New PC build for VS 2018

[Skipper]

My PC is getting a bit long in the tooth now and has already seen modifications to keep it up to date, including SSD and the likes.
However, something unexplained happened the other day and it failed to boot up properly and had no display on the monitors
So I am taking this as a message that it is time to replace the whole machine - but what to buy?

I am using VS 2018 ultimate on a Windows 10 platform but would like to build in a bit of "future proofing" for what comes next
In the past I have seen discussion about rendering speeds and CPU or graphics card processing (which?) is being used by our software
So what is best - a good graphics card (what brand and model) or the fastest CPU one can reasonably afford?
I think I have read that Corel may "favour" particular products when developing their software?
Any advice appreciated but please don't tell me your 10 year old machine is still doing the job, I am thinking to build something "nice" but perhaps not extreme

[RobertOZ]

First consideration, how much do you want to spend, then do you want a desktop or laptop, desktops are a lot easier to upgrade later down the track, laptops, not so easy. My desktop is 8 years old and whilst getting a bit long in the tooth performs exactly as it should, can still edit HD video without a problem.
Do you want an "off the shelf job" or a custom built machine.
With VS the graphics card is a good question, My laptop has the Nvidia GTX 1050Ti, yet I do not seem able to select the card for VS, VS will only use the on board Intel 630 card, unless of course, the Nvidia kicks in under stress, then do you prefer Nvidia or AMD for your Graphics and what type of OS, Intel or AMD
You will need to do your homework, do not buy a computer with features you don't want, that's a waste of money.

I took some time choosing my new laptop, it should last a considerable time, although I note that the new models now have generation 8 OS, ah well, it was uo to date for a while

[tletter]

Any advice appreciated but please don't tell me your 10 year old machine is still doing the job, I am thinking to build something "nice" but perhaps not extreme

I too would like to get "something "nice"". However, I've an older laptop with an Intel i7-3632QM @ 2.20GHz, 16GB Ram and a 1TB SSD. As seen in the Task Manager image, when VS2018 is rendering, it's not CPU, memory, or I/O bound. So the question is does VS2018 maximize the use of available computing resources? Unfortunately, it appears not so will building "something "nice"" sufficiently pay off?

If you do get "something "nice"", pls let us know how it performs.

tletter
https://www.youtube.com/user/tletter

[Charlie Wilkes]

My thoughts...

The new (Coffee Lake) Intel i5 and i7 have six cores instead of four, which is big jump in mainstream CPU value. IMO they represent better value than Ryzen, if only because Ryzen performance is tied to memory speed/timings, so you have to pay up for expensive RAM to get the best from the CPU, and then you have to mess around in the BIOS to tweak it.

I personally would choose the i5 8400, which is $180 in the US. IMO it's the best value in the series. BUT, if you have any plan to work with 4k video, you might want to go for the i7.

The mainstream (B) and budget (H) Coffee Lake boards have finally launched. I think 16gb of RAM is still enough, but I'd pay a few extra bucks for a mainstream board with four slots, to allow room for an upgrade. With Intel, you can get by with cheap/low-spec RAM.

If I was building a new system now, I think I would live with integrated graphics or keep using my old card, especially for something like VS. The crypto mining frenzy is slowly petering out (I hope), but graphics cards are still overpriced. nVidia is about to release a new series with a substantial performance bump. So I would wait for that, or hope to get a good deal on the old series right before the launch.

I would not buy an AMD graphics card for video editing.

I would splurge and get a big Samsung m.2 storage card.

[Terfyn]

One simple approach is to copy the minimum spec supplied by Corel on their web site and use this as a basis for a new build.
You can always go "better" than the spec given.

[asik1]

One simple approach is to copy the minimum spec supplied by Corel on their web site and use this as a basis for a new build.
You can always go "better" than the spec given.

The minimum at Corel (or any other hobbyist software company minimum) has no relation at all to real life edit work.
It's just something to fill the blanks.

[pepegota]

I recently purchased an i7 8700 computer, with 32 gig of ram, from AVADirect. It is being built but, I will not have it until June as I will be out of the country for a month. I can't wait to try it out. I got it because it will handle 5k video and up much beter than my present 4790K which is no slouch.

[asik1]

https://www.videoguys.com/blog/building ... g-pc-2018/

[Terfyn]

One simple approach is to copy the minimum spec supplied by Corel on their web site and use this as a basis for a new build.
You can always go "better" than the spec given.

The minimum at Corel (or any other hobbyist software company minimum) has no relation at all to real life edit work.
It's just something to fill the blanks.

That is rubbish. I used the Corel spec as a guide for my dealer and he built a decent PC.

[Charlie Wilkes]

VS itself will run on anything. That's one of its great strengths.

But some users are working with video streams and codecs that demand far beyond the minimum spec for VS.

I think there's an economical build for less than US$1,000 that falls between Corel's minimum spec and what Videoguys recommends, and will cover most VS users for the next few years.

Coffee Lake i5 or i7
2x8 gb of DDR4
B360 motherboard with four memory slots
1 tb m.2 storage

Graphics card... wait for the miners to go away, and to see what nVidia rolls out later this year... VS seems to be optimized for Intel graphics anyway.

[tletter]

That is rubbish. I used the Corel spec as a guide for my dealer and he built a decent PC.

Perhaps but without metrics there is no basis for anyone to say much of objective value on how a system performs when running VS.

tletter
https://www.youtube.com/user/tletter

[Skipper]

Thanks for all the feedback thus far - please keep it coming.
My old PC (about 9 years by my memory and dates on some files) had an upgrade to 232GB SSD for operating system and programs when I purchased a 2TB hard drive for Video storage and assigned the original 1TB drive for other duties. The Motherboard pre-dates M.2 slots so yet another reason to consider a new build which would then also allow later, faster processor. Thank you Robert for your comments about building versus "off the shelf" - I would be very unlikely to find what I want in a standard factory build. Even the RAM used on today's better motherboards is going to cost extra if I am not mistaken and there is still the question of the Video card? Charlie makes the case for holding off till nvidia release their new video cards and that is worth considering -if my PC holds out!
And for those advocating low tech, I have no issue with that, if that is what you budget is. I am thinking sub 2K budget for a box and will keep all external components for now.
So - not urgent yet (I have a laptop) and all things are up for consideration. Umart who supplied and built my current PC advised me to stick with Intel where practical, for stability in video editing and reliability and I have not been disappointed.

[TonyP]

Well... look at my specs to the right. I've been using it for over a year now. Read the reviews, what the youtube reviews. AMD CPU''s are more than a viable choice in multithreaded applications, which is the future.
AMD Ryzen CPU's are cost effective and powerful adding to their "future" proof, AM4 socket good till 2020. How about that!
Now, there is Ryzen 2 (Zen+) which closes the gaming gap (as if most people can tell the difference in a few frames) and the 6 core 12 thread CPU's are cheaper than equivalent Intels. And... they come with great coolers no matter which one you buy. All are unlocked.
RAM? 16GB is enough for most every user.
Video card? Choose your poison. Sadly, Corel does not support OpenCL nor AMD's ability to export HEVC 4K 60P. This is an ongoing "feature request" for me.

The problem with building now is the cost of RAM and a GPU.... crazy high right now. I would upgrade to 32GB of RAM because of other software I use, but the cost is beyond what I am willing to pay. I do light gaming, so my "old" MSI Gaming X RX480 8GB card is still "good enough".

As for reliability..... really? All computer hardware today is extremely reliable.