Watch PCWorld build the ultimate video editing desktop

Here at PCWorld, there’s nothing we like more than building desktop PCs. And since we also publish videos, it makes sense that we’d build one to do exactly that. Adam Patrick Murray broke out his parts bin to build a machine specifically for running the DaVinci Resolve video editing program, as well as ancillary tools like Photoshop. If you have some time, you can watch him build the entire rig from start to finish on YouTube.

This build uses parts designed specifically to maximize high-end CPU-intensive tasks, with graphics processing on the side. That being the case, it all starts with…well, a case. (The CPU is important too, we’ll get to that later.) Adam chose the reliable Fractal Design Meshify 2 Compact, a stylish little case that still has room for standard ATX components and tons of cooling. The motherboard is the MSI MPG Z690 Carbon Wi-Fi, which allows for the latest Intel high-end chips and plenty of expansion components. Powering it up is a beefy EVGA Supernova G6 with a kilowatt of juice.

But what about the fun stuff? The CPU for this build is the Intel Core i9-12900K, which should provide absolutely massive amounts of number-crunching power even if you don’t get to overclock it. It’s paired with the NZXT Kraken Z63 RGB, a dual-fan all-in-one liquid cooler with an oh-so-fancy LCD display on the CPU block for showing your temps (or your favorite cat GIF). The GPU is an EVGA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti XC3, which should demolish more or less any 3D game or media program. Because media programs need tons of memory, this build is using 32GB of super-speedy DDR5 6000mhz from G.Skill.

Rounding out the build is a pair of SK Hynix Platinum P41 M.2 SSDs, a 500GB drive for the operating system and a 2TB drive for storing all those huge video files. SK hynix sponsored the video, and supplied us with its top-of-the-line drives with read speeds of up to 7000 MB/s.

From start to finish this fairly standard PC build takes about two and a half hours. If you love to watch this sort of nerdy stuff, be sure to subscribe to PCWorld on YouTube!