4K editing rig
Discussion
I'm approaching upgrade time, have a nice dual monitor setup, but it currently falls over on 4K video (5 year old graphics card and processor).
Considering a laptop (already have one, also ancient and bulky), but a desktop (small form factor) is attractive from a price and practicality point of view. I'm not a fan of status symbol spending, but do want a machine that will work for a number of years.
So - what are you guys editing on, what have you seen that's at a vaguely sane price? Not too interested in Apple stuff as the PC will be used for other tasks (Microsoft, Steam, gaming, software development) and I already have a Mac Mini that fills the Apple-y roles I need.
Considering a laptop (already have one, also ancient and bulky), but a desktop (small form factor) is attractive from a price and practicality point of view. I'm not a fan of status symbol spending, but do want a machine that will work for a number of years.
So - what are you guys editing on, what have you seen that's at a vaguely sane price? Not too interested in Apple stuff as the PC will be used for other tasks (Microsoft, Steam, gaming, software development) and I already have a Mac Mini that fills the Apple-y roles I need.
I've bought Windows-based machines from these guys for several years for use as editing workstations:
http://armari.com/
http://armari.com/
I had a desktop made by these people
https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/
3.5 years old now and still f
king fast. It was quite expensive but so worth it.
https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/
3.5 years old now and still f
king fast. It was quite expensive but so worth it.You need to look at what your particular requirements are based on the applications you use and spec the machine to suit. That's why I use a custom build specialist.
Picking any 'off the shelf' configuration is inevitably going to mean you get some stuff you don't need and possibly some stuff which won't work with your software.
I use Edius, which can be fussy about motherboards and graphic cards, so I spec exactly what works best, stick loads of RAM in it and make sure there are plenty of eSATA ports for storage. You might need a slightly different config but you should get the workstation built accordingly and you'll have less issues when you start using it.
Picking any 'off the shelf' configuration is inevitably going to mean you get some stuff you don't need and possibly some stuff which won't work with your software.
I use Edius, which can be fussy about motherboards and graphic cards, so I spec exactly what works best, stick loads of RAM in it and make sure there are plenty of eSATA ports for storage. You might need a slightly different config but you should get the workstation built accordingly and you'll have less issues when you start using it.
Phunk said:
Do you really need to edit in 4K?
Heathen. 8K is the future for mobile devices.... don'tcha know...OP, you don't say what flavour of 4K you are trying to edit? Not that you need it, but if you do, transcoding to a more efficient codec might solve your problem... or work with proxies for the edit and render out the full res when you're finished.
It's true I don't *need* 4K, but I try to buy machines that are well specc'd but not bank breakers then run them for 5 years plus, so I'm anticipating that before the next upgrade cycle I'll be using cameras that produce 4K and will want to edit at that resolution. Historically I've kept spend down to well under £1K for a new PC, but this upgrade looks to be a bit more challenging, as the hardware (particularly RAM) is heavily overpriced at the moment.
http://store.hp.com/us/en/pdp/hp-zbook-x2-g4-detac...
When my current MacBook won't be fast enough, that's what I will be buying.
When my current MacBook won't be fast enough, that's what I will be buying.
I've used Lightworks a lot, but currently experimenting with Resolve as it seems a little bit more consistent with the UI.
The short term fix has been to upgrade the graphics card in my current PC. For under £200 I've gone to a GTX-1060 and it's made a useful difference to responsiveness and frame rates. I already upgraded the main drive to an SSD last year, so for a six year old machine, it's still fairly useable.
After the ridiculous RAM price increases last year and the CPU bugs revealed this year, I'm hesitant to commit to an all new system - it's quite possible there will be a bit of a correction later in the year as the next-next generation stuff comes out and the nearly current stuff drops a little. We'll see.
The short term fix has been to upgrade the graphics card in my current PC. For under £200 I've gone to a GTX-1060 and it's made a useful difference to responsiveness and frame rates. I already upgraded the main drive to an SSD last year, so for a six year old machine, it's still fairly useable.
After the ridiculous RAM price increases last year and the CPU bugs revealed this year, I'm hesitant to commit to an all new system - it's quite possible there will be a bit of a correction later in the year as the next-next generation stuff comes out and the nearly current stuff drops a little. We'll see.
We recently bought a new 4k edit system at work - previously, all our suites have been bespoke builds by DVC in Brighton who specialised in editing systems but they ceased trading about this time last year(a real shame as they were a fab bunch of guys who really knew their stuff and gave great support).
Plan B was a bespoke top end Dell Alienware desktop with the right spec Nvidea graphics card for Adobe CC, a pile of RAM and the biggest drives we could fit. And its a beast, it works a treat on multi-layer 4k timelines, renders in a flash(not even time to get to the door, let alone make a coffee!) so good all round. I'm currently looking at a new editing laptop so may go the same route with the meanest Alienware 17 i can get.
Plan B was a bespoke top end Dell Alienware desktop with the right spec Nvidea graphics card for Adobe CC, a pile of RAM and the biggest drives we could fit. And its a beast, it works a treat on multi-layer 4k timelines, renders in a flash(not even time to get to the door, let alone make a coffee!) so good all round. I'm currently looking at a new editing laptop so may go the same route with the meanest Alienware 17 i can get.
singlecoil said:
I had a desktop made by these people
https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/
3.5 years old now and still fking fast. It was quite expensive but so worth it.
I'll endorse that. Mine's slightly older but is still adequate for video editing with 2 x VDUs. It's great for image editing and a bit of CAD/CAM as well. I think you get what you pay for with them. I'm well pleased.https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/
3.5 years old now and still f
king fast. It was quite expensive but so worth it.You need to decide on the software first.
Different software has different hardware use and compatibility. Some use Video cards very well whilst editing and previewing, then fail to use them properly for rendering.
Then decide how you are going to edit.
Proxy editing is the best way of doing 4k. Here is how to do it in Adobe.
https://helpx.adobe.com/premiere-pro/how-to/proxy-...
Once you have the proxy setup, editing is the same speed as lower resolution footage, just with much longer rendering times.
Different software has different hardware use and compatibility. Some use Video cards very well whilst editing and previewing, then fail to use them properly for rendering.
Then decide how you are going to edit.
Proxy editing is the best way of doing 4k. Here is how to do it in Adobe.
https://helpx.adobe.com/premiere-pro/how-to/proxy-...
Once you have the proxy setup, editing is the same speed as lower resolution footage, just with much longer rendering times.
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