Thanks - actually the question is whether it is worth it to go all the way to the 3900X. I realize that the R5 will already be much better than my current setup, but if the 3900X can cut render time in half vs R5 3600, the extra $$ is tempting. Hoping to see if those benchmarks out there are legit or if real life scenarios the difference is not that meaningful.

Also, how important is going with the X570 vs just the B450? How noisy is the X570?

And what GPU card should I be looking at?

I'm also amateur, working with 1080-60p, using Ryzen 3700X + RX 580.

In VP15/VP17 raw footage preview is always maxed to 60fps (best | full), 8 or 32 bit pixel format.

When I'm working with 32 bit pixel format and adding filters (mercalli v4, levels, colour corrector and sharpen are almost always are in use) I do not have 60fps preview any longer. It dropped to ~50fps (CPU 60%+). In 8 bit pixel format preview is still maxed to 60fps. Render time is not important for me at all.

I would not go for x570. Do not see any reason.

GPU: Nvidia is more popular here and looks like it is better. At the same time, based on messages in the forum, it looks like people with NVidia have more issues. I could be wrong here, but I decided not to move to NVidia GPU on the PC where I'm editing video (additional speed is not really needed as I do not editing 4K). I'm having NVidia GPUs in some other home PCs. However, in case of VP15 both NVidia and AMD does NOT assist VP in decoding video that is important when working with 4K (not my case).

@flavio-k You can check out the results of the forum Benchmarking here. There's a wide variety of systems used.

Bear in mind when looking at the render times that its a 4K-UHD 41 second duration project, rendered out to either 4K-UHD or FHD.

If considering a rig update, I'd consider budgeting an update to Vegas Pro 17 as well so you can utilize the GPU decoding your new GPU will certainly have. Or, assuming Vegas sticks to the annual update around late-summer each year, wait for 18 to drop and update to it.

Valid point about upgrading to VP17. However, this might not help at all. For example, while I see improvements on test files with the latest VP17 build because off AMD decoding, on my own footage there is zero difference. VP17 does not use GPU decoding for them.

GPU Decoding only works on H264 and HEVC media, no matter which GPU you are using.

I'm aware of that. Container is also important. If I put raw m2st files (directly from camcorder) on timeline -- no GPU decoding. If I re-wrap them to mp4 (no re-encoding, the same AVC video stream) -- GPU decoder is used.

OK so here's another question and I know full well where I'm asking it. But if Vegas 15 has issues and I need to budget and upgrade to 17 or 18, I wonder whether it's worth it for me to even learn the platform. I purchased 15 because of the amazing deal on Humble Bundle and because Premiere Elements 12 is so outdated. But if I have to spend money, then is Vegas really better than say Resolve? Or Premiere Pro? Not trying to troll, just being pragmatic. I have little time to learn new ways of doing things, so my trade offs are: 1) learn new ways approach (free vs free vs paid - Resolve vs Vegas 15 vs Vegas 17/18) or 2) don't learn new ways - (free vs paid - Premiere Elements 12 vs Premiere Pro). I'm leaning to 1b obviously, but if 15 is not a good way to go, then 1a seems to make better sense? Please keep in mind I make zero income from video production, so can't justify the expense as anything but a hobby.

@flavio-k Given the investment in time required to master an NLE, its well worth taking your time over this.

Why not spend some time getting acquainted with trial versions of VP17, Resolve etc. The only gotcha here is that it makes more sense IMHO to upgrade your HW first, as the latest software versions are more demanding.

Support is important too, whether official and or what’s available on the respective user forums.

If I were you I'd spend nothing on hardware or software, and practice using the software you have until you hit its limits. Vegas 15 is a fine program if it's working stably for you. I've been downloading Resolve for years but never really learned it. It's free, but the time to get up to speed on it is considerable. It also wants very powerful hardware. I have Vegas 15 working happily on a 10 year old laptop (with 1080p footage).

If you are having slow playback, create proxy clips or just bypass your Fx while editing and only enable them for color correction. You can also prerender sections of the project if you have challenging transitions that won't play back in real time.

FWIW I am using Vegas Pro 15 on a 4 year old i7 6700 laptop 16 GB Ram with Red 5k footage. Have briefly tried it on my sons Ryzen 2600 16GB desktop Nvidia 1060 GPU. The Ryzen PC is faster. IMO you'll get a pretty good Ryzen PC for $1000 that will run Vegas 15 very well. I suspect Vegas 17 will show up on Humble Bundle in 2021 or 2022 otherwise Magix will sell you an update for I think $150-$200. Premire Pro requires a monthly subscription.

I suspect Vegas 17 will show up on Humble Bundle in 2021 or 2022

Nope. I do not think so.