I have a fast workstation but premiere pro has laggy playback even when using low res proxies

[the_watchkeeper]

I am using the latest version of PP and working with proxies. The proxies seem to be set up correctly but as soon as two or more clips play over the top of each other everything gets very slow and playback becomes choppy. 

Please could you help me diagnose what might be going wrong? I can't understand why even low quality prores or cineform proxies (I've tried both) won't playback smoothly. 

My system: i7 5820k, 32gb ram, Nvidia GTX 970

[R Neil Haugen]

That's not a powerful station anymore. A 2014 CPU ... that's 7 years old, several generations back. The 970 GPU is also totally outdated now. Sadly, that once good machine is old kit.

For example, I had a 6-core CPU that was a generation or two newer than yours, on a board updated to a 1060 GPU, with 32GB of RAM ... so something rather more capable than your current one. I dumped it last fall for a 24 core Ryzen with 128GB of RAM, and a 2080 Ti.

It's a right pain. Been working with computers since the late 80's, don't know how many times I've had to "upgrade".

Neil

[the_watchkeeper]

That's the news I secretly feared in the back of my mind! I think I will have to upgrade.

Would you expect poor performance from a machine with my specs even when using low res proxies? Surely my system should be able to handle the proxies? Exports and renders remain pretty fast.

Thanks for your help!

[salvo34]

watch,

you'll have to see if you can decypher what I tell you into your own world cause I can't give tons of advice based on scant info. Let's assume you used your computer in the past to edit and things were not laggy.

my experience:

powerful computer 6 years ago ( now dinosaur)

I shoot 1080p and edit 1080p... all is good.

If I shoot 4k I put into 1080p timeline and proxy (in my case from braw to dnxhr sq or something at 1080p ).

If I put the 4k braw or sony 4k from a friend into 4k timeline my computer becomes dead duck after about 5min of source put into timeline. Just can't do it.

try to match source with what worked before OK... make projects, sequences, timelines, proxies what worked before with sources.

It's kinda like you have an old oven and you could bake a nice cake OK. But now you got source stuff that requires you bake a cake 5 times bigger.... cause the source is stuffing it down your throat.

Just downsize it to fit your oven.

🙂

[Joost van der Hoeven]

Also what is the footage/codec you use? And what is your storaged. Working with 5K R3D files will probably work great on a fast SSD with your system. But 4K h.264 footage probably not...

[salvo34]

it's hard to explain about codecs and camera demands (compression on cheap ones) and cpu editing (and processes ) and color etc. let alone drama vs. chicken cutlet commercials.

if you spend your life doing commercials you are left with chicken basically.

You might be able to swing some little class at some UM school re: editing, color, production, writing, etc.

extend from book and merge sci fi production producer stuff into a nice overall syllybus near home at the college.

I live in an affordable housing hud section 8 apt. building in mound and just opened by door to hallway to get cool air from ac in hallway. hot as heck in my apt... but cool air coming in now.

unfortunately this leaves me vulnerable to neighbors who might walk by and realize I am a hippie from 1969, when I got drafted.

they might call the cops !!!!!