Specifying a Dell Precision 5820 workstation

Report · Nov 16, 2017

I'm working on spec'ing a Dell Precision 5820 that will be used to encode media with Adobe Media Encoder, and editing video with Premiere.

I'm thinking of maybe one SSD for the OS and apps, and another for media. What I don't know is the right mix of: # of processors; RAM; graphics card. I.e., will 64 or 128GB of RAM help a lot over, say, 32GB, or not so much. I don't have a firm budget yet, but I'm looking to propose 2 or 3 systems at roughly $4k, $7.5k, $10k. Will need two displays included in the package. I have a good Dell systems engineer I'm working with, but first I need to get a rough idea of what hardware components I should be aiming for. thanks

Bob

Report · Nov 16, 2017

Hi Bob,

For Premiere, don't let them talk you into Xeon processors, or dual processors. Or Quadro graphics cards.

A single Core-i7 with many cores is your friend. If not using After Effects much or at all, 32GB is a good start for RAM, 64GB if you want.

For GPU, look at GTX 1070 or GTX 1080 depending on budget. Performance will be somewhat close between the two, from reports I've seen. Of course, if the budget allows then go for the best, with the GTX 1080. The GTX cards perform better with Premiere than Quadro, for less money.

SSDs are great, but not a lot of capacity. You might look at external RAID solutions for video storage, such as a 2 or 4-drive RAID with Thunderbolt 3 or USB-C. Could use a second SSD inside computer for Cache/Temp for Premiere.

Maybe get quotes from other vendors that actually specialize in Adobe system builds such as Puget Systems or Safe Harbor Computers (I work for the latter).

This would ensure that you don't get a lot of bloatware pre-installed on the system, as Dell is known for. Plus a custom vendor can pre-install and test the Adobe apps for you, and the build will be a recipe meant for Adobe editing. When you call such a vendor for tech support, you get a U.S. rep that knows what's going on with the video end of things.

Thank you

Jeff Pulera

Safe Harbor Computers

www.sharbor.com

Report · Nov 16, 2017

Jeff,

Very much appreciated. (I've taken note of your site should we go outside our normal purchasing routes.)

Bob