Computer specs for 4K video processing?
 

I am a technical midget dwarf. What I do know is that computers age very fast...

What minimum specs should a computer have to not have any trouble handling raw 4K footage?
Puts it much more pressure on a computer then handling HD footage? (not having any problem handling HD footage... no hassle at all)

Thinking about signing up to Adobe cloud. Does that mean that I need a less heavy computer because the Cloud do the processing of the footage and not my computer?

Anyone having good experience with Adobe Cloud?

Thanks!

The Adobe cloud is for getting and managing your software.

I don't even like to work with regular HD video unless the hard drive is connected in my computer through SATA, so I would definitely never try to do 4k through the internet.

you need to work locally

also it very much depends what file format you are using - prores makes giant files but the decoding is not too heavy

but h264/mp4 files need a lot of processing/gpu power and when you start putting more than 1-2 cams in the timeline...

let's say we had to buy something really powerful and expensive

If you get multiple Graphics cards you can use them to do all the video editing and processing, which will make it way faster. Theses prices might be off but it'll be somewhere close enough. Then just add hard drives and Bluray drives and software etc. Tell me your budget, I can talk about computers all day so if you want some more detail just ask.

CPU: Core i7 6800k $400
GPU: 3-4 RX480x $250 each
RAM: 64GB $250
MOTHERBOARD: MSI X99a $150

We would always work local & you'll probably find any pc or laptop above £500 can handle 4k. Preferably an i7 with a 4k screen, separate graphics card of 1gb & 8gb ram or above should have no problem handling 4k :thumbsup

Am I correct that you go from raw footage to Prores codec, which is a intermediate codec, to get less bigger files to work with before coding it to end-user codec?

Care to tell what solution you had to buy and what it had cost?

So basically... processing 4K is something really different then HD and probably need investment in hardware? I'm now on a not so special windows computer...but it does process raw HD footage fine... typically 2 GB avchd raw full hd footage...

My budget is not limited but that doesn't mean I WANT to spend as much as possible:upsidedow
I'm sure, with computers, I can make it as much expensive as possible...

Why multiple gpu? Why not 1 which is sufficient enough?

Is there a way to check my current computer specs?

If your using windows go to system settings and system properties and it will show you.

The more gpu's you use the faster things will go.

you can also go settings>system>about

Thanks... I'm seeing:

Intel (R) Xeon (R) CPU W3550 @ 3.07 GHz
RAM 8GB
x64-processor

Could I see my graphics card somewhere?

Ya in that same area look for device manager, in windows 10 its just a little bit down on the screen then go to display adapters and your gpu will show up

That's an old CPU. You should get a 6 core haswell i7. That's a good price/performance CPu. It'll be about 3 times faster than that old xeon.

Make sure your new system has at least 32GB or ram -- even higher would be better. 8GB puts you about 10 years behind in that department.

These things I'm recommending won't be that expensive, but this new system will absolutely smoke what you have now.

Thanks... I see :

Nvidia Quadro FX 3800

Your cpu is from 2009 and your gpu is old too. If you upgrade you're gonna notice a huge diffrence.

Noted... thanks

Ill go for 64GB then...

I bought this computer 2 years ago so basically I bought an old new computer:1orglaugh

Ya I think its always better to build out computers to your own specs. Let me know your budget and I'll make a parts list for you.

Dropping a budget seems useless... I need at least what it takes to process 4K without hassle...

If it takes at least $2000... so be it... If it takes at least $4000, so be it...

The cheaper the better but not at the expense of quality...

Here is a quick system build for you. Its under 2k and it'll get through all your video needs faster than almost anything anywhere. Enjoy.

Core i7-6800K 3.4GHz 6-Core, Radeon RX 480 8GB (3-Way CrossFire), HAF 912 ATX Mid Tower - System Build - PCPartPicker

Thanks a lot for your time and input! I'll check it out now...:thumbsup

Stay away from anything that is MSI or Asus = complete shit.
Gigabyte makes high quality motherboards, I would never buy anything alse if choosing a new MB.

Also, I would go with Nvidia instead of Radeon, the last Radeon I tried gave me weird colours compared to Nvidia on the same monitor. Never had any problem with my Nvidia graphic card.

Would this work?

Intel® Core? i7-5820K 3,3GHz
Cooler Master Hyper 103
MSI X99A RAIDER
Crucial 32GB DDR4-2133
NVIDIA GTX 960 2GB
240GB SSD Crucial BX200
2000GB HDD Sata III
600 Watt Cooler Master

It's allready assembled so one "buy button" push and i'll have it home by tomorrow...
Custom made takes 1-2 weeks...

Price is 1425 euros...

wtf?

This system you built has 2 dvd writers, not needed when he's mentioned editing 4k not converting to dvds. You've dropped 3 video cards in it, 2 x 32gb of ram, with 2 Hitachi Deskstar 7K2000 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive.... seriously?

not heard of ssd? You want a solid state, maybe 500gb or 1tb to work local & a normal hard drive for your programs. Maybe 250 gb maximum!

You don't buy all of those graphics cards, an i7 processor & that amount of ram to have normal drives :2 cents:

Do you shoot 4K?

I'd change the raider MSI to asrock
ASRock X99 Extreme4 ATX LGA2011-3 Motherboard (X99 Extreme4) - PCPartPicker
There's the 64gb version for $70 less. But if you're spending over a grand, you should think about the future... upgrading to higher is possible :thumbsup


Also, no need for more than 1tb on the extra sata disc, it's only for programs & the operating system. You want half gig really and then up rate the ssd :thumbsup

You are the one that started it with the stupid fucking laptop suggestion.

no - it simply depends on the camera/recorder which output format you get.

if you for example use a Shogun to record 4k, you will get prores. but the files are like 10-20 bigger than h264

but not as heavy on decoding and therefore require less power


in regards to your specs - this is what we got:

Intel Core i7-5960X Extreme Edition, Octo Core, 3.0GHz, 20MB,LGA2011-V3,22nm,BOX
ASRock X99 EXTREME3, X99, QuadDDR4-2133, SATA3, RAID, ATX
Kingston HyperX FURY Black Series 16GB(Kit of 2) 2400MHz DDR4 Non-ECC CL15 DIMM
Kingston HyperX FURY Black Series 16GB(Kit of 2) 2400MHz DDR4 Non-ECC CL15 DIMM
Transcend 256GB SSD SATA3 MLC M.2 2280-D2-B-M (čtení/zápis; 550/320MB/s)
NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 980 TI
Corsair CPU Cooling? Hydro Series H110i, 140mm vent.

those parts were about 2000 ?

and definitely use SSD drives or a raid 0

but we got that machine cause we work with up to 5 cams with h264 files with 60 fps - if you only work with one camera, you do not need something like the above - which is despite of watercooling still pretty loud when under heavy load

You really need to get a mac :2 cents:
Thats the only real solution that will suit your needs...

Ok got it.... thanks:thumbsup

I would need anger management first... Not looking forward throwing a $5000 Mac at the wall:upsidedow

That's the dumbest statement anyone could possible make. Video professionals have been moving away from OSX in droves for years. Apple not updating their Pro level machines in years tends to do this

For editing, if you're machine can't handle the 4K...just use proxies.

with all respect but that is just not true anymore - if it was ever true

but the Mac Pro are totally outdated (plus overpriced), the iMacs just can't handle the workload (just had that issue with a client recently that is editing on an iMac - but once again - i am talking about more than one camera and 60 fps files) and then there's still the issue that you need to convert MP4 files first before you can edit them in Final Cut

They dont call me GFY (half) Troll of the year 2016 for nothing !!! :1orglaugh:1orglaugh:1orglaugh

Get the most powerful of everything you can. Then get two extra fans and keep the room cool.

You know what? I am going to build an airconditioned garage for it too... just called the contractor:thumbsup

The cpu and video card are old. I think you're better off with the newest tech. As some people are mentioning brands they like better than others, its all inter-changeable pick any brands that you think are good.