What is most important to have in a video editing PC build using Magix

Tusk wrote on 11/9/2022, 5:53 PM

Hello,

The last couple years of Magix 'upgrades' often freezes or crashes my PC. I was lucky to find a 5 year old version w/o all the recent Magix 'bloat' so I can finally edit videos again. I know it's likely my PC is in need of upgrading even though it's relatively 'new' and the size of today's videos tax the system. (In ten years I've had to upgrade to a new PC 3 times to keep up)

I'm looking into buying a new PC, a 'gaming' Computer at Costco because it'll likely have related components that are used in video editing (large SSD drives/newer processors, memory etc). My PC guy suggested this as being a cheaper alternative than a 'build', then he can add anything else that he thinks might help so I can take advantage of new editing options. I don't trust HP or Dell because I've had bad customer service/phishing experiences w/ them so have gone to independent brands/service help.

I have a hard time keeping up w/ new technologies, what they're called, what they do in my PC's so I'm asking for the Magix community if they can suggest important components required for a video editing machine to be able to run the newest Magix software hopefully for the next several years.

I video live shows/concerts to support an artist. When I first started using Magix, about ten years ago, even though it taxed my PC, I was still able to edit an hour & 1/2 concert w/ video from up to five cameras. Today, I'll be lucky if I could edit a video ten minutes long, have had PC crashes editing video using media from 3 cameras on a 4 minute video.

Hopefully, the suggestions won't be too spendy, I'd like to keep it to under $2000, or around that much.

Any suggestions, tips appreciated. Thank you.

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Tusk wrote on 11/16/2022, 5:58 PM

@Tusk

Once she gets any type of contract or able to fill large venues on her own, things will probably change. I had early dealings with Charley Dore and her album demo for the record companies in 1978. A copy of of the demo which I still have. It is a lot different from the album mixes eventually used. We gave her free studio time at weekends as our core business was with advertising agencies so normally we had weekends off and did our own projects or favors for other artists we knew.

Ray.

@CubeAce

First, I am Vietnamese, my early youth we moved to the UK, I lived in Hitchin and Luton, went to private schools, the "Angus Young" uniform and everything. My parents even put us through elocution to 'fix' our accent. We moved to the States in '77 , so I do have some experience in multiple cultures. I think the rabid behaviour of the fan experience has been exacerbated by social media and the internet.

I realise that in the end, I'm just a useful fan who's been helpful and maybe she might move on. Again, that's the reason I tried to be honest w/ myself and ask why I'm spending so much money and effort. I think her giving me these chances shows that she acknowledges that I'm aware she's the boss, she has the last word, this is all about supporting her.

Perhaps that eventuality might make the decision for me how long I get to do this, but I think Haley appreciates loyalty, and if spending over 11 years supporting/promoting her as an independent artist doesn't show loyalty, I'm not sure what does. Every year I followed Haley, experiencing remarkable opportunities, I wonder how long this luck is going to last? It's now in it's 11th year, I've stopped asking that long ago and try to appreciate the opportunities that my many years of investments have opened for me. I will be sad when it ends.

CubeAce wrote on 11/16/2022, 6:31 PM

@Tusk

Ah! you are something I have never been. A devout fan. Probably because I have been in 'the business'.

Record companies get a bad rap and few know the real risks involved or the amount of money it takes to launch new talent. Failure rate is very high and most artists don't 'make it'. One eight hour day in one of our studios would have cost the equivalent of a couple of thousand pounds by today's standards.

My interest is from the other direction now. I'm more interested in the process of video creation as I was only ever an assistant editor in the film industry, never on the shop floor which is why I later switched to audio recording studios with much more interaction with clients.

The subject matter is partially irrelevant to me beyond being a new challenge with varying lighting and general shooting conditions where intrusion is unwelcome but still expected to get the shots most of the public incapable of. My advantages are knowing the areas I'm about to shoot at in advance and forward planning (as much as that is possible in sometimes changing circumstances.)

I have worked with most races and people from most walks of life. When you deal with other professionals, things like race and looks rarely come into the equation. I would love to be younger myself and not balding but neither has had a detrimental impact on my ability to get my services accepted. The larger portfolio you get, even at a later stage in life, the easier it gets. The hard bit is starting at all and getting over one's self image and never admitting you are over your head capability wise and never fail to deliver.

That is the pressure you have now put yourself under. It can be enjoyable. Have fun.

Ray.

Tusk wrote on 11/16/2022, 6:50 PM

@CubeAce

Thanks, that's the thing, a 'younger' version of myself likely would not have the same opportunities or perspective if everything was the same except my age. I've said my last ten years have been more fulfilling, incredibly rewarding and gratifying experiences than I've had my previous 40 years where it was just dull, 9-5 jobs, rinse and repeat. I'm not kidding when I talk about the extreme luck that has brought me here, so much so I've converted from being an atheist (even though raised Catholic) to now agnostic, as the things I have lucked into, for so many years, leading to actually being able to post a video on the channel of a person who was so out of reach when it all started.... There HAS to be a bigger plan I'm just lucky to be riding, right?

Tusk

CubeAce wrote on 11/16/2022, 7:10 PM

@Tusk

I'm a pragmatist.

Luck is being in the right place at the right time. That in turn is down to perseverance. Without that you would not be in the right place at the right time. Don't do yourself down. You did well. You would not have had the offers you have had without it.

I would not have got jobs into the film or recording industry had I not been a complete pest in my younger days.

Later for the photography work I worked at building up a portfolio to show to the people doing the interviews for the projects being advertised. I made myself do as many varied events and places and subject I could feasibly do. To be able to show images of some relevance to the project I was trying to get on to. It sharpened my ability to act quickly and learn my equipment inside out. If there has been a challenge outside my experience I have offered to be an assistant to learn what I couldn't do. Been honest about my capabilities. That has never failed me.

Lodging or food? 😉🤷‍♂️. I have slept in a car more than once.

Ray

Tusk wrote on 12/1/2022, 12:12 PM

@johnebaker @Tusk

What to do about older codec compatibility I'm not quite sure about.

Ray.

@johnebaker

Welp, yet another issue that popped out of the blue that caused me to find where I can download my purchased codec.

I just got back from videoing my artist at the Troubadour in LA, using the same camera equipment I've used before, a 4k bridge camera and a 4k camcorder. I did a quick edit to send to Haley so she could see the video I took at the show. With my laptop, I was able to do a decent amount of color correcting as well as rotate the video to straighten out the stage. Normal stuff I normally do on my PC.

When I got home, I went to 'fine tune' the rough edit on my PC, all was going as usual, then my playback started hanging, the video would freeze, but the audio would continue. Even when I reset all the effects on the video, it would stop playing the video, or skip ahead, pause. I then got a big grey error message, I pressed OK figuring it was a system crash, it said something like virtual memory was turned off, again I don't remember what it said specifically. Often when the software crashes, I'd just have to reboot the software or my PC and everything would work as it should, that's why I didn't pay special heed to the error message.

Now my PC doesn't work like it used to, even rotating the frame to correct the horizon causes the video to freeze, let alone adjusting any video effects such as sharpness, contrast etc, it would skip and freeze even w/ no effects applied. Restarting the program or the PC won't get it working properly again.

I thought it might be the codec problem again, and this time I found where to download it, pulled up my purchase code and got it downloaded, set the codec as instructed in the programs setting, but even this did not fix this error. My less powerful laptop for some reason can edit this relatively simple video, but my PC cannot. Remember it was just a rough draft, I was going to fine tune it on my PC

So I guess last resort is to delete and reinstall Magix? At least now I know how to download & install my purchased MP4 codec. Haven't tried it yet, hesitant to because it's such a pain to update and reinstall everything, hopefully it will work

That being said, my wont of a new system is even more pressing as I'm finally getting progress with my artist, she seems more enthusiastic to use my video and add her sound board audio to. Just as I finally achieve something I've been hoping for, my editing software won't even run video w/o any effects. So I really need a new system that can handle bigger files and more intense processing, as good as I can afford.

I came across this article on a editing PC build that was last updated November 2022. This is the build I'm interested in. If you guys think it meets my requirement I'll see if my PC guy can build it for me.

This build is from this article:

https://www.logicalincrements.com/articles/videoediting

Professional Video Editing Build ($1700)

CPU: Intel i5-13600K
Graphics Card: RX 6700 XT
Motherboard: Gigabyte Z790 UD
RAM: 32GB (2x16GB) DDR5
Storage 1: 2TB Intel SSD
Storage 2: 10TB HDD
Power Supply: EVGA G+ 650W
CPU Cooler: be quiet! Dark Rock 4 (with LGA 1700 mounting kit)
Case: Corsair 4000D
Operating System: Windows 10

-----

I'm sorry, my ability to grasp PC speak goes over my head so I have to rely on those who understand it better than I do.

I don't do that complex video editing yet the software I prefer to use the most keeps failing randomly on me. Any help or additions to the build I posted highly appreciated. Thanks

CubeAce wrote on 12/1/2022, 1:05 PM

@Tusk

Hi.

My personal opinion on that system would be the following. An i5 processor 13th gen should cope as the 13th gen is supposedly the best release yet for both power efficiency and computing power, but I would not personally entertain an AMD graphics card. Ideally you should be looking at an nvidia 30 series card. I would say an nvidia 20 series card but at present a newer 30 series card can be found cheaper than the older 20 series. Preferably the 3070 which is about an extra $120 but ahead of the RX 6700 XT for this job.

Why? Because I'm not convinced an AMD graphics cards is going to play as nicely with the Magix software unless it is one of their most powerful GPUs.

Ray.

[Edit] Windows 10 comes to end of life support at the end of this month.

Tusk wrote on 12/1/2022, 2:06 PM

@CubeAce Windows 10 end has come this quickly? Didn't 11 just come online recently?

I kind of assumed to go w/ Windows 11, just surprised they're ending support so quickly, compared to past operating system upgrades.

What's the difference between i5 & i7 processors? Are i7 better?

So besides replacing the listed graphics card w/ a nvidia 30 series card, the rest of the specs is OK?

thx

johnebaker wrote on 12/1/2022, 3:39 PM

@Tusk

. . . . then my playback started hanging, the video would freeze, but the audio would continue. Even when I reset all the effects on the video, it would stop playing the video, or skip ahead, pause. I then got a big grey error message, I pressed OK figuring it was a system crash, it said something like virtual memory was turned off, . . .

That would be the message saying the Hardware Acceleration has been turned off - this sometimes occurs when the encoder gets tripped up, the cause is difficult to track down as there are many factors both internal and external that may affect the program encoding, you can turn Hardware Acceleration back on in the Movie Edit Pro 2017 settings Import/Export tab.

. . . . What's the difference between i5 & i7 processors? Are i7 better? . . . .

The Intel i5 is a general purpose processor, the i7 has more processing power and has better high-performance when multimedia editing.

. . . . So besides replacing the listed graphics card w/ a nvidia 30 series card, the rest of the specs is OK? . . . .

The PC Windows 10 is missing 4 major upgrades, the last version was 22H2. The PC may be capable of running Windows 11 once the Intel Trusted Execution Technology is turned on in the BIOS.

Which version of Windows is the laptop running?

It is is questionable whether this can run Windows 11 as the processor not support the technology required, however the motherboard may have the Trusted Platform Module 2 feature required, built in. You will have to check the manual or full specification.

. . . . Windows 10 end has come this quickly? . . .

Do note this is Windows version 2004 'that is end of life' soon - the latest version is 'eol' in 2025 - more details for the different versions are here.

HTH

John EB

CubeAce wrote on 12/1/2022, 5:16 PM

@Tusk @johnebaker

Hi.

Sorry, John is correct. Not all builds of Windows support ends this month.I was going by the build guide you pointed to which seemed to suggest the basic Windows 10 for the lower end builds.

I'm wondering how much system testing that person has done as he mentions "Sony"(sic) Vegas and also seems not to have visited the Adobe Premier system specs page recently.

The reason I think a 13th gen i5 may be OK is because the efficiency cores (the lower rated ones) are almost as powerful as the individual cores on my i-9 9900K, but confess the i7 would be a safer bet. Personally again I would be looking for an i7 but possibly a tenth or eleventh gen Intel to keep costs down with an inboard GPU. Not 12th gen as they turned out to be power hungry and hot. An internal Intel GPU in the CPU plus a separate video graphics card is important for both Movie Studio and VPX.

I'm not sure you need the extra expense of DDR5. at present DDR5 speeds are not that much faster than the fastest DDR4 ram speeds and DDR4 is much cheaper at present. Some Intel motherboards for 13th gen Intel CPUs can either run DDR4 or DDR5. It is best to check the motherboards specs on the appropriate website.

[Edit] Also be aware that even with the fastest ram it may not work at full speed if the processor doesn't allow it. My motherboard has 3200MHz ram but the processor is capping that to 2666Mhz.

DDR5 memory is only good for the 12th and 13th gen Intel CPUs or some Ryzen CPUs. DDR5 may become more important over the next four to five years but by then there will probably be DDR6 memory available. That's the problem with upgrading. There is always something newer out there.

Later on DDR5 speeds are set to increase by quite a margin. It just hasn't happened yet or likely to within the next year.

An Intel i7-13700K can draw up to 253 Watts and an nvidia 3070 can draw up to 220Watts with some spiking above that for short bursts. Add to that any drives you may add (say another 50watts maximum) or power drawn from any USB connections and personally I would be looking at a power supply of 750watts so that it has less chance of turning its fans on as the power draw gets higher and it dissipates less heat in general. But then I have always personally gone for quite high wattage power supplies. I have never had one die on me even though once I thought one had but it turned out to be a stuck on power button that caused my PC to turn on and then off again, and then back on, and off , etc. I thought the power supply was glitching. I was wrong. It will teach me to have a working multi-meter to hand in future.

Some of my current problems running VPX 14 is hardware related but equally some of it is what I try to do within my projects and I think also the ongoing updates to Windows 10 (and possibly Windows 11) probably isn't helping my older system. The last statement is speculation on my part. I have no proof beyond noticing a gradual reduction in capabilities. A workman and his tools and all that.🙄😉.

Ray.

Reyfox wrote on 12/4/2022, 8:11 AM

In the Vegas Pro user forum, these questions come up often. "What hardware will best?". Outside of independent Techgage who tests CPU's and GPU's with Vegas Pro, we have in the user forum a Benchmark set up where users can test their hardware and compare it to other system builds. You can see what hardware was used and the test results. This can help guide users with their decision making. There is even Intel Arc in the test results.

This was done by a user to answer that question. My computer setup is #13. Maybe if something was done by the more experienced people here, it would certainly be nice and users can see who their hardware compares with others.