DaVinci Resolve

Processor

Color Grading, Exporting

In general, more CPU cores will give you better performance in Resolve (especially when exporting) but with the exception of the free edition of Resolve it is generally better to spend you budget on more or higher-end GPUs before spending it on a more powerful CPU.

If working with 2K footage go with a single socket workstation. For 4K, 6K and 8K, a dual processor system is recommended with dual graphics cards.

H.264, ProRes, DNxHR

According to benchmarks, if working primarily with these codecs, it's best to stick with a single processor system as there is little to no performance gain with a dual CPU system.

R3D Footage

If you use R3D footage there can be very noticable performance gains with a dual Xeon workstation.

Memory

In general, 3-6GB of RAM per CPU core is recommended. For example, if you select a single 12-core processor, 32GB will suffice for basic tasks or 64GB for more demanding workloads.

With video editing, the amount of RAM required generally depends on the resolution of the video and the complexity of your timeline. As a general rule of thumb we recommend 24GB/32GB/48GB if you work with 1080p footage, 48GB/64GB/96GB for 4K footage, 96GB/128GB/196GB for 6K footage, and 196GB/256/384GB if you work with 8K footage.

Storage

We recommend having two solid-state drives which provides the best performance:

1. Primary Drive: SSD for the operating system and applications
2. Secondary Drive: SSD for active projects; a dedicated SSD will offer optimal performance

2.5-inch SATA SSD performs at ~500MB/s
M.2 NVMe PCIe 3.0 SSD performs at ~2500MB/s

For long term storage or backup, infrequently accessed files, we recommend a 4TB to 18TB hard drive. Hard drives also work well for storing export files as the export/rendering process is generally not write intensive.

The Z Turbo Drive Quad Pro yields the absolute maximum in performance - remarkable drive speeds combined with massive flash storage capacity. Supporting up to four m.2 NVMe flash storage drives on one PCIe slot, each reaching 1750MB/s write and 2500MB/s read speeds, the Z Turbo Drive Quad Pro is the ultimate footage drive. We recommend the Quad Pro in these two configurations:

1. One drive in the Quad Pro as primary - dedicated for the operating system and applications. Three drives in RAID configuration as a editing/footage partition - dedicated for storage of the project, source media, media cache and scratch files. A 3-drive RAID 0 configuration in the Quad Pro achieves speeds of 6GB/s, which is perfect for a 6K or 8K workflow. The benefit of this route is conserving a PCIe slot - the primary and editing partitions both on one PCIe slot opening a secondary PCIe slot for a specialty or port-expansion card.
2. All four drives in the Quad Pro in RAID 0 configuration dedicated as the editing/footage partition. Drive speeds reaching 9GB/s and up to 8TB capacity. Select a separate SATA 3 solid-state drive (SSD) or m.2 NVMe drive (HP Z Turbo Drive) for the operating system and appications. The benefit of this route is unparalled performance.

RAID 0 configurations are optimized for performance. Also known as disk striping, RAID 0 spreads the data across multiple phyical drives, allowing multiple disks to access the contents of a file, thus writes and reads will be completed quicker. The drawback to RAID 0 is that if a drive should fail, all data would be lost. Thus, we recommend back up of data on a RAID 0 using a standard spindle 7,200rpm hard drive.

Graphics

For post production video editing, we recommend NVIDIA GeForce RTX graphics cards as they provide high performance at a great value compared to Quadro cards.

For lower budget systems, we recommend the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti.

For higher budget systems, we recommend the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti.

For ultimate performance, we recommend the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090.

Read More: GeForce GTX vs. Quadro Graphics Cards

Chassis

The HP Z8 G4 Workstation is recommended if you would like dual processors and/or multiple high performance graphics cards.

The HP Z6 G4 Workstation is recommended if you would like to start with a single high-end processor and single high-performance graphics card with the potential of upgrading in the future. With the Z6 G4, you can add a second matching processor and double the memory using the optional second processor riser. The power supply will also support two mid-range graphics cards.

The HP Z4 G4 Workstation is recommended for majority of workflows. Since Intel now produces single Core i9 and Xeon processors with up to 18-cores and high clock speed, there is no need for dual processors unless you will have heavy CPU rendering or intensive tasks demanding more than 18-cores. Also, the HP Z4 G4 has an optional 1000W power supply that will support the most powerful graphics cards inluding the GeForce RTX 3080 and Quadro RTX A5000.

Specialty Hardware

Include a Blackmagic Decklink capture and playback card to your post-production workstation. Work with any video format and resolution that you need. Capture from cameras, decks and live feeds directly into editing, effects and design software applications. DeckLink Studio 4K and DeckLink SDI 4K feature high resolution Ultra HD, while DeckLink 4K Extreme 12G and DeckLink 4K Pro also includes dual link 12G-SDI, 2160p60 support, 4:4:4 image quality, 3D stereoscopic for advanced feature film visual effects, editing and color correction. There are DeckLink models to support either file or tape based workflows to precisely deliver perfect monitoring in editing and grading suites using professional SDI monitors, HDMI televisions and even video projectors.

Include a AJA KONA 5 integration and connectivity card to your post-production workstation. KONA 5 boasts 4x bidirectional 12G-SDI spigots with a Reference Input and 4K/UltraHD I/O can be achieved with either a single 12G-SDI or 6G-SDI cable, or quad 3G-SDI cables. 2K/HD I/O can be achieved with a single 3G-SDI cable, or dual link 1.5G-SDI, while allowing capture and monitoring via SDI to take place simultaneously. A full-sized HDMI 2.0 connection offers monitoring and output, with HDR , Deep Color and HFR support. Across the board, KONA 5 is the professionals choice for post, broadcast, graphics, virtual sets, pre-viz, live compositing and more.