Not enough horsepower

[chemsaf]

I have recently started editing GoPro Hero 7 Black clips in PP.  Clips shot at 4k 60 fps are so jerky they cannot be edited.  Clips shot at 2.7k 30 fps work fine.  I have tried reducing the playback resolution, using the GoPro Cine setting, using proxies, etc to no real improvement.  Further, the 4k 60 fps do not playback smoothly on the Win 10 video player.

The computer is a Microsoft Surface Pro 3, configured as listed below.

My question is will the Surface Pro 6,(below) have the horsepower?

Spec	Surface Pro 3	Surface Pro 6
CPU Model	i7-4650U	i7 8650U
Clock Speed/Turbo	1.7/2.3	1.9/4.2
Cores	4	4
Installed RAM	8 Gb	16 Gb
SSD	512 Gb	512 Gb
OS	Win 10 64 bit	Win 10 64 bit

Another option is to wait a year for the now-rumored SP 7, but it looks like it will use the i7 8650U processor.

FYI, I will be publishing my first video shot totally with the Hero 7 at NEAL LANGERMAN PHOTOGRAPHY today.

Your thoughts on the SP6 are welcome

Neal

[excited_Genie16B8]

Tablets are...not 'ideal' for this kind of work.

I recommend building your own workstation.

Computer Parts, PC Components, Laptop Computers, LED LCD TV, Digital Cameras and more - Newegg.com

[RjL190365]

Normally, I would follow Jim's advice. But what if that person has absolutely no room whatsoever for a monster physical size PC?

With that out of the way, the i7-4650U is not a quad-core CPU at all - but only a hyperthreaded dual-core CPU. In fact, all U-series CPUs of the Haswell generation are only dual-core. The i7-8650U should be an improvement, if mainly because it is a quad-core CPU rather than the dual-core of previous U-series CPUs.

And even at that, do not expect very good performance from even a Surface Pro 7: None of the Surface Pro tablets come with a discrete GPU at all. They all rely solely on the integrated Intel HD or UHD graphics (iGPU).

[chemsaf]

I am on a budget. I would like to stay under $3000.  Should I look at a Mac? If so, which.

I shoot mainly underwater.  As such, I need to review clips at the end of each day.  The SP3 works OK for that, and the SP 6 will be an improvement.

Mac suggestions?

Neal

[khomthepreditor]

With $3,000 you can definitely build a pretty decent PC that will be more modular and last longer than a Mac. Let me know if you need any suggestions, although I am sure there are plenty of smart people in this forum more knowledgeable than myself

[Stan Jones]

The Surface designed for editing is the Book. I have not used and do not know pricing.

[RjL190365]

https://forums.adobe.com/people/Stan+Jones  wrote

The Surface designed for editing is the Book. I have not used and do not know pricing.

The problem with the Book is that for such a high price, one would expect a more powerful CPU than the low-power quad-core U-series CPU that even the most expensive Surface Book is currently equipped with.

[RjL190365]

Macs in general have lesser hardware specs for such a high price than comparably-priced Windows systems.

Also, you did not mention what physical size you need your new system to be. Do you really need your new system to be portable, such as a laptop or a tablet? Or are you willing to consider a monster-sized desktop tower system whose physical size may take up an entire large living space?

[Meg The Dog]

Before you purchase anything, have you tried the Proxy workflow?

It is designed to help lower performing hardware work well with difficult media.

Adobe Premiere Pro Help | Ingest and Proxy Workflow in Adobe Premiere Pro CC

How To Proxy Edit in Premiere Pro CC (2018) - AdobeMasters

Google for additional tutorials.

MtD

[chemsaf]

This is turning out to be more interesting than I expected.

Reply to Meg the Dog

     Yes, I converted a few clips to Proxy, loaded them onto a timeline, set the resolution at 1/8th.  Marked improvement, but still a bit jerky.  I intend to study the workflow videos and see if I can make progress.

Reply to several about "build your own".  I have considered it, but do not know where to start.  I am not space limited, just weight limited for travel (my U/W camera gear takes 3+ pieces of luggage).  If I could start with a box and select custom components, with the box company doing the assembly and testing, I would go that route.  Dell could be the answer.  I really do like PCs and Windows.

Neal

[khomthepreditor]

It definitely takes some research and knowing what you're doing to BYO rig. There are services out there that allow you to design your computer, and then have the company assemble it. A quick Google search brings up CCL Computers: http://www.cclonline.com/pc/​ and the ever-reliable Puget Systems: https://www.pugetsystems.com/configmenu.php but I know there are other options out there.

I did a new build back in December with about ~$1,500, and I'd be happy to share my research and part list with you as a jumping off point. And of course I can answer any questions you might have!

But, seeing as you'll be traveling, you may just want to go with a laptop. MBP's are popular, but Nvidia just announced a new line of Studio laptops that's meant to be a MBP competitor starting around $1,600. They release later this year (month?), so that might be something to check out: New NVIDIA RTX Studio Laptops Provide Desktop-Class Performance | NVIDIA Blog

[jaydw]

I have a 300dollar computer I bought 3 years ago and am able to edit 4K video using proxies - YouTube whoisMatt on YouTube for a awesome proxy explanation, it saved me thousands