After Effects PC PrePurchase Specs & Advice

[gbehrend]

I was thinking about buying an Alienware PC model # A51R2-1766SLV made by dell. I currently have a Mac Mini and an older outdated HP use. Through a Friend I can get this new unused Alienware PC for a really really good price ($999 instead of the retail price of $1700). The Specs are Below. On a scale of 1-10 (10 being the best) how well would this PC work with After Effects, ProPremiere, & Rendering? I've tried to do my homework, but would just like some reassurance. I'd rather buy nice than by twice. Your help would be appreciated.


FULL SPECIFICATIONS (not summarized)

GENERAL
- Manufacturer - Dell Alienware
- Series - Area 51
- Model Number - a51R2-1766SLV

VIDEO
- GPU Type - NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970
- Video Memory - 4GB GDDR5
- VR Ready - Yes
- Video Connectors - 1 x HDMI
- This PC Supports 3 Extra Wide Video cards for up to 12K. Unstoppable graphics capabilities can enable a mind-melting 11520x2160 resolution across triple Ultra HD 4K monitors (sold seperately). The new Area-51 is designed to support up to three full-length double-wide graphics cards.


PROCESSOR - Core i7 5820K (3.3GHz)
- CPU Core - Six-Core
- CPU Type - Core i7
- CPU Speed - 5820k (3.3GHz)
- Turbo Boost Speed - Up to 3.6GHz
- Smart Cache - 15MB
- CPU Brand - Intel
- Front Side Bus - QPI 0GT/s
- CPU Socket - LGA 2011-3
- CPUs Installed - 1
- CPUs Supported - 1

MEMORY
- Total Memory - 16GB
- Memory Speed - DDR4-2133
- Memory Slots (Total) - 4
- Form Factor - 288-pin DIMM
- Maximum Memory Supported - 32GB

OPERATING SYSTEM
- Windows 10 Home 64-bit

CASE & MOTHERBOARD
- Case Orientation - Vertical
- Motherboard Chipset - Intel X99 Express

CPU Main Features
- Virtualization Technology
- Hyper-Threading Technology
- Idle States
- Execute Disable Bit
- Thermal Monitoring Technologies
- Intel 64
- Enhanced Intel Speedstep Technology
- Virtualization Technology for Directed I/O
- Intel VT-x with Extended Page Tables
(EPT)
- Intel Identity Protection Technology
- Intel Smart Response Technology
- Intel AES New Instructions

HARD DRIVE
- HD Interface - SATA
- HD Capacity - 2TB
- HD RPM - 7,200 RPM
- HD Configuration - 1 x 2TB

SOLID STATE DRIVE
- SSD Capacity - 128GB

MULTIMEDIA DRIVES
- Optical Drives Included - 1
- Optical Drive - DVDRW
- Optical Drive Specs - Slot-Loading Dual
Layer DVD Burner (DVDRW, CD-RW)

AUDIO
- Audio System - Internal High-Definition
- Audio via Creative Sound Core3D

COMMUNICATIONS
LAN
- Gigabyte LAN
- LAN Data Rate Speed - 10/100/1000Mbps

WLAN
- Intel Dual Band Wireless - AC 7260
- Bluetooth - Bluetooth 4.0
- Wireless Technology - 802.11ac

MEMORY CARD READER
- FRONT/TOP PANEL PORTS
- USB 3.1
- 2 x USB 3.1 (Gen 1 Type-A)
- BACK PANEL PORTS
- USB 2.0
- 4 x USB 2.0 (Type-A)
- USB 3.1
- 4 x USB 3.1 (Gen 1 Type-A)
- LAN RJ45 - 1
- Audio - 5 ports


Here is A Quick Summary Of Specifications:
(FULL Specifications found above)

- Intel Core i7-5820K Processor 3.3GHz
- Microsoft Windows 10 Home 64-bit
- 16GB DDR4-2133 RAM
- 128GB Solid State Drive+2TB 7,200RPM
Hard Drive
- NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 4GB GDDR5 VR
Ready
- Slot-Loading Dual Layer DVD Burner
- Media Card Reader
- 10/100/1000 Network
- Intel 7260 802.11ac 2x2 Wireless



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[gedstar]

Hi and Welcome to PSG

You shouldn't have any problems running both applications with them system specs
https://helpx.adobe.com/premiere-pro/system-requirements.html
https://helpx.adobe.com/after-effects/system-requirements.html

More info for Premiere Pro
https://www.pugetsystems.com/recomm...obe-Premiere-Pro-143/Hardware-Recommendations

And After Effects
https://www.pugetsystems.com/recomm...be-After-Effects-144/Hardware-Recommendations

You could increase the RAM to 32GB
http://www.crucial.com/usa/en/memory-ddr4?cm_re=top-nav-_-flyout-memory-_-us-memory-shop-for-ddr4

 

[Hoogle]

First off I would put in a 2nd SSD or increase the size of the 128gb in there already, not knowing what kind of work your doing in after effects or premier pro it is hard to be really specific, but a 2nd ssd drive to be a dedicated scratch disk for adobe will make all your render preview times a lot faster than using your 2tb as a scratch disk.

Also it does concern me that such a high spec pc has a low spec motherboard DDR4 capability should be able to take 64gbs of ram almost as standard, so it brings into question what else have they skipped on the main board, do you know how many sata ports it has etc,

It may not be an issue 16 - 32gbs of ram is fine for most people but video editors tend to use more as a buffer but then you could use your 6 core processor and 4gb GPU to ofload the heavy work to instead of ram.

So depending on your level and what you plan on doing with it for 90% of users the spec will be fine more than good enough, for the top 10% that will be doing large amounts of video data at once you may come into trouble with buffer times.

But on that side I do not think you could build a pc of that spec for any cheaper.

I nearly always tell people to stay away from prebuilt machines, where they have good components they normally have below standard components to keep the price down.