Sandybridge, Ivybridge and haswell all are much easier to over clock than the first gen i7 chips in the 9xx series. Additionally, new motherboards have turbo boost or easy OC functions that make overclocking a) very easy b) nearly impossible to screw up. I'd go with the asus line, as they have a number of failsafes built in. In terms of pre-built machines, it all depends on what you're willing to spend and who you buy it from. I'd go with a small builder for savings. but you will get less tech support, obviously. 

 

The advantage of haswell is less heat output and less energy consumed. Great for mobile devices and laptops but not many advantages in a workstation where psu isn't an issue.

 

IMO the best chip out there is still the sandybridge core i7 3930K, because it has six cores, overclocks VERY well, and generates much less heat than the ivy bridge chips. My ivy bridge machine runs almost 20c hotter than the six core for whatever reason. So if you can find or build a machine with the asus p9 motherboard and a core i7 3930K for a little more money, I'd say it's worth it.

On Fri, Jun 21, 2013 at 1:36 PM, Anders Sundstedt <sundstedt@hotmail.com> wrote:

Hi Teddy,

 

If one can afford it, is there a faster CPU that overclocks faster and outperforms the Intel 3770k? My concern is that I would rather buy an already overclocked custom PC at 4.5 gHz so I don’t have to try and overclock it myself in case that fails.

(like I’ve failed to do with my current i7 930, hardly overclocks at all for me).
Is there any reason to consider getting one of these new Haswell i7 processors, or are they not any faster for AE work? I read they are not faster online.

 

Thanks
Anders

 

 

 

From: Teddy Gage

Sent: Wednesday, May 15, 2013 4:13 PM

To: After Effects Mail List

Subject: Re: [AE] The currently fastest PC config possible for After Effects work for a budget of $1500?

 

For that price here is the setup id recommend. May come out a bit over on price but you will be set for the next couple years

 

Intel 3770k cpu @ 3.2ghz (easy to overclock)

1x 64 gb ssd to install your os

2x 128 gb ssd in raid 0 for cache and projects

1x 1TB 7200 rpm storage hdd

16 gb 2133 mhz RAM (or 32 gb if you can afford it)

Corsair cpu water cooler either h100 or h80

Find a used nvidia gtx 580 for around $250-350, great for cuda and premiere encoding, including raytrace

700 w power supply

 

My 2 c but that would be a great machine for your needs

 

 

On Wednesday, May 15, 2013, Anders Sundstedt wrote:

Hi,

 

The computer I have is a few years old now, the spec is:

 

Intel Core i7 CPU 930 @ 2.80 GHz

12.0 GB RAM

Windows 7 64 bit

ATI FirePro V3800 graphics card

2 x 24 inch 1920x1200 monitors.
1 x OCZ-VERTEX2 ATA 60 GB SSD drive (for Windows 7 and Software).
(3 x Internal Hard Drives for scratch disk, projects and source files etc. (all NTFS, one Hitachi rest WDC)).

 

At the time this computer was a lot more than $1500.

Now, since I assume a lot has happened since I got this (3rd generation i7 CPU’s etc. and faster graphics cards) I wanted your input on what is the top performing custom built or pre-built PC for this type of projects:

The type of After Effects (CS6) work would be:

1920x1080, 24 fps, short videos typically 1-3 minute animations with standard 3D layers and Camera, Lights.

(Ray-traced 3D would currently not be so important as it doesn’t support: blending modes, layer styles and masks and effects on continuously rasterized layers (including text and shape transfers)).

Any advice on what is the fastest that could replace it that would make a big difference? (minimum 1 hard drive for operative system and one for project and one for scratch disk).

Alternatively what would be the best component to replace/upgrade to make the current setup much faster?

Thanks in advance!

-Anders
 

 

--
Animator & Editor
www.teddygage.com
Brooklyn

 

--
Animator & Editor
www.teddygage.com
Brooklyn