Intel Cpu models ending in X or F don't have IGPU, but if you were to upgrade you would want IGPU therefore Grazie doesn't have UHD. I've said you don't want to use GPU decode on 1080P because of Vegas GPU decoder overload bug, but you still want the option of the gpu decoder that supports most formats, and that is Intel IGPU. I have not seen anything that shows IGPU decoding works better then any other, but it is more widely supported by Vegas, so you have option of GPU decode where you don't if depending on Nvidia or AMD graphics

I'll include my comparison between decoder on, GPU OFF, and decoder off here again, as I don't think you saw it before. Even a 10900K won't have enough power to playback certain 4K+ formats or multiple blended 4K and then you will want to use a gpu decoder with the widest support and that is Intel IGPU

Todd I see the comparisons .. GPU OFF seems to give the best playback with your 5900X. Is that right? I didn't get the settings on the last line?

.. So, what are your conclusions? 5900X with RTX3080 ? .. 11900K with RTX3080? .. Which would you think would give me the best playback in VP19 between those two choices?

Top line is Gpu decoder on, Middle line GPU off, GPU decoder off, Bottom line Gpu on, Gpu deocoder off

The best playback is GPU on, GPU decoder OFF, look at the white flash transition, on middle and bottom of screen. Middle screen does not display correctly, Bottom screen shows the brightness levels correctly with a smooth ramp in brightness

5900x has 12 cores, 11900K has 8 cores, the Ryzen is more powerful but you will most likely only see that power if Vegas can load the CPU to 100% when rendering and rarely on timeline performance, although if you don't use GPU deocder or GPU more likely to get up to max cpu use on playback.,. On a value proposition I don't like the 11900K, but you seem to like it and so do the couple of people in this thread that own one. I'm a little uncertain why you're buying a rtx3080 but plan to turn your GPU off in vegas settings. I do think rtx3080 is the standout GPU of the 3000 seriesm my rtx 3070 is a bottleneck with other software

Thanks Todd for all the info .. I don't understand how to do the GPU on GPU decoder off setting ... can you explain.

I"m not worried too much about pricing between 11900 and Ryzen 5900X .. .. I just want the system that will do Vegas Playback best .. or if a toss up on that issue, I'd likely go 11900 and RTX3080 and stay with Intel .. but if 5900X is proven to be better at Vegas Playback with FX like Primatte Studio Chroma Key .. I'd go with that. THe video card RTX 3080 would be with a eye for some future time when it might be more useful in Vegas or Photo editing apps.

GPU on is preferences/video.
GPU decoding is in preferences/ file i/o

Thanks Grazie .. What's your smoothest playback with FX ? GPU or UHD or OFF ??

@xberk - Smoothest playback? Have a look at the ranking of my rig on the "Red Car" Table. Until I know differently all that UHD is being processed through the RTX3080. Back in 2019, I asked for some form of 4k future-proofing. This is what was designed for me, by one of the UK's leading Gaming and Video Editing Systems builders. It was this way back in 2019 and thankfully has now been further updated and upgraded for 2021 with that repair that took over 6 months.

Neat Video

Here are some screengrabs of NeatVideo scoping what would be the best for me. I tested this against real-world footage of a noise-rich "boiling sea":

This at 1920p 8bit:

This is me FORCING at 3840p 32bit - yeah madness!:

MOCHA PRO

I then had a similar look into MOCHA Pro Preferences. Again, real-world footage and the RTX3080 being utilized:

Mercalli

I use Mercalli, here's the GPU specs - 4GB available RAM, GPU, recommended for max. performance: i7-CPU, 12 GB RAM,  graphics board with GPU, and 1GB RAM. So, within V5 there's an acceptance of GPU processing.

These are VegasSoftware's Partners producing NOW plugs that take advantage of a person's GPU. It's happened and is happening.

Here's the skinny:

1. See my Red Car Rating - not too shabby.
2. OFX Plugs are now, now, designed with GPUs in mind. I'm now using them within VP getting full frame rates where possible.
3. For anything else, I use HOS for Previewing OR Shift+B, OR Shift+M

@xberk - What more can I tell you?

@xberk - Until I'm contradicted, what I should have added is that Previewing - HOS, OR Shift+B, OR Shift+M - is yet further assisted by having the RTX3080Ultra.

Like me, @xberk, the narrative is everything. Getting the best FPS for the Buck is always, always, going to be the journey - 😉.

Those are very impressive speeds for NeatVideo- just did the benchmark myself and am at a combination of CPU and GPU at just 12FPS.

I think what Todd is getting at is that there are limits to GPU decoders as implemented in Vegas and if you have a very fast CPU you may be better off without them, or at least testing them on or off with your media. Decoding is on the file i/o tab whereas Mocha, Neat Video, etc, are using the GPU specified on Preferences/Video.

@RogerS - Thank you.

This is a lot to absorb for a old guy like me .. thanks everyone .. I learned some stuff and realize that I'm getting very good performance from my laptop which is i7-9750 with Nivdia GTX 1650 .. I tried different settings, and as far as playback, I'm getting the same playback results with GPU on or OFF or using the UHD 630 .. The best I seem to get at full frame rate is Preview/Half ..

I'd like my new PC with VP19 (with FX like Chroma Key) to get me Preview/Best/Half at least. If the 11900K can do that, I'll be happy.

State of the Art now. Build or buy?

@xberk For paid work I have always had at least (2) comparable systems to maximize my workflow & also to serve as a backup should one fail... Building my own vs. buying a ready-made system has allowed me to upgrade (2) systems for the price of (1) new one. Plus, I now have the ability to repair my own systems in a fraction of the time it takes to hassle with a vendor's often inadequate repair solutions...

In 2019 I upgraded one of my older Xeons to a 4.9 ghz 9900K, VEGA 64 LQ, ASUS Z390 WS workstation-class motherboard, 32 GB of DDR4 & Corsair H150i CPU cooler for $1,350 USD. Then, here in 2021, I upgraded a 2nd older Xeon case for $850 total: 5 ghz 11700K ($350 Microcenter), ASRock W480 workstation-class motherboard ($200 Newegg sale), AMD VEGA 56 ($200 eBay before mining craze...), and 32 GB of DDR4 3200 ($100 Newegg sale). For $200 the ASRock W480 came with built-in TB3 ports, 10G networking, (3) M.2, (3) x16 PCIe, (8) SATA, (8) USB 3.2, etc. making it a phenomenal bang/buck since TB3 & 10G PCIe cards would cost $200 just by themselves & waste PCIe slots...

For most Apps, including Vegas, I don't notice a difference between the two CPUs... However, daily I use a proprietary App that is limited to using only one core & it performs noticeably better on the 11700K due to its 18% higher IPS. The VEGA 64 LQ makes the 9900K system a little faster at Vegas' 4K renders, completing the "Sample Project 4K" to UHD in 1:34 vs. the 11700K/VEGA 56's 1:43, but for my daily paid 4K work, I don't notice the difference. Note, I tested a RTX 3060 Ti in the 9900K system, and got 1:20... However, both systems with VEGAs complete the original V11 "RedCarTest" in 13 seconds, and the "Sample Project 4K" to FHD in 45 seconds, compared to 19 & 47 for the Nvidia 3060 Ti... And... for my actual daily paid work the newer Nvidia 3060 Ti was actually slower than my VEGAs, so I didn't keep the 3060 Ti...

However, as @Grazie said, if you use 3rd party plugins or Apps like Neat Video, Mercalli, etc. you will notice the difference... Neatbench shows the 3080 providing nearly 60 fps vs. my VEGAs at around 30 fps each... Although I also use Neat Video, Mercalli stand-alone, etc. that benefit from the faster GPUs, it's better if I let Mercalli and/or Neat Video churn through my lengthy projects on one system while I edit another project on the other system...

@TheRhino - You make most excellent points. My workflow is definitely not yours. When I plough through my footage, presently I’ve got ten hours on my T/L, I like to drill into say a five or three or even a fifty second Event and “see” what I’m getting. My rig is beautifully setup for this type of close-quarter “painting” and “sketching”. And to do this, and keep my creative interest alive, I need to have the results now. If not happy, I can quickly regroup my thoughts and make changes. Once I’m happy, I then quickly lay-off to a fast rendering, quality format and move on. I think my approach would drive you nutz 🤪.

@xberk - If I remember, I’ll try to fit in your unmet request for CK Work. No promises, yeah?

@Grazie .. @TheRhino @Former user @RogerS .. THANKS GUYS!

99% I'm going with this spec .. any comments?

PCI Express Video Card: EVGA VCX 10G-P5-3885-KL GeForce RTX 3080 XC3 ULTRA GAMING 10GB GDDR6X
Intel LGA 1200 CPU (11th and 10th Gen): Intel Core i9-11900K Desktop Processor 8 Cores up to 5.3 GHz
Socket 1200 Motherboard: MSI Z590-A PRO Desktop Motherboard LGA-1200 ATX 128 GB DDR4 MaxCase: XPG STARKER Compact Mid-Tower ATX RGB Effect Efficient Airflow Tempered Glass PC
Seasonic Power Supply SSR-1000FX Focus Plus 1000W 80+ GOLD FULL MODULAR
CPU Cooler: Arctic Liquid Freezer II – 360MM
DDR4 Memory :  64GB (2X32GB) XPG GAMMIX D45 DDR4 3200MHz 288-Pin SDRAM PC4-25600 Memory
Samsung Solid State Drive MZ-V8P1T0B/AM 980 PRO 1TB PCI Express 4 NVMe M.2
OS: Windows 10 Home 64 bit OEM Supports Up To 128GB RAMd

@xberk STUNNING!

I meant to upload this chat earlier, commenting not to buy from the low powered group as they are the cheapest quality, Your XC3 Ultra is from the medium power 3080 rage and that's good

That system should serve you for many years and many more versions of Vegas.

@Grazie .. @Former user .. @RogerS .. Thanks again guys .. It's been a journey to get this far. My intention is to place the order tomorrow. We shall soon see if the 2 week lead time is fact or fantasy .. Then the fun begins .. I'm not going to worry about Windows 11 unless I hear on this forum from some early adopters that they are loving it ... This will be the first PC in over 25 years that I have not built myself. Just can't wait any longer for the component shortages to end.

@xberk - Do you get any form of Return-to-base for rebuilds? I’ve been running PCs from this firm for a decade, and their rebuild no quibble policy was a Godsend over the six months they had it.

Good question Grazie ... I'll find out tomorrow.  Their policy, if the system arrives DOA, is to pick it up at their expense.  Once they have it back, they will ship a working system to me within 3 business days.  Ok. But what happens after a few months if the thing goes dead?  Don't know.

I'm not too worried about that.  If I have to change out the power supply, memory, video card, etc .. nothing that I have not done before .. All that stuff has factory warranty.  These guys are using brand name parts .. I'm not too worried .. What happened to you Grazie, in my experience, is fairly rare I'd say.  But I will ask.  S__t happens. Thanks for the tip.

@xberk Sure, I’m guessing here, but if they haven’t offered this already, then it would seem as if they don’t?

@xberk Sure, I’m guessing here, but if they haven’t offered this already, then it would seem as if they don’t?

@Grazie .. seems like the do. Here's what they said " .. Yes, if anything fails within the warranty period, you can get it replaced. We like to have you speak to the tech, because if it is just a power supply or something simple, it is easier to ship those parts, rather than ship the entire system back and forth because of potential damage. If something like the board goes out, we will replace it. " .. This is not exactly a "no quibble" policy but it's some what reassuring .. I can change out most parts myself .. but the Motherboard would be daunting and possibly indicate some "integration" problem that killed it. So good to hear they'd rebuild it. Warranty is only 12 months .. But these are name brand parts. I'm not too concerned.