Our $3500 Skylake PC - Performance and Gaming (Part 2 of 2)
**A Deep Dive into the Skylake Editing PC Build: Part 2**
Welcome back to Part 2 of our Skylake editing PC build series! If you haven't watched Part 1 yet, make sure to check it out in the description below. In this episode, we’re taking a closer look at the fully finished system, comparing its rendering performance to my previous 6-core workstation machine, and showcasing how this powerful machine handles gaming. Let’s dive right into it.
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### **The Case: Fan Tech's Evolved ATX**
The build starts with the case—Fan Tech's Evolved ATX. This case delivers an exceptional building experience, thanks to its sleek design and strong aluminum panels on the exterior. The illuminated strip in the front is not RGB by default, but you can replace the bulb with different included colors if desired. I decided to stick with ambient white, which I’m very happy with.
The side panel is slightly tinted, but when combined with the internal lighting, it highlights the hardware beautifully. All the components are cleaned up and neatly organized. In the future, I plan to add cable mount sleeved cables in orange and black to complement my final color theme—though I’ll note that purple was an option, and while it looks unique with green and aluminum, I’m opting for dark orange for a warmer aesthetic.
The lighting setup is minimal yet effective. The Hue+ lighting is placed beside the power supply, but it’s not visible through the window. Instead, the ambient glow creates a subtle effect without any unwanted highlights. I connected both strips—one running along the back and top sides to highlight the fans and GPUs, while another runs at the bottom in front of the case, illuminating the SSD and other hardware from the front.
The radiator fans are white, which complements the illuminated color scheme nicely. While purple might look very unique with the silver exterior, I find it a bit too harsh for my setup. Instead, the warm orange lighting works perfectly and will remain as part of the final design.
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### **Cable Management: Neat and Functional**
Next up is cable management. My goal here was to ensure that I know what each cable is and have easy access to them whenever needed. The setup isn’t overly complicated or a “rat nest,” but it still provides plenty of space in front of the power supply and on the side of it. The side panel closes without any force, making everything secure and tidy.
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### **Hardware Configuration: Power and Performance**
Now, let’s get into the hardware configuration. The Intel Core i6700 K is overclocked to 4.6 GHz, which I’m happy with for now. I initially wanted to push it to 4.8 GHz, but since this machine is right next to me, I chose a slightly lower clock speed to preserve some silence. The trade-off is worth it—temperatures idle around 30 degrees Celsius and stay in the low 60s at full load while keeping the machine quiet.
The RAM is running at an impressive 3200 MHz, but I’m still curious about the benefits of faster RAM on render times. Time will tell if this speed provides a noticeable improvement.
For storage, the front Vector 180 SSD serves as the cache drive, delivering excellent speeds. The two primary drives are set up in RAID 0 configuration at the back, doubling the read and write speeds for all my footage and project files. The Intel 750 SSD is the system drive, housing my games and Adobe applications with insane performance. I’m glad to have mechanical storage completely out of my workflow.
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### **Graphics Cards: Quiet Powerhouses**
The graphics cards in this build are dual NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti units. They’re well-overclocked, and for a dual-monitor setup at 120 Hz, they perform incredibly well. Idle temperatures are a bit high—68 degrees Celsius for the top card and 45 degrees Celsius for the bottom card—but this is acceptable given their performance.
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### **Rendering Performance: Skylake vs. Workstation**
When it comes to rendering performance, I tested Adobe Media Encoder on both machines. A five-minute 4K video file took 7 minutes and 30 seconds on the Skylake machine compared to 8 minutes and 10 seconds on my older 6-core workstation with a 3930K clocked at 4.2 GHz and double the memory capacity. I was pleasantly surprised by the improved render times on the new system.
Running Cinebench, the Skylake system scored 974 compared to 983 on the x79 workstation. The performance difference is negligible, meaning I haven’t lost a significant amount of power moving to this newer build.
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### **Gaming: A Total Breeze**
Gaming on this machine is a breeze, thanks to the dual 980 Ti cards and an overclocked CPU. Whether it’s running games at the highest settings or handling demanding tasks, this system delivers outstanding performance.
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### **A Little Fun: The Case Companion**
Finally, I couldn’t resist adding a fun touch to complement the build. A nice little plant now sits on top of the case, blending perfectly with the overall aesthetic. It adds a personal and unique flair to the setup.
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### **Final Thoughts and Future Plans**
I’m genuinely surprised at how well this 4-core machine handles video editing, especially when paired with fast storage and plenty of graphics power. In the future, I’ll be conducting more extensive testing to determine whether SLI is actually necessary for Adobe applications. Additionally, I’ll explore the differences between CUDA and OpenCL acceleration inside Adobe Media Encoder.
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That’s it for Part 2 of my Skylake editing PC build! If you enjoyed this video, make sure to like, subscribe, and stay tuned for more exciting content, including a cool AMD system coming soon. Thanks for watching, and we’ll see you in the next video!
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This article mirrors the detailed breakdown of the video transcription, ensuring that every aspect of the build is thoroughly explored and presented in an engaging format.