New Video Editing System

[Brad White]

Thanks all for your spirited and informative comments.

What I didn’t say in my original post is that I’m moving away from my somewhat antiquated system, based on an Intel 6600 quad core 2.4GHz, running Win XP Pro OS with VegasPro 10. Two problems; 1) Microsoft no longer supports XP, so I would like to migrate to Win7, however my Intel MB is not compatible with Win7. 2) VegasPro 11 will not run on XP so I have to move to Win7 if I want to move forward with Vegas. This means at least a newer MB and new OS, so let’s build a new system with as much state-of-the-art as I can afford ($2K max). New specs include Intel “k” series processor, MB with USB 3.0 (external video file backup) and support for dual GPU’s (future upgrade) and multiple monitor support, 16Gb DDR3 1600MHz, SSD primary drive and 2+Tb secondary drive.

So my preliminary spec is somewhat decided, sans the graphics card. Again, I’m trying for a “balanced” system that handles large file rendering reasonably fast.

Brad

[Steve Rhoden]

Do you use other software (eg, Photoshop, After effects etc,)
in your daily editing workflow Brad?

Steve Rhoden
(Cow Leader)
Film Editor & Compositor.
Filmex Creative Media.
1-876-832-4956

[John Rofrano]

I’m wondering if you would be better of with a Hex Core Intel Core i7-3930K Sandy Bridge-E rather than the Quad Core Intel Core i7-3770K? Perhaps Dave Haynie could comment on this (although I see he’s using an AMD hex core) because the the Core i7-3930K uses 4 channel memory which may address some of the “bottlenecks” that he eluded to in his post.

Vegas seems to love more cores. I’m thinking of using the Core i7-3930K for my next build since there are no hex core Ivy Bridge processors. 🙁

As for your graphics card question: I’d get an nVidia Quadro 4000. It seems to be the sweet spot of the Quadro lineup. I have one and I’m happy with it although I still have an old Core 2 Quad and the box did say that a Core i5/7 was the minimum specs so I’m hoping to get even more out of in with my next build.

I know lots of people are using the consumer gaming cards but they have gotten mixed results. If you’re building a pro workstation, get a pro graphics card. If you can’t afford one, then perhaps someone who has had good luck with their GeForce card can answer.

~jr

http://www.johnrofrano.com
http://www.vasst.com

[Stephen Mann]

Brad – as John says, Vegas thrives on more cores, and you will definitely see faster performance on your proposed system. I know that I did when going from a quad-core AMD system to an i7 Intel platform. Just make sure you have minimum of 2GB of RAM for each core. (HD preview still sucks, though).

If you plan to run Photoshop or After Effects, then you want to use the nVidia Quadro line of GPU. Adobe products are optimized for CUDA cores.

I just recently found out that the GeForce line is targeted at gamers and the Quadro line is designed for the graphics workstations.

Personally, and this is just a personal preference – I have never had good luck with Radeon cards. Specifically the drivers.

Steve Mann
MannMade Digital Video
http://www.mmdv.com

[Brad White]

Steve,
Yes to your question about running other software during editing. I generally always have Photoshop open along with Vegas as I’m editing .jpg’s on the fly and dropping them onto a video track. I record a lot of video that includes PowerPoint presentations which I strip down and safe as .jpg’s.
However, during render, I close all programs except Vegas.
Brad

[Brad White]

John,
I did look at the Hex i7-3930k but found it to be about double the cost over the Quad i7-3770k. I understand what you and Stephen are saying about Vegas and “more cores the better”. I’m trying to balance cost and performance.
The Nvidia Quadro series graphics cards look excellent, albeit expensive.
Re-reading responses to my original question; it seems the jury is split between AMD Radeon and Nvidia. Of course, there’s also the choice of various manufactures licensed to produce their cards.
Back to series pondering!
Brad

[John Rofrano]

[Brad White] “Re-reading responses to my original question; it seems the jury is split between AMD Radeon and Nvidia.”

One deciding factor is usually CUDA support. Most of the major NLE manufacturers seem to support CUDA. So if you plan to one day use Adobe After Effects or Photoshop, you’re going to want an nVidia card with CUDA. Just something to consider.

~jr

http://www.johnrofrano.com
http://www.vasst.com