Help for GPU Upgrade - $300 Max

[mealto]

Use case is mostly for video editing, minimal gaming. Current system has 16GB of RAM + SSD + i5 7500 + GTX 1050. It's mainly a business machine + photo editing. Have been using it to edit videos using Premier Pro but recently started to use Davinci Resolve. For single 1080 video files, editing is just fine. When I add multiple video tracks, things get sluggish. Don't really care that export time is a bit long as the free version of Davinci does not utilize GPU for exporting. It's the editing sluggishness I am trying to decrease.

 

1. I may add another 16GB to bring the system up to 32GB. Cost is $100 + tax. Seems ok.

 

2. Given I have an i5 7500, will going to RX 570 8GB make sense? Or will going to an RX 580 or other GTX cards make more sense? 4K video requires 8GB, that is the only requirement that I know. Not even sure the 7500 can keep up editing 4K video files.

 

Any thoughts on my current scenario. Can a GPU up to $300 (RX 580 8GB) make a significant difference? What about the RX 570 8GB at $200? Is this the level I should be looking at?

[MeatFeastMan]

Vega 56 has 8gb + HBCC (That can very helpful for what you're using it for), and costs exactly 300. I'd get that if I were you. Outperforms everything at 300 or lower:

 

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/cKhKHx/sapphire-radeon-rx-vega-56-2gb-pulse-video-card-11276-02-40g

 

 

[SupaKomputa]

1. Before you do that, ask yourself why you need 32gb. 16gb is big enough for now. More memory won't boost your system.

2. From 1050, RX570 / 580 will be 2 or 3 times faster. If you expect it to do well in 1080p at 60+ fps, it do it with flying colors. Plus its very cheap now, new around $150 and used is around $80-100. If you don't use gpu acceleration in davinci, upgrading gpu won't fix your sluggishness. I used to edit with 1050 just fine.

[trevb0t]

1 hour ago, mealto said:

Can a GPU up to $300 (RX 580 8GB) make a significant difference? What about the RX 570 8GB at $200?

Are you in Canada? If you're U.S. Based, the pricing is way different than that..

[iCEshadow]

Maybe if you can find a used 1070/TI or maybe even a used 1080

[trevb0t]

For new, if you're in the U.S. $300 could get you a Vega 56, 1660Ti, or around 230-260 could get you an RX 590.

[Zafeti]

What about Vega 64? I found one online on Newegg for exactly $299.99 (excluding shipping and whatnot). You might wanna check it out... If you overclock it you can get a little bit more bang than a 1050 non-overclocked

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131746&ignorebbr=1&source=region&nm_mc=KNC-GoogleAdwords-PC&cm_mmc=KNC-GoogleAdwords-PC-_-pla-_-Video+Cards+-+AMD%2FATI-_-N82E16814131746&gclid=CjwKCAjwza_mBRBTEiwASDWVvs0stKKOkW47D4cr8lhMCB2fhhApauELlrzKlau2hqM7_e2GCJc_lhoCItgQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

 

It is a very long link I know. 

[Zafeti]

35 minutes ago, iCEshadow said:

Maybe if you can find a used 1070/TI or maybe even a used 1080

I found one on Newegg but its clock speeds were terrible for some reason ( although it has a lot of CUDA cores).

[trevb0t]

7 minutes ago, Zafeti said:

What about Vega 64? I found one online on Newegg for exactly $299.99 (excluding shipping and whatnot). You might wanna check it out... If you overclock it you can get a little bit more bang than a 1050 non-overclocked

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131746&ignorebbr=1&source=region&nm_mc=KNC-GoogleAdwords-PC&cm_mmc=KNC-GoogleAdwords-PC-_-pla-_-Video+Cards+-+AMD%2FATI-_-N82E16814131746&gclid=CjwKCAjwza_mBRBTEiwASDWVvs0stKKOkW47D4cr8lhMCB2fhhApauELlrzKlau2hqM7_e2GCJc_lhoCItgQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

 

It is a very long link I know. 

Are you... Trying to troll me? Lol

 

The Vega 64 is directly comparable to an RTX 2070. It's approximately 2.6x more powerful than a 1050 (which equates to a proverbial shitload.) 

 

That said, that's a reference model, so in terms of cooling it's going to run hot. OCing would likely not be a reachable dream.

Not all cards need to be OCed to just be beefcakes, though. $300 is a great deal.

 

[GamerDude]

The VEGA56 that MeatFeastMan had linked is a damn good card for up to 1440P gaming, that is has twin fan 3rd party fan config makes it run cooler than stock. The stock VEGA64 at 300USD is a nice deal too, but it'd run hotter and louder than those with 3rd party coolers (I know coz I had a Gigabyte stock RX VEGA64 a while back, though it was excellent at games, it did get loud and ran hot). I've since replaced it with a pair of Gigabyte RX VEGA64 Gaming OC and they ran less loudly and cooler (just gotta ensure that you have enough exhaust fans to vent hot air within case as these cards do not blow out hot air via rear exhaust vent).

[mealto]

So here is the deal after some monitoring.

 

1. During playback on Davinci timelines that are loaded with video tracks, CPU is hitting 100% but GPU load is hovering at 20%. BUT, VRAM usage on the GPU is close to 75-80%. The 1050 only has 2GB of RAM. 

 

2. Davinci has an option to create optimized media files and after doing so, playback shows CPU usage bounces from 50%-65%, GPU load remained at 20% along with VRAM usage at 75-80%. BUT, optimized media generated (at 50%resolution) playback shows 0 dropped frames and everything is smooth again.

 

As I mentioned, I am focused more on the getting smoother editing and export times are less important. I wonder if my CPU is the bottleneck instead of the GPU at this point. Would you say my interpretation of the numbers above points to a CPU as the culprit for dropped frames during editing?

 

As of right now, generating optimized media brings editing back to being smooth again. Having said that, I am considering the MSI RX570 ($199 CAD) or MSI RX 580 ($299). Both will give me 8GB of VRAM. Not even sure if that will benefit me for Davinci Resolve. 

 

Thoughts?

[mealto]

Wanted to ask one more question, I have the EVGA SuperNOVA 550 G3 and there are currently 2 cables that says VGA on it. One is a 6+2 and the other is a 6+2 plus there is an extension with another 6+2.

 

1. I assume I can use the 6+1 cable to power the RX 570?

 

2. Is the second cable with the extension meant for Crossfire setups?