a matter of platform for Resolve

You can make arguments back and forth between ease of use on Windows 10 vs. Mac OSX, but I think that boils down more to personal preference than anything else.

I also think it's worth pointing out, generically, that switching operating systems is something you should only do as a last resort, unless the only program you use on a computer is Resolve. Windows and MacOS are far less different from each other than they used to be, but different enough that switching is going to slow you down for a while.

I switched from Mac to Windows a few years ago for many of the same reasons noted here: much larger range of hardware choices and upgradeability/repairability (lower cost was a factor but not the main one), but even though I'm a very experienced Windows user I found it a very frustrating transition. Ultimately I switched back to the Mac after a couple of years, although I still use my Windows machine for some things. It has nothing to do with which system is "better," it has everything to do with what you're used to. I know the Mac platform better than I know Windows, so I'm more efficient. And if I'm spending more time getting things done and less time fussing with my computer, that's a good thing.

Thanks, Brad, that's exactly what I wanted to point out too.

If you have a lot of H.264 footage coming in...

Run Resolve Studio on a Windows 10 PC with Intel processor and NVidia video card.

Hi Peter
Some advice please as I'm doing a budget upgrade ($1500) for H.264 UHD and planning to build a Win10 i7-8700K 6 core (5Ghz) with 32Gb DDR4 3200 M.2 SSDs etc.
Can 14 (free or paid) run both the Intel Iris iGPU (powerful AVC/HEVC 4k encoding/decoding and HDR support) and the Nvidia discrete card for GPU optimized color, effects, etc? I assume it must be true as you recommend both. What discrete GPU card do you have/recommend?
Any tips including your performance experience and workflow greatly appreciated. Thanks

Hi Al, in the case you mentioned, you want to run only the discrete NVidia card.

I *guess* you could try running both because you never know. But the advice on running multiple GPUS is that you are limited to the memory of the smallest memory card. So if one card has 6GB and the other 2GB, you are limited to 2GB. Also the cards should be of similar type and series. So no mixing of AMD and NVidia.

The real issue is that you want the paid version of Resolve, as it works much better with H.264/5 footage.

the paid version of Resolve...works much better with H.264/5 footage.

I was surprised how well Resolve played back my 4K media from the GH4. Barely used 20% CPU cycles while playing quite smooth, whereas PP used 100% CPU and stuttered so badly that proxies really were necessary. I never felt the need for proxies with Resolve.

And this from a pretty old i7 920 (albeit paired with a newer GTX 970).

Reading the reviews I have understood tha the new ImacPro could be the right solution ...
IT'S A LOT OF MONEY for my possibilities so I have thought to choise an assempled Super PC instead of the mac option. Which is your opiniopn about? Is the assembled PC the right solution in term of prize/power ratio?
Do you think I could install LINUX or is it better to rum WINDOWS 10?
I was thinking on a supercharged machine with 2 1080TI GPU and a lot of Ram. Have you some suggestions about the right and definitive configuration of such a kind of machine?

To cut a much longer story short: dump Mac OS and go Win10; find a local PC vendor and build a relationship there. These days Apple is overpriced, behind the Intel tech curve and largely non-upgradable. Win 10 Pro is very solid. Hackintosh is the worst of both worlds.

FWIW, I have been using and deploying Apple platforms for decades. These days Win is well, 'modern' and largely fuss-free. Again, get a local vendor /computer guy, build if necessary, ongoing support and upgrades etc. PC workstations are highly configurable & the spec for DAWs, Adobe CC and NLEs are well known and widely recognised by both PC builders and off-the shelf brands. The Apple 'creatives' thing is old, old.

Finally: by all means go an i9 (maybe also have a look at server Mobos with dual Xeons, but more pricey) - but perhaps just fit only 1 x 1080Ti, you can always 'upgrade' and add another later if you have the free slots. I ended up selling 2 x Titan X (Maxwell) and went with a single 1080Ti. Have not yet felt the need to go further with my 4k footage.

Also have run against a number of testing scenarios throughout: in sum, the largest & most consistent performance factor has come from the CPUs. Plus, with only one GPU, the system runs more quietly, cooler an consumes less power while also freeing up slots for other things I want to do (UAD DSP, BMMiniMon, TB I/O).

I hope that helps.

...
Finally: by all means go an i9 (maybe also have a look at server Mobos with dual Xeons, but more pricey) - but perhaps just fit only 1 x 1080Ti, you can always 'upgrade' and add another later if you have the free slots. I ended up selling 2 x Titan X (Maxwell) and went with a single 1080Ti. Have not yet felt the need to go further with my 4k footage.
...

Paul, why not the i7 8700K?

...
Finally: by all means go an i9 (maybe also have a look at server Mobos with dual Xeons, but more pricey) - but perhaps just fit only 1 x 1080Ti, you can always 'upgrade' and add another later if you have the free slots. I ended up selling 2 x Titan X (Maxwell) and went with a single 1080Ti. Have not yet felt the need to go further with my 4k footage.
...

Paul, why not the i7 8700K?

At least in Resolve, differences among mid- to higher powered CPUs appear to be far less consequential than differences between mid-level and high level GPUs. I wish folks urging ever higher core numbers offered some proof that these machines actually delivered obvious gains.

...
Finally: by all means go an i9 (maybe also have a look at server Mobos with dual Xeons, but more pricey) - but perhaps just fit only 1 x 1080Ti, you can always 'upgrade' and add another later if you have the free slots. I ended up selling 2 x Titan X (Maxwell) and went with a single 1080Ti. Have not yet felt the need to go further with my 4k footage.
...

Paul, why not the i7 8700K?

At least in Resolve, differences among mid- to higher powered CPUs appear to be far less consequential than differences between mid-level and high level GPUs. I wish folks urging ever higher core numbers offered some proof that these machines actually delivered obvious gains.

Agreed John. Unfortunately, there is no "one size fits all" solution. It depends on individual workflow, source material (HD, 4K, 6K etc) and codecs from raw to highly compressed H.265 HEVC. All present different challenges. My limited understanding is that codec decoding/decompression for edit/playback is CPU bound and single threaded so CPU clock speed should help. Long GOP codes like H.264/265 are not edit-friendly but can use accelerated hardware decoding including Resolve support for Intel Iris iGPU support for decoding. Other more edit friendly codecs like ProRes, DnX, and Cineform may be source files or used as intermediate codecs for editing. With lower compression they are less demanding on the CPU and may be effectively used in Resolve to edit on less powerful PCs and notebooks using intermediate codec proxies. Encoding/render seems to be CPU multi-threaded and and benefits from more cores. So a 9 core i9 may be a good choice. Alternatively if you want AVC/HECV delivery Intel Iris iGPU for 4K hardware accelerated encodeing with HDR support may be used but not sure if resolve supports Intel hardware encoding.
Next, Resolve effects and color are optimized for GPU so depending on the complexity of your edit plus effects seems to make full use of available GPU power. 1080Ti seems to be first choice but how much GPU power you need I don't know. I see many users here with older, less powerful GPU cards.
I am budget constrained moving to 4k/UHD DJI drone, GoPro etc. Planned build is Asus Prime Z370A m/board, 6 core i7-8700K with water cooler (hopefully 5Ghz o/clock), 32GB DDR4 3200, M.2 SSD for system drive, SSD for edit projects, 8TB HDD storage and a 1070 8GB Geforce GPU. I use 2 X 24" monitors so HD preview will do for 4K but will add a UHD monitor later. Don't know if it's enough for my planned workflow on Resolve so will have to wait and see how it performs. Est DIY under$2K. The Pros may frown upon it but I have high hopes and my assumptions may be all wrong. Wish me luck

To what extent Resolve might benefit a single user from a dual Xeon workstation using Intel's latest 28 core CPUs (56 cores in total) I have no idea. However as an edit server, seven editors would theoretically have 8 cores each!! The mind boggles.

This thread is fairly flummoxing. You can get a custom-built 12-core i9 Windows system with a 1080 ti, 32GB and 1GB M.2 SSD for about $4300 (in the U.S., at least). Or an 8-core i7 for well under $4000. Or a 6-core, for considerably less, which would likely provide performance nearly as good. It's unclear why anyone would need Prores for youtube exports, but any existing Mac could be used for that purpose. Or with Fusion, as Walter advises.

Or is all that too simple?

Dear John, it's not that simple.. let me explain: I run a semiprofessional (professional as contents) Psychiatric Youtube Channel but a also need to be able to export my video to the higest quality possible for broadcast and movie use so the question about the platform is central as my actual gear a mid 2012 MacBookPro is absolutely out of date in the rendering fase of my actual long footages.
the second question si the money to spend to buy the right gear for the next 4-5 years to come and the solution of using a mac to mac the prores rendering is not good along with a second WINPC as the problem is not the editing phase with resolve BUT the rendering

Francesco, is exporting dnx a non starter? Has the same quality of prores abs it is minimally compressed.

That Will make building a window a viable solution without the extra passage of converting to prores after the fact.

If dnx it is good enough for studio work, is good enough for YouTube