Advice on hardware for video editing

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Bevels

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Oct 10, 2015
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Firstly, apologies if this post is in the wrong category?

Having recently upgraded my camera to produce 4k video, my trusty DDR2 desktop is finally showing its age.

4k has forced me to assess my options. Do I upgrade my current computer, or is it time for a new build. Unfortunately funds are tight at the moment, so I have to be a little careful about how I choose to spend my dough.

Current computer has the following.

Q9550 running @ stock 2.83ghz
8gb DDR2 Kingston Hyper X
XFX 9600GT
Intel 128gb SSD (can't remember model)
2TB Seagate 7200rpm
4 x 500gb WD drives (just for storage)


Options:

Second hand workstation with:

Dual XEON X5670
24GB RAM
Quadro 5000

OR a second hand gaming machine with:

I5 4460
16gb Kingston ram
GTX 960 (2gb)
120gb ssd

OR upgrade my current rig with whatever hardware it needs to process 4k video files. If it's even possible with the inherent limitations of it's DDR2 foundations.

THE PLOT THICKENS...

Instead of making obvious presumptions and potentially spending money unnecessarily eg. "my graphics card is 512mb, so upgrading that's a given". I decided to access resource usage and figure out what where things were being max'd out.

So I opened Davinci Resolve 12, threw some video on the timeline. Optimized the timeline to the lowest possible settings to give it the best chance of real-time playback and hit 'play'... choppy choppy, no surprise.

But what happened next was a bit of a surprise...

I opened GPUz and Task Manager/Performance to evaluate the real time strain on CPU, RAM and GPU.. nothing was being max'd out?

CPU was sitting on 90%
RAM was at 7gb of 8gb
GPU was fluctuating between 10-50% and not exceeeding 50%

Which I thought might leave the HDD as the culprit, but surely my Intel SSD can't be a bottleneck? (I also tried the Barracuda and that made no difference either)

I'm left with two questions:

1) Does anybody know what might be causing the choppy playback, despite my hardware operating within it's limitations?

2) Is it worth upgrading my current rig. Slapping in an additional 8gb of ram for a total of 16gb, upgrading my GPU to a 2gb or 4gb unit and maybe adding a fast, high capacity drive for a scratch disk? OR, am I better off looking at a new workstation/gaming rig with better specs across the board?

Thanks :)

 
Solution
S
No worries :), i've been there.
If you decide to for a T20, ping me and i can guide you to add a PSU and a GPU.
my current system:
T20: 1225v3 + 1TB 7200rpm + 12GB RAM + EVGA 550 GS (Gold tier 1) costed me 400$
With GTX 950 costed me 570$ including everything

Another thing to consider with prebuilt systems, check their Spec sheet/manual, often underneath most components are shared.

In my case, after lots of research, I can say the T20, Precision T1700, Optiplex 9020, share the same internals.
Infact the T1700 and T20 even share the same case with different exterior accents.
Dell sells the T1700 with a Quadro for quite a high price as compared to T20
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Gate9er

Gate9er

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No point of upgrading your current system. If you are looking to buy a motherboard, cpu, ram and graphics card you are basically buying a new system rather than an upgrade. Can you specify your budget? Maybe you can build a new system which will do the job.
 
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sr2002

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Based on my current experience, I would recommend you wait for deals to pop up on the Dell T110 ii (~250$), T20 (~300), Lenovo TS140(~330$), Lenovo TS440(~400$). All of these systems run the E3-1200v3 family of processors and have full support for the LGA 1150 socket. All of them have a full 16x PCIe slot (Except the Dell T110 ii ) for a GPU (bare in mind some PSU mods may be required if you plan to put a mainstream GPU. I'm struggling with that myself).

if you strictly plan on using the hyper threading feature, the T110 ii is your best best it comes with E3-1230v2 (which is a HT quad core, equivalent to an i7).

The conclusion is you can get one of those systems for under 350$ with relatively new Haswell processors and support for furture upgrades.

I too tried quite a bit to buy a used X56xx series server and realized its impossible to get any decent ones under 300$. Might as well get a brand new system that comes with warranty and costs almost the same.
 
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Bevels

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Oct 10, 2015
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This is sound advice. The desktop PC market is so 'Gamer' focussed, you've got to look much harder for focussed information on workstations that are purpose built for graphics/animation/photo/video etc.

My current system has served me incredibly well, but I think it's time for a dedicated workstation that's purpose built for graphics and not a gaming machine that'll handle graphics applications as well.

My budget is super tight, so I'll have to keep a keen eye on the used market and try and snag a hot deal something that ticks 80-90% of the boxes, then add a better GPU, or RAM (if they're lacking) as and when I've got a little extra dough to throw at it.

Thanks very much for chiming in, I appreciate it.

B.
 
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Bevels

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Oct 10, 2015
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4,510


Hey thanks for the reply.

Firstly I thought I might get away with buying a decent GPU and slapping it in my current system. Until I started reading about potential bottlenecks, which then lead me to research workstations and down the rabbit hole I went.

So to answer your question. I originally thought I'd be up for <$300 for a 4gb GPU upgrade. Now I'm thinking it's probably worth investing in a workstation (ideally second hand to keep costs down) But I really can't justify spending more than $800 at the moment and for that, I'd need to A: get a system that's significantly better than my current setup, otherwise what's the point. and B: get something that will allow me to comfortably edit large video files.

I wouldn't want less than: A 3ghz CPU, 16gb RAM, 4gb Video card.

Considering I've got a decent Coolermaster Case + Coolermaster EX2 525w PSU (psu is only 6 months old) + Dual pro displays (NEC Spectraviews) - I really only need the guts. So I might do the math and see if it's cheaper (or on par with a decent second hand workstation) to just buy new components and utilize my existing box?

Thanks again for the reply, any input helps the soup of options swirling around in my head.

B
 
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sr2002

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May 19, 2009
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No worries :), i've been there.
If you decide to for a T20, ping me and i can guide you to add a PSU and a GPU.
my current system:
T20: 1225v3 + 1TB 7200rpm + 12GB RAM + EVGA 550 GS (Gold tier 1) costed me 400$
With GTX 950 costed me 570$ including everything

Another thing to consider with prebuilt systems, check their Spec sheet/manual, often underneath most components are shared.

In my case, after lots of research, I can say the T20, Precision T1700, Optiplex 9020, share the same internals.
Infact the T1700 and T20 even share the same case with different exterior accents.
Dell sells the T1700 with a Quadro for quite a high price as compared to T20
 
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Solution
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Bevels

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Oct 10, 2015
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4,510


Awesome! Thanks a million for giving me a rolling start on this man. I'm going to do some research and I might hit you up if I have any questions I can't find answers to.

Cheers!!!!
 
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sr2002

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Just as a follow up. I recently installed a full size EVGA GTX 960 SSC with the ACX 2.0 cooler. Its a very snug fit, but it works just fine. I'm waiting on the Motherboard adapter to arrive. Currently i have the EVGA Supernova PSU externally powering the graphics card.

IMG_0583.JPG
 
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