# Under 10 k GFX for a Xeon Video Editing Rig



## Vyom (Jun 20, 2014)

Earlier this year I assembled a PC for a friend, for Video Editing and finalized components costing me around 60k in total. But it was not including a Graphic card. Now the time have come when I need to find a Graphic Card for the "little beast" that I like to call it.

*1. Which Power Supply do you have? (Be EXACT while naming the company and model)*
Ans: Seasonic S12II 520 Watts PSU

*2. What is your budget?*
Ans: Under 10k (even low if there is no real benefit from high end gfx)

*3. Which resolution will you game at?*
Ans: Its not for gaming. The graphic card should help run following software:
1. Adobe Premiere (so rendering videos)
2. After Effects
3. DaVinci Resolve Lite
DaVinci Resolve Lite is a color grading software that requires a GFX to run. I quote this from the official website: 


> DaVinci Resolve uses CUDA technology for real time processing, and so typically an NVIDIA GPU with more CUDA cores and memory, will result in faster performance.
> 
> Resolve can also use the OpenCL technology available on NVIDIA and AMD GPUs but will default to CUDA if possible for better performance. Single GPU configurations (we call them 'Shared') use the same GPU for image processing as well as for the GUI and if you plan on using this configuration you should select the fastest GPU you can. Please refer to the latest Mac or Windows configuration guide for details.



More info is here: Blackmagic Design: Support Note

*4. What are your current computer specifications?*
Ans: Intel Xeon E3 1245 v3
Gigabyte H87-D3H Motherboard
WD Blue WD10EZEX 1 TB Internal Hard Drive
Corsair Vengeance DDR3 8 GB RAM

More information about rig: *www.digit.in/forum/pc-components-c...-rig-about-60k-without-gfx-2.html#post2068991

Pleaes help. Planning to buy the GFX ASAP.


----------



## Nerevarine (Jun 21, 2014)

750 Ti


----------



## Vyom (Jun 21, 2014)

That's it? Is it the best? Whats the brand? Why choose that gfx?
Details please!


----------



## harshilsharma63 (Jun 21, 2014)

> Which version of AE and Premier do you use? CS5 and above use OpenCL and CS4 and below use CUDA for most ports.

> If you use CS5 or higher version then what's the rpiority of the mentioned softwares as AE and Premier will benifit from FirePro (best for OpenCL) while DaVinci Resolve will benifit from Quadro (for CUDA).


----------



## Vyom (Jun 22, 2014)

We use CS5.
And AE, Premiere are the priority. As the first post quotes, DaVinci Resolve can also use OpenCL.

Now AFAIK, OpenCL is part of the CPU and not GPU. So theoretically DaVinci Resolve should work with no gfx. But it is even refusing to install without a GPU. Hence I am in confusion.

So are you trying to say versions of premiere greater than CS5 won't really benefit from a GFX? In that case probably the only option I have is Quadro?

Also what I failed to mention in my first post is that we are also planning to use Maverick on this Xeon rig. So can we choose a GFX compatible with iOS and Final Cut Pro?


----------



## Nerevarine (Jun 22, 2014)

Im really not sure about your requirements maybe others can help u out but 750 ti scores well in HTPC pc according to anandtech review.. Here check this out


----------



## harshilsharma63 (Jun 22, 2014)

Vyom said:


> We use CS5.
> And AE, Premiere are the priority. As the first post quotes, DaVinci Resolve can also use OpenCL.
> 
> Now AFAIK, OpenCL is part of the CPU and not GPU. So theoretically DaVinci Resolve should work with no gfx. But it is even refusing to install without a GPU. Hence I am in confusion.
> ...



Who said OpenCL is part of CPU? If can be processed by CPU as well as GPUs. AMD cards have extremely good OpenCL performance. You can get Fire Pro V4900 available for ~11k.

- - - Updated - - -



Nerevarine said:


> Im really not sure about your requirements maybe others can help u out but 750 ti scores well in HTPC pc according to anandtech review.. Here check this out





Nerevarine said:


> 750 Ti



OP is asking a card for workstation not HTPC.


----------



## Vyom (Jun 22, 2014)

So let me summarize what I have learn so far:
1. OpenCL is part of CPU as well as GPU.
2. Some applications perform better with OpenCL, others perform better in CUDA.
2. AMD cards have good performance in OpenCL.
3. So if priority is AE and Premiere CS5 then a GFX like FirePro V4900 suffice.

But now the following questions remains:
1. What about DaVinci Resolve, which rely on CUDA? Can't I get a GFX which is good in both OpenCL and CUDA?
2. What about Final Cut Pro? I have heard AMD cards have better compatibility with iOS. Is that true?
3. Can I get better options if I increase budget to say 15k?


----------



## Vyom (Jun 22, 2014)

[MENTION=140941]harshilsharma63[/MENTION] [MENTION=135632]vkl[/MENTION] Any help please?


----------



## rijinpk1 (Jun 22, 2014)

suggested gpus for davinci resolve are quite hectic like quadro k4000/k6000 or gtx titan like ones. Fire Pro V4900 is infact quite old too. you would be better off with r7 265 2GB.more memory really helps that software. it has pretty good opencl performance. its drivers may not be that optimized for professional work though. but it should do well for your budget.


----------



## vkl (Jun 24, 2014)

Vyom,I think you meant Hackintosh/Mac.Nvidia cards have as good or better support.
AE CC uses OpenGL in some features,uses cuda only for GPU-accelerated 3D renderer.
firepro/quadro cards with that budget are not required in your case unless you require 10-bit color support.
v4900 would have been ok for things like Maya but for Resolve it won't be that suitable,less amount of vRAM and relatively less raw processing power.
Get r7 265 2GB or else 750ti 2GB if Cuda is preferred.These are the options in that price range.
Can get r9 270x for about ~14k.gtx760 would be around ~18k.


----------



## Vyom (Jun 24, 2014)

Thanks for replying vkl and rijinpk1.

You both suggest R7 265 2GB. I will keep this in my consideration list, along with 750ti 2GB and R9 270x. Since requirement right now is to edit 1080p, and probably 2k videos later, for now a GFX like R7 265 2GB seems to suffice.

Also, I was *thinking* whether Crossfire or SLI can help, if we decide to do that later, after sufficient budget is accumulated. So that would mean, getting a GFX which can run atleast let Davinci run albeit at a slow pace. *But getting another GFX later and Crossfire/SLI it to get a boost in performance.* Is that a good or a stupid idea? Or is spending one time on one GFX is recommended?


----------



## harshilsharma63 (Jun 24, 2014)

Vyom said:


> Thanks for replying vkl and rijinpk1.
> 
> You both suggest R7 265 2GB. I will keep this in my consideration list, along with 750ti 2GB and R9 270x. Since requirement right now is to edit 1080p, and probably 2k videos later, for now a GFX like R7 265 2GB seems to suffice.
> 
> Also, I was *thinking* whether Crossfire or SLI can help, if we decide to do that later, after sufficient budget is accumulated. So that would mean, getting a GFX which can run atleast let Davinci run albeit at a slow pace. *But getting another GFX later and Crossfire/SLI it to get a boost in performance.* Is that a good or a stupid idea? Or is spending one time on one GFX is recommended?



Not sure if these softwares can utilize multi-GPUs. You must also invest in a good SSD to improve performance.


----------



## rijinpk1 (Jun 24, 2014)

*www.blackmagicdesign.com/media/6677761/DaVinci_Resolve_Windows_Configuration_Guide_Sept_2013.pdf
davinci resolve can utilize upto 4 gpus. also look at 270x 4gb one.SAPPHIRE GRAPHICS CARD R9 270X 4GB DDR5 DUAL-X OC BOOST (R9-270X-DUAL-X-OC-4GB-DDR5 - 11217-04-41G - 840777063910 - 20,800.00).


----------



## Vyom (Jun 24, 2014)

Ok I am about to ask a question, it may sound noobish.. but I am just curious...

What if I purchase one R7 265 2GB now and pair it with another R7 265 2GB later few months down the line. Will it be more efficient in the long run compared to *single *R9 270x? And by how much?


----------



## vkl (Jun 25, 2014)

If using multiple GPUs,even if identical don't enable SLI/crossfire for these apps.
Premiere pro CC supports multiple GPU,scales well with 2 gpu configs.
Adobe Premiere Pro CC Hands-On: Multi-GPU Support and More
Adobe Premiere Pro and Multiple GPUs by Chris and Trish Meyer

Resolve LITE can support only a single GPU for _acceleration_.With 2 GPU config one would be used for gui and other for acceleration for both resolve full and LITE version.Going with 2 mid-range cards isn't required from performance pov.For Resolve a low end card for GUI and a mid-range card for processing would do fine.With 2 gpu config the image processing card would have all its vRAM available for processing as it won't have to handle the GUI as in case of single gpu config which has to share vRAM for gui and processing.Generally there would be no or minimal gain with 2 gpu set up over single gpu if you don't run out of memory.


----------



## Vyom (Jun 28, 2014)

Alright so I have decided to go with one R7 265 2 GB. That would be dedicated for Processing. 
So what do you recommend as a cheap GPU for GUI? I think the GPU for GUI can be very low in cost. Like AMD/ATI Radeon HD 5450 1 GB DDR3 ?

Also is R7 265 2 GB good for Hackintosh? Just curiosity?


----------



## vkl (Jun 29, 2014)

r7 265 is not well supported yet with latest MAC version,same goes for maxwell based gpus(gtx750/750ti),maxwell support would likely come with time.
Amd r9 270/270x,r9 280x,Nvidia kepler desktop cards are well supported with Mavericks.For use with windows though r7 265/750ti are fine options.

You can go for a single powerful GPU for now,because for Resolve there would be no/minimal gain with 2GPU config over 1GPU unless you are affected by VRAM.Can get a single more powerful GPU than going with a weak and a midrange gpu,in case you need you can add a low end gpu for GUI later.


----------

