I need a computer for editing (that costs less than my drone)

[hammick]

I need a computer for photo editing. Both my MPP and my Lumix FZ300 can shoot 4k video and the Lumix can shoot 4k burst photos. I doubt I'll ever get into lengthy video edits but I'll probably extract stills from 4k video.

I'm looking at this workstation at Costco: Costco Wholesale

It has the Ryzen 1700x processor and the Radeon RX570 video card. It only has 12gb of Ram so I'd eventually add more. It also has a SSD drive for the OS inaddition to a 1TB storage drive. I've built a lot of computers over the years but nothing recently. Memory prices are insane and I can't build a computer with these specs for anything close to $799

Is this a good setup at a good price? Looking for alternative recommendations.

I'd plan to initially use my Viewsonic 20" monitor (1680 x 1050 resolution; 720p I think). If I really get into editing 4k I'd upgrade my monitor and possibly the video card later.

Thanks for any advice.

 

[Aerial-Pixel]

That will be a decent setup, the RX570 is an OK card, it's only 4GB. Definitely stuff as much RAM and the best graphics card you can afford in it.

 

[Mossiback]

The software will tell you what hardware you need, so shop for software first.

 

[Lon Denard]

This might sound crazy but give Walmart a try. I got a pretty high spec tower for $500 last year. You'd be surprised.

 

[vanim8]

I've been editing for broadcast for 38 years. Computer: 12 gigs of ram and an i7 processor will do nicely. More ram the better. Software: I'm highly fluent in 12 brands, but for best learning curve and bang for buck I recommend Pinnacle Studio. Revision 21 is their latest. It will do everything you want it to. Enjoy!

 

[vanim8]

I've been editing for broadcast for 38 years. Computer: 12 gigs of ram and an i7 processor will do nicely. More ram the better. Software: I'm highly fluent in 12 brands, but for best learning curve and bang for buck I recommend Pinnacle Studio. Revision 21 is their latest. It will do everything you want it to. Enjoy!

Oh, and invest in a fast external drive. 7200 rpm and lots of buffer for high def or 4k. Never keep or work with video on the same hd drive as your operating system. Boggs them both down.

 

[hammick]

Guys thanks for all the good info. I decided to go the laptop route. Dell XPS 15 9550-1000. 6 gen core I7-6700HQ processor; 16 GB DDR4; 4k touchscreen; 1TB SSD; Geforce GTX 960m 2gb video card;

Beach Audio is selling these refurbished with 90 day Dell warranty for 1,199.99 (free shipping; no tax)

Even with my wife's education discount the latest model from Dell would be about a grand more. Not worth it for a slightly faster processor, graphics card and seven extra months of warranty.

If I include the price of the MPP accessories the computer cost less. Goal met.

 

[hammick]

Oh, and invest in a fast external drive. 7200 rpm and lots of buffer for high def or 4k. Never keep or work with video on the same hd drive as your operating system. Boggs them both down.

Great point. The laptop I just bought has a 1TB SSD. Way bigger than I need for the OS and programs. I'm assuming partitioning an SSD wouldn't solve the bogging down issue?

I think there is a slot for a second HD in this laptop. If so, I guess I'll get a 256gb card for the OS and other software.

EDIT: I believe the 4k screen model comes with a larger battery that takes the space where the second drive would go.

 

[Kilrah]

That comment was valid back when you installed your system on an HDD, but it's not relevant at all anymore with SSDs nowadays unless you have a really poor one.

 

[Mossiback]

You still need an external drive for backups. Also check your video card against the specs of the editing software you plan to use.

 

[hammick]

That comment was valid back when you installed your system on an HDD, but it's not relevant at all anymore with SSDs nowadays unless you have a really poor one.

So you are saying that I can have the OS, the editing software and the video files all running on the 1TB SSD (assuming it's a quality drive) without any performance loss?

I a bunch of 7200 RPM drives laying around that I can use to store my final products.

 

[microlinux]

Great point. The laptop I just bought has a 1TB SSD. Way bigger than I need for the OS and programs. I'm assuming partitioning an SSD wouldn't solve the bogging down issue?

SSDs have massively higher IOPs and throughput rates than mechanical drives. You will have absolutely no problem with a single SSD.

Even with mechanical disks, you likely wouldn't notice a huge difference by putting the OS on a separate drive. The OS itself doesn't normally access the hard drive all that much unless it's doing a lot of swapping, which is typically symptomatic of needing more RAM.

 

[wytnyt]

. The OS itself doesn't normally access the hard drive all that much unless it's doing a lot of swapping, which is typically symptomatic of needing more RAM.

actually the Os constantly accesses the drive that its on,for any type of interaction.

 

[vanim8]

That comment was valid back when you installed your system on an HDD, but it's not relevant at all anymore with SSDs nowadays unless you have a really poor one.

Ssd still has one hose carrying that data. 4k is a lot of data moving at 30 fps. Multiple hoses means cpu, no matter how fast or modern, stays at optimal speed. It's simply physics.

 

[vanim8]

Great point. The laptop I just bought has a 1TB SSD. Way bigger than I need for the OS and programs. I'm assuming partitioning an SSD wouldn't solve the bogging down issue?

I think there is a slot for a second HD in this laptop. If so, I guess I'll get a 256gb card for the OS and other software.

EDIT: I believe the 4k screen model comes with a larger battery that takes the space where the second drive would go.

Good choice. You won't bog, but best performance will still be to separate the data from the OS. While an SSD isn't physically moving to retrieve data, it still only talks to your motherboard through one cable and that's where mild traffic jams can happen working with huge video throughput.

That comment was valid back when you installed your system on an HDD, but it's not relevant at all anymore with SSDs nowadays unless you have a really poor one.

 

[Lon Denard]

You still need an external drive for backups. Also check your video card against the specs of the editing software you plan to use.

Question, would it make sense for him to get the DJI external drive or a Gnarbox? It seems it would kill two or three birds with one stone.

 

[wytnyt]

the 2 components most needed is a good graphic card and memory and not so much alot of ram as a good high quality ram,for those two components i spent like 2800 but of course that much isnt needed in a real world sense.

 

[vanim8]

Question, would it make sense for him to get the DJI external drive or a Gnarbox? It seems it would kill two or three birds with one stone.

Agreed.

 

[Lon Denard]

Ssd still has one hose carrying that data. 4k is a lot of data moving at 30 fps. Multiple hoses means cpu, no matter how fast or modern, stays at optimal speed. It's simply physics.

Dang, this is awesome, I'm actually learning stuff AND it seems I accidently sped up my editing without trying! I use an external for all of my storage. So it's never on my computer other than being routed to the drive.

I do have one question, when you move the data {video}, from your drive, int or ext, into the program, doesn't it then reside in your ram? Why would your computer to back to the hard drive?

For example, I take a hose and fill a bucket. Once the bucket is full, I turn off the hose. I then start using water in the bucket. How does that affect my girlfriend taking a shower? Sorry for the weak analogy, just trying to understand the process.

 

[Lon Denard]

Agreed.

Thanks. I actually have a Crystalsky, so I move data from the Mavic SD card to the 128G SD card in the CS. If I didn't have this, I'd have the DJI portable drive. Maybe the Gnarbox... I'm not sure about that piece yet.