Skip to main content
T
TheHarborCreative
Known Participant
September 18, 2017
Question

Best hardware setup for editing on Premiere Pro and other CC apps

  • September 18, 2017
  • 5 replies
  • 20651 views

I'm about to build a new PC and wanted some input from the community about SSD allocation that will optimize editing workflow on CC apps. my motherboard will only have 1 slot for an M.2 drive. I plan on having one M.2 and two SATA SSDs. the M.2 being the fastest, which should I use that for, the startup drive in which all my CC apps are run on, or should the M.2 be used to hold the video files I am currently editing?

So the configuration will either be

M.2 - startup

SSD #1 - editing files

SSD #2 - cache files

-or-

M.2 - editing files

SSD #1 - startup

SSD #2 - cache files

[Moderator note: moved to applicable forum]

    This topic has been closed for replies.

    5 replies

    T
    TheHarborCreativeAuthor
    Known Participant
    December 6, 2017

    So the system is built and works like a dream. The best answer I found was from Puget Systems. They are amazing! If anyone has any questions about how their rig should be set up to run almost any content creation software, then they will tell you. They are constantly building rigs and running tests to see what configs and components are optimal for that program's use. In my case I looked up Adobe Ae and Adobe Pr. The info they provided saved me close to $1000 that I would have wasted on components I "thought" I needed.

    So to answer my original question, the BEST config for editing on Pr and Ae (as far as hard drives are concerned) is:

    -SATA SSD for startup and apps

    -M.2 SSD for media files

    -SATA SSD for cache and scratch files

      jacksneogen
      jacksneogen
      Inspiring
      January 4, 2018

      We're the midst of debating some upgrades. What capacity of each drive did you end up getting?

      Bill Gehrke
      Bill Gehrke
      Inspiring
      January 5, 2018

      Unless you have extenuating circumstances 256 GB is fine for the SATA III SSD's

      For the media and project files on the M.2 PCIe x4 drive it depends on the size of your projects but bigger is better to allow go bigger projects in the future or multiple projects at the same time.

      Richard van den Boogaard
      Community Expert
      Richard van den BoogaardCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      September 19, 2017

      I would strongly advise you to keep OS/apps, media and cache on separate drives.

      I don't have benchmark data, but I did watch the videos from Puget Systems - YouTube extensively before deciding to dedicate m.2 to my cache files.

      At some point, however, it's no longer the disc speed that's holding you back, but either or all of your CPU, GPU and/or RAM. All work in close relationship with one another and PPro relies more on GPU than AE. I have decided to go for 128GB of fast RAM, as I figured that 64GB would be tight at some point in the future. I know for a fact that AE *loves* RAM.

      I am about to test C200 footage as well (will rent the camera some day soon), but what I do know is that the more heavily compressed the 4K footage is (e.g. from a DJI Phantom 4 Pro), the more it takes from your system to run smoothly. Sometimes you need to wait a while before it runs smoothly, force PPro to render out the yellow lines or work with proxies instead.

      Good luck and let us know how you fare. Hope this helps.

        E
        exile1972
        Inspiring
        September 20, 2017

        I work with a lot of compressed 4k footage and it all plays back without issue on my system in full res with LUTs attached without rendering. The requirement is that you must have the components that allow for smooth playback. I have an i7-5820k cpu, GTX970 GPU, 32 gigs RAM and my media is playing back from a Thunderbolt 2 raid at an average read speed of around 475 MB/s.

        Bill Gehrke
        Bill Gehrke
        Inspiring
        September 19, 2017

        Do not waste a good M.2 super speed SSD on the OS/Applications once you have started Windows and Premiere they basically run out of memory.  Where you can best use the speed is your Project/Media files.  If you want to see good hardware performance scores go to my Premiere Pro BenchMark (PPBM) web site.

        What are the typical timeline complexities, how many video tracks, what is the media, how long are timelines, what effects?

        T
        TheHarborCreativeAuthor
        Known Participant
        September 19, 2017

        Thanks for the heads up. Well that is a sure fire no go to the OS/apps. Multiple people have told me to not waste an M.2 on that. But now the competition is between cache files and media files. Just waiting to hear some statistics or more feedback on the two and then I can make a sound decision.

        Thanks for the input!

        Richard van den Boogaard
        Community Expert
        Richard van den BoogaardCommunity Expert
        Community Expert
        September 18, 2017

        M.2 is very fast memory. I don't mind the startup sequence of my computer that much (always a good chance to grab a cup before starting up), so my OS and apps are on an SSD drive. As are my media files on a separate SSD as well.

        Rather, I have set up my temp disc as the m.2 drive.

        I have this system since early this year and the experience has been nothing short of awesome.

          T
          TheHarborCreativeAuthor
          Known Participant
          September 19, 2017

          oh wow, so cache files are better off with the M.2? Interesting. I'm not questioning you, I'm just trying to understand. Do you know why you benefit more from cache files having the faster read/write than the media files? Did you do any comparisons?

          Thanks so much for the feedback!

          E
          excited_Genie16B8
          Legend
          September 18, 2017

          How large are the two SSD's?

          Terms & ConditionsAccessibility statement
          Using the community Terms of use Privacy Cookie preferences Do not sell or share my personal information ad choicesAdChoices