PC Hardware Recommendations for Vegas at DVinfo.net

John Gilmore · August 31st, 2016, 11:11 AM

Apologies in advance if I have posted this in the wrong place.

I've just purchased Vegas through the special offer made available by Magix.

I assume that my five-year-old PC will not be up to the task so I was wondering if someone could recommend some systems for consideration.

I'll probably go with Dell or something similar, I'm even thinking of a laptop solution if that sounds reasonable.

Any comments or advice?

Leslie Wand · August 31st, 2016, 05:01 PM

what's your old pc?

what formats are you editing?

John Gilmore · September 1st, 2016, 06:12 AM

Not quite sure what it is except that it's very old.

I'll be editing 4K (XAVC 25p 100mbit).

Brian Drysdale · September 1st, 2016, 07:16 AM

A powerful 5 year old computer will handle 4k better than a bog standard brand new machine. I suspect your machine may not be that powerful if you're unware of the spec.

These are the System Requirements on the Vegas 13 site. Since you're editing 4k I wouldn't go for less. A USB 3 port would also make sense

Microsoft® Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 8.1, or Windows 10 (64-bit)
2 GHz processor (multicore or multiprocessor CPU recommended for HD or stereoscopic 3D; 8 cores recommended for 4K)
1 GB drive space for program installation
SSD or high-speed multi-disk RAID for 4K media
4 GB RAM (8 GB recommended; 16 GB recommended for 4K)
OHCI-compatible IEEE-1394DV card (for DV and HDV capture and print-to-tape)
USB 2.0 connection (for importing from AVCHD, XDCAM EX, NXCAM, or DVD camcorders)
Windows-compatible sound card
DVD-ROM drive (for installation from a DVD only)
Supported CD-recordable drive (for CD burning only)
Supported DVD-recordable drive (for DVD burning only)
Supported BD-R/-RE drive (for Blu-ray Disc burning only)
GPU-accelerated video processing and rendering requires an OpenCL™-supported NVIDIA®, AMD/ATI™, or Intel® GPU with 512MB memory; 1 GB for 4K.
Microsoft .NET Framework 4.0

George Dean · September 1st, 2016, 11:06 AM

Hi John,

A 6-core CPU should preview 4K source at full speed for 25p. 4K at 50p maybe not, I've never tested it. 8-core would obviously be better. If you have 4K source media you could simply test it on your current PC. Most likely you will want to let Vegas Pro 13 build proxies files, which of course run much easier than 4K source. If you don't want to install your purchase copy on your old box, you could download the trail version, install and test it.

Jeremiah Rickert · September 8th, 2016, 11:43 PM

Also for Vegas, having a Radeon-based video card with OpenCL is a must. Made a huge difference in rendering speeds for most of the projects I work on.

Steven Davis · September 16th, 2016, 05:24 PM

I build a new machine every three years. Make sure you get a solid state drive for editing imo, I'm fine with my two external g-drives, but a solid state drive will be better for your OS.

I spent about 2k on this machine after all was said and done, but that was just the box and external drives. Although, Sony Vegas is now owned by Magix, so it might be worth an email to them to find out what they think.

August 31st, 2016, 11:11 AM	#1
John Gilmore Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: London UK Posts: 103	PC Hardware Recommendations for Vegas Apologies in advance if I have posted this in the wrong place. I've just purchased Vegas through the special offer made available by Magix. I assume that my five-year-old PC will not be up to the task so I was wondering if someone could recommend some systems for consideration. I'll probably go with Dell or something similar, I'm even thinking of a laptop solution if that sounds reasonable. Any comments or advice?

August 31st, 2016, 05:01 PM	#2
Leslie Wand Trustee Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: upper hunter, australia Posts: 1,410	Re: PC Hardware Recommendations for Vegas what's your old pc? what formats are you editing? __________________ www.lesliewand.com.au

September 1st, 2016, 06:12 AM	#3
John Gilmore Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: London UK Posts: 103	Re: PC Hardware Recommendations for Vegas Not quite sure what it is except that it's very old. I'll be editing 4K (XAVC 25p 100mbit).

September 1st, 2016, 07:16 AM	#4
Brian Drysdale Inner Circle Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Belfast, UK Posts: 6,152	Re: PC Hardware Recommendations for Vegas A powerful 5 year old computer will handle 4k better than a bog standard brand new machine. I suspect your machine may not be that powerful if you're unware of the spec. These are the System Requirements on the Vegas 13 site. Since you're editing 4k I wouldn't go for less. A USB 3 port would also make sense Microsoft® Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 8.1, or Windows 10 (64-bit) 2 GHz processor (multicore or multiprocessor CPU recommended for HD or stereoscopic 3D; 8 cores recommended for 4K) 1 GB drive space for program installation SSD or high-speed multi-disk RAID for 4K media 4 GB RAM (8 GB recommended; 16 GB recommended for 4K) OHCI-compatible IEEE-1394DV card (for DV and HDV capture and print-to-tape) USB 2.0 connection (for importing from AVCHD, XDCAM EX, NXCAM, or DVD camcorders) Windows-compatible sound card DVD-ROM drive (for installation from a DVD only) Supported CD-recordable drive (for CD burning only) Supported DVD-recordable drive (for DVD burning only) Supported BD-R/-RE drive (for Blu-ray Disc burning only) GPU-accelerated video processing and rendering requires an OpenCL™-supported NVIDIA®, AMD/ATI™, or Intel® GPU with 512MB memory; 1 GB for 4K. Microsoft .NET Framework 4.0

September 1st, 2016, 11:06 AM	#5
George Dean Regular Crew Join Date: Oct 2015 Location: Navajo County, Arizona Posts: 109	Re: PC Hardware Recommendations for Vegas Hi John, A 6-core CPU should preview 4K source at full speed for 25p. 4K at 50p maybe not, I've never tested it. 8-core would obviously be better. If you have 4K source media you could simply test it on your current PC. Most likely you will want to let Vegas Pro 13 build proxies files, which of course run much easier than 4K source. If you don't want to install your purchase copy on your old box, you could download the trail version, install and test it. __________________ Best Regards.....George

September 8th, 2016, 11:43 PM	#6
Jeremiah Rickert Major Player Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Newberg, Oregon Posts: 494	Re: PC Hardware Recommendations for Vegas Also for Vegas, having a Radeon-based video card with OpenCL is a must. Made a huge difference in rendering speeds for most of the projects I work on.

September 16th, 2016, 05:24 PM	#7
Steven Davis Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Richmond, VA Posts: 3,065	Re: PC Hardware Recommendations for Vegas I build a new machine every three years. Make sure you get a solid state drive for editing imo, I'm fine with my two external g-drives, but a solid state drive will be better for your OS. I spent about 2k on this machine after all was said and done, but that was just the box and external drives. Although, Sony Vegas is now owned by Magix, so it might be worth an email to them to find out what they think. __________________ What happens if I push the 'Red' button?