A PC configuration that PD 11 likes?

Watercolorwilly

Senior Member Location: Phoenix Joined: Mar 13, 2011 11:35 Messages: 211 Offline

Solved by

Dec 03, 2012 13:26

I have replaced my PCs over just a few years with the thought that "this time PD will run well on it." Well, I never accomplished that feeling. I'm asking for comments on good PC configurations. Mine may be the video card, but I discovered that I only have a 300w power supply and most video cards require much more than that to really perform. I could replace the power supply, but perhaps I should just pour the money into a new PC. I worry that Windows 8 will frustrate me with the touch screen as PD probably is operated best with a mouse. I can't imagine my arm in the air and touching the screen to do all the actions that 500 shots and video clips require for a finished project.

Who has well-running PC that PD 11 runs well on? My shows consist of a mix of video and still shots. And the shows run a 1/2 hour or much longer with the majority comprise still photos with music, narration, etc. The most disgusting problems now include stops and starts when playing back what I've edited. The content aware is useful for me to automatically adjust stability. But when I do that and use video enhancement, the playback is awful - erratic playback speed and the voice is totally out of sync - or has a bug.

I'm now using the following with a 1/2 GB video card:

HP Elite Pavilion HPE-500f
2.7 GHz, 6 core AMD 64
RADEON HD 6450
Windows 7, 8GB RAM
2 TB USB 7200 internal HD

What else can help me???

Bill

Bill Seifert
HP Pavilion Desktop TP01-2022
8 core
AMD Radeon
Windows 11, 16 GB RAM

jerrys

Senior Contributor Location: New Britain, CT, USA (between New York and Boston) Joined: Feb 10, 2010 21:36 Messages: 1038 Offline

Dec 03, 2012 14:32

If Windows 8 is your concern, in my experience it has some nuisances but for the most part it's a matter of using a different approach.

The most obvious difference is that you have that tiled screen, but you can switch to a "normal" desktop very easily. In fact if you run an "old-style" program it will automatically pop you back to the desktop environment. Only programs that were specifically designed to be "apps" run full screen.

There is no "start" menu, neither on the tiled view nor the desktop view. It has been replaced with a search function, which actually works pretty well and quickly, too.

I could go on, but remember this: you don't have to use a touchscreen! I'm using my same old trackball and my same old monitor. Jerry Schwartz

Xerox

Contributor Location: California, USA Joined: Aug 09, 2009 01:36 Messages: 446 Offline

Dec 03, 2012 18:58

I thought you should know that you don't need a touch screen to use Windows 8, although you will need to take lessons on how to use Windows 8. Gateway DX4380, AMD A8-5500 Quad Core 3.2GHz with ATI Radeon HD 7560D; 16GB RAM; 1 TB SATA 7200 RPM; Windows 8 Pro 64-bit; PDR11, PDVD12.

Watercolorwilly

Senior Member Location: Phoenix Joined: Mar 13, 2011 11:35 Messages: 211 Offline

Dec 03, 2012 19:03

I may stick with Windows 7. But what Windows 7 PC configuration would serve me best for smooth running PD 11???? I may just replace the power supply to run a better video card. But this time I want to do a good job and not look back at the poor choices I made. Bill Seifert
HP Pavilion Desktop TP01-2022
8 core
AMD Radeon
Windows 11, 16 GB RAM

jerrys

Senior Contributor Location: New Britain, CT, USA (between New York and Boston) Joined: Feb 10, 2010 21:36 Messages: 1038 Offline

Dec 03, 2012 19:52

It's hard to specify the upper and lower limits. That's equivalent to asking how fast you want it to go.

Here's one idea: take a look at the specs for some of those huge gamer systems. Use one of those bruisers to make a sort of wish list. Check off the pieces you think you'd want or need, and find the prices for those bits if purchased as upgrades to your current machine. That should give you some idea of whether or not it makes sense to upgrade your existing machine.

You can also use that list as a shopping guide for pricing out new systems. For example, I'd like a better video card but I'm not sure it makes economic sense to buy a new card and a new power supply. The cost of upgrading parts can add up quickly. For me, a power supply would cost about $75; but the card itself would be a couple hundred. How far would $300 go towards a new system? Add in that bigger, faster disk drive (two, if you want a RAID controller which of course I do) and I'm off to the races.

It's up to you and your budget to figure out how high you can go. As I've mentioned before, I was in the performance consulting business for many years. There's a kind of Moore's law that operates in that realm, too: within one year you'll want a system twice as big as what you bought. Jerry Schwartz

All vodi

Senior Contributor Location: Canada Joined: Aug 21, 2009 11:24 Messages: 1431 Offline

Dec 03, 2012 21:14

Watercolorwilly ,

If you follow the recommended minimum config on the spec page of PD you'll be just fine :

http://www.cyberlink.com/products/powerdirector-ultra/specs_en_US.html

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at Dec 04. 2012 10:33

Win 10, i7

Watercolorwilly

Senior Member Location: Phoenix Joined: Mar 13, 2011 11:35 Messages: 211 Offline

Dec 03, 2012 22:37

I think I've stumbled onto something. My preview setting was at "full HD" so I changed it to just "HD Preview Resolution" which made a huge difference in playback. Before it was particularly bad when I added Video Enhancement or Color Adjustment. Now the same bothersome video examples are playing just fine with one notch lower in resolution. Bill Seifert
HP Pavilion Desktop TP01-2022
8 core
AMD Radeon
Windows 11, 16 GB RAM

All vodi

Senior Contributor Location: Canada Joined: Aug 21, 2009 11:24 Messages: 1431 Offline

Dec 04, 2012 10:35

Yes,

That is identical to what I have done when using PD11. PD10 supposedly played in full HD and smoother than PD11. But now I'm not so sure of that. Win 10, i7