I am in the market for a new pc to handle video editing, gaming, audio editing.
Can anyone recommend what you might buy if you had a (flexible) budget of around 3 grand?
I am coming up with machines like this one
But it doesn't have a SSD and i thought I might find something a bit cheaper with similar specs.
Hi.
I'm not sure what I'd recommend to someone trying to buy a desktop pc at present but if you could hold off buying for a few months until the supply of newer RTX 3000 series nvidia cards are more available I think you will get better performance for less money as most of the cost of that unit is the 2080ti at around $1,500 whereas the nvidia RTX 3070 is going to give similar performance at nearer $500 which would allow for a generation 10 Intel processor rather than an i9 processor. Either that or wait for the price of the 2080ti to fall as the RTX 3000 series becomes more available. Also unless you really need extra quiet performance you are paying extra for water cooling allowing for the smaller case size.
When buying a pre-made pc you should make sure you know all the specs. I've no idea about the motherboard on this one. What is the quality of the inboard sound chip and components? While Corsair is a well respected brand and I feel nothing will be wrong with the builds components, are you paying for things you actually want like the RGB memory etc?
On the plus side there seems nothing wrong with your choice of that pc performance wise except you will eventually need much more storage space for the video files.
I have an i9900K on an ASUS motherboard, 32 GB of ram, and confess I would love a graphics card with the grunt of the 2080ti to go with it as I'm sure that would help a bit more with the video editing as far as smooth playback was concerned but I'm not sure that graphics card would speed up exporting much more with MEP. For gaming yes,but I don't game.
Your requirements are not mine so at the end of the day you have to make the choice.
I can see nothing actually wrong with the specs of the machine you point out. I just think you should possibly be looking at newer generation components if you are trying to future proof for video editing.
Ray.
I would love a graphics card with the grunt of the 2080ti to go with it as I'm sure that would help a bit more with the video editing as far as smooth playback was concerned.
I would be cautious recommending spending on high end graphics cards Ray as there is still no evidence that MEP would benefit from that for smoother playback, over a mid range card.
Peter
Hi Peter.
Looking at comments from other users in the past and noting differences between those peoples systems, I do think I see improvements here and there with the variations. For instance, it seems to me that the more 3D rendering that can be done by an appropriate dedicated video card and the amount of associated ram, the better a given Intel CPU/GPU can cope with getting on with the video rendering. The effects and gains may be questionable vs cost but there is also the aspect of how well additional plug-ins when added put strain on the rest of the system. If that can be relieved, it should allow better performance from an Intel CPU/GPU combo.
For instance,when using Boris Title Effects I notice how much the initial hit is on my nvidia card almost maxing out the rvam. It can begin to crawl when trying to alter any of the base settings. I get freezes between alterations before I can continue. I'm sure that would improve with more vram or more cores than my current card has.
I still think that with MEP at least, the newer the generation of Intel CPU/GPU that is used, the better. Other components also of course come into play such as ram speeds, the architecture of the motherboard and drive speeds.
Ray.
Hi
The computer and spec you have linked to is a gaming machine. These do not necessarily make good video editing machines depending on how they have been configured by the manufacturer. The unit you have linked to ticks most of the boxes however, unless you are gaming:
Essential for MEP or VPX is an Intel processor with integrated UHD 630 graphics chip - 6 cores minimum.
Other to consider:
HTH
John EB
To address multiple points with these replies: As far as sound card... I work for a software company that makes a popular DAW. I will not be using the internal sound card anyway. I current have several audio interfaces but the main interface is a Presonus StudioLive 16.0.2, so sound isn't a concern.
Same goes for hard drives and other components. I have loads of that stuff sitting around as I am a PC builder. I will remove whatever drive comes with the pc and replace with a couple of SSD'd. Unless of course it comes with SSD's pre-installed.
"Essential for MEP or VPX is an Intel processor with integrated UHD 630 graphics chip - 6 cores minimum."
I have never been a fan of video chips integrated into a motherboard. If I have to get this type of thing in order to smoothly edit video with MEP, would this chip also do gaming as well as the above Nvidia?
Lastly, what are everyone's opinions of MEP vs VPX?
Hi
. . . . If I have to get this type of thing in order to smoothly edit video with MEP, would this chip also do gaming as well as the above Nvidia? . . . .
GPU intensive games generally use the graphics cards CUDA cores, Shader engines etc to render the image to the monitor, and is basically a one way process with the processor doing everything else eg all the control work, data retrieval, decision making etc.
There is and always will be a huge debate over whether an Intel or AMD CPU is better. Not being a gamer I do not have any experience with AMD CPU's and the high performance requirements some games need.
John EB
Reading from the VPX page, it says the following.
The new infusion engine 2 allows for super smooth video editing on virtually all computers.
.............thanks to support for common graphics cards from intel, AMD and Nvidia.
Sooo, I downloaded the trial. It seems to run a little better than MEP on my pc. So I imagine it would do great on something high end.
The new infusion engine 2 allows for super smooth video editing on virtually all computers.
.............thanks to support for common graphics cards from intel, AMD and Nvidia.
Seriously?
Yes, look on the video pro x page
I was being sarcastic.
I am just surprised nobody mentioned that during this thread. Or my previous thread on similar performance issues
I have never been a fan of video chips integrated into a motherboard. If I have to get this type of thing in order to smoothly edit video with MEP, would this chip also do gaming as well as the above Nvidia?
We have moved on a bit from video chips on the motherboard - this is a GPU on the CPU die with a separate hardware layer for QuickSync encoding and decoding similar to the separate NVENC and NVDEC encoding and decoding chips on the Nvidia cards. These perform similar functions for HWA playback and encoding in editing programs (when the program can utilise them) but unfortunately only VPX12 can fully exploit Nvidia for playback (decoding) of H.264 and H.265 and then only encoding of H.265. MEP2021can only use the Nvidia for playback (decoding) of the AVC / HEVC material but not for encoding.
The Intel iGPU handles all these tasks admirably but there are some gains to be had with an extra discreet GPU in the system and some marked gains when displaying multiple video images / tracks in PinP, Collage and Multicam timelines. The Intel is way down the lower percentile for gaming tasks however due to lower shader counts, memory bandwith and dedicated VRAM.
....super smooth video editing on virtually all computers. .
It can be super smooth on a recent, reasonably spec'ed machine, but the "virtually all" is what is proving in this forum to be far fetched.
... I am just surprised nobody mentioned that during this thread. Or my previous thread on similar performance issues.
I am not sure what we were supposed to mention as we have always been giving you information on what you need to make it run smoothly or why it wouldn't with your current setup?
Hi Peter
. . . . only VPX12 can fully exploit Nvidia for playback (decoding) of H.264 and H.265.and then only encoding of H.265. MEP2021 can only use the Nvidia for playback (decoding) of the AVC / HEVC material but not for encoding.
I would add to the above, older versions of MEP up to and including MEP 2020 cannot use NVENC at all.
There is some confusion in the information on MEP 2021 and VPX as to what different graphics cards can and cannot, do for example:
As I read the MEP 2021 specifications:
INFUSION Engine 2 supports video acceleration for AVC and HEVC on Intel, NVIDIA or AMD GPUs
I interpret AVC as being used to cover h.264 as well, the terms AVC, h.264, and MPEG-4 Part 10 are used interchangeably for the same codec.
The VPX spec says HEVC needs an integrated GPU for NVENC import - note the asterisk.
INFUSION Engine 2 supports video acceleration for AVC and HEVC* on Intel, . . . . .
*An active, integrated graphics unit with installed, up-to-date drivers is required. . . . .
However in the Functions blurb it states on Intel, Nvidia and AMD - subject to the graphics card specs.
John EB
Hi John
The confusion and there is plenty - we have discussed recently in another thread but addressing your points:-
I would add to the above, older versions of MEP up to and including MEP 2020 cannot use NVENC at all.
Nor NVDEC for decoding during playback.
INFUSION Engine 2 supports video acceleration for AVC and HEVC on Intel, NVIDIA or AMD GPUs
I always interpret AVC the same way as you. However I am fairly certain when they say "video acceleration" in the context of the Infusion Engine 2 and MEP2021 that they are only referring to playback decoding on the separate hardware chips / layers on the respective GPU's. VPX adds the hardware encoding of HEVC H.265 on the NVENC chip (with a claimed 2x increase in speed).
The VPX spec says HEVC needs an integrated GPU (for NVENC import -your words).
That one is a bit out in left field as they probably mean export of HEVC and is likely the marketing departments confusion of the technical details. I also feel they are probably talking about MEP and not VPX!!
However in the Functions blurb it states on Intel, Nvidia and AMD - subject to the graphics card specs.
Yes - In the 8K support area it says "* Dependent on the graphics card used. For more information, contact the card manufacturer." but I am not sure what they are suggesting we ask the manufacturer as they are unlikely to be informed about the requirements of VPX - maybe can your card use NVDEC and NVENC to decode and encode 8K AVC and HEVC?
Peter
Hi Peter.
If you delve into the depths of the nvidia site and look at specific card types you will find that all Quadro and the newer RTX 3000 series cards are more designed to work with 4K and 8K video creation content as part of the mix. This is more along the lines of real time rendering of some effects or possibly even things like noise reduction. I'm not sure but looking at the nvidia developer partners would seem to make sense. Look at the video they produce for real time rendering. The divide between computer generated graphics and integration into video production is closer than it has ever been. Some OFX effects that can be used within MEP and VPX such as The Boris particle illusion would benefit from such GPUs as well as any of their other OFX offerings. I'm not even sure if speeding up the export times beyond the current limits is even part of that equation if the effects can't be rendered at similar speeds.
Whether this is needed for basic editing is a moot point but don't discount the possible need of power users if the rest of the MEP /VPX combination can handle it.
Ray.