Video Editing Software Question(s)

[Yo-Yo Freak]

i was just wondering what a video editing program like Sony Vegas benefits the most from, more CPU cores, faster CPU clock, high end GPU or what combination of things. any info is greatly appreciated!

might have some more questions later on but right now i'm tired and can't remember what else i wanted to ask ^_^ lol

Thanks in advance!

~YYF

[Ellay]

I'm going to say cores + clock, as long as the type your rendering in has the ability to handle multiple cores.

[not5150]

I've used Sony Vegas professionally for 4 years. The program isn't yet GPU aware, so having the best video card doesn't really help you.

For rendering, you'll want as many cores as possible. It speeds up things GREATLY.

After that, you want a fast I/O. So a fast hard drive or an array of drives. When you pop a clip into the Vegas timeline, the computer crunches through the file and makes an internal proxy for the video and sound. You probably noticed a several second (some cases minute or more) delay when you plop a big file into the timeline. SSDs are just awesome for Vegas because you can drag stuff in and do cuts almost instantly.

Like most video programs, you want as much ram as your mobo can handle.

[Yo-Yo Freak]

ah yes hard drives that was the other thing i wanted to ask about lol. so an SSD would probably be the best option for the HDD?

the more cores the better and the faster the better. i kind of thought that but i figured i would ask here :) sony vegas isn't GPU aware? that is something i didn't know, thanks a ton ^_^

Thanks again guys!

~YYF

[not5150]

If you're working on a long project complicated project with lots of effects/cuts and transitions, then the SSD will save you tons of time. Vegas will be saving and reading tons of stuff to/from the drive and you want to minimize that downtime. One way to really see that is to take a clip and drop it into the timeline. Then zoom into the timeline so the clip fits the entire length of the screen.

Do this on a single core+regular drive and then do this on a quad core+SSD. You'll easily see the difference.

For render, do a H.264 render on a single/dual core an then do the same render on a quad core. Remember to change your Sony Vegas thread setting to the max (I think it defaults to 2, but haven't touched that menu in a while).

The included H.264 codec isn't yet GPU or multiple CPU aware (multiple cores on a single proc is OK). The VERY expensive Mainconcept H.264 codec will recognize multiple CPUs. This should only be a concern if you're getting a Skulltrail type machine.

For projects, you always have a storage drive and a work drive (in this case work drive=SSD). Storage drive is where you put your originals, the work drive is the stuff you are actively editing. After rendering, you save everything back to the storage drive and wipe the SSD.

[Yo-Yo Freak]

just another couple quick questions. what does it (sony vegas) benefit the most from, 4 cores at about 2.5GHz, or 2 cores at about 3.0 GHz? if i kind of understood your above post right then were you saying that it only recognizes 2 cores? or that it defaults to 2 cores and can be set to 4?

i had figured about the work hard drive and the storage 1, just any 500Gb - 1T should work fine for the data drive.

Thanks again for all your help! ^_^

~YYF

[not5150]

Vegas recognizes as many cores on a single CPU, but the license for both the program and H.264 renderer will only see a single CPU.

To fully take advantage of a quad-core, you have to set the threads to the max (which is 4).

Get the quad-core for Vegas. The difference in render times is HUGE.

[Yo-Yo Freak]

Thanks a ton Not5150 you have been a big help! ^_^

~YYF