PC, these specs, graphics card confusion
 

Hi all, i'm on the verge of getting a new pc for vegas, i pretty much know what i need/want but i'm a bit confused with the graphic card requirements and all the current model numbers, ie AMD or Nivida, CUDA or open CL etc.
I'm lookin at this pc, (specs below) which seems to tick most of the boxes, i'm just not sure about the graphics card, if it's no good then can someone recommend an alternative card up to about £150.
I'll be running 2 monitors.

Processor: Intel i7 6700 at 3.40GHz x4
Memory: 16GB DDR4 RAM
Storage: Kingston HyperX 240GB SSD
Optical Drive: DVDRW
Motherboard: GA-B150M-D3H DVI VGA DVI HDMI
Graphics: GeForce GT730 2GB
Operating System: Windows 10 Home Premium 64-bit
£879.99 inc VAT

Thanks, Paul

Re: PC, these specs, graphics card confusion
 

Or if someone could advise a card from this list.
Thanks.

Graphics cards - Best Graphics cards Offers | PC World

Re: PC, these specs, graphics card confusion
 

vegas alone, other nle, gaming as well?

general consensus seems to be for rendering nothing works as well as obsolete 5800. as for tl either gtx1080 or rx480 and work your way down from there re budget.

Re: PC, these specs, graphics card confusion
 

A little dated but my i7 windows build:

https://forum.pcmech.com/threads/fir...deluxe.233647/

Re: PC, these specs, graphics card confusion
 

Thanks guys.
Yes just Vegas, Pro 14, no other NLE, no gaming.

Thanks, Paul.

Re: PC, these specs, graphics card confusion
 

Hi Paul,

Sounds very similar to the one I had built a few months back, detailed in an earlier thread. SImilar processor, mine was the 4 core 8 thread I7, basically the same graphics card and same ram. Price was almost identical with the same OS.

I had it built to run footage from my 4K cams which it does beautifully. Much faster than the older system with no stuttering or long processing times.

Roger

Re: PC, these specs, graphics card confusion
 

Hi Roger, that's good to know, thanks.
I'm currently looking at another build, someone i know looked at that build and wasn't that impressed.
I've now been quoted this, minus the graphics card, which i'll pick myself, then it's on me. Most builders don't know about the vegas/nvidia issue.

PU Intel i7 6700k
MOTHERBOARD MSI H110m
MEMORY Corsair Vengence DDR4 16gb
SSD Kingston 250gb
HDD Toshiba 3Tb
CASE Corsair Obsidian
PSU Aerocool 600w
COOLER Corsair Hydro Cooler
DVD BURNER LG
GPU
OS Windows 10 Pro 64-Bit
COST OF PARTS £879.75
POSTAGE £15.00
LABOUR £120.00
TOTAL £1014.75

Thanks, Paul

Re: PC, these specs, graphics card confusion
 

Hi Paul,

A caveat here, I wasn't aware there was a problem with vegas and Nvidea cards as I use Magix ProX7.

If you have got the money, go for the higher spec, although I am not convinced that it offers much advantage over the other one as the CPU, ram and OS is very similar. Windows 10 pro I don't see really what advantage it would give you with editing over 64 Home, maybe others know more. My system runs cool without an expensive cooler system. Don't know what advantages that ram would offer over the other and the extra 3TB of storage is always useful, but can easily be added to any system.

I suppose you pays yer money and makes yer choice.

Roger

Re: PC, these specs, graphics card confusion
 

Well the first spec i posted, that was without a 2nd drive for storage and that graphic card costs about £60 so i doubt that's gonna cut it, so by the time i add another drive for files and a £200 card i'm looking at near £1200, thats about the same price as the 2nd build, which is apparently better, built by a friend of a friend so i'm trusting him.
The motherboard from the 2nd spec can take 32gb ram i've been told, so that might be handy for the future.

Paul.

Re: PC, these specs, graphics card confusion
 

I had my system built by a local company I have known and trusted for years, so I sympathise with your point of view. Like myself, you will be able to go back to someone you trust in the event of any problems and of course you can arrange to have it built without the usual bloatware that you get with named brands.

Roger

Re: PC, these specs, graphics card confusion
 

Paul,
The H110 chipset in your list is the bottom of the 6th generation i7 series. The i7 6700k will overclock...the H110 chipset doesn't support that. There are comparisons between the z170, H170 and H110 chipsets online that clearly show the many differences. If you do decide to go with the H110 mobo, you could go with the regular i7 6700 (not the "k") and save some bucks/pounds.
Is there a specific reason you chose a micro motherboard over a standard ATX size? Just wondering, as I'm currently building a new system (6700k & z170 ATX motherboard for the extra expandability) to replace my ancient box.

Best,
Ken

Re: PC, these specs, graphics card confusion
 

Hi Ken.
I'm not that PC savvy, just know how to use them.
Are you saying that the first build is better ?
Chipset ? You mean motherboard ? The first build is better ?
I haven't purposely picked micro case, in fact i prefer a full size case.
Hmm, i think i'm gonna have to rethink this ?
Would you go for the first build and add the extra drive and better card ?
Thanks for pointing these things out.
Paul.

Re: PC, these specs, graphics card confusion
 

Ok, so currys retailer is my last resort, mainly because the customer service and warranty is a joke but would this off the shelf build be better ?


Buy HP Envy 750-279na Desktop PC - Silver | Free Delivery | Currys

Paul.

Re: PC, these specs, graphics card confusion
 

I can't comment on the editing per se since I don't use Windows, but the Pro version of Windows 10 allows you to turn off all the spyware and delay updates until a convenient time. I know because I had to do it for my wife recently.

Re: PC, these specs, graphics card confusion
 

as an aside, i really don't see the point of not installing or upgrading to win 10. i'm not a fan of m$ but all new software, etc., is generally tested on and for the latest os at the time. i realise if you have an existing setup under 7 (or even xp) you might feel it unnecessary upgrading, but if things start going weird for no apparent reason, (other than graphic drivers), you might well be fighting a losing battle with progress....

Re: PC, these specs, graphics card confusion
 

I agree, my new system was built win Win Home 64 which is my first experience of Win 10 and I have found it to be stable and reliable.

Roger

Re: PC, these specs, graphics card confusion
 

Who said anything about not upgrading to Windows 10?

Re: PC, these specs, graphics card confusion
 

Hi Dave,

It may be a misunderstanding because I mentioned earlier that I was using Home 64 and it may have been assumed that I had Win 7 Home 64 :-)

Roger

Re: PC, these specs, graphics card confusion
 

Ok i've had another spec from someone else, could i have some opinions on this ?
You guys obviously know more than me.
Thanks, Paul.

CSW I7 BASE UNIT

Intel Core I7-6700 CPU
ASROCK Motherboard 4x DIMM Slots (supports maximum of 64GB RAM)
256GB Kingston SSD Drive
3TB 3.5 Toshiba HDD
16GB DDR4 Kingston Memory
500w Bequiet Power Supply
Antec Black Matte Case front USB 3.0 x 2 ports
ASUS Radeon DDR5 RX480 4GB Overclocked 2 x HDMI ports (Upgraded as requested)
DVD/RW
Windows 10 Home 64-bit

Total £999 + V.A.T = £1198.80

Re: PC, these specs, graphics card confusion
 

Hi Paul,

I think all three of your posted systems would be capable of doing what you want, uless as you suggested there is a problem between an Nvidea card and Vegas.

I have a radeon card on my second older system which has been no problem at all for HD work. I don't know what the cost of the 3TB drive is compared with DD4 Ram, but I would possibly go for 32mb Ram and perhaps a smaller drive to start with as hard drives are cheap as chips at the moment and easy to plug in whatever you want for storage. More RAM memory is always useful if you intend to do much 4k work or multi video streams on the timeline.

Roger

Re: PC, these specs, graphics card confusion
 

Here is the rig I have on order to use with Edius 8. Your editing software many times will drive you computer hardware specs. I will add SSD's that I already have for video storage. No graphics card as Edius does not benefit from GPU and easily uses the CPU on board graphics. I will add a BM Intensity card for 4k monitoring output.

Carbide Series Clear 400C Case
Z170-A, Intel Z170 Motherboard
Core i7-6700K Quad-Core 4.0 - 4.2GHz
16GB Kit (2 x 8GB) HyperX Fury DDR4 2133MHz,
SuperNOVA Series 550 G2 550W Power Supply
Hyper Series 212 EVO, CPU Cooler
AS5-3.5G, 3.5g, High-Density Polysynthetic Silver, Thermal Compound
250GB M.2 Samsung 960 EVO 2280, 3200 / 1500 MB/s, V-NAND, PCIe system drive
275GB SSD Crucial MX300 7mm, video storage
PCE-N15, Wireless Adapter
Windows 10 Home 64-bit

$1413 U.S.

Re: PC, these specs, graphics card confusion
 

Respectfully, this thread is all over the place! While it's valuable to review these various system configs, the first question the OP asked was about compatibility of various graphics cards:
I myself am *not* up to date with Vegas 14, but this is the most important question! Vegas depends on the GPU for acceleration, and, historically, has been *very* uneven in it's ability to take advantage of this or that GPU.

The specs of the PCs that have been discussed would all work just fine with Vegas, the bigger question is what GPUs have been shown to provide acceleration in Magix Vegas 14!

I don't know that answer. Leslie Wand is a longtime Vegas user and the only thread contributor to directly address GPU for V14. Paul, you shouldn't lose track of that recc. A recent generation i7 processor, a good amount of RAM, an SSD system disk will all do you fine.

Regarding the HP, some Dell/HP have not been upgradeable with a new GPU. Mostly, those integrated high-level consumer systems are very good buys indeed, but, you do want assurance that you either have or can install the GPU you want.

Re: PC, these specs, graphics card confusion
 

Paul,
My build uses the same basic components of Mark Williams rig.
Full sized Z170 ATX motherboard with enough slots for future expansion, strong CPU with a capable CPU cooler and a decent amount of RAM (mine is G.Skill DDR4 2400).

"Carbide Series Clear 400C Case
Z170-A, Intel Z170 Motherboard
Core i7-6700K Quad-Core 4.0 - 4.2GHz
16GB Kit (2 x 8GB) HyperX Fury DDR4 2133MHz,
SuperNOVA Series 550 G2 550W Power Supply
Hyper Series 212 EVO, CPU Cooler"

I chose a beefier power supply, but this rig will likely handle anything you throw at it.
I'm not looking at $400-$600 video cards. Since Vegas users seem to have good success with Radeon, I'm going with an RX 470 card with 4G ram. My system drive, storage and video drives are all 1TB WD Black's. May get an SSD boot drive later on.

Hope this helps.
Ken

Re: PC, these specs, graphics card confusion
 

Thanks for all the replies and advice guys, it's helped. I'm probably going to go for the last spec ,£1198, i may go for 32gb ram though depending on price. I'll post back here if/when i get it.
Thanks again.

Paul.

Re: PC, these specs, graphics card confusion
 

i actually opened with 'as an aside...'

i was unsure which 'home' version the op was referring, but that's beside the point - i only offered my observation as a suggestion to anyone building or upgrading a pc in general.

other than that, i usually have my pc custom built by the local computer shop - often following the specs of people who i respect on this and other forums - especially resolves since its requirements far exceed those required to run vegas - because i have recourse back to the shop in case of problems (and yes, i've had problems and the shop dealt with them quickly and politely).

for my next system though i'm simply going to get an hp z820/40* workstation. i'm still using my old z220 i7 in the office and for photo work - never missed a beat since i bought it in 2012.
* they might be a little more expensive to buy but since i make my living as a video producer that's immaterial - i don't want problems with ANY of my equipment since downtime costs me money...

Re: PC, these specs, graphics card confusion
 

Hi Leslie,

I looked long and hard at PCs from some of the big brands like HP, Dell, Lenovo etc before getting my new system built by my trusted local company. The main reason I went for the local custom build is that almost all the reviews I read on the branded systems were scathing about the amount the amount of bloatware and unnecessary pre installed software that they had. The general opinion and my own previous experience was that regular pop ups and requests to update pre installed software were an irritating and unnecessary interruption to normal working that also impinged on processing and memory useage.

Like you I rely on my computer to earn my living and felt that the ability to get instant assistance with any unexpected problem and a 10 minute drive down the road was a definite advantage for me. Previously with branded computers, any problem that couldn't be sorted on the phone, required getting the PC to a service centre and waiting usually for days to get the problem sorted.

I did feel that the branded PCs were more for general use, whereas a custom built one could be tailored to my video editing requirements.

It's all personal choice when it comes to the final decision and all we can do here is offer our own experiences and they can be widely varied.

Roger

Re: PC, these specs, graphics card confusion
 

Ok guys, thanks for all the advice, PC being built this week, specs below, one last question though,
Windows 7 or 10 ? Using Vegas Pro 14.

CSW I7 BASE UNIT

Intel Core I7-6700 CPU
ASROCK Motherboard 4x DIMM Slots (supports maximum of 64GB RAM)
256GB Kingston SSD Drive
3TB 3.5 Toshiba HDD
32GB DDR4 Kingston Memory
500w Bequiet Power Supply
Antec Black Matte Case front USB 3.0 x 2 ports
ASUS Radeon DDR5 RX480 (8GB) Overclocked 2 x HDMI ports (Upgraded as requested)
DVD/RW


Thanks, Paul.

Re: PC, these specs, graphics card confusion
 

Hi Paul,

I've never used Vegas, but don't see why there should be particular problems with Win 10 or 7. I have used Win 7 for years and was very wary of putting Win 10 on my new system, but I am very pleased to say that after a few months of very intensive use I have had absolutely no problems and it has been more stable than Win 7 for me.

Roger

Re: PC, these specs, graphics card confusion
 

Hi Paul,
I just built a similar setup: 6700k CPU and a beefier power supply. I chose Windows 7 after using (and not liking) Win 10 on a laptop.

Win 7 Pro 64 should be fine on your rig. HOWEVER: you do have to jump through a couple of hoops to install it on the new Z170 motherboards. If your builder is familiar with the issue (USB drivers for that chipset are not native to Win 7; they have to be slipstreamed into the ISO) you should be very happy with Win 7 and Vegas.
I have V10 and V11...it works fine with those.


Best of luck with the new box.
Ken

Re: PC, these specs, graphics card confusion
 

Ah right, so 10 is easier to install.
I'm going for 10 for more future proofness, however i don't particularly like 10, the layout, control panel etc, however it's fairly simple to put a windows 7 skin on 10, so basically 10 that looks like 7.
I'm sure the builder knows what he's doing, the shop has been local to me for over 20 years, the actual builder who i've spoken to a few times has been building for 15 years so i'm confident he knows what he's doing.

Thanks, Paul

Re: PC, these specs, graphics card confusion
 

I was also skeptical about win 10 and tried to hold on to 7 as long as I could, you know, why change if everything works just fine but not so long ago I did change to 10 when it was still free to upgrade and have not regretted it, it's like a polished 7 version, the changes just take getting used to but there is nothing drastically different. Most important is to check if your NLE supports win 10 and if so you are good to go.

Re: PC, these specs, graphics card confusion
 

Thanks, it's good to know that 10 seems to be working well. My NLE is vegas pro 14.

Thanks, Paul.

Re: PC, these specs, graphics card confusion
 

Quick update

CSW I7 BASE UNIT

Intel Core I7-6700 CPU
ASROCK Motherboard 4x DIMM Slots (supports maximum of 64GB RAM)
256GB Kingston SSD Drive
3TB 3.5 Toshiba HDD
32GB DDR4 Kingston Memory
500w Bequiet Power Supply
Antec Black Matte Case front USB 3.0 x 2 ports
ASUS Radeon DDR5 RX480 8GB Overclocked 2 x HDMI ports
DVD/RW
Windows 10 Home 64-bit
£1270

It's absolutely flying !!

Paul.

Re: PC, these specs, graphics card confusion
 

Paul, did you have that PC built for you, or buy it off the shelf? I'm looking for a new PC fairly soon.

Re: PC, these specs, graphics card confusion
 

Hi Matt.
The specs above, i had it made. A comparable pc in currys was £2000 so i saved over £700.
Plus i've also actually got a warranty etc with these people, the person who built my pc is in the shop every day so if i did have a problem then it would be sorted very quickly.
Give them a call, tell them i sent you.
Computerhire South West Ltd - Laptop repairs in Bristol

Paul.

Re: PC, these specs, graphics card confusion
 

Thanks Paul.