing it. I am certainly not looking at anything more than around £1k.
This is his current PC.
Case
SHARKOON BD28 GAMING CASE (Green LED)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i7 Quad Core Processor i7-4790 (3.6GHz) 8MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® H81M-PLUS: Micro-ATX, LG1150, USB 3.0, SATA 6GBs
Memory (RAM)
16GB Kingston DUAL-DDR3 1600MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
2GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 770 - 2 DVI, HDMI, DP - (Special!)
1st Storage Drive
120GB INTEL® 530 SERIES SSD, SATA 6 Gb/s (up to 550MB/sR | 520MB/sW)
1st Storage Drive
2TB WD BLACK 3.5" WD2003FZEX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE (7200rpm)
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
Power Supply
CORSAIR 650W VS SERIES™ VS-650 POWER SUPPLY
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
Super Quiet 22dBA Triple Copper Heatpipe Intel CPU Cooler
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless/Wired Networking
WIRELESS 802.11N 300Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 4 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
4G Module
NONE, I WILL BE USING BROADBAND
Operating System
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit w/SP1 - inc DVD & Licence
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit) DVD with paper sleeve
Office Software
NO OFFICE SOFTWARE
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Google Chrome™
Monitor
IIYAMA E2273HDS 22" LED WIDESCREEN, 2 HDMI/DVI-D 1920x1080

That has been fine for what he had needed.

I came up with this build as a starting point but I'm not really sure what he could get away with in terms of the individual components.

So to give you some idea, to come up with a modern equivalent of that build would be around £1500 to £1700

 

[Deleted member 17413]

Did it come from PCS to start with? There may be upgrade options if you look at the previous order?
Alternatively, would it be cheaper to get a new motherboard, processor and GPU? Could also upgrade the RAM.

Motherboard and CPU are going to be the ones that are most work to upgrade, have to basically rebuild it, but I dont know how comfortable you are with that.

A complete new build, for what he wants (video editting n stuff) seems difficult on the budget you are aiming for.

 

[theb52s]

I realise that if he were to get a new PC on his current budget it would be a case of going backwards compared to what is available now. My preference would be to resolve the issues he is having right now with the existing pc then he could potentially hold off buying a new one until he is better placed to do so. At present though we don't know if the issues are due to a failing component or something else.
This was just a tentative look to explore all of his options.
As far as upgrading things myself I did replace the GPU in my desktop but that's a far a I've gone. I can imagine my son being absolutely horrified if I whipped out my screwdriver and started to pull his PC apart.
Thanks for the replies. They are greatly appreciated.

 

[Deleted member 17413]

If its a PCS build, they may be able to help you out in figuring out why its playing up?
5 years is actually a fair lifespan for a HDD with regular use, also given the systems age (you said 6 years?) looking at how well the components are still seated (with the laptops i've had, where ive pushed them on game settings and its got a lot of being carried about) and all fans etc are still working so no temp issues would be where I would start.
Higher temps do shorten lifespan and first issue I hit was the GPU needing to be reseated and then next was the fan giving up, and if it had been using a HDD then that would be a likely thing to have gone first.

I know we are taking desktops so its a little different, and I dont know what its doing when it plays up (can often give you a hint of where to look first). but having it checked over for physical problems (if you havent already) would be a good idea to me.

 

[theb52s]

The other day out of the blue when my son hovered over the timeline on the video he was editing it started moving forward on its own. When he gives over the video clip it moves backwards very slowly, stuttering as it does. Other random things, if he clicks on a drop down box on a site he visits frequently the options disappear straight away and when I try to move the scroll bar on the add/remove programs box it moves itself immediately back to the top.
I don't know whether these things are connected. I've ran a couple of antivirus scans. Next I'm going to open it up and give it a good clean. I don't think he has done that and I suspect its pretty well clogged with dust. I had also used System restore to restore to a point before he was having the issues but that didn't work.
As I say it's early days yet. Hopefully we can get this working properly.

 

[Deleted member 17413]

Has he tried saving any files he wants/needs to a USB or separate drive to the operating system, and a complete fresh install?
Also, and I might be imagining it, but what you have said hints at the GPU playing up to me, if its starts to stutter etc when trying to do video editing.

As mentioned, if a PCS build, worth trying to talk to them, I believe they do lifetime tech support for their builds and they've always been happy to offer help even when I was past warranty (I just had to then pay for parts/labour when it came to fixing the actual issues)

 

[theb52s]

Thanks. Once I've given it a good clean out we were going to start looking at the components. What would be the best way of testing the GPU?

 

[SpyderTracks]

The other day out of the blue when my son hovered over the timeline on the video he was editing it started moving forward on its own. When he gives over the video clip it moves backwards very slowly, stuttering as it does. Other random things, if he clicks on a drop down box on a site he visits frequently the options disappear straight away and when I try to move the scroll bar on the add/remove programs box it moves itself immediately back to the top.
I don't know whether these things are connected. I've ran a couple of antivirus scans. Next I'm going to open it up and give it a good clean. I don't think he has done that and I suspect its pretty well clogged with dust. I had also used System restore to restore to a point before he was having the issues but that didn't work.
As I say it's early days yet. Hopefully we can get this working properly.

A windows reinstall is pretty much a certainty if you're facing issues like that.

 

[theb52s]

A windows reinstall is pretty much a certainty if you're facing issues like that.

I was hoping nobody would say that.

 

[Deleted member 17413]

Reinstalling windows is pretty easy, had a lot of advice about it recently sa I will not be getting a operating system with my new build, but transferring the licence from my old one.

Is it on win 10? If you go to microsofts site, you can download the media creation tool and that will allow a complete fresh install.
Save any files etc you want to keep (videos, documents etc) to either online storage or a USB etc and then let the tool do a complete reinstall.
Can then see if the problem is still there, and you have your files still that you can load back on after.

@SpyderTracks (i think) had linked me a guide about all this somewhere...but I cant find it.. but I promise it was all simple stuff.

 

[theb52s]

He's actually still on Windows 7. I mentioned that on another thread and the response was one of absolute horror from all and sundry.
I had talked to him about what was said about upgrading to Windows 10 but he had some concerns.
1. As I stated before he uses Adobe products which are old versions with no monthly subscription. I don't think he has the means to reload them should he lose them during the upgrade. He is also concerned about his current projects.
2. He has Windows loaded on a separate SSD drive which is only 120GB so we weren't sure how this would work and whether the drive was still fit for purpose.
3. This was my concern really. I'm always more nervous needing around with my children's pcs than mine. I'm just worried Ill mess something up for them.

If doing a fresh install how would it work upgrading to windows 10 at the same time and with the 2 drives?

 

[Deleted member 17413]

I believe (and I would say check) that if you just have the operating system on the 120Gb and all programs etc on the separate drive, you should be able to reinstal windows on the 120Gb and the programs on the separate drive should be fine?

But this is where my knowledge is pretty thin, really do suggest getting a proper expert like the Mods to go through it with you.

I tend to use stuff like dropbox for documents and have a separate SSD for video files, but all programs etc have been on the same drive as the operating system, so when ive done a reinstall, ive also had to reinstall the games/programs too.

 

[theb52s]

I'll have a check of what is on that drive. Thanks to both of you for your advice. As this has veered away from the original enquiry I'll probably ask for further advice on the Technical Support part of the forum as I need it.

 

[SpyderTracks]

1. As I stated before he uses Adobe products which are old versions with no monthly subscription. I don't think he has the means to reload them should he lose them during the upgrade. He is also concerned about his current projects.

You won't lose them, you just reinstall them. You can install them on as many computers as you like, you just can only use on one at one time.

If they're legit, even if he's lost the install files, you can just download them from creative.

Project files, like any data you just make sure is on a separate drive or backed up if you can't move them off the OS drive (no reason why you couldn't)

Reinstalling windows shouldn't affect anything at all. it's a standard thing which you should be doing every 6 months anyway to keep optimum performance.

 

[theb52s]

You won't lose them, you just reinstall them. You can install them on as many computers as you like, you just can only use on one at one time.

If they're legit, even if he's lost the install files, you can just download them from creative.

Project files, like any data you just make sure is on a separate drive or backed up if you can't move them off the OS drive (no reason why you couldn't)

Reinstalling windows shouldn't affect anything at all. it's a standard thing which you should be doing every 6 months anyway to keep optimum performance.

I hope they are legit. He originally got them while at university but I didn't enquire. If not then he can't really complain if he has to start paying for new downloads

 

[ubuysa]

He's actually still on Windows 7. I mentioned that on another thread and the response was one of absolute horror from all and sundry.

That's because it's no longer supported and so is not receiving regular security updates. This makes Windows 7 systems a favoured target for cyber criminals now (alongside XP systems of course) and whilst there is a danger to you from having trojans installed, exploiting unpatched vulnerabilities that feed passwords and credit card details back to the criminals, there is a bigger danger to everyone else from the PC being invisibly captured as part of a botnet and then used to launch dDOS attacks on multi-national companies that we all depend on. Frankly it's anti-social to be using a Windows 7 system that is Internet attached, you put us all at risk.

I had talked to him about what was said about upgrading to Windows 10 but he had some concerns.

1. As I stated before he uses Adobe products which are old versions with no monthly subscription. I don't think he has the means to reload them should he lose them during the upgrade. He is also concerned about his current projects.

As @SpyderTracks has said, his older Adobe products should install and run on Windows 10, but there is never any guarantee (and no guarantee at all if they're hacked and not legit).

2. He has Windows loaded on a separate SSD drive which is only 120GB so we weren't sure how this would work and whether the drive was still fit for purpose.

That will be a SATA drive, which are not terribly fast. It can be installed in the new PC as a scratch/data drive but you want a fast M.2 drive for Windows and programs (the fastest your budget will allow).

3. This was my concern really. I'm always more nervous needing around with my children's pcs than mine. I'm just worried Ill mess something up for them.

That's understandable of course, but Windows 10 is a better OS under the hood. It's more reliable, more secure, has better memory management, and it supports modern hardware features that Windows 7 doesn't fully support. Change is scary we know, but the user interface on Windows 10 is a more natural interface and after a little learning curve I think your son will come to like it - or at least get used to it.

If doing a fresh install how would it work upgrading to windows 10 at the same time and with the 2 drives?

Although the free upgrade from Windows 7 to Windows 10 officially ended long ago, if you clean install Windows 10 from bootable media and enter your Windows 7 product key at install time, Windows 10 will activate I understand.