Suggestions and Recommendations, PLEASE

OK, I just posted that I have a BMCC and DaVinci Resolve 9 and that my system isn't powerful enough to support the Resolve. I am asking for suggestions on what system to upgrade to. Mac or Windows? RAM? Processor speed? Graphics driver? and any other items I may need. One thing, to keep in mind is; this isn't going to be used professionally so I do not need the latest and greatest thing there is. If a 3.5 gHz iMac with 16 gig of RAM and, say, a simple Nvidia graphics card is all I need, that's all I want to have to purchase. Or a Windows Dell/HP. I'd really appreciate the suggestions.
Thanks

Hi.

I can't see if you consider a Desktop or Laptop?

I'm not convinced a laptop is ideal for Resolve. So I hope you are looking for a Desktop. In the few last days did we get similar questens from other users of this forum.

So I maked a small guide for a Windows 10 system, which I copy and paste to you:

'Carsten's hardware guide for DaVinchi Resolve. Version from 23. August 2018.

In Resolve the CPU is used to run the app, disk I/O and compression and decompression of codecs.
Resolve does all its image processing in the GPU on the graphics card. More CUDA/OpenCL Cores are better.

I will suggest you to look at the new nVidea RTX Video Card serie. For 4K choose one with 8-11 GB of vRAM. And more CUDA cores is better.
When I checked Amazon.com today was several of the previus generation GTX 1080 and GTX 1080 Ti on offer. There is a maximum of one graphics card in the free version of Resolve.

In the DaVinci Resolve 15 configuration guide is one of the suggestion on page 18 the AMD Ryzen Threadripper CPU.

https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/suppor ... and-fusion

All AMD CPU's loves fast memory, and on page 36 under GIGABYTE Motherboard:

16GB (4x4GB RAM) DDR4-3200 SDRAM minimum
64GB or 128GB or more recommend for FUSION

Last Monday, August 13th did AMD launch AMD Threadripper next generation with a little cheaper CPU's. For 4K work look at the new 16 cores 32 threads 2950X that get much better reviews than expected and can be delivered worldwide from 31th August.

When I try to check prices don't I yet see any big price drops on the previous 16 core 32 threads Threadripper 1950X CPU's. So far for 16 core 32 threads CPU will I recommend the new 2950X. While I currently see some large price drops on the 12 core 24 threads 1920X CPU's. May be you can choose it for HD 1920 x 1080 only.

Both the old and new Threadrippers CPU use a TR4 socket and a X399 motherboards. Suggest you to buy one with nice reviews. If you later want to upgrade to a faster CPU will I suggest you to buy a Asus motherboard, as they can be upgraded to a TDP of 250 Watt by buying the X399 cooling enhancement kit coming to September.
For CPU's with more than 20 cores will I look for a motherboard with a 16+3 VRM circuit.

Look here for a Free NVMe RAID upgrade for AMD X399 chipset:

https://community.amd.com/community/gam ... 99-chipset


All motherboard have a QVL List you can find on the manufactures homepage. Here you can see what DDR4-Ram they have tested in that particular motherboard. The Configuration Guide recommend to use minimum DDR4-3200.

The cheapest recommended RAM is many times the G.Skill Flare X DDR4. The Flare X series is made special for AMD CPU's

The Threadripper CPU's have a 4 channel memory design. You will get the fastest system by using 4 DIMM's only, and leave the last 4 sockets empty.

Do you have some questens, are you free to ask.

Regards Carsten.'

I have a question for Mark: budget?


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Mark, now I've made the connection: you said in your other thread that you are currently using a Mac Mini.

My general advice is "don't switch platforms unless you really need to," especially if you're using your computer for more than just video editing. If you're a pro with a dedicated machine it doesn't matter, because Resolve looks and acts the same across platforms. But if you're a home hobbyist, which is what you say you are, your computer is probably also serving many other functions and switching from Mac to Windows can be a pain (switching from Windows to Mac is equally a pain).

On the other hand, you already have a monitor, since you're using a Mac Mini (which requires a separate monitor), so switching to Windows could be a cheaper solution than buying an iMac. The iMac would give you a monitor you don't need, since you already have one. We'll set aside the question of a separate calibratable monitor for color-grading; I bet you're not going to go that route anytime soon.

If you want to stick with Mac, your most affordable options would be a refurbished 2013 Mac Pro or a refurbished iMac. The Mac Pro would be more expensive but would allow you to keep using your current monitor assuming you have the right connections. The iMac would be a simple all-in-one solution and if you really are running Resolve 9 or 10 I guess you wouldn't need a top-of-the-line iMac.

But you should also follow Carsten's advice and consider a Windows desktop machine. Look at the Resolve configuration guide, although again this was written for version 15 of Resolve and you appear to be running version 9 or 10 from 2013 or earlier. You might not need as much processing power to run those old versions of Resolve; I don't know if a configuration guide is still available from that era.

Edited to add: I found a configuration guide for Resolve 10 for Windows here: http://documents.blackmagicdesign.com/D ... t_2013.pdf

I'm not having luck finding one for Mac but in general there's no "configuration" requirements for Mac, just minimum specs for processor, memory, and GPU. I bet a middle-range iMac (not the iMac Pro) could run Resolve 10 okay, but you'd need to make sure Resolve 10 still works on the new versions of Mac OS. You're using five-year-old software. You can upgrade to the free version of v. 15, you know.