CPU and System upgrade for Premiere Pro CC question

Brian_Siano

In a month or two, I'm in a good position to upgrade my computer system. Right now, I'm using Premiere Pro CS5, and running on an AMD Phenom II CPU. I can edit video, but hi-def stuff makes it chug.

I was planning on upgrading my CPU and Mobo around the Interl 4790k chip. That'd cost me about $500, and it'd set me up well with hi-def video. (Especially with multicamera editing.) And Tom's Hardware reports the 4790k as the best for PP in the Cloud. But my gut feeling is that, as we start to work with 4K, the 4790k may not be enough.

I've looked at the stats on Xeon chips, and the speed increase just doesn't seem to justify the added costs (esp. when adding in the costs of the mobo and new memory).

So I'd like to know if there's a configuration that'd really future-proof me, i.e., being able to to edit multicamera 4K streams, preview After Effects shots, etc.

Sage

Tip of the hat to the first build. Also, consider an 850 Pro or Intel 750 for the OS disk (MLC for longevity)

smoke23

@Sage, sorry, here's the link to my second build: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/wtLjD3. So between the two it's around a $200 difference, it's better to go with the 4970k?

Sage

@smoke23 Its the 4970k that you have in that first link, which is great. The 4930 is a 3.4 six core.

The second link didn't bring up a list, but that six core is very close in performance. The 5820 will export faster (more so at higher 4k resolutions). The 4970 will otherwise give snappier performance in Premiere and with effects/plug-ins. The 4970 has a lower power consumption, and concurrent lower temps for OC (OC not recommended for max stability).

DD4 memory is not needed at all. There is no performance benefit. Best luck

smoke23

@Sage So the top of the line 4930 4.0 is going to give me better performance in Premiere than the 6-core 5820? The the 6-core and DD4 I can upgrade later, just trying to weigh that. Thanks!

GMC

Hi Sage, interesting to hear that it seems to be related specifically to the GoPro files. I may need to upgrade my Premiere version at some point. As it is now, without proxies it is impossible to use native 4k GoPro footage (although I am wondering where the bottleneck is, given my powerful hardware).

Sage

@GMC

An anecdote: I was recently surprised when trying to playback 2.7k 4:3 Gopro footage in Premiere CC2014, and it was very choppy. It always played back smoothly in VLC player, on my quality desktop machine. I then upgraded to CC2015 - and it was smooth in Premiere. The h.264 of the Gopros is densely packed (cpu heavy), and early Premieres were less optimized for resolutions beyond 2k. Now it appears they've specifically targeted efficient playback of Gopro formats, given their popularity.

Also, there is the option of rendering proxies to edit with, and doing a file swap before the final export, which is what I was doing with this format in CC14 (half horizontal res, 2:1 anamorphic aspect, 17 mbps, 9 gop). That will also edit like butter and allow you to work freely.

Also, its worth mentioning, DNxHD files are an NLEs dream format - all I frames, just a matter of disk throughput. It was designed by Avid as the mezzanine format for Media Composer. Premiere is special for also focusing on wrangling playback oriented formats.

GMC

Reading about 4k streams here, I have a strange problem with Premiere CS6: I have recently bought a Laptop with i7 -4720HQ processor and GTX980M card (8GB Memory), and I cannot playback the GoPro Hero4 BE 4k files in premiere. It is choppy as hell, also GPU load is at zero. Whereas the Windows Media Player on the same laptop plays the same files back smoothly, with very low load levels (on the CPU, at around 0.8MHz). Strangely, playback of a DNxHD file 10bit (FullHD) runs smoothly in Premiere, at 30% GPU load. Is it using the GPU for some files and on others not? Is this a speciality with GoPro files (choppy, zero GPU load)?

Sage

@smoke23

The parts on your first list are just about perfect. I would opt for a 850 Pro or a Intel 750 for the SSD, rather than the EVO. MLC for the long term win

smoke23

Looking at building a new rig for Premiere Pro CC myself. Debating between these two:

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/4PZvt6 or http://pcpartpicker.com/p/wtLjD3. 4930 (4-core) vs 5820 (6-core). I'll be using the hard drives from my current PC. Any thoughts?

Brian_Siano

Well, it took a few days of solid labor, but my new system's up and running. It's an Intel 4790k system on an Asus Maximus VII Hero board, 16 gig of RAM, and a Geforce 670 video card. I also upgraded to Adobe CC, from CS5. There's room for improvement: the OS is on a 7200 rpm hard drive, and I could probably upgrade the memory and move storage to a RAID system. Not sure if adding a second Geforce 670 would work, let alone help.

I tried doing multicamera editing for a bit. On my old machine, playing one 1080p stream was difficult: editing four such streams was impossible. I'd have to render them down to 720p, which took time and wore me down. With my new system I was able to play six 1080p streams at once. I might even go back and re-do an old seven-stream project.

I am really happy I did this.

SuperSet

Can the 5960x play Neat Video real time? I'm running a i2600 OC'ed to 4.2 and it's choppy.

MarcioK

Just made another fast test with my new setup. As said, one 4k stream from an LX100, could see a realtime preview in 1080p with only FilmConvert enabled (and some audio EQ tweaks). But just adding a Neat Video instance makes the realtime preview to slow down.

But as I said, my environment is not optimized yet.

Brian_Siano

I just got home with the hardware. Time to learn.

MarcioK

@Brian_Sano For comparison, my previous system was a Core i5-2500 with a GTX 650ti - it was unable to make the same preview in 720p from a 1080p stream.

But remembering (to not create false expectations) - I've only tested with a single 4k stream, and only with one FilmConvert instance as plugin. And some hiccups occurred from time to time, I have to make more tests (and configure correctly my working environment). I will try again tonight (maybe I've mistaken it with a 1080p stream).

In render time, you will notice a very big improvement over the Phenom, I guess. In previews...your GTX 670 have more CUDA cores then the GTX 960 (1344 vs 1024), higher bandwidth (192,2 GB/s vs 112 GB/s) and lower clock (boost clock 980mhz vs 1178mhz); despite the generation gap, don't know if it could be a dramatic improvement, maybe someone here could have more info.

Sage

@Brian_Siano

I'm surprised you survived with a Phenom II all this time. I used to run one, and the truth is, Intel hyper threaded cpus are what the doctor ordered for Premiere (as fond as I am for AMD and their efforts). You are in for a leap in performance

Brian_Siano

MarcioK wrote, "Did not make a lot of tests yet, but it can render a 1080p preview in realtime from a 4k footage (from a LX100) with some plugins activated, like FilmConvert. "

That would be a MAMMOTH upgrade to my system. Thanks, guys.

Sage

@Vitaliy_Kiselev @SuperSet

To be clear, the limited GPU recommendation is only with regards to Premiere Cuda acceleration, as extra power is of little increased value there. I myself will be upgrading to the best available card next year (post 900), though for a different purpose than editing.

SuperSet

BTW, I ended up upgrading from my 770 to the 980. Good speed bump, although not night-n-day, for sure.

MarcioK

I've just upgraded my computer, but I'm just an amateur and my needs probably are fewer than the most of the people here. 4790k, Asus Z97M-Plus MB, 16 Gb of 1866Ghz ram, water cooler CoolerMaster Seidon 120v, graphic card a GTX 960 SSC 2Mb from Evga, OS drive a Samsung SSD 840 Evo.

Did not make a lot of tests yet, but it can render a 1080p preview in realtime from a 4k footage (from a LX100) with some plugins activated, like FilmConvert. The HEVC decoder from the GTX 960 helps in preview (the fans kick in full mode immediately when previewing), but the final render still a CPU work (will try to overclock the processor to 4,6Ghz - the mb is already overclocking it to 4,2 ghz in auto mode).

I saw once some arcticles about how to configure Premiere for best performance, especially regarding disk configuration, but had not found it again. If someone could provide some links about it, I will be very grateful.

Vitaliy_Kiselev

GTX 770 = All the card you will need. Contrary to popular belief, more GPU muscle past a baseline does not significantly increase Premiere performance in the same way that linear gains in CPU performance do. MSI has exceptionally quiet fans on their GPUs ('twin frozr')

Best idea is to get 960 card, as it has both 4K at 60fps and 4K HEVC decoder.

Sage

The 670 is more than enough for Premiere. Can't fault liquid cooling - the 212 is ideal for best cost/cooling ratio if one needs to save. (Pair than Nepton with Noctuas)

By all means, pick up a nice 512 - 1tb SSD for your OS drive, right away. Take the imminent free upgrade to Windows 10 as an excuse to start fresh. The OS + all installed programs should not exceed half the drive capacity. [on an editing machine it is best to avoid extraneous installations beyond NLE and OS] The rest of the movable files can be stored on a magnetic. The bigger the SSD you can afford, the better. Samsung Pro series or Intel (MLC, not TLC) I don't have magnetics hooked up for storage, as they are too noisy (silent pc).

I didn't mention this before, but definitely invest in a quality passive cooled PSU. Clean, no ripple power is a good way to ensure maximum stability and longevity of components (especially for OC). Corsair's RM series is great, 550 - 750w. Can't fault Seasonics either.

Brian_Siano

I guess it's the 4790k, then. As for the rest: 1) I can hold off on upgrading the GPU for now: my 670's doing OK. 2) I'll proabbly go with the Cooler Master Nepton: I've been using an Asetek water cooler for a while, and I like the design, and I'm concerned about the weight of the fan resting directly on the CPU. 3) The SSD disk for my OS may have to wait as well. I currently have about 1.2 TB on my C drive, and I'd have to do some pruning and migrating before shifting to an SSD. But that's a great suggestion.

Now, time to research RAID arrays.

Sage

4790K = The perfect chip. This is really a refined version of the die they have been making for a while now, codename 'Devil's Peak'. Its an overclock with no additional heat (cream of the crop chips).

Hyper 212 Evo + Noctua Cpu 120mm fan = All the cooling you will need. Incredibly quiet, incredibly efficient - assuming case airflow is not restricted. $30 + $20

GTX 770 = All the card you will need. Contrary to popular belief, more GPU muscle past a baseline does not significantly increase Premiere performance in the same way that linear gains in CPU performance do. MSI has exceptionally quiet fans on their GPUs ('twin frozr')

16gb of ram will do. Make Sure to Have A Quality SSD for your OS Disk. (Minimum 256gb for longevity and performance of TRIM, keep half empty) To repeat, Make Sure to Have A Quality SSD for your OS Disk.

Make Sure to Have A Quality SSD for your OS Disk.

eatstoomuchjam

Do you think that the 5960x will provide you 3.3x the performance and longevity of the 4790x? Or if you're using the system to make money, will running the 5960x allow you to make substantially more of it?

radikalfilm

$600

Howdy, Stranger!

Categories

Tags in Topic

Top Posters