WHAT SPECS FOR VID-EDIT PC?

I'm in need of either a new or a refurbished PC which will be used primarily for (amateur-low end) video, image and audio editing and processing.  The software I'll be using includes Topaz AI, Premiere Pro, Audition and Photoshop.   What would you recommend as the minimum specs I should look for?  Any and all advice and recommendations on specs (brand names, models, etc.) as well as input on new vs.. refurbished PC's (prtice being a critickal factor) are welcome and appreciated!

Edited by Chris Cosgrove, 27 November 2023 - 06:38 AM.
Moved from Internal hardware to Advice for a new computer

system requirements for the software >

https://docs.topazlabs.com/photo-ai/system-requirements

https://helpx.adobe.com/premiere-pro/system-requirements.html

https://helpx.adobe.com/audition/system-requirements.html

https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/system-requirements.html

I have reviewed the specs links for the software that you are planning to use.

Five years ago, I built my own system for content creation and editing.

You may be able to see my system specs if you click on my profile picture.

If not, here is a quick rundown of what my system contains:

(I went with an AMD CPU - Ryzen 5 5600G)

(Corsair RAM 32Gigabytes)

ASUS Motherboard - Prime x470-Pro

If I were to do one thing differently, I would select a separate GPU as it will provide greater (and dedicated) performance for graphics use, especially if you have multiple monitors. (I have only one: Alienware 2518HF)

In my case, I can allocate a selectable portion of the system RAM for use by the Integrated Graphics capability of the Ryzen CPU to accommodate the need for video RAM.

(Note that this was a trade-off in rendering performance that I was willing to make to stay within my budget at the time.)

My system is air-cooled as opposed to liquid cooled.

I hope this helps.

Your location - country is needed to be helpful, and of course a min and max budget ballpark figure. Does the amount include taxes and shipping or is that extra?

Your planned budget helps give us a good recommendation.

Also what about the monitor? Do you have a proper Adobe color correct monitor or will you  get one? And what resolution is the display - 1080 or 4K (just curious)?

Also since it is not for professional work, I am going to assume time involved to do the work by the software isn't a priority.

And refurbs can be a good choice and sometimes these are good bargains.

Edited by 0lds0d, 27 November 2023 - 08:47 AM.

I'd say to go with a gamer pc within your budget.  It has all the current resources that are also good for video editing.

Many years ago, I built my own pc to be able to do video editing too, and to this day, the video editing software (Magix Vegas 14) still performs nicely for my rare use and I don't feel the need to upgrade.

My response may - or may not! - help. I'm not going to give specific manufacturers or models, since, frankly, it's not so much a consideration these days as it once would have been. I can, however, help to narrow your choices down somewhat.

As somebody who does occasional video-editing, I'll speak from my own experience. Any decent quad-core CPU - Intel OR AMD, take your pick - with OR without hyper-threading will be more than adequate. What IS more important these days is to have a half-way decent GPU, since the vast majority of worthwhile video-editing applications will "offload" rendering to the GPU wherever possible.....because the highly-parallelized nature of video-edit operations are served far better by a GPU than they will be by a CPU.

The other definite requirement is a good amount of RAM. I would say a minimum of at least 16 GB, 32 GB IF you can stretch to it. I'd agree with the suggestion above; any good-quality refurb - for instance, any of the Dell Optiplex range - will be perfectly okay. Just outfit it with plenty of RAM and a decent GPU, and you'll have a perfect machine for the job.

(And obviously, a good amount of storage for your WIP AND those all-important "finished" items. This latter item goes without saying, TBH.)

Mike. 

Edited by Mike_Walsh, 30 November 2023 - 07:54 PM.

I will second Mike's post; a good GPU and memory is necessary.

THANK YOU TO ALL WHO REPLIED...forgive me for not respondintg to everyone who replied but for some reason until today I've been unable to reach theis website...keeps telling me the owner has blocked me from accessing the site.  I look forward to reading all replies and grteatly appreciate everyone's input.

WOW!  Now that I've read all the GREAT REPLIES to my topic, I'm full of enthusiasm, confidence and most of all APPRECIATION for everyone's generosity in sharing personal opinions,. Experience and advice.  I'm also suddenly more aware of just how popular digital video editing has become.  THANK YOU for all the help!