New PC purchase - narrowed down to these two, which is best for Vegas?

glen-s wrote on 8/31/2016, 11:38 AM

After getting about all I can out of my 2009 model Dell XPS i7, I'm finding that it's just not enough for 4K video from my Phantom 4, or even higher bitrate 1080-60p video. After looking at Dell, HP, ASUS etc. offerings, I've decided to go another route.

I've got it narrowed down to two CyberPowerPC units, the one I initially had my eye on, this one, has the i7 6800 processor, 32GB RAM, 256GB SSD and the 6GB GTX 1060 video card. I probably would have ordered it by now but it's out of stock or not yet available everywhere I look.

I started looking at what is available, and found this one, which has the slower 6700 processor, 16GB ram (which I'm sure is plenty for Vegas 13) and smaller 120GB SSD (which is a concern). However, it has the 8GB AMD RX 480 card - which is a potential deal maker since I've heard that Vegas works much better with the AMD cards than the Nvidia.

My biggest concern with the latter is the slower processor and smaller SSD - the SSD is easily rectified but trying to decide if i should hold out for the one with the 6800 processor when it comes available.

Is the 6700 processor with the 8GB AMD graphics card going to compare favourably with the 6800 processor partnered with the 6GB Nvidia card?

If the 6800 processor is going to make a lot of difference for longevity etc, I may hold off, and if the RX480 is a far better option than the Nvidia card I suppose I could sell the Nvidia and buy the AMD after the fact.

thanks in advance.

Comments

OldSmoke wrote on 8/31/2016, 11:51 AM

Actually Vegas recommends 8-core cpu and 16GB ram for 4K, also a 8GB graphic card if I am not mistaken. You should go atleast with a 6-core if you want to edit 4K natively, meaning no proxies.

Eagle Six wrote on 8/31/2016, 1:55 PM

Hi Glen,

I downloaded some sample 4K taken with an F55, '4096x2160x32, 23.976p'. Without corrections or special effects it runs at full speed without proxies. I running it on an i7 6800K, 64 gb mem, AMD Radeon R9 390 8 gb card. See full specs in my signature.

Best Regards....George

Edit: Changed R9 690 tp R9 390, Thanks OldSmake!

OldSmoke wrote on 8/31/2016, 2:05 PM

I don't think there is such a thing as a R9 690. Do you mean a GTX690?

Wolfgang S. wrote on 8/31/2016, 2:07 PM

It is correct that SCS had specified 8 cores for 4K - but I do not remember that it was a 8 GB GPU. The 8 GB GPU would be important if somebody wants to use Resolve too for 4K.

Just to be specific - even with 8 cores you will not be able to playback UHD/4K 50p/60p for example with XAVC-I. For other codecs like Cineform that will be easier, maybe also for ProRes if they implement it native. So 8 cores is also relative. I have seen playback of UHD/4K 50p/60p at full speed with applications like Edius 8, Catalyst Prepare but also with Resolve (with 8GB GPU R9 390X).

The AMD cards are still great in Vegas. But they will support playback behaviour for effects but not for the pure footage in the timeline.

So I would go at least for a 6 core system today. If you can afford it for 8 cores. Do not choose systems with a low GHz figure - Vegas still uses higher GHz. And do not expect too much by Vegas. Especially with the latest hardware the improvement of performance is lower then one would expect. Unfortunately.

GregFlowers wrote on 8/31/2016, 3:33 PM

I'd just go to the CyberpowerPC website and get them to build you one to your spec. You could get a very good one for about $1500. Use the X99 configurator or take one similar to what you want and change things to how you want it.

glen-s wrote on 8/31/2016, 6:08 PM

I had a look at the CyberPowerPC website - while I like all the configuration options available, they ship ony via UPS, which is less than desirable up here because they have a rep for gouging with brokerage fees on delivery.

I just noticed that the SLC9840 with the 6800 processor just became available on the Staples Canadian website, so I'm tempted to pick one up and see how the Nvidia card works for me.