New To Editing - Need Desktop Recommendations...

[Crow Horse]

I've searched and haven't found the information I am looking for. My aging desktop PC can not support a number of editing programs. It's 10 plus years old and I don't want to throw good money after bad in an attempt to improve it. That said, I'm looking for a moderately priced PC that will do the job. Can anyone recommend a specific model to look for or what specs I should be looking for. Would a gaming PC be something to consider? I'm not opposed to buying a used PC.

I would like something with a minimum 16G RAM, preferably 32G. I'm clueless about the processor. Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

 

[zeusfl]

This website will help you if you will build the PC in your own. https://pcpartpicker.com/
Intel or AMD? I personally am an AMD Fanboy. What is better, Chevrolet or Ford?

Any gaming computer will be good as well for your application. Photo or Video editing.

This is more your taste. If I need to build a computer today i will build it with an Intel i9 Gen12 since is the fastest today 2/22/2022. Maybe in 3 months this will change.

Anyway.
Anything with:

• Intel i7 or i9 Gen 11 or 12
• or AMD Ryzen 9. I personally use the Ryzen 9 5950X (16 Cores) probably overkill for you
• 32GB DDR4 3200Mhz memory
• NvMe 1TB SSD Drive + Large Drives for storage
• RTX 3060 (minimum) video card If you can afford an RTX 3070 or 3080 will be excellent
• Power Supply with 750W minimum
• 2.5G Network card but 1GB will make it too,
• WiFi 6E card like the Intel AX210
• A good case

If you want to buy a system already built try to find those specifications.

 

[Crow Horse]

I just found this on Marketplace with these specs- Dell Precision 5810 Tower E5-1620 v4 3.5GHz 32GB 400GB SSD, 4TB HD, Win 10 Pro, Dual K620 Video Cards

For the price they want, I'll jump on it if it will fit my needs. Will it cut the mustard?

 

[March411]

I run Adobe Photoshop and DaVinci Resolve on a Lenovo Yoga (32" monitor) and they both run perfectly. I have no hesitation or locking in the system and the processor response is very good.

It's half the machine (if that) you are looking at buying, you'll be just fine.

 

[PhotoDB]

Whoa! Please check this before you buy anything:

https://helpx.adobe.com/premiere-pro/system-requirements.html

I run Photoshop on a number of laptops/desktops and I can say for a fact that unless you have a modern graphics card, you will be missing capabilities. Just as one example, not all Photoshop filters even show up if you are running an old graphics card.

Also, Premiere will give you a "this isn't gonna be pretty, but do you want to try anyhow" sort of message when loading its latest version on my 4-year-old 32GB RAM Lenovo M800 - all due to the old graphics card. (see link below)

Best of luck. I'm looking, just like you, for new gear to keep up with the software.

02.23.2022-08.09.24

 

[maggior]

As important as the CPU and RAM is a decent GPU on the graphics card. I have a Dell XPS desktop that is a couple of years old with an NVIDIA GeForce GT1030. That graphics card is about as basic as it can get but I can render a 4 minute 4k video between 5 and 10 minutes with Davinci Resolve. Without it, it would probably be an hour or more.

To make editing workable, I have to optimize the clips I'm working with otherwise scrubbing the video for parts I want to use is painful. I have looked into upgrading my video card but they are wickedly expensive now thanks to the chip shortages.

 

[JoelP]

Having spilled a half cup of tea in my Surface Book 2, I had to buy a replacement. My criteria was that I needed a notebook to take with me since I spend time near my daughter in Idaho, plus it had to run Resolve 17 smoothly. That was never the case with my old Lenovo Yoga or the Surface Book 2 despite its Nvidia GPU. After speaking to a friend with expertise in Resolve, a friend with PV expertise at Dell, plus another person who was in the video editing industry, I bought an MSI MSI gaming computer. It has the i9, 32 GPU of RAM (upgradeable to 64 GB but not needed for Resolve) the Nvidia 3080 GPU with 16GB of RAM, and 2TB of storage (upgradable to 4TB). Unlike lots of gaming notebooks you can buy this without a 240 hz display and with the amount of RAM and storage that you need.

This runs smooth as silk. By choosing this I gave up on two things. First, it is rather heavy and won’t blow away in the strongest of winds. Second, it has no touchscreen, so I bought a Wacom for pen input.

MSI GE66 Raider 15.6" UHD 4K... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09576VQM5?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

This would have been more configurable if bought from MSI directly, but this configuration which met my needs was available with a 17% discount from Amazon. I put about half of that savings into a 4-year protection plan.

I might have preferred 4TB internal storage, but I use two 2TB external SSDs to store still and video images. This came in handy when my SurfaceBook failed and the memory that was integral to the motherboard couldn’t be accessed.

 

[zeusfl]

An RTX 3080 or 3080Ti will be more than sufficient but if you want to go completely overkill go with the RTX 3090 that has 24GB of DDR6X memory, but this is a $3000 card only price (real price) MSRP is around $1800 but is no way you can get it for that price.

 

[JoelP]

An RTX 3080 or 3080Ti will be more than sufficient but if you want to go completely overkill go with the RTX 3090 that has 24GB of DDR6X memory, but this is a $3000 card only price (real price) MSRP is around $1800 but is no way you can get it for that price.

As you said, the 3090 is overkill. I have yet to find something to overstress the 3080 in Resolve. I used to stall the video playback when doing a voiceover with my lesser Nvidia on the SurfaceBook. And, the MSI total price was less than the cost of that RTC 3090 that is, as far as I know, only available for a desktop PC.

 

[Dale D]

I've searched and haven't found the information I am looking for. My aging desktop PC can not support a number of editing programs. It's 10 plus years old and I don't want to throw good money after bad in an attempt to improve it. That said, I'm looking for a moderately priced PC that will do the job. Can anyone recommend a specific model to look for or what specs I should be looking for. Would a gaming PC be something to consider? I'm not opposed to buying a used PC.

I would like something with a minimum 16G RAM, preferably 32G. I'm clueless about the processor. Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

The new Apple Mac Book Pro 13 inch or 16 inch has an amazingly fast M1 chip that can handle anything. You should Google this, "what is the faster chip, the Apple M1 or the Intel i9.

 

[thispilothere]

I just found this on Marketplace with these specs- Dell Precision 5810 Tower E5-1620 v4 3.5GHz 32GB 400GB SSD, 4TB HD, Win 10 Pro, Dual K620 Video Cards

For the price they want, I'll jump on it if it will fit my needs. Will it cut the mustard?

Not really. That's an 8 year old Quadro card that's not even half as powerful as a GTX 1050 and the E5 CPU is 10 years old.

The video card market is insane right now, you're wildly overpaying for even basic performance. As a lifetime PC guy, I would recommend people look at a M1-based Mac (or Mini) for video/photo editing. If you're just editing and not adding 20 layers of effects on top of footage, it'll do everything you need - and you can get a used one for $400-$500 on ebay.

 

[Dale D]

Not really. That's an 8 year old Quadro card that's not even half as powerful as a GTX 1050 and the E5 CPU is 10 years old.

The video card market is insane right now, you're wildly overpaying for even basic performance. As a lifetime PC guy, I would recommend people look at a M1-based Mac (or Mini) for video/photo editing. If you're just editing and not adding 20 layers of effects on top of footage, it'll do everything you need - and you can get a used one for $400-$500 on ebay.

I agree! Check out the Mac Book Pro with an M1 chip.

 

[zeusfl]

I understand is capable to edit 5K without using a proxy.

 

[Dale D]

I understand is capable to edit 5K without using a proxy.

I guess you mean the Mac Book Pro? I totally trust Colin Smith. Have been with him for years.

 

[rydsteds]

Maybe this can be of interest to you!

 

[zeusfl]

I guess you mean the Mac Book Pro? I totally trust Colin Smith. Have been with him for years.

Yes the one with the M1 chip.

 

[Jagerbomb52]

When ever I read posts like this where the OP wants to know what to buy I always wonder just how much does he want to spend? If they have unlimited finances then the sky is the limit but not everyone has that option. So offering advice on what to buy is pointless unless we know how much the OP is willing to fork out to improve his computer.

 

[Dale D]

When ever I read posts like this where the OP wants to know what to buy I always wonder just how much does he want to spend? If they have unlimited finances then the sky is the limit but not everyone has that option. So offering advice on what to buy is pointless unless we know how much the OP is willing to fork out to improve his computer.

Actually you are right. The original poster did hint that he has an "aging desktop" , "10 years old", and "looking for a moderately priced" PC. We all know that in life, you get what you paid for, usually. Nothing is free, and nothing good is cheap. (my own rules of life). So by default, I suggested going for the high end.

Dale

 

[LenSavage]

I've searched and haven't found the information I am looking for. My aging desktop PC can not support a number of editing programs. It's 10 plus years old and I don't want to throw good money after bad in an attempt to improve it. That said, I'm looking for a moderately priced PC that will do the job. Can anyone recommend a specific model to look for or what specs I should be looking for. Would a gaming PC be something to consider? I'm not opposed to buying a used PC.

I would like something with a minimum 16G RAM, preferably 32G. I'm clueless about the processor. Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

Three important things I found to get more life out of my aging machine running Premiere is:
1. Add a dedicated 1 TB or larger internal SSD scratch disk - starting around $50, (The Best Internal SSDs for 2022) makes a big difference. Make certain that you have set up the scratch disk in settings. BTW: I named mine the 'S' disc. (see attached)
2. Edit using Proxies. When configured, the system creates lo-res versions (hardly noticeable on the timeline) of your footage, then automatically brings back your hi-res footage in render.
3. Research and add an adobe / premiere approved graphics card.
Your machine - at 10+ years old needs a cpu upgrade, so a fresh build is likely in your future, but configure the build with a dedicated scratch disk and compliant GPU and edits will be a pleasure instead of a pain.

 

[vindibona1]

I know you've indicated you're looking for a desktop and that's cool. But a few months ago I had to replace an aging Sony laptop. What I found, and bought ticked almost all the buttons that a desktop would, considering that I could (and do) hook up a 27" monitor, keyboard (color coded for Davinci Resolve) and mouse + external HD's. I'm typing on it now from a remote location that I'll be at for a month.
HP Envy 15"

As you can see it's got 32gb ram, 1 TB SSHD and a GPU w/6GB of DDR6 ram. I'm pasting the specs below. It's a refurb but only $1400. It competes with other laptops for over $2000 and is faster than my Aliengear desktop tower, which is no slouch. It just eats up Photoshop and Davinci Resolve just as a desktop would. l What really got my attention was the quality of the screen. 4k AMOLED! Unbelieveble resolution for a laptop. And when I got home- surprise... it has a touch screen too! IMO the only thing it lacks is a DVD drive, more USB ports and room for external drives (I have 4 volumes with three drives on my (Aliengear) desktop computer). I was all set to pull the trigger on a Gigabyte Aero or possibly an Asus ROG when my HP showed up. I got super-lucky and MC not only had this as a refurb, but a refurb/open box, which I scored for $1100! $1400 is a good price.

• Intel Core i7-10750H Processor 2.6GHz
• NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 with Max-Q Design 6GB GDDR6
• 32GB DDR4-2933 RAM
• 1TB Solid State Drive
• Microsoft Windows 10 Pro
• microSD Card Reader
• Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX 201+Bluetooth 5.0 Combo
• 15.6" 4K UHD UWVA BrightView Micro-Edge AMOLED Multitouch-Enabled Edge-to-Edge Glass Display