New PC spec for Vegas 12?

ritsmer wrote on 11/21/2013, 12:56 AM

Any Chevy will bring you from Atown to Bville - but it is more fun in a Jaguar ...

... Ok, let us define "fun" ...

OldSmoke wrote on 11/21/2013, 8:36 AM

-FPP
Our handphones could have launched a rocket to the moon in the 60s. The specs in this thread are still far from nuclear. My next build will be a dual CPU build. Why? because when you do more on the timeline like compositing and multiple camera projects, even the current specs can't preview that in realtime on Best/Full or Good/Full. Even some Vegas own effects are rather resource intensive and don't preview well despite GPU acceleration. Scrolling text is another good example that needs more "power". There are many examples where the specs in this thread are still insufficient. It really depends on what your typical projects are.

craftech wrote on 11/21/2013, 8:40 AM

Arthur S. said:
New PC spec for Vegas 12?Any comments appreciated. Anything necessary or could be improved without breaking the bank? This will cost around £1600.
--------------------------
The cheapest option would be to reinstall an earlier version of Vegas on your current computer.

John

FPP wrote on 11/21/2013, 10:53 AM

I'm only joking a little about the nuclear thing.. I'm just saying that with the right kind of "Tweeking" on a 64bit multicore, and a descent graphics plate, you should be able to get what you want out of VP12.
When I first upgraded to VP12 I hated it.. Why?
Because I let the notion that it was a complicated program..
After a couple of projects and adjustments this software fits me like a glove..
It does whatever I want it to do with out anymore "Hiccups".
I know many people will disagree but VP12 is worthy of a "Standard NLE" reputation.
You have to mold it to your creative needs.

OldSmoke wrote on 11/21/2013, 11:36 AM

-FPP
The specs in here have nothing to do with Vegas capabilities. I love VP11 & 12 for the GPU acceleration, I never had any of the problems many had with it. All I am saying is that if you do more in-depth editing you will want better hardware. There is no point previewing a multicam project in DRAFT just to get realtime preview; that is what I got on my Q6600 and a GTS8800. Timeline performance is very important to me and I want to avoid as much as possible working with Proxies. Can I get it done on my old system? Yes I could but it would take me weeks to get there.
Getting out what you want is a stretchy and you can mold it only as far as your hardware will take you; in a reasonable timeframe.
You will hit the limit of your hardware before you will hit the limits of Vegas.
To me VP12 is one of the best NLE after having tried PP, Avid, Edius and couple of others.

FPP wrote on 11/21/2013, 2:03 PM

I'm with you (OldSmoke).
I just don't see the need to bring a machine gun to a fist fight.
Its just that I read a lot of post about what somebody just paid x amount for and now they should have the best system or the best "specs" than what else is out here working just fine.
Preview on my system is just fine as well as everything else. My hardware is fine for the projects I do and I need very little else to complete very pro results.

OldSmoke wrote on 11/21/2013, 3:13 PM

-FPP
Good for you if don't need a better hardware for the kind of work you do. For simple HDV editing my old system was good enough but now with AVCHD 1080 60p footage it becomes again a bit weak. I wonder how well it will handle 4K which I might get next year.

Arthur.S wrote on 11/21/2013, 3:37 PM

Much the same for me - hence the new system. HDV runs perfect. AVCHD 50i runs OK too, although render times are much longer. AVCHD 50p though is problematical. Yes, I can use proxies, but they take a long time to be created. No point trying to hold back the tide - it's time for a new system.

OldSmoke wrote on 11/22/2013, 8:40 AM

How is the new build going?

Arthur.S wrote on 11/22/2013, 11:37 AM

I'm holding fire on it because of the doubt on the GPU. First time I've ever worried about a computer being compatible with Vegas! :-(

OldSmoke wrote on 11/22/2013, 11:52 AM

Aren't you getting a GTX570 or 580? I just changed my two 570 to two 580 water-cooled. The 580 is a good 15% faster and there are plenty on eBay.

Arthur.S wrote on 11/22/2013, 12:49 PM

The problem is, no PC builder is going to use old stuff bought from somewhere else. If I order a system with the MB graphics to start with, how difficult is it to then install 2 580's? I've installed graphics cards plenty of times, but never 2.

OldSmoke wrote on 11/22/2013, 12:55 PM

It is very easy! I would start off with one card anyway and see if that is sufficient for your needs. I bought my 580s from eBay for about 160USD a piece. I can say that even one will do a great job and I did Hulk's benchmark test with just one GTX580 with great results.

skeeter123 wrote on 11/22/2013, 9:01 PM

I have my "gently abused" EVGA GTX 580 for sale. If interested, PM me...

If nobody here wants first shot at it, I'll eBay it...

...skeet

Edit. This highly advanced (not) message board thinks that my nickname nickname is a bad word... s k e e t.....funny

zichi wrote on 11/22/2013, 11:12 PM

Hi there!

I've just built a PC similar to yours:

Intel Core i7-4930K 3.4GHz 6-Core Processor
Corsair H100i 77.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler
Asus X79 DELUXE ATX LGA2011 Motherboard
G.Skill Ripjaws Z Series 64GB (8 x 8GB) DDR3-2133 Memory
Crucial M500 960GB 2.5" Solid State Disk
Crucial M4 256GB SSD (from previous build)
EVGA GeForce GTX 570Video Card (from previous build)
Antec 1300W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply
Microsoft Windows 8.1 Pro - Retail (64-bit)

In addition I have the following disks:
2x4TB
4x3TB
1x2TB

I recommend the Asus X79 DELUXE because it's a brand new board updated for the new Intel CPUs. It has 12 SATA connections + 4 eSATA.

I'm running stable at 4.3GHz CPU & 2133MHz RAM using the H100i cooler (check to make sure it fits in the case you want).

The MC encoder used all 12 cores @ 100% during the second pass of the encoding.

I would definitely go with an SSD for your OS drive. Minimum 256GB. And one for the cache / render target drive.

The 64GB RAM in my system may seem like overkill (then again people told me the same when I had 8GB in a system I built nearly 6 years ago), but I can make a persistent RAMdisk of 40GB if I like.

Hope this helps!
Henrik

BruceUSA wrote on 11/23/2013, 12:17 AM

Zichi,

You are not alone. I also got 64gb of ddr3 1866mhz on mine. Yes it is overkill but I got it cheap on sale. So, I could not resisted.

skeeter123 wrote on 11/23/2013, 12:56 AM

@Zichi,

Any issues with the X79 DELUXE ATX LGA2011 Motherboard and older HDDs?

..sk

zichi wrote on 11/23/2013, 4:45 PM

Most of my disks are less than 3 years old and they work fine. The only trouble I had was with one older disk when I overclocked the system too much during encoding and the system reset. I think that disk died, but that's not the motherboard's fault. I should have done stress testing with Prime95 or Intel's Extreme Tuning Utility, but I got a bit carried away.

By the way, all my 2TB+ drives started life in enclosures as backup drives. They are just cheaper to buy that way. I open the enclosures take out the drives and put them into the system. (You may need to recreate the partitions using a partition manager -- I use the free EaseUS Partition Manager which works great).

The board has been really good so-far. I will report back if something goes awry. Overclocking is simple nowadays with software that let's you overclock directly from within Windows, and the BIOS is also easier to use (mouse based) but still provides access to every OC setting you can imagine.

Henrik

Chienworks wrote on 11/23/2013, 6:21 PM

I've never bothered with any 3rd party partitioning utility. Since all my drives get wiped, partitioned, and formatted once, when i install them, i just use Windows' built in device manager. It takes a few seconds and the drive is ready to roll.

Arthur.S wrote on 11/24/2013, 10:06 AM

So, how does an SSD cache drive benefit? Do you render to it??

Stringer wrote on 11/24/2013, 10:21 AM

SSD cache mostly benefits Windows start-up and program load times... I don't think rendering would benefit much, if at all.

OldSmoke wrote on 11/24/2013, 10:25 AM

The SSD cache helps if you have a HDD as a system drive. It is like using "ReadyBoost" on a SSD but it is hardware based rather then OS based. If you already have a SSD for your OS, then it doesn't do anything for you.

Arthur.S wrote on 11/27/2013, 9:42 AM

Thanks..now I get it. :-)

Arthur.S wrote on 12/21/2013, 12:30 PM

Well, this is what I went with in the end. Arrived yesterday, so been installing software etc today. As is normal when a new PC arrives, I'm blown away by the speed! Did a short multi-cam project this afternoon. 3 streams of full HD 50p AVCHD with preview set to 'Best Full'. Beautifully smooth playback. Added another 3 streams just to test, and it didn't seem to make any difference. At the moment, I can't see the point in installing a second GPU. I'm more than happy with what I see.
Can't wait to get into some serious editing and rendering. :-)

Thanks to all for the advice, it's definitely helped. :-)

Windows 7 Pro 64bit
Processor (CPU) Intel® Core™i7 Six Core Processor i7-4930K (3.4GHz) 12MB Cache
Motherboard ASUS® P9X79 LE: INTEL® SOCKET LG2011
Memory (RAM) 16GB KINGSTON HYPER-X GENESIS DUAL-DDR3 1600MHz, X.M.P (4 x 4GB KIT)
Graphics Card 3GB AMD RADEON™ R9 280X - DVI, HDMI, DP - DX® 11, Eyefinity 4 Capable
Memory - 1st Hard Disk 240GB INTEL® 335 SERIES SSD,SATA 6Gb/s(upto
500MB/sR|450MB/sW)
2nd Hard Disk 3TB 3.5" SATA-III 6GB/s HDD 7200RPM 64MB CACHE
3rd Hard Disk 3TB 3.5" SATA-III 6GB/s HDD 7200RPM 64MB CACHE
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive 15x BLU-RAY WRITER DRIVE, 16x DVD ±R/±RW
Power Supply CORSAIR 750W ENTHUSIAST SERIES™ MODULAR TXM-750 V2-80 PLUS®
Processor Cooling Corsair H80i Hydro Series High Performance CPU Cooler
Thermal Paste ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND
Sound Card ONBOARD 8 CHANNEL (7.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless/Wired Networking WIRELESS 802.11N 300Mbps PCI-E CARD
USB Options MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 6 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2
FRONT PORTS