Thank you, friends.
Of course I transcode to the timeline codec when I face normal editing. You know... search among many files for the best take, fine adjusting rythm, transitions, try a different version, trim one more frame here and there, then go back to the first approach...
And transcoding is
mandatory if editing more than one video track, modifying play speed, or anything beyond simple full screen playing. You need perfect play and cue to do that creative process and any GOP codec will make it hard. Reverse time a gop codec video is a nightmare, for instance. I know.
(that animation I posted yestarday was done by 1994 with 3ds r3 in a 486 PC with 8MB ram
)
I just meant that I'm a "wide generalist" and many of my deliveries have no actual editing process. It's just acquire a pre-edited timeline for grading, conform or audio sync a 3D animation sequence, insert some credits... Two minutes on the edit page to create the timeline andquickly rush to the color page. On those occasions, many times I bypass the transcoding and work with camera footage because I just need it to give me simple play.
Back to my PC config... Yesterday I found an offer for a Asus X99 MB+ i7 5820K + 48GB DDR4 2600 + 128GB M1 for 1450€. With a soft overclocking it's a similar CPU power than the dual Xeon HP workstation, but with three relevant advantages:
1) that power is available for all windows apps.
2) I stop wondering which tasks use the second CPU and which don't to adapt my workflow.
3) Motherboard is 2016's specs, not 2011's, with all the implications in possible expansion or future upgrade.
The only con is price, it's 250€ more expensive. Not a deal breaker, so I'm today back to the starting point after two days considering the HP Z820 option. It's, by far,the best "bang for the buck" PC for renderfarm, but not so clearly the best option for a "wide generalist" workstation, even being 20% cheaper.
Still no answer from ASUS to my question about PA279Q 10bit inputs. When I know that I'll be ready to decide the GPU(s) configuration.
A last minute question about that graphics config:
What's better (faster) in Davinci?
one
single GTX1080 (2560 CUDA cores) for Display GUI and for calculations. Single GPU PC.
. vs.
GTX 1070 (1920 CUDA cores) for calculation + a 300$ secondary card for GUI display and Window apps only.
(300$ is the difference between 1080 and 1070. It might be a Quadro K620, 10Bit output)Thanks again for your time.