Best NVIDIA or other Card for DaVinci Resolve

I'm thinking of upgrading the video card on my PC System to work optimally with DaVinci Resolve. Currently I'm using a Quadro 4000 which works fine but may not be able for heavy lifting.

These are my system specs...
PC
Dell Precision T5500

Operating System
Windows 7 Professional, 64 bit, Service Pack 1

Processor (CPU)
Intel Xeon X5650 @ 2.67GHz and 2.66GHz (2 processors)

Main Memory (RAM)
48 GB

DirectX
11

Sound Card
M-Audio Delta 1010LT

Graphics Card
NVIDIA Quadro 4000

Recommendations appreciated!

Seamus

[Peter Chamberlain]

Move to Win 10 and GTX 1080.

Thanks Peter. I'm going to have to move to 10 at some point.

In the meantime, will the GTX 1080 work with Win 7 64-bit?

It will, but Resolve is no longer officially supported under Windows 7

Okay, thanks. Eventually, one has to upgrade!

Move to Win 10 and GTX 1080.

Hi Peter,

I'm on Windows 10 for a while now and DR 12.5 runs well on my NVIDIA Quadro 4000.
I was going to upgrade to the GTX 1080, as you suggested, but a computer guy didn't think it would be a good match for my PC. Anyway, as the system was working fine, I held off.

Now, in 2021, I'd like to move to DR 12.5 Studio, or DR 14 or 15 (or 17!).

Given the system I have...
Dell Precision T5500
Windows 10 Professional, 64 bit
Intel Xeon X5650 @ 2.67GHz and 2.66GHz (2 processors)
48 GB RAM
DirectX 11
M-Audio Delta 1010LT Sound Card
NVIDIA Quadro 4000 Graphics Card

What card or other should I put in there and what version of DR will it run?

Thanks in advance!

Seamus

Just a question of your budget. 1080 Ti, 2080 Ti.

When you budget for these make sure you’re budgeting for 1-200% higher than the MSRP, because that is what you’re going to have to pay to get these cards.

Anyone selling a used one would be stupid to not sell it for 50-100% over MSRP at the moment, especially any 2080 card…

You can’t even find 1660s or RX 590s at reasonable prices, atm.

Move to Win 10 and GTX 1080.

Hi Peter,

I'm on Windows 10 for a while now and DR 12.5 runs well on my NVIDIA Quadro 4000.
I was going to upgrade to the GTX 1080, as you suggested, but a computer guy didn't think it would be a good match for my PC. Anyway, as the system was working fine, I held off.

Now, in 2021, I'd like to move to DR 12.5 Studio, or DR 14 or 15 (or 17!).

Given the system I have...
Dell Precision T5500
Windows 10 Professional, 64 bit
Intel Xeon X5650 @ 2.67GHz and 2.66GHz (2 processors)
48 GB RAM
DirectX 11
M-Audio Delta 1010LT Sound Card
NVIDIA Quadro 4000 Graphics Card

What card or other should I put in there and what version of DR will it run?

Thanks in advance!

Seamus

Given the age of your cpu I’d say a used 1070 would be a more sensible upgrade. 1080 and 1080ti’ s are still expensive used as people can’t get hold of the newer generation models.

Even a 1060 is OK for HD.

but a computer guy didn't think it would be a good match for my PC. Anyway, as the system was working fine, I held off.

Now, in 2021, I'd like to move to DR 12.5 Studio, or DR 14 or 15 (or 17!).



What card or other should I put in there and what version of DR will it run?

How big is your power supply and does it have a spare connection? Newer GPUs are power hungry. From memory a 3060 (Bottom of the stack Nvidia) needs 165watts at full power all by itself. The 3090 if you could find one is I think over 350watts.

The first one likely needs a single six pin PCIE power connector. The other extreme likely needs two eight pin.

Processing power is one issue but depending on resolution VRAM might matter. One nice thing with the 3060 is the 12GB of ram. Slower than the other new Nvidia models but able to handle higher resolution easier.

My 1060 has only 6GB. There are versions with only 3GB.

The biggest problem is finding anything at the moment

Thanks for all the suggestions!

Looking at available cards, there's quite a range of possibilities. Can you point me to a particular spec. of 1060 or 1070 (or even 1080 Ti if I can get it cheap) that will work on my machine?

And working in 1080p, what version of DR, with one of those GTX cards, should my PC be able to run?

Seamus

Thanks for all the suggestions!

Looking at available cards, there's quite a range of possibilities. Can you point me to a particular spec. of 1060 or 1070 (or even 1080 Ti if I can get it cheap) that will work on my machine?

And working in 1080p, what version of DR, with one of those GTX cards, should my PC be able to run?

Seamus

For 1080p get a 1060 and put the money you will save on a 1080ti towards another PC with a more up to date spec. No matter what GPU you choose Resolve still needs a good CPU to run well. The latest resolve will still run on all 10xx GPU’s AFAIK.

If you go for a GTX 1060 make sure it is the 6GB and not the 3GB version.

I'll look for a GTX 1060 6GB.

I'm at least a year away from upgrading the whole system, so the 1060 should be good until then.

Seamus

Cards are hard to find! And GTX 1600 6GB even harder.

However, I can get a GTX 1660 Super 6GB!

Is that a good alternative? Better, worse - given my Dell T5500 specs. above?

And there are many varieties - single fan, dual fan, mini, etc. Any recommendations?

Thanks,

Seamus

I have a GTX 1660 Super 6GB on my windows platform that has Davinci Resolve 17.2. The big advantage of that card is has the touring architecture for rendering clips much faster and provides hardware support to rendering. Thus taking the burden off your main processor. It is a good choice - performance and budget wise.

I have a GTX 1660 Super 6GB on my windows platform that has Davinci Resolve 17.2. The big advantage of that card is has the touring architecture for rendering clips much faster and provides hardware support to rendering. Thus taking the burden off your main processor. It is a good choice - performance and budget wise.

Thanks Chris,

Is it single fan, dual fan, any other special attributes? A manufacturer number?

Seamus