MiniPC for video editing

[GuyV]

My wife needs a PC for photo and video editing. She'll be moving it around the house often (from the loft down two flights of stairs and up again), but with monitors in both locations already. No need to be as portable (and therefore restricted) as a big laptop, but a full desktop would be too much.

This mini will be in constant use for heavy Photoshop work, but it needs extended spec for video editing. My wife is only just starting to get into this, but could well start doing a lot of it for clients. What I've chosen I think would allow a bit of 4k editing if necessary. Two SDDs - one for the software and one for the working files, and a very large HDD. She'll probably be using Premier, but it's possible that she could end up on DaVinci Resolve, which is why the graphics card is perhaps more powerful than it needs to be for Premier.

Does what I've put together here make sense in this context? As you can prob tell, I'm not a tech person. Thanks very much.

Case
FRACTAL DESIGN NODE 304 Mini ITX Case
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i9 Eight Core Processor i9-9900 (3.1GHz) 16MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® ROG STRIX Z390-I GAMING: Mini-ITX, USB 3.1, SATA 6GBs
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3000MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
6GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 2060 - HDMI, DP - VR Ready!
1st Storage Drive
480GB ADATA SU630 2.5" SSD, SATA 6 Gb (520MB/R, 450MB/W)
2nd Storage Drive
500GB Samsung 860 EVO 2.5" SSD, SATA 6Gb/s (upto 550MB/sR | 520MB/sW)
3rd Storage Drive
8TB SEAGATE IRONWOLF PRO 3.5", 7200 RPM 256MB CACHE
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
NOT REQUIRED
Power Supply
CORSAIR 650W TXm SERIES™ SEMI-MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
Corsair H60 2018 Hydro Series High Performance CPU Cooler
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless/Wired Networking
WIRELESS-N (300Mbps) 3dBi HIGH GAIN USB ADAPTER
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 4 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 - Supplied on USB Drive
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft® Office® 365 (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
BullGuard™ Internet Security - Free 90 Day License inc. Gamer Mode
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 - Approximately 12 to 14 working days
Welcome Book
PCSpecialist Welcome Book - United Kingdom & Republic of Ireland
Price: £1,910.00 including VAT and Delivery

 

[steaky360]

This is still going to be rather heavy to lug around - its smaller as in its physical size, but that doesn't mean any of the components are any lighter.

You might struggle to dump the heat produced by the processor if you're using it extensively via the small case + H60 - something worth a quick check in my oppinion.

I'd also always suggest the Silver warranty for £5 you will bump Collect & Return to 1 year, meaning you're covered if anything untoward arises during your first year with the machine.

 

[GuyV]

Thank you. All very useful to know. Hadn't thought about the weight like that - but hopefully a smaller case, although just as heavy, would be less awkward to pick up and hold/carry?

With the processor heat, are you saying that one of the higher-spec fans would be a safer bet?

 

[Heartfeltdawn]

If I was building something semi-portable as described, I wouldn't be going anywhere near a water cooling unit for the CPU.

I'm using a Fractal Core 500 case (slightly bigger than the Node 304: 250 x 213 x 380 mm versus 250 x 210 x 374 mm for the Node 304).

Motherboard is a mini-ITX, processor is R5 3600, 16gb RAM, two SSDs, GTX960 graphics card. The CPU fan in there is a Noctua NH-U14S. Tight fit but it gets in there and the whole system is near silent, something necessary for my audio recording stuff. It also does not overheat. There is one fan on the heatstink, one fan with the PSU, and a couple of the graphics card. Put it through all the usual stress tests and it's fine.



So your system:

-If you can get a Noctua fan in a Node 304, do it. Talk to PCS and see if they could get the Noctua UH-12S in there. If they can get the 14S, even better. The i9-9900 runs at 65W TDP: the 12S and 14S will have zero problem with this as the R5 3600 in my system is also 65W.

-Personally I'd go with two internal SSDs and find an external drive rather than the 8TB Seagate. 500Gb for SSD1, biggest you can afford for SS2, and then utilize the external HD as and when you need it (or go NAS). I have a sound sample library I keep on an external drive and use this between my various computers when I need it. I also keep a copy of this library on my PCloud account if I'm somewhere with decent WiFi. Waiting for stuff to load from an HD after getting used to SSD speed = zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

-Operating system: go W10 Pro. Install it yourself and save a bit.

 

[Scott]

This doesn't sound ideal at all. Is there no way of having a fixed location? Why is it necessary to move so frequently?

Ideal situation would be a purpose built powerful system that does all the grunt work and a remote laptop to connect to the main PC from any remote location in the house (this is what I have had for years).

Mini-PCs are never, ever, ideal. They are often not very mini and when they are small..... they heat like crazy.

A smaller mid-case would make much more sense, they aren't particularly large anyway.... and as stated, they will weigh about the same all in.