Vegas+z170 motherboards+Win 7

kplo wrote on 11/15/2016, 12:29 PM

Hi All,
I'm finally building a new PC for video editing/GFX (Vegas).
Since I will also need legacy support for Firewire(1394a), I'll need to use Windows 7 since firewire support has been removed from win 10. I also don't like the lack of user control with 10, as reported on many forums.

So: Should I go with an older i7 4790k cpu and z97 motherboard or try the very uncomfortable procedure of getting Win 7 to work with the newer 6700k Skylake cpu and z170 mobos?

I'm not editing 4k, but do use 1080P files and sometimes integrate DVX dv footage.
The research I've done doesn't seem to show a significant difference in rendering a variety of video files
between the two processors, but I'd like to hear some real world experience with Vegas (10 and 11).

Any help would be much appreciated.

Ken

Comments

Former user wrote on 11/15/2016, 1:44 PM

I just used firewire on my windows 10 computer the other day. Unless it was left over from the upgrade, I didn't see a problem.

DeadRadioStar wrote on 11/15/2016, 2:47 PM

firewire support has been removed from win 10

Not true, Firewire works perfectly in WIndows 10 x64, however not all Firewire chips work well with the Z170.  I have had the most success with F800 cards, using an adapter to F400 peripherals.  Everything you need to know about Skylake and Firewire is below, but do please read that post to the end.

https://www.gearslutz.com/board/music-computers/1027357-skylake-firewire-issues.html

kplo wrote on 11/15/2016, 4:44 PM

Thanks guys for the info.

I was told that an upgrade from Win 7 to 10 would retain the firewire drivers, but not a pure install of Win 10. Go figure.

I would like to go with Win 7 Pro64 instead of 10, so my dilemma is still z97 vs z170. I'm aware of the PCI lane/bandwidth difference between the chipsets. I'll only be using one AMD Vegas friendly video card and several Sata drives,so maybe the "old reliable" z97 chipset is my best bet for stability and compatibility.

 

DeadRadioStar wrote on 11/15/2016, 4:50 PM

Depending on the Firewire card, it might need the legacy drivers https://support.microsoft.com/en-gb/kb/2970191
If you're adamant about WIndows 7 then yes, you'll have less trouble with the Z97.

radar10 wrote on 11/15/2016, 10:51 PM

Im not sure what issues you are referring to with Windows 7 and z170/6700k Skylake.  I have been running this combination (Gigabyte MBD) for about a year without issues.  There were some cautions about installing Win 7, and you need to make sure the Win8/10 Secure Boot features are turned off in the BIOS or Win 7 can't boot (nor install).  I have installed Win 7 from DVD and USB numerous times.  GPT/EFI disk support (for boot disk) requires some additional work if your "windows disk" is > 2TB, but search "Rufus USB" for a simple solution.  Note Data disks can be >2TB with out of the box support in combination with a SSD for boot disk/Win 7.  No issues running MVP14 (trial), nor any of my software.  I just use the Skylake integrated graphics (no Video card), and MVP14 seems happy (even Deinterlace method: "Smart adaptive (GPU only)" seems to be happy with the iGPU).  I love the low power efficiency of Skylake (25-30W surfing, ~100W max for entire system).  I don't have Firewire support.  I highly recommend the Win7 z170/6700k Skylake route for someone that is willing to build his own system and install his own Windows.

DeadRadioStar wrote on 11/16/2016, 11:41 AM

Im not sure what issues you are referring to with Windows 7 and z170/6700k Skylake.

Well, exactly those issues you've just listed; it's not for the faint-hearted or for someone inexperienced in building PCs, and some might prefer a system that "just works".  The issue the OP is describing is that he's been told WIndows 10 doesn't support Firewire, which is incorrect; personally I'd recommend WIndows 10 on the Z170 but if someone wants to run Windows 7 then that's fine too, with the above caveats.

I agree that Skylake is a good platform and hopefully we'll see some additional CPUs that will provide an easy upgrade path over the next few years, while the iGPU is fine seeing as VP's GPU rendering pretty much broke, whereas the Z97 is stable but pretty much end-of-the-line, and very power-hungry in comparision -- but, easier to get WIndows 7 working on.