What Type of PC configuration is good For Resolve?

[Desmond Ford]

Due to so many uncertainties with Apple, not to mention high premium, I'm seriously considering jumping ship and getting desktop PC. However, I've been out of the PC work for over 7 years now so I'm not really sure where to start. A friend of mine suggested I look into Alienware, which is a customized PC maker for gamers. He said that it would be good for Resolve considering you have to add a lot of Graphic Cards, etc...

Also, what is the ideal set up, in regard to graphic cards, for Davinci Resolve. I understand that I need a GPU and a GUI and anoth GC for output... any clarification or suggestions would be welcomed.

[Joseph Coleman]

great place to start:

http://www.hp.com/canada/products/la...c-00007c49cb84

resolve has cuda support so the GTX 580 is a great solution. or the quattro series will work, they are mostly for 3d applications, they do have 10bit output if you have a 10bit monitor. The gtx will do the job if you can do without the 10bit monitoring.

[Paul J Steinberg]

Jeff K will know more about this but I'm going through it right now. HP are good option if you want an off-the-shelf solution. I'm working with Next Computing (a Reduser sponsor) to get a system up and running.

In preparation for this I spoke with an engineer from Blackmagic and if you want real time from the system apparently the most important thing is to make sure the two GPU's are running on 16-lane slots. Then you need an 8-lane slot for the Red Rocket and another 8-lane for the BM Decklink HD Extreme 3D card (although I think that may work in a 4-lane slot). Finding a motherboard with those slot options is tougher than you think if you're building your own. I'm pricing out an i7 and a dual Xeon system now.

[Chuck Z]

http://blackmagic-design.com/media/3...Mar%202012.pdf

[Jeffrey T. Morgan]

+1 to what Joseph said. As a frame of reference, I built my computer myself, after making the same decision you are struggling with over a year ago, a few months before the FCP X tragedy. I have an i7 950, 12 gb of ram, a gtx 460 (which can easily be "hacked" to work with MPE), and some fast storage. I built this all for under $2000 and it plays back Red footage in realtime and kicks a LOT of butt. If you have a friend who feels comfortable building computers, I would look at a NewEgg DIY solution to start. Like this (just make sure you go Intel CPU and NVidia GPU, at this time):

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboB...t=Combo.769181

On the above I would double the ram and add a GTX 580 to start.

If you don't feel comfortable, a Dell / HP / etc off the shelf beast will get you going.



I hope this helps!

[Joel Arvidsson]

+1 to what Joseph said. As a frame of reference, I built my computer myself, after making the same decision you are struggling with over a year ago, a few months before the FCP X tragedy. I have an i7 950, 12 gb of ram, a gtx 460 (which can easily be "hacked" to work with MPE), and some fast storage. I built this all for under $2000 and it plays back Red footage in realtime and kicks a LOT of butt. If you have a friend who feels comfortable building computers, I would look at a NewEgg DIY solution to start. Like this (just make sure you go Intel CPU and NVidia GPU, at this time):

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboB...t=Combo.769181

On the above I would double the ram and add a GTX 580 to start.

If you don't feel comfortable, a Dell / HP / etc off the shelf beast will get you going.



I hope this helps!

So you playing back red footage at 1/2 resolution right? Thanks for your input. Just starting to look around for a pc (since new mac pro takes for ever) to run resolve on. It is great to now what is working already as an reference.
What BM card do you use?

[Subhadip Sen]

http://blackmagic-design.com/media/3...Mar%202012.pdf

It is amazing how fast the tech world moves. Those Xeons from March 1st are now EOL. They have been replaced by Xeon E5 systems, though Core i7 39xx systems are "good enough" as well. GTX 580 is also EOL and will be replaced by GTX 680 in three days' time, but GPUs are more sensitive and it is best to wait for BMD's recommendation, especially regarding drivers. The stock GTX 680 is also only 2GB versus 3GB for the GTX 580, though 4GB variants are expected next month.

[Tom Lowe]

My question is, can Resolve task multiple GPU cards? Can it work with GPU cards in SLI configuration? If so, why not pack the box with three GTX 590 cards, for example?

[Subhadip Sen]

My question is, can Resolve task multiple GPU cards? Can it work with GPU cards in SLI configuration? If so, why not pack the box with three GTX 590 cards, for example?

Yes, you can. The only issue is that GTX 590 is restricted to 1.5 GB per GPU, which will be a bottleneck for 4K timelines. Plus, GTX 580 3 GB x 3 (or 4, if you feel like it...) is all you need for even the most extensive node structures at the highest resolutions. Moreover, given GTX 580's ~30% higher clock speeds, 4 GTX 580s are worth 3 GTX 590s anyway. Personally, I find a single GTX 580 overkill for 1080p work.

[Danai Chutinaton]

Yes, you can. The only issue is that GTX 590 is restricted to 1.5 GB per GPU, which will be a bottleneck for 4K timelines. Plus, GTX 580 3 GB x 3 (or 4, if you feel like it...) is all you need for even the most extensive node structures at the highest resolutions. Moreover, given GTX 580's ~30% higher clock speeds, 4 GTX 580s are worth 3 GTX 590s anyway. Personally, I find a single GTX 580 overkill for 1080p work.

Are you using your single GTX 580 for both the GUI and CUDA processing? Can you tell me more about what kind of performance you are getting and how the rest of your system is configured?