PC/Laptop requirements for editing

[SeaComms]

For comparative purposes..
Mine I think I misquoted before is:

Quad core i7 4710 @2.5gig with 3.5gig turbo
16gig ram
Nvidia 870M 6gig graphics
256ssd +1tb hard drive.

Edited a 2.7k video last night into a just under 3 min clip.

Took 6min to render the final product at 2.7k and 4 min to render at 1080p.

Processor was maxed out at 3.5gig the whole time and memory and hard drive access below half. So processor speed is definitely the highest requirement.

 

[dewster]

My 2010 MacBook Pro can't handle 4K. it's crazy the my iPhone 6S Plus can. I probably need an SSD drive to speed up things or I'll end up just using my phone.

 

[knockstar]

Thanks again to everyone for your responses, it has been most helpful.. After all this, I have decided that a desktop tower will probably be best for me, in regards to power and future expansion. To that end, I have narrowed it down to these three finalists as they are ready made and I'm totally confused with building one from scratch. The first seems like a killer machine in regards to the CPU and GPU, but is about three hundred more than what I was budgeting myself for. The other two are more in line with budget, considering now that I will have to purchase a new monitor. I am intrigued by the third one with the AMD Ryzen 7 1700 GPU, I'm hearing mostly positive things in regards to it. I have read there is a slew of cards coming out in the coming months (Intel i9 and a 9 series from AMD) but again they will be $$$ initially. Leaning towards the Ryzen 7 machine with the 1070 card, which I can always update to 1080 if not up to scratch.
PC Specialist Vulcan Nemesis Extreme Intel Core i7-7700K CPU GTX 1080 Gaming PC

• VR Ready
• Features an unlocked enthusiast grade Intel Core i7-7700K (4.2GHz) CPU for excellent multi-tasking, and video game performance
• Comes with an 8GB GTX 1080 graphics card for excellent performance in AAA games and video editing
• ASUS ROG STRIX Z270H motherboard with M.2 storage, three-way SLII support, high quality integrated audio, and Gigabit Ethernet
• 3D printable motherboard modules for multiple customisation options
• 16GB of HyperX Fury DDR4 RAM at 2,133MHz for better performance from your 3D graphics, multimedia, and internet applications
• 256GB M.2 solid state drive reduces important file and program opening times, and gives you fast file transfer speeds
• 3TB hard drive to store all your other games, work, media
• Stored in an InWIN 703 PC Case with minimalist design and large tinted side panel which shows off your high-end components
• Fully upgradeable pre-built PC
• Includes Windows 10 Home 64 bit

PC Specialist Vulcan Nemesis Elite Intel Core i7-7700 CPU GTX 1080 Gaming PC

• Features a seventh-generation Intel Core i7-7700 Kaby Lake CPU, excellent for high demand gaming and multi-tasking
• VR Ready
• 8GB NVIDIA GTX 1080 GPU for excellent performance in AAA games and video editing
• ASUS H110M-R excellent quality motherboard with 5X Protection II for long-term durability
• 16GB of HyperX Fury DDR4 RAM at 2,133MHz for better performance from your 3D graphics, multimedia, and internet applications
• 240GB SSD to store your operating system and most important games on to get into the action faster
• 1TB hard drive to store all your other games, work, media
• Fully upgradeable pre-built PC
• Includes Windows 10 Home 64 bit

Cyberpower Ryzen Ammunition Ryzen 7-1700 3.1GHz GTX 1070 8GB Gaming PC

• Eight-core AMD Ryzen 7 1700 processor running at 3.1GHz clock speed
• VR Ready, Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070 8GB GDDR5 dedicated graphics card
• Built from the B350 platform using the ASUS Prime B350-Plus gaming motherboard featuring USB 3.1, CrossfireX and support for up to 64GB of DDR4 memory
• 16GB of pre-installed DDR4 2133MHz RAM helps you to boost your system for multitasking and high-spec gaming
• Integrated Realtec 5.1 channel audio and Gigabit LAN networking
• 1TB of SATA III hard drive storage gives you plenty of space for your installed games, programs and files
• 120GB SSD makes the perfect location for your operating system or your favourite games for quick access
• Expertly installed into the Corsair SPEC01 mid-tower, windowed gaming case, featuring in-case red LED lighting

 

[Doecliff]

What's the ballpark price of those 3 PC's?

 

[MavicFlyer70]

I grabbed one of these recently and it works great with lightworks and Davinci Resolve 14

GT72VR DOMINATOR PRO (7th Gen) (GEFORCE^® GTX 1070) | Laptops - The best gaming laptop provider | MSI USA

 

[knockstar]

What's the ballpark price of those 3 PC's?

The 1st one - Vulcan Nemesis Extreme is £1899.99. The 2nd one - Vulcan Nemesis Elite is £1599.99 and the 3rd, the Ryzen is £1499.99

 

[knockstar]

The 1st one - Vulcan Nemesis Extreme is £1899.99. The 2nd one - Vulcan Nemesis Elite is £1599.99 and the 3rd, the Ryzen is £1499.99

If you are in the states, with todays exchange rate that would be $2474.82 $2082.77 and $1952.48 respectively

 

[Doecliff]

thanks for the info. Wow. I may go with a laptop. I just need to edit 4k but don't want to break the bank. $2000 would be my absolute tip top but I'm hoping to get in for a little less.

 

[Oyibo VFX]

My Mac runs every day for the last three years. Work, video, photo.... So, when I'm home it's time for a new machine. I'll buy the 15" MacBook Pro with full specs and 16Gig. Cost almost $4.000,00 but worth every penny..

 

[MavicFlyer70]

Mac is def the way to go for video editing but the cost is insane. I almost went with a mac but just couldn't justify the cost. my msi works great with Davinci Resolve 14 now with the performance option turned on, i will also use proxy if doing 4k editing. Works pretty **** good for a windows pc, but yes, a mac would be better.

 

[knockstar]

This has been a nightmare trying to figure which way forward on a 4k editing machine. Laptop, PC, specs...Everybody on here has been great with your responses and suggestions and I am most grateful for the offered advice. Unfortunately, I went on a couple of PC tech forums to pose some questions about building one from the ground up and it was like I unleashed nerd Gladiators. Calling each other names, rubbishing each and every answer I was given and I'm like "but..., what about..., does that..." trying to get a word in. The new AMD Ryzen 7/8/9 series video cards were intriguing, but they won't be on laptops for a few months yet and I lost the will to live on custom build sites trying to sift through and understand options (hence the wading into tech forums and the resulting carnage) to implement them in a desktop. Though I would have liked portability, the price of a spec out gaming laptop (don't game, but they have the proper CPU & GPU's) from the likes of MSI, Dell etc... is putting me near or over 2 grand, and there really is then a limited opportunity for expansion. Going to go with an HP Omen 870-275na desktop with an i7 7700 and GTX 1070 video card 2tb 7200 SATA 256gb SSD and 16gb memory for 1499.00 UK money and an HP Envy 275 27" 4k Ultra HD Monitor for 499.00. 1998.00 pounds gets me a decent machine (or as near as I have been able to figure out is decent) and a large workspace, with plenty of options to expand in the future.

 

[Doecliff]

Good choice. In the end everything is somewhat generic except the video card. I'm sure you will be happy. I bet your gonna really love that monitor.

 

[knockstar]

Cheers Doecliff, thinking it is too and like I said it is giving me the option to upgrade if need be, but I think it will be fine for the forseeable future. It was just frustrating seeing a particular laptop that got great recommendations on one review site and then the next site was saying it was shite. Haven't found any negative reviews of my final choice of pc and though I can get the same machine with a 1080 card, it is 300 more and most of what I read said the 1070 is just fine. The monitor got very good reviews, so yeah I'm looking forward to experiencing what it has to offer. Thanks again for all your help and guidance.

 

[Doecliff]

Let me know how that works out with the 16 gigs of ram. You have a really good video card so it may not matter. I am looking at a couple, one with 16 gig the other with 32 And im wondering if it makes a huge difference.

 

[SeaComms]

I mentioned earlier maybe in this thread, I was watching the stats as mine was crunching through a 4K export and noticed that the CPU was running flat out (i7 2.5 gig over clocking to 3.5 gig) while the 8 gig video card and 16gig ram and SSD drive were all running at less than 50%. So not sure going from 16 to 32gig would do a whole lot

 

[Doecliff]

Thanks SeaComms, So a lot of these PC's have an SSD and a HDD. I get that the ssd is very fast compared to the hdd but how would you use that to your advantage? Should I load my editing program onto the ssd and edit my videos there or is everything like the OS and other programs all loaded onto the hdd and everything works from there?

 

[SeaComms]

Yep spot on. Load operating system and all working programs and files on the SSD and the regular HDD is used for storage. So I have a /working folder I dump all my vids from the Mavic into and do all my processing. Once completed and exported back to the same folder I move the contents to an appropriately named folder on the normal hdd.

 

[mig]

This has been a nightmare trying to figure which way forward on a 4k editing machine. Laptop, PC, specs...Everybody on here has been great with your responses and suggestions and I am most grateful for the offered advice. Unfortunately, I went on a couple of PC tech forums to pose some questions about building one from the ground up and it was like I unleashed nerd Gladiators. Calling each other names, rubbishing each and every answer I was given and I'm like "but..., what about..., does that..." trying to get a word in. The new AMD Ryzen 7/8/9 series video cards were intriguing, but they won't be on laptops for a few months yet and I lost the will to live on custom build sites trying to sift through and understand options (hence the wading into tech forums and the resulting carnage) to implement them in a desktop. Though I would have liked portability, the price of a spec out gaming laptop (don't game, but they have the proper CPU & GPU's) from the likes of MSI, Dell etc... is putting me near or over 2 grand, and there really is then a limited opportunity for expansion. Going to go with an HP Omen 870-275na desktop with an i7 7700 and GTX 1070 video card 2tb 7200 SATA 256gb SSD and 16gb memory for 1499.00 UK money and an HP Envy 275 27" 4k Ultra HD Monitor for 499.00. 1998.00 pounds gets me a decent machine (or as near as I have been able to figure out is decent) and a large workspace, with plenty of options to expand in the future.

Im wondering if you ended up getting the HP omen and if so how has it worked for you? I'm looking at this unit or a Dell with similar specs. Has this setup been sufficient? They are both around $1800 Canadian dollars without a monitor.

 

[wytnyt]

id highly suggest building your own pc,buying prebuilt will always have bottle neck parts in it.going this route and the ability to upgrade is always there
buy a dell or hp and your stuck with minimal if any upgrade ability.

 

[Oyibo VFX]

Or.... Get a Mac