I have upgraded my computer twice in the last year. And after each time, I have never felt like it was powerful enough to do the kind of work that I needed to do. It's really frustrating to never quite know why my computer isn't up to snuff. Most of the work I do I use Adobe After Effects or Adobe Premiere (both CC), and am trying to step into other programs like Cinema 4D & Nuke. But on the projects I currently work on, my computer fails to keep up when I'm trying to edit and color correct RAW footage. Case in point, I just set a 30 minute short film that was shot on red, some light visual effects were added and I color corrected it, and the total render time says it will take up to if not more than 50 hours.
My computer specs are:
- Mac Pro 8-core 2009 model
- 2.93 GHz with Turboboost
- Nvidia Gtx 580 graphics card
- 32 GB RAM
- SSD 128GB boot drive, 3 other drives for all media and project files
- Blackmagic Decklink SDI outputting to a broadcast monitor
I have constantly taken care to optimize program preferences and memory settings, keeping my computer files neat and tidy. So what else could I be missing?
It's a fairly general question, I know. But honestly, I could use anyone's speculation at this point.
Nick Montgomery
DP/Editor/Compositor
http://www.merc-media.com