CPU or GPU for video/photo editing

[Noah_23]

Hi all,

I am configuring a new PC for video and photo editing and have a question regarding CPU vs GPU and which to put more money into. I need raw power for editing, this rig won't be for gaming.

Which would run Adobe Premiere, Photoshop and Lightroom faster and yield better render times:

Intel i7 Quad core 6700k
2x Nvidia GTX 1080

or

Intel i7 Eight Core 6900k
1x Nvidia GTX 1080

Or is the GTX 1080 overkill, and would a cheaper GPU and an even faster CPU be a better option for video/photo rendering? I read it's amazing for video rendering, but have also read the GPU isn't used as much as the CPU by Adobe Premiere.

I think I already know the answer but wanted to double check

 

[liberty610]

I do a lot of video editing myself. When it comes to video editing/rendering, the more horse power under the CPU is best. I myself use Sony Vegas, but the principals are about the same. Video editing is very CPU demanding, and the only things you really benefit from a video card with video editing is the Cuda cores for your real time FX. Cuda cores can speed up your rendering times a little, but the best things to go with are higher ram and cpu. I think the 1080 gpu is overkill for editing. I am using the GTX 960, but I also do some PC gaming.

I know in Vegas, you can set the properties in the program to utilize the amount of ram you have in conjunction with the CPU. I was editing on an AMD FX 8350 and 16 gigs of ram, but just upgraded to an Intel core i7 6800k with 16gb of ram, and I am seeing a massive amount of improvements, not just in rendering times, but in the smoothness of the playback on the timeline itself. I allow vegas to use 26 of my 32gb of ram during editing, and it has made a great difference.

I personally would not go with a 1080 card. Especially at the prices right now. Like I said, I have a 960 that only ran about $275, and I am doing just find in my sessions. If you are not doing gaming, or 4k editing, it's way overkill. Go for the Intel 6900k and get a board that supports a high ram count. I am running 32gb for now, but my board can take in 128gb of ram total. I will be making the upgrade next year to the full 128 Just because I can.

 

[Noah_23]

Ideally I want to keep it future proof, and I do occasionally edit in 4K, so may consider keeping the 1080 (but only one, not two), and then bump up the processor. Trouble is my budget will fit the Eight Core i7-6900 and one 1080 perfectly, but boosting the processor to the Ten Core i7-6950X pushes the budget far too high even with a cheaper graphics card.

I'm adding 32gb of RAM so I think the i7-6900 with a single 1080 will work great. Plus an SSD as the primary hard drive.

But quick question about RAM - which is better:

32GB HyperX SAVAGE DDR4 3000mhz

Or

64GB HyperX SAVAGE DDR4 2666mhz

Appreciate that the 32gb RAM will be faster, but would it be OK to sacrifice RAM speed for more total size, or is the speed difference not noticable?