Where is my bottleneck? Specs in post.

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Jack_122

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Apr 8, 2016
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Hello everyone,

I'm a video editor and basically during some intensive work/renders the windows performance monitor shows that I'm using all RAM and all of my CPU (with the NLE program really struggling). I've bought 16GB more RAM which is on its way, but I was wondering which thing will help increase my system's efficiency the most - a new GPU (the GTX 980) or a new CPU (the i7 4930k).

I know that might sound like a silly question given that it's my CPU hitting the roof in terms of its capability along with the memory, but hear me out. When I get a new CPU, I want to also get a bigger case. However, I don't really want to outlay money on that right now if possible and would rather wait for the CPU to drop in price a bit. Someone has floated the idea to me that as I've just ordered my memory, if I get a nice GTX 980, it'll help with render speeds and along with the extra memory I've ordered, alleviate the stress on my CPU so I can purchase that during summer instead. What are your thoughts? Will it be a good bandage to get a nice GPU which would be awesome or will it basically do very little to change my situation?

My current system is:
Intel i7 3820
GTX 670 4GB
16GB 1866 Corsair Vengeance RAM (with 16GB more on its way)
Asus Sabertooth X89 Mobo.

Thanks in advance!
 
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Spectre694
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Spectre694

Spectre694

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Feb 28, 2014
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Absolutely the CPU the GPU is the last thing you should upgrade. Video editing uses GPU's to offload certain task (not all only a few depends on the program as to exactly what) to speed that up. The bulk of the rendering will take place on your CPU.

Depending on exact specs rendering upgrades should be:
CPU > RAM > STORAGE > GPU (some arguments for switching the last two)

If you just need a bandaid a GTX 580 (around $120 on ebay) has far better CUDA performance than the 670 you have now
 
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Jack_122

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Apr 8, 2016
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Really though? I'm using Premiere Pro which uses GPU acceleration for lots of effects and rendering, so surely it would utilise the GPU massively.

Are you sure about the 580? On Nvidia's site it says the 580 has 512 CUDA cores in comparison to the 670's 1344 :S
 
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Spectre694

Spectre694

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Feb 28, 2014
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Alright so I double checked because it has been a while and it does work a little differently than I remembered.
First: you can't compare a cards performance by core count as the CUDA cores have massively different designs for each architecture.
Second: The GPU will speed up your previewing and editing process but the final output/render (minus a sort of "pre-rendering" that is done) will be done only on CPU so regardless you will still be bottle necked there but overall your workflow will be quicker than without.

Now to the good stuff. You can add your current card to premiere (didn't know what program you were using in the first post) so it will use it. Go to this link scroll down and follow the instructions.

Now for card choices. Newer cards (Nvidia) are better but don't expect massive increases from generation to generation nor from mid end to high end. I would try your card first and see if you like it. The only part that requires pure compute power (the 580) is the 3d ray tracing from after effects.

Finally: This is often overlooked but adobes programs are designed to take advantage of the entire computer. This includes the often neglected storage. You can often squeeze some more performance simply by giving it more faster disks to play with.
 
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Jack_122

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Apr 8, 2016
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Ok, I never knew that about the different architecture, thanks so much. From doing a bit of reading off that, I came across this article (linked below) which states that Maxwell CUDA cores (like in the 980) deliver more than 40% performance per core in comparison to Kepler architecture (like my 670).
https://devblogs.nvidia.com/parallelforall/maxwell-most-advanced-cuda-gpu-ever-made/

I also read that in Premiere Pro, when the bar is red, it means that is something which will be rendered by your GPU and that the actual final rendering uses your GPU too. In that case, would it take a load off my CPU?

I'm already using my 670 as you mentioned, as it's supported by Premiere Pro CC. Thanks though :) I'm still curious as to whether I can alleviate a load off my CPU with a new GPU.

 
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Spectre694

Spectre694

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Ya that sounds about right don't expect a full 40% increase though.

The actual final rendering using the GPU is sorta true. It will use the GPU to speed up the supported features. For example lets say you export a video that is both scaled and h.264. The scaling will be done by the GPU but actually putting the video into the h.264 format will be done on the CPU. That will lower the load on your CPU as it doesn't have to scale the video now.

There are a few plugins that will allow you to use the GPU for the h.264 encoding but the seem to suffer from the same problem as other GPU encoders although significantly quicker the video suffers from artifacts and noise not present on a CPU rendered version.
 
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Jack_122

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Apr 8, 2016
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Ok, so would you still advise to not get the 980 and try and get the CPU/case now?

 
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Spectre694

Spectre694

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Feb 28, 2014
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My personal recommendation is the CPU you will get more out of it than a GPU upgrade from a encoding perspective based on your current setup. That said you can get the i7-5930K (haswell-E) for about the same price or you can poke around on ebay. It looks like a lot of the Sandy/Ivy bridge servers got dumped so you might be able to find a deal on a slightly older E5 or two.

 
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