Is 4K video editing possible on an i7-2600K system, upgraded with a GTX 1070 or higher?

[ryanfreer_77]

Hi, I'm still using a machine I built back in 2012, which has a 3.4 GHz i7-2600K on an Asus P8Z77-V Pro/Thunderbolt motherboard, with 8GB of DDR3-1600 and a GTX 570 SC. I mainly use this for audio and music production, but I've been able to edit video in 1080p with Vegas Pro, even though it really struggles with real-time performance at higher quality preview settings. 4K is of course, harder to work with. But will I be able to edit 4K video in real-time if I upgrade from 8GB to 24GB, add a GeForce GTX 1070 or 1080 and possibly an SSD?

(I just ordered a 16GB RAM kit to bring it up to 24GB). Really can't afford to build an entirely new PC at the moment, but if my current system will remain too slow to handle 4K editing...even with the GTX 1080 and SSD upgrades...I may need to return the 16GB RAM kit and just wait.

Any suggestions?

 

[chickenballs]

What kind of 4K video are you going to edit?
Your current rig may be able to handle 4k videos from low end cameras like GoPro but it will definitely not be able to handle raw 4k videos from Red cameras.
How much are you willing to pay for the upgrades?

for 415USD you get a 8core 16 threads Ryzen 7 motherboard and 2x8gb ddr4 2666 ram
https://pcpartpicker.com/list/Fj9fhy

 

[ryanfreer_77]

I’m currently shooting both 1080p and 4K UHD (3840x2160) in the XAVC-S MP4 format with a Sony A6300. It’s definitely not 4K RAW...at least not yet. When that time comes, I’ll make the leap to a much higher end machine. Ultimately the goal is to get smooth, full frame rate playback at the best quality settings while editing; or close to it before color grading and effects are applied.

So with the RAM, graphics card and SSD upgrades, you think my current machine is likely powerful enough to handle consumer/prosumer 4K UHD?

 

[dontlistentome]

The ram will help, as would the SSD. The next thing you could do is use software which leverages CUDA cores as much as possible, that will make good use of your 570. Some software is really dependent on the CPU, some will use the videocard just for things like effects, some will get good use out of the videocard all around. New generation cards have hardware encoding/decoding for 4k but that only helps if your software uses it.

Videocards reach a point of diminishing returns in video editing. Most likely a 1050 Ti is where any performance boost from a videocard ends. Serious video editing in 4k demands CPU power, it's one use where upgrading from an older i7 to a newer one is worth the cost.

The question you face is would this upgrade be worth it if it made your system more usable for 4k editing, or do you need a fast system instead of just a usable one?

 

[ryanfreer_77]

That's true. I'll settle for usable right now, as long as I can get smooth playback in the editing timeline. It's important to see the full frame rate and true resolution of the video content. Having to lower the quality and deal with choppy playback is a pain because you never really know what the edit will look like until it's been rendered.