Least Expensive HW

Hello,

I had the chance to try the free version of Resolve recently and I love it. As an editor, it seemed to me as the perfect replacement of FCP 7.

Now, I'd like to install the free version (for now anyways) on my own computer. This is the tricky part. Mac hardware prices are just insane nowadays. Linux could be the solution for me (I don't want to use MS Windows).

Do you have experience shopping for the least expensive hardware? If yes, I could really use your help. As I said, I want to edit first and foremost full HD video.

Thank you.

Have a look at this: viewtopic.php?f=21&t=84760

I will, thanks!

Regards,
François

i have v15.2.2 running well on an older z400 at home - here's a parts list of what i would do today to get to the same place, all priced in Cdn, based on what is avb on the Vancouver, Canada Craigslist today;

z400/w3550/16g - $150
GTX 1050ti - also $150
USB3 RAID, 4 bay $75
4 x WDRed 2Tb disks $240
2 x 27" Asus UI mon's - $80
Panasonic 60 series 50" plasma monitor - $350
Avid Artist Color - $500
Contour Shuttle - $100

and a few new things that are not avb today;
BMD Mini Monitor - $200 - BMD dealer
Resolve Licence - $400 - BMD dealer
StreamDeck - $250

yea i spent alot more on the surfaces and monitoring than i did on the computer it's self....

this machine is similar to what my wife uses for her workstation, i do run Resolve on her machine at times, it works fine with cacheing in play, i've done a first pass on a feature on it.

the rest is similar to what i have attached to my home machine - a z620/dual 10c/96g/1080/SAS, with the exception that she has the 50" panaplasma and i have a 25" Sony broadcast mon

cost would bee about $2,500 Cdn or around $1,800 Usd for a workable suite, the machine alone would be around 10% of the total cost

Thanks a lot Mr. Shane. I'll definitely look into that!

I would just add that if you're looking at this as a Linux system (you said you don't want to run Windows) just be sure you're aware of limitations you might bump up against compared with the Mac: e.g., you won't be able to deliver ProRes files (maybe not a problem in your case), and if you're also doing audio and need more than what Fairlight offers you could be setting yourself up for more complexity if you go with Linux.

If you do go with Linux, the simplest/most stable solution would probably be to download the CentOS image from Blackmagic Design (see this thread viewtopic.php?f=21&t=70949) rather than trying to get Resolve to work in Ubuntu or another distro. People do run Resolve in Ubuntu, but there's a long thread here on the forum on the many issues and obstacles people encounter (viewtopic.php?f=21&t=56878). Also look at the Resolve configuration guide for recommended configurations in Linux.

I agree that Mac prices are high these days, but buying refurbished levels the playing field a little. I saved nearly $1,000 on my Mac Pro by buying it refurbished, although even with that it was still pricier than a comparable Windows machine. And you might want to rethink your opposition to Windows too; plenty of people are using Resolve on Windows machines.

I would just add that if you're looking at this as a Linux system (you said you don't want to run Windows) just be sure you're aware of limitations you might bump up against compared with the Mac: e.g., you won't be able to deliver ProRes files (maybe not a problem in your case), and if you're also doing audio and need more than what Fairlight offers you could be setting yourself up for more complexity if you go with Linux.

Thanks for your input Brad.

I'm aware that I won't be able to deliver ProRes and I'm also comfortable using any linux distro. CentOS would certainly be my choice.

What others limitation can you think of on CentOS vs Mac?

What others limitation can you think of on CentOS vs Mac?

I use Linux, but not for Resolve, so I think others will need to chime in here on anything you'd need to be aware of.

Have been using Resolve Studio (Dongle) for about a month using Linux but using a NVIDIA 1080 TI and proprietary drivers (415.25).

For my configuration CentOS probably wouldn't even run lol
I chose Manjaro Gnome and everything works just fine.
Just downloaded the Resolve Studio version for linux and installed the package with Pamac (the package managing frontend in Manjaro).

What I do:
4K editing, colorgrading, noise reduction (neat video OFX and internal) as well as Fusion compositing.