need some advice on new PC in order to get the most out of PD 13

JoeZ99

Member Joined: Oct 12, 2014 08:05 Messages: 57 Offline

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Oct 12, 2014 08:20

I haven't yet purchased PowerDirector 13 Deluxe but I will- but first I intend to purchase a new PC which will be powerful enough for editing.

The one hardware concern I have is- whether to splurge for a SSD boot drive.

It's either I get: a system with a 256 G boot drive plus a 2nd internal very large HHD

or, I get a HDD boot drive with at 32 G SSD as a cache to the HDD.

Of course the SSD boot drive will have advantages- the system will come up faster and any program will load faster- but, will the entire video editing process seem all THAT much faster?

I also intend to get at least 16 G of RAM and a fast video card. (almost certainly it'll be a Dell XPS system with Win 8.1)

I'll spend the extra $$$ if the editing experience will be significantly faster but if it's only going to be a little faster, I can save hundreds of bucks.

This posting may be in the wrong area- so I won't mind if the moderator moves it.
Joe

philscomputerlab

Member Joined: Oct 09, 2014 03:04 Messages: 53 Offline

Oct 12, 2014 08:42

I have another option for you. Seagate is selling hybrid hard drives. I use these in two of my machines. The drive I have comes with 2 TB and has caching SSD inside. It works well for me, speeding up booting and tasks that I do over and over and I don't have to worry about having several drives. Website
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JoeZ99

Member Joined: Oct 12, 2014 08:05 Messages: 57 Offline

Oct 12, 2014 09:32

Phil, I believe my second option I mentioned is a hybrid drive though Dell doesn't call it that. That 32 G SSD cache is attached to the HHD and it's seen as a single drive by the computer, so I presume that's a hybrid drive- or, I don't have a good understanding of what a hybrid drive is. I just wonder if it would be almost as fast as the first option- given that it's much cheaper.
Joe

philscomputerlab

Member Joined: Oct 09, 2014 03:04 Messages: 53 Offline

Oct 12, 2014 10:23

Oh I see I thought it would be separate. What these solutions do is remember information you use frequently. So booting or loading office will be quite fast. But when you are doing something new like installing a program or video editing it will perform just like a standard hard drive.

I have to be honest and a dedicated SSD will always be faster, sometimes significantly. The hybrid SSD can't do miracles but it's convenient and good value. Website
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JL_JL

Senior Contributor Location: Arizona, USA Joined: Oct 01, 2006 20:01 Messages: 6091 Offline

Oct 12, 2014 10:26

Quote: Phil, I believe my second option I mentioned is a hybrid drive though Dell doesn't call it that. That 32 G SSD cache is attached to the HHD and it's seen as a single drive by the computer, so I presume that's a hybrid drive- or, I don't have a good understanding of what a hybrid drive is. I just wonder if it would be almost as fast as the first option- given that it's much cheaper.
Joe

No, it's not a hybrid drive, that's different. What Dell is referring to is using the mSATA slot on the motherboard as a cache. It is a small, 32GB SSD on a chip that plugs into the mSATA slot, not a full SATA SSD hard drive or a full SATA Hybrid drive. Dell on many platforms offer an optional mSATA SSD paired with a traditional hard drive. These systems use the mSATA SSD as a cache and present the mSATA + traditional HDD as one contiguous drive. Systems with the mSATA SSD + traditional HDD get a performance boost in boot and a few other operations as that's cached to the faster SSD.

Jeff

JoeZ99

Member Joined: Oct 12, 2014 08:05 Messages: 57 Offline

Oct 12, 2014 16:54

OK, I'm starting to understand this. Every time I buy a new PC, after several years of ignoring the developments, I have to struggle to catch up. So, I presume having the first option of a real 256 G boot drive and the 2nd internal drive as a data drive will greatly enhance video editing? I presume having a great deal of RAM is more important for editing speed- and I may go all the way for 24 G of RAM or maybe even 32 which is what their top of the line XPS system offers.

But, it seems like 256 G SSD for a boot drive is overkill- much if may never get used- then again, we always say that when we buy new systems and after a few years, every program needs more and more and more....
Joe

philscomputerlab

Member Joined: Oct 09, 2014 03:04 Messages: 53 Offline

Oct 12, 2014 17:16

No such thing as overkill when it comes to storage

A 120 GB fills up FAST.

I don't find tha PD needs a lot of RAM. I see the CPU as the most important. Get an i7. And maybe I'm biased, but I avoid any graphics acceleration in PD. There are always issues with drivers, compatibility, quality. The processor just works. Website
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SoNic67

Senior Contributor Joined: Sep 27, 2014 14:14 Messages: 1308 Offline

Oct 12, 2014 19:27

Video cards work too...

philscomputerlab

Member Joined: Oct 09, 2014 03:04 Messages: 53 Offline

Oct 12, 2014 19:34

Quote: Video cards work too...

Yes but you got to be honest. There is a history of PD and driver issues with graphics cards. You yourself are using an ancient driver and an old graphics card.

Just because something works for you doesn't mean there are no issues. And it's something that people need to be aware of because a graphics card can cost quite a bit of money. Website
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SoNic67

Senior Contributor Joined: Sep 27, 2014 14:14 Messages: 1308 Offline

Oct 12, 2014 19:40

I use the latest nVidia drivers. With the last version of CUDA encoder.
Lots of people here say it's working for them too.
I don't vouch for ATI thou.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at Oct 12. 2014 19:41

philscomputerlab

Member Joined: Oct 09, 2014 03:04 Messages: 53 Offline

Oct 12, 2014 19:45

In the other thread you said the current version doesn't work. You recommended rolling back to an old driver or hacking the driver with some DLL file. Website
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SoNic67

Senior Contributor Joined: Sep 27, 2014 14:14 Messages: 1308 Offline

Oct 12, 2014 19:51

That's exactly what I did. "Hacking" involves in copying three files that are not provided anymore in newer drivers, but PD still needs them.

JoeZ99

Member Joined: Oct 12, 2014 08:05 Messages: 57 Offline

Dec 20, 2014 08:21

So, I did purchase a new Dell loaded with all the bells and whistles- a 256 G SSD, a 2 T second internal drive, 24 G of RAM, their best 24" monitor (1920x1200 res.), a 2 G video card, the i7 CPU, a Blu-ray player and W8.1. I then got a 4 T external drive.

I installed the trial version of PD 13, but, as I mentioned in a new post today, I was shocked to see that the installation without my knowledge installed Norton AV- the shortcut to that program showed up on the Desktop.

I haven't had much time to review the program- but what I saw I liked, other than the dark screens. I wish there was a way to change the overall look of the program???

I'll eventually purchase the program, but I sure hope CyberLink removes Norton from the installation, or at least make it an option.
Joe

GGRussell

Senior Contributor Joined: Jan 08, 2012 11:38 Messages: 709 Offline

Dec 20, 2014 11:01

Quote: I may go all the way for 24 G of RAM or maybe even 32 which is what their top of the line XPS system offers.

There have already been many discussions on PD and memory use. In general, PD uses about 1.5GB of RAM during render. May use a bit more depending on FX and transitions, etc. Personally, PD has never used more than abt 2GB on my machine.

I have 16GB in my system and the most I've ever seen used was about 4GB. That was with several apps running including PD rendering a two hour video. I even turned off Pagefile system to force Windows to use more RAM for the OS. Intel i7 4770k, 16GB, GTX1060 3GB, Two 240GB SSD, 4TB HD, Sony HDR-TD20V 3D camcorder, Sony SLT-A65VK for still images, Windows 10 Pro, 64bit
Gary Russell -- TN USA

SoNic67

Senior Contributor Joined: Sep 27, 2014 14:14 Messages: 1308 Offline

Dec 20, 2014 19:25

You can make a RAM-DISK with all that RAM memory (at least with 16GB of it) and use it to render your video in it. It would be faster than any SSD/HDD. You just have to copy the file from RAM into the real HDD before you shut down the computer.
Personally I found out that PD, in my projects, did not use more than 2GB of memory. Kind of sad... but that's it.
Also "a 2GB video card" doesn't say too much.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at Dec 20. 2014 19:26

BarryTheCrab

Senior Contributor Location: USA Joined: Nov 06, 2008 22:18 Messages: 6240 Offline

Dec 20, 2014 21:05

Quote: but I sure hope CyberLink removes Norton from the installation, or at least make it an option.Joe

Where did you download the trial?
To my knowledge, there is no additional software tied to PD, when downloaded through Cyberlink, or approved vendors.
"Vendors" is a critical word in this.
CNET, and the like, are not vendors. HP Envy Phoenix/4thGen i7-4770(4@3.4GHz~turbo>3.9)
Nvidia GTX 960(4GB)/16GB DDR3/
Canon Vixia HV30/HF-M40/HF-M41/HF-G20/Olympus E-PL5.
Tape capture using 6 VCR, TBC-1000, Elite BVP4+, Sony D8 camcorder with TBC.
https://www.facebook.com/BarryAFTT

Paul1945

Contributor Location: South Africa Joined: Apr 12, 2014 14:11 Messages: 327 Offline

Dec 21, 2014 02:26

Love it

My NEW Updates
Gigabyte/Intel i7-4770(4@3.4GHz~turbo>3.9)/Nvidia GTX 970 (4.0GB),Driver:Geforce 347.09/32GB DDR3/Win 8.1 pro x64
128GB 2.5" Sata III SSD340/2TB sata 6GB/S 64MB 7200 Rpm,4TB SSHD
works Perfect with PD 13
Shots with GopRO4 Silver give me a Big Pauls PC
X399 AORUS Extreme/AMD Ryzen2970WX/1xQuatro 4000 Driver:Geforce 419.67Skill V DDR4 64GB/3200MHz/Win10 prox64
Intel SSD 750/400 / Intel SSD 750/1.2Tb 1x4TB SSHD /1xSeagate 10TB pro
1xSamsung UA28D590 4k LUMIX GH5 1xLG HDR

SoNic67

Senior Contributor Joined: Sep 27, 2014 14:14 Messages: 1308 Offline

Dec 21, 2014 06:49

Quote:
Nvidia GTX 970 (4.0GB),Driver:Geforce 347.09/32GB DDR3/Win 8.1 pro x64

Latest driver for your card is 344.75?

Paul1945

Contributor Location: South Africa Joined: Apr 12, 2014 14:11 Messages: 327 Offline

Dec 21, 2014 12:14

Sorry my Driver 347.09
Release Date 17-12-2014
last Check 2 Minutes ago !! Pauls PC
X399 AORUS Extreme/AMD Ryzen2970WX/1xQuatro 4000 Driver:Geforce 419.67Skill V DDR4 64GB/3200MHz/Win10 prox64
Intel SSD 750/400 / Intel SSD 750/1.2Tb 1x4TB SSHD /1xSeagate 10TB pro
1xSamsung UA28D590 4k LUMIX GH5 1xLG HDR

Paul1945

Contributor Location: South Africa Joined: Apr 12, 2014 14:11 Messages: 327 Offline

Dec 21, 2014 12:18

GeForce Game Ready Driver
New in GeForce Game Ready Drivers
The latest GeForce Game Ready driver, release 347.09 Beta, ensures you'll have the best possible gaming experience for Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes and Elite: Dangerous

Game Ready
Best gaming experience for Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes and Elite: Dangerous
Pauls PC
X399 AORUS Extreme/AMD Ryzen2970WX/1xQuatro 4000 Driver:Geforce 419.67Skill V DDR4 64GB/3200MHz/Win10 prox64
Intel SSD 750/400 / Intel SSD 750/1.2Tb 1x4TB SSHD /1xSeagate 10TB pro
1xSamsung UA28D590 4k LUMIX GH5 1xLG HDR