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Do I really need to get a good graphics card for fast rendering times?
I am thinking of trying to build a new PC and the graphics card I chose was “Asus Radeon R7 260X 2GB DirectCU II Video Card”. However, my friend told me that I didn’t need a graphics card and that I could use a regular GPU instead.
Here is my PC part picker list: https://ca.pcpartpicker.com/list/GYsLJV
If I were to avoid using graphics card, how much slower will rendering be? Also, if I were to choose a cheaper graphics card based on my current specs, what would be a good choice?
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5 Replies
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Do I really need to get a good graphics card for fast rendering times?
No, you don’t. However, your choice of a core i5 as your CPU will insure that you do NOT get very fast rendering times. At a minimum, select the latest generation quad-core i7, preferably unlocked so that it can be overclocked a bit with a minimum of 16 GB RAM. In other words, get the fastest CPU you can afford, even if you must forego addition of a video card at this time. In the interim, you can always use the Intel integrated graphics until you can afford the addition of a video card. If you start with an i5, then the CPU becomes the limiting component. Moreover, the Intel processor will permit use of quick-sync for rapid rendering.
The need for a high-end video card depends greatly on the number and types of FX you will be using. If you have lots of FX, then a good video card, will improve preview performance, which in turn, will improve render performance. However, if your need for FX processing is minimal, then the amount to be gained will be minimal. In such cases, the integrated graphics that comes with the CPU may be sufficient. As always, lots of trade-offs based on your specific needs.
wwaag
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You realize that the H110 chipset is only capable of Gen2 PCI and not PCI3.0.
https://www.tomshardware.com/news/intel-skylake-broadwell-100-series,27244.html
I would try the following in skylake terms:
Z170 chipset board – Gigabyte
16GB of DDR4
6700K i7 CPU (113 GFLOPs)
AMD 480 (5000 GFLOPs)(36 Compute Units)vs
AMD 260x (1900 GFLOPs)(14 Compute Units)The 260 will work just fine with Vegas, but Sony used to spec the 5770 as a minimum at 1500 GFLOPs. A Vegas editing system without a GPU OpenCL compute units, is sort of like a unicycle vs a bicycle. Each will go, one will go faster.
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One other thing. The power supply on your list is only 550 watts, which is really on the light side, especially if you add a high end video card. Better to get a higher rated PS at the outset.
wwaag
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Something that I’ve noticed is that GPU rendering does speed up the process, but it seems to lower the quality as a trade-off.
There may be certain scenarios where that isn’t the case, but I prefer a beefy CPU and software encoding.Personally, I have an i7-6700 (non-K version).
It’s a quad-core with hyperthreading (8 threads).
I would take that over an i5 (quad-core without hyperthreading – 4 threads).
Of course, it’s more money.
If I had even more money, I would have gone with an i7-5820K (6 cores with hyperthreading).
You can do a 4 thread rig for $500, an 8 thread rig for $1000, and a 12 thread rig for $1500.
It comes down to your wallet.Personally, I’m looking forward to getting the Radeon RX 480.
At $200 (if I can actually find one to buy), it should be a really good deal.
JJ -
With Magix taking over Vegas and version 14 not far off, I just can’t see building a new rig with specific benefits in mind until we know what additions are planned for Vegas 14. I’d say build a pc with an i7 and no graphics card right now if you must. You’ll always see a benefit from having a fast CPU. As for the GPU, let’s wait and see if Magix optimizes anything more than just FX to make use of it, and what old third-party FX plugins even work in the new version. For all we know everything could flip and they might get more from Nvidia cards this generation than AMD. Too much in the air to drop several hundred on assumptions I think.
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