Is my Build fast enough for 4.k Editing/Exporting?

[Benjaming29]

Hello guys,

I am experiencing some lag and crashing (black playback screen) while using Premiere Pro. I can, with much hassle, complete a 4k UHD Edit and Export; but I'm wondering if my build is really cutting it hardware-wise. I'm not doing any special effects just yet, trying to get my basic editing and color correction down first. Here's my setup:

Mobo: MSI B550A-Pro

CPU: Ryzen 7 3700x 

GPU: EVGA Geforce GTX 1660ti SC Ultra Gaming GDDR6 PCIE 3.0

RAM: 32gb G Skill Ripjaws 3200mhz DDR4

SSD/HDD: 2x Samsung 980 Pro M.2 256gb

  1x Seagate Firecuda SSHD 2TB 7200RPM

PSU: EVGA 600w

Thanks in advance for any assistance!

[John T Smith]

I build with Intel, so can't really comment on your CPU

Reading in here may help https://community.adobe.com/t5/video-hardware/premiere-pro-hardware-articles-to-read-before-you-buy-...

[Benjaming29]

Thank you for the link! Definitely a good read!

[Ann Bens]

If footage is h.264 then consider using proxies or transcode to a more friendly editing code such as Prores.

Your spinning drive is only suited for back up.

[Benjaming29]

My footage is H.264 so I will definitely try your advice. Thank you! And yes spinning drive for video archives only pretty much

[Andy 1968]

Ben,

Your 7200 RPM hard drive is more than fast enough to edit 4K H.264. Keep in mind I can record 4K H.264 to a cheap 40 MBPS SD card. I don't doubt your your Seagate HD reaches speeds of well over 200 MBPS. Having said that your GT 1660 Ti should have Nvenc and allow yout to edit H.264 at full resoluton. If you are having problems a motherboard BIOS update might help. On some systems ASIO4ALL drivers can help. The bottom line is your specs are more than enough to edit H.264 at full 4K. I say this because I am using a old Quad Core Haswell CPU with a GTX 1060 and I can edit H.264 from my Sony A7 III all day long at full resolution. I will admit there are variations of H.264 that Nvenc and Quick Sync cannot encode or decode but most variations of H.264 should playback with ease. The video link demonstrates what a cheap 7200 RPM drive can do with H.264.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1L-erwmRxAU

[Benjaming29]

Thank you for the in-depth reply! That's good news to hear about my hardware. At least I shouldn't need to spend any more money haha. I will try a BIOS update and take a look at my drivers as well. Thanks again for the advice!

[MyerPj]

Do make proxies, use Cineform or ProRes only.

That opinion above on spinning drives is by far a minority view on this forum. I found them not fast enough even on my 2011 build, let alone my current one. But editing on the 980's should be OK if you have enough space.

[Ann Bens]

That opinion above on spinning drives is by far a minority view on this forum

I agree and so does Adobe

https://helpx.adobe.com/premiere-pro/kb/hardware-recommendations.html

[Andy 1968]

MjerPJ

For H.264 a brand new mechanical hard drive will work just fine. In your 2011 build your CPU was probably the weakest link. Keep in mind Premiere Pro did not make use of Quick Sync or Nvenc back in 2011. I will do a video of my GTX 1060/Haswell combo soon.

[Benjaming29]

Thanks you guys for your help! I'm going to set up those proxies when I get home from work. I'll let you guys know how it turns out!

[Markerbox Man]

Before upgrading, I've had similar set-ups in my desktop editing system. Your configuration should be more than fine. Even on my (slower) HP Gaming Laptop I can do 4K with no problems and even multi-cam edits with 12 full HD cameras.

Despite HDDs theoretically having the necessary transfer rate, I did notice a much better performance and especially shorter reaction time after switching to SDDs. Your M.2 drives are more than good. Make sure you have one drive for the system/software and one for data only. I don't recommend doing both on one drive, no matter how fast.

Keep your drivers up-to-date (there was an update for your card on April 29) and get a program like Smart Game Booster that kills all kinds of unnecessary background processes in Windows.

If you continue having issues, even after a fresh reboot and with no other programs running, try switching off hardware acceleration to find out whether the problem is related to your graphics card or not. You can also test whether switching between OpenCL and CUDA makes a difference.

Good luck!

[Benjaming29]

Thank you for your help! I'll check out Game Booster for sure and check my drivers. I'll also check on the GPU and I'll report back when I have more info. 

[Andy 1968]

Ben,

As I stated your system should work just fine. That is not to say there is not a glitch in your system. When the newer AMD MOBOs with PCIE 4.0  hit the market a few of them had issues with the M.2 SSD. A BIOS update fixed that. With Premiere Pro everything must be tweaked out. Some people have stated with AMD motherboards and Nvidia GPUs you have to dissable Nvenc. Even without Nvenc you should be able to playback  H.264 at full 4K unless it is one of the odd variations of H.264. Below is a GTX 1060 with an i9 9900K. It is about the same as your system but Intel based. No Nvenc or Quick Sync is being used.

[Andy 1968]

Ben,

I created a video demonstrating my GTX 1060 and i7 4770 editing H.264 at full 4K. Your system should do it with ease.  

[Benjaming29]

Thanks Andy! I'll take a look at this in just a few minutes!