We set out to build our new office Video Editing PC. Instead of spending $15,000 on a Mac Pro, we thought we’d build 2 – one for Video work, one for gaming reviews.
Turns out, the specifications involved aren’t dissimilar – so we went for one big EPIC PC.
When all the parts arrived – I ran you through them:
And then the process of building it began, not something I’ve done in a very long time, so John came in to help.
And here’s our run at putting this beast together:
It’s done, it’s working, gaming is great, video production is great – and I’m writing this article on it. Overkill – for sure.
But one thing I’ve been asked a lot is for the parts list – so, here goes.
And these are linked to the same place we purchased them from – PC Case Gear:
The Case:
Cooler Master Cosmos C700M A-RGB Full Tower Case
I’m not sure any photo or video does this justice – it’s enormous, but it’s perfect.
Lights around it controlled with buttons on the top outside, glass side door and handles at the top for sitting it in place.
I love it – not cheap at $569, just the first of many excesses here.
The Motherboard:
ASUS ROG Maximus XI Hero Wi-Fi Motherboard
John loves ROG, so we’ve gone all ROG crazy. This Maximus XI has all the slots we need to make this work – and it looks good.
In retrospect, it doesn’t support Thunderbot or Thunderbolt 3 so that’s been on regret thus far.
The most important part of it all? $519.
The Processor:
Just look at the packaging! Looks great, goes great – all the power you should need. We paid $819.
Processor Cooling:
NZXT Kraken X72 360mm AIO Liquid CPU Cooler
This is epic, like a car radiator for your CPU. Love it, a challenge to install for a newbie, but well worth it. $255 – great value I reckon.
The RAM:
G.Skill Trident Z RGB 32GB (2x16GB) 3200MHz CL16 DDR4
IT LIGHTS UP folks! Two sticks, $289 each – they glow as I work:)
Storage:
For the operating system and main software – this Gigabyte SSD is $109.
Samsung 860 QVO 2.5in SATA SSD 1TB
Work working files and documents, this Samsung 1TB was $169.
Seagate Barracuda 3TB ST3000DM007 3.5in Hard Drive
And for our working archive on the PC – this Seagate SSD is just $122 and is 3TB.
Graphics Card:
ASUS ROG Strix GeForce RTX 2080 Ti OC 11GB
Ahh, this is a bit epic, and is the bulk of the PC price! $2199 – I’m yet to really appreciate it frankly. But by gosh it is the goods.
Power Supply:
ASUS ROG Thor 850W Platinum PSU
More than we need – that 1200W on the side there is actually a digital display, showing you in real-time what power usage is going on. This one was $349.
Operating System:
Microsoft Windows 10 Home 32bit/64bit P2 USB Drive
I was impressed by how easy it was to install a fresh build of Windows – straight of a USB stick, $189 done and dusted.
So, start saving, get building folks.
