My HD cameras (JVC HM-750) shoot in MP4 (1440 x 1080 60i) which I transcode to MXF for editing.
Projects range from short promos to recording events and plays (up to 2 hr. long).

Mike

OldSmoke, do you like this one any better?

CPU: Intel® Core™ i7-4930K Six-Core 3.40 GHz 12MB Intel Smart Cache LGA2011 (All Venom OC Certified)
HDD: 250GB Samsung 840 EVO Series SATA-III 6.0Gb/s SSD - 540MB/s Read & 520MB/s Write
MEMORY: 32GB (8GBx4) DDR3/1866MHz Quad Channel Memory [+175] (G.SKILL Ripjaws X)
MOTHERBOARD: GIGABYTE X79-UP4 ATX w/ Ultra Durable 5, GblAN, 4 GEn3 PCIe x16, 2 PCIe x1, 1 PCI
SOUND: HIGH DEFINITION ON-BOARD 7.1 AUDIO
VIDEO: AMD Radeon R9 290 4GB GDDR5 PCIe 3.0 x16 Video Card

Mike

Anytime!

Unless there is a huge difference in price that makes it unreasonable to your employer, I'd vote for the 4930k, also.

Thanks guys!! I have a few more questions but those will have to wait until tomorrow morning when I get back into the office where I left the spec sheet.

Mike

Back at work, looked through my configuration and I do have two more questions.
#1. Would you add any fans or other kind of cooling to this setup?
#2. Will I be able to add a basic firewire card to this motherboard (necessary for my M-Audio firewire 410 box)?
If anyone is interested, here's the list of parts.
Thanks again.

Mike

#1. If you already have water cooling then no.
#2. Should not be a problem. Make sure it is a standard card, Windows or Vegas has issues with some 1394 cards. I believe those with Ti chipset are more supported... if I remember it correctly.

What I miss on your list and I always recommend to users is a good UPS like APC or so. It will greatly improve system stability and safe you from data loss due to power outage.

Edit:
I am personally a fan of Asus boards and it would have already 1394 onboard but maybe there are other reasons you selected the Gigabyte.

Thanks OldSmoke.
The firewire card has the TI chipset so I should be ok.

I already have a UPS so I'm ok there.

The only reason I went with the Gigabyte is because it was the default mobo.
My other choices are ASUS Sabertooth X79 ATX ($200 more), the ASRock X79 Extreme4 ATX ($20 more) or the ASRock X79 Extreme11 EATX ($429 more).
As always, I am open to suggestions.

Mike

"I am personally a fan of Asus boards and it would have already 1394 onboard but maybe there are other reasons you selected the Gigabyte. "
--------------
I only see that on their $300 board in terms of the better rated Asus boards.

Today, you pretty much have to use a firewire card like this highly rated one (PCIe), or this one (PCI).

John

[I]Today, you pretty much have to use a firewire card like this highly rated one.[/I]

Have to?? I use onboard 1394 and it works fine with the legacy drivers, no issue at all.

Maybe I didn't make myself clear. Today, you pretty much have to use a firewire card because few if any motherboards have firewire.. See this discussion from last year.

John

Yes, that was not so clear but the better ones usually have it.

For firewire, I looked at the Asus board that John suggested and it has a VIA chipset and I recall that there were issues with that so I'll stick to the one I have that I know works because it has a TI chipset.

OldSmoke, is the Gigabyte mobo ok for my needs or is there an Asus board that you would recommend from the list I gave earlier?
Many thanks for all your help on this decision.

Mike

There are better ASUS boards then the Sabertooth but those are not on your list and sure more expensive. From the spec I don't see anything wrong with the Gigabyte board.

OldSmoke said, "What I miss on your list and I always recommend to users is a good UPS like APC or so. It will greatly improve system stability and safe you from data loss due to power outage."

Be very careful on that UPS. Some computer power supplies will trash a UPS that does not put out a pure sign wave.

I had a perfectly good UPS with brand new batteries that I just bought and it was trashed by the new power supply I got to support my video card. It has to do with the type of power supply one has and I have read that most of the newer ones are this way.

VidMus is right. That is something that came in the past year or so. My UPS and PSU are from late 2012 and work flawless together.

Personally I have one i7-3930k (6 core) (32GB Ram) and two i7-4770k (16GB Ram each). While video cards are different, the i7-3930k with a 2GB 480GTX sails past the i7-4770k's (one with a 560ti and the other a 770GTX 4GB beast) on a daily basis.

If you're looking to save money and tend to work on a single project at a time, you may find the 4770k acceptable. In the grand scheme of multiple projects, working multiple timelines, and nested vegs, the 6 core systems are faster (10-20%) all things considered.

We did start one of the 4770k computers with 8GB ram and while Vegas was more or less okay (it got slow with multiple timelines open), Plural Eyes would blue screen more than half the time. So 16GB was a good compromise.

All systems have a SSD C: drive (Crucial M500). And an assortment of storage options with a render drive and media drive on each as well. Most of our work is off of raw 3.5" 7200RPM drives (assorted brands) in Calvary USB 3.0 docs.

I think with a six core, not only will you work and render faster, but I think you'll replace the computer later saving money in the long run.

We also buy our processors at Microcenter. It's a 90 minute drive, but we just add it into other stops. On average we save $200-$400 per build over Newegg or Amazon. Microcenter has crazy sales on Intel processor's, bundles with motherboards, and more refurb items than you can shake a stick at. I think we picked up the 770GTX 2GB for less than $300 about 9 months ago. It was clearance as the 4GB models were coming out.

If you are buying a "k" unlocked processor and are thinking about overclocking it I'd suggest the Asus boards. Their bundled software makes it very simple to fully exploit the "k".

For firewire, I looked at the Asus board that John suggested and it has a VIA chipset and I recall that there were issues with that so I'll stick to the one I have that I know works because it has a TI chipset.
-----------------------------------
I wasn't recommending that board Mike. I only linked it in answer to Old Smoke saying that you can choose Asus motherboards that have firewire (general term) and I found that $300 one as an example of an overpriced board that wasn't necessary just to get firewire. The inexpensive cards I linked have TI chipsets which of course are better. I have never purchased either a MB or an add on card with a VIA chipset for firewire. Everything I own had been TI.

I have no idea which Asus MB Old Smoke is recommending that is still available. He never linked it at a web store. From that thread I linked from last year it is very clear that firewire is NOT included on MOST MB. But the inexpensive add on cards like the SIIG have TI chipsets and work really well. I cannot imagine why anyone in their right mind would want to spend at least an extra $100 for a possibly less reliable motherboard just because it (unlike most others) has firewire when you can get a really reliable motherboard without firewire for less money and add on an inexpensive firewire card.

I am recommending that you use the Newegg user reviews and pick the from the highest and most reviewed motherboards and install the $23 PCI card (which is now 20% off) or the $23 PCIe card with TI chipsets.
Cheaper and you get what you want.

John

Thanks John. Going to the reviews on the Newegg site is a great idea!!
I already have a good firewire card with the TI chipset so I'm ok for that.
Once I get the machine in and up and running, I'll be sure to post my render results here.

Mike

@crafttech
The Asus Sabertooth was on the list of possible boards for the system the OP was looking for and yes, is is my preferred brand. You can do a search on Newegg with filtering socket 2011 and 1394 and you will find more then one board, majority are Asus boards. The better Asus boards are the Workstation Series (WS) but those are rather expensive and may not be what the OP needs.
These are the reasons why I always build my own systems, otherwise you are stuck with the components that are offered.
As for overpriced Asus boards. There is so much more to a motherboard then just the specification on paper, meaning on a website like Newegg. After over 25years of building my own systems, I have settled on a few brands that I trust and know will work together beautifully. In a competitive market like electronics, no one puts a higher price out just because of their name. Aside from all this, I am very familiar with Asus BIOS which makes it easier for me to tune my system to get the most out of it.

The reason I prefer onboard 1394 is simple, I don't need to "waist" a PC slot for such a trivial feature.

Edit:
This is my current MB http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/motherboards/desktop-motherboards/desktop-board-dx79sr.html
Intel "was" my preferred brand, even more so the Asus but unfortunately Intel doesn't make boards anymore. If you read the specs, you will find that it even has 2x 1394 onboard and both work flawless with Vegas.