LAN speed, RAM, SSD, RAID and mobo questions

[frog2]

We would like suggestions on upgrading two identical PCs.  (Hardware is not our strength, nor is the hardware lingo, so please take these descriptions and word choices with a grain of salt.  We will have a local hardware expert do the rebuild and set up.)  We edit HD (and potentially higher) projects that typically exceed two hours.  We also use Lightroom for processing images with file sizes typically at 40 – 50 meg.  We just added an 80T NAS (with other NAS backups) that has 10G LAN speed, but we currently only have a 10/100/1000.  We process the images from the NAS.  We typically store the video files on the NAS, but copy them to a local drive while editing.  For short video projects, we’ve been able to edit leaving the files on the NAS.  We are adding an Nvidia Quadro P5000 to drive new 10 bit monitors and for video processing.

The mobo is a Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD5, with a Core i7 950 @3.07GHz, and 12 GB RAM.  The mobo can support only 24 GB RAM, has space for 6 SATA 3Gb/s Raid 0, 1, 5 and 10, and for 2 SATA 6 Gb/s Raid 0 and 1.  It is limited to a 10/100/1000 LAN.  Each PC has a 1T Samsung 850 Evo in a SATA 3 Gb/s space with the OS and applications.  We do not see using M.2 x4 Gen-3 SSDs until there’s a significant price drop.  Our initial plan was to add two Samsung 850 Evo 1T, which are SATA 6 Gb/s.

Our first question is could we process the videos from the NAS if we ran a 10 G LAN, and get real-time processing from Premiere Pro, even with effects applied.  This would eliminate the time taken to copy the files locally, and the complexity (and discipline) required to clean out the local SSD at the end of each project (who knows when they really end).  And would a 10 G LAN reduce the time Lightroom takes to snap in the images?

Running a 10G network would require a new mobo, which leads to the question of what mobo the forum would suggest if there's benefit to upgrading it.

Our second question is what should our SSD set up look like.  Should we group multiple SSDs into a read RAID and a write RAID if we’re going to edit from local SSDs?  How many SSDs?  Assuming we use such RAIDs for files that are also kept on the NAS, the risk of a failure in RAID 0 would seem to be acceptable for the improved speed, as long as our projects were kept outside of those RAIDs or backed up frequently.  Since the Gigabyte mobo has only two 6 Gb/s spots, should we move to a new mobo just to get more 6 Gb/s spots?  Or would multiple SSDs in RAID 0 at 3 Gb/s keep Premiere Pro's performance high?  We would probably include at least one HHD for “typical” files.

Our third question is the role of RAM in our processing.  Should we at least put 24 GB RAM onto the current mobo?  Or is RAM important enough itself to justify a new mobo that will take more than 24 GB RAM?

Underlying our thought process is that we do not need to get a new processor – regardless what we do with SSD, RAM and a mobo, we would not get enough performance increase to justify a new processor.  But maybe we’re trying to build a mansion around a mobile home and we should get a new processor too.

Thank you.

[RoninEdits]

Lan performance - i think there is a good chance you could edit directly off the nas with 10gb, but there are some elements that could come into play. the latency of the lan and the performance of the nas itself to deliver the data fast enough to keep up with 10gb speeds. you might be able to connect the pc's directly to the nas, otherwise you will need a 10gb router/hub/switch too. i don't use lightroom, but if you watch the network usage in windows task manager you might get an idea if its waiting on the Lan for data or not.

ssd setup - since you mention you have nas backups, it sounds like the data should be secure enough to use raid-0. 2 ssd's for raid-0 would be good for performance and would allow room for adding more ssd's later if using a motherboard with more than 2 sata 6gb connections. quality ssd's, like samsung ssd's, usually have a low failure rate. if you were worried about having the data on the local pc, using a single large enterprise grade hdd as a local backup of the sata ssd raid-0 would be an option.

ram - 24gb is decent for smaller projects, but it sounds like you have large projects that might benefit from more ram. i would consider going for at least 32gb.

for upgrade options for new parts, there are a couple of things that need to be established:

1) intel only keeps a motherboard platform around for one or two cpu generations. so a brand new motherboard will only work with a brand new cpu. you won't be able to buy a new motherboard with new features to work with your old cpu.

2) a new motherboard will also require new ddr4 memory.

3) a new cpu will likely show a performance difference, even if its still just 4 cores, as they are close to 2x faster than the i7-950. a 6 core cpu would be a good option to handle premiere HD projects and still allow for room to grow into 4k.

4) there are new products coming out from intel soon, including the x299 high-end platform. the motherboards are rumored to have 10gb Lan be more commonplace. right now its kinda rare, and usually only on very expensive motherboards.

5) it might also be possible to add a 10gb network card, rather than upgrade the motherboard for built-in 10gb lan.

6) the quadro p5000 would normally be considered overkill for that i7-950, and possibly still for a new 4 core cpu. depending on your needs, you may want to consider the quadro p4000. its much more affordable and would still offer decent performance and run multiple monitors.

if you want to buy something now with 10gb lan built-in, there are a few rare motherboards like the ASUS X99-E-10G WS. which will also need a new cpu and ram. cpu's for that x99 platform start at the 6-core i7-6800k, and can hold up to 128gb of ram. if you can wait a while, intel's next generation x299 platform release will have several feature upgrades and the motherboards might cost less for one with 10gb Lan. if for some reason you need a new motherboard to go with a 10gb network card that plugs into the motherboard, there are lots more options for motherboards and possibly the main-stream intel platform.