The "I need a new PC to edit RED" Myth

[Andrew Allsbury]

I have been hearing a lot of:
"Oh my god I need to spend $5k+ on a new computer to edit RED 4k"

This is just plain wrong. In preparation of our new Scarlet, we just finished running some very taxing tests on both of our systems (desktops and laptops) using REDRAW footage supplied by users on this board and around the web. We've worked with everything from 5k HDRx to 3k. Even our 1-2 year old Sony laptop had no problem working with the footage in CS5.5 and color grading in Redcine-X Pro Beta. In some cases, such as color grading in Redcine-X VS MB Looks, our workflow has actually gotten FASTER.

The specs on our laptop are:
Intel i7 @740 @ 1.73Ghz
6GB of RAM
64bit Windows Ultimate
NVIDIA GeForce GT 425M
Lacie 1TB USB3 Portable HD

Bottom line is...this transition shouldn't be half as scary as most people are making it sound. Download some test footage and see for yourself!

[Marcos Montenegro]

Andrew:

Well, some of us who had state of the art PCs in 2005 NEED this upgrade anyways, as rendering even 2K has gotten taxing on a 32-bit XP pro machine. I will be getting a gaming PC with an Nvidia GTX 590 3GB card for around 4K. But like I said, I needed an upgrade even without RED files.

Marcos

[Andrew Allsbury]

Oh..but do take into account that you are going to need ALOT more storage space if you are coming over from mpeg2/4 cameras!

[Andrew Allsbury]

Marcos,

Gotcha, I just wanted to make it clear to the people with "standard" video editing computers that they do not NEED a liquid cooled, dual xeon, with 32gb of RAM and the most expensive Nvidia card around. As usual, if you spend more, you will have a better system, but it's not necessary.

Andrew

[Carter Cammack]

I need a good excuse for an upgrade anyway, so I was shopping around.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16883229283
Less than a grand will get you in the game.
I would add a hotswap bay and double the ram, maybe an SSD for OS and software, and it will cost about half what I paid for my first laptop.

Vegas Pro 11 is a great way to start. $600.

[Doug Beatty]

Going to give a shout out to Koo of NoFilmSchool. He wrote a really great article for those in need of a budget workstation.

[Jon Jones]

I have been hearing a lot of:
"Oh my god I need to spend $5k+ on a new computer to edit RED 4k"

This is just plain wrong. In preparation of our new Scarlet, we just finished running some very taxing tests on both of our systems (desktops and laptops) using REDRAW footage supplied by users on this board and around the web. We've worked with everything from 5k HDRx to 3k. Even our 1-2 year old Sony laptop had no problem working with the footage in CS5.5 and color grading in Redcine-X Pro Beta. In some cases, such as color grading in Redcine-X VS MB Looks, our workflow has actually gotten FASTER.

The specs on our laptop are:
Intel i7 @740 @ 1.73Ghz
6GB of RAM
64bit Windows Ultimate
NVIDIA GeForce GT 425M
Lacie 1TB USB3 Portable HD

Bottom line is...this transition shouldn't be half as scary as most people are making it sound. Download some test footage and see for yourself!

Andrew... Many of us will be rendering 3D imaging as well as 4k. We need machines that will handle advanced plugins in AE, as well as some other programs that are video, or CPU intensive. I personally have a really good rig that is much faster than yours, with 12 HT cores, PCIe SSD, 24GB Ram, Dual 1GB Video, the CPU is running at 3.7MHz, and my CPU usage is still pegged at 100% during an AE render.

Bottom line is I still need more, and if you try to convince my wife that I don't, then I will be pissed! LOL... As far as she knows we need a futuristic computer that will materialize cheeseburgers to render R3d files, lol.

[Johnny Friday]

throw up a 30minute or longer timeline in raw....and tell me you don't need more horsepower. Certainly every situation is going to be different. but i know that i can't sit waiting for slow renders or running timeline at 1/16th......add in some transitions and other effects and you have a HUGE tax on your system.


Now....that said, i know folks (and my mentor of underwater films included) that don't mind waiting overnight for transcodes and then next day work on final edits.....But i don't have that kind of patience....and in the real world of working with clients....they don't usually have the time and i find they will want to know up front my turnaround times....YES, don't need liquid cooled or $2000 NVDIA card....but the $750 NVDIA card and 16gb ram 8cores etc....

[Jon Jones]

throw up a 30minute or longer timeline in raw....and tell me you don't need more horsepower. Certainly every situation is going to be different. but i know that i can't sit waiting for slow renders or running timeline at 1/16th......add in some transitions and other effects and you have a HUGE tax on your system.


Now....that said, i know folks (and my mentor of underwater films included) that don't mind waiting overnight for transcodes and then next day work on final edits.....But i don't have that kind of patience....and in the real world of working with clients....they don't usually have the time and i find they will want to know up front my turnaround times....YES, don't need liquid cooled or $2000 NVDIA card....but the $750 NVDIA card and 16gb ram 8cores etc....

Yup, that's right. I sometimes do have to wait overnight for renders, but that's when I end up finishing at midnight and send it to render then. I don't like waiting forever, and I don't like my CPU pegged at 100% for hours upon hours either.

[Alex Borik]

Scarlet is just an excuse for me to buy a new Mac. :)