Besides the relatively high price tag associated with purchasing a camera that can shoot decent 4K video, it’s important to also take into consideration whether or not your current editing computer has enough horsepower to handle such processor-intensive workflows.Odds are you may need to either upgrade your computer’s internal components or maybe even replace your workstation altogether.
Fortunately, with constant innovation coming from many computer component manufacturers such as the Ryzen line of CPUs from Team Red at AMD, it has now become more affordable than ever to integrate 4K footage into your production workflow, even if you are working on a shoestring budget.
Seasoned filmmaker and tech guru Max Yuryev shows off another budget-friendly computer build optimized for Adobe Premiere Pro and/or DaVinci Resolve for a relatively affordable price of $638, which would have been a fantasy if it weren’t for the new technologies that arose in recent times.
First off, here’s a quick rundown of the components for this fantastic build:
- Processor: AMD Ryzen 5 1600 Processor with Wraith Spire Cooler (B&H, Amazon US)
- Motherboard: ASUS Prime B350-Plus AMD Ryzen AM4 DDR4 HDMI DVI VGA M.2 USB 3.1 ATX B350 Motherboard (B&H, Amazon US)
- Memory: Crucial 16GB Single DDR4 2400 MT/s (PC4-19200) DR x8 Unbuffered DIMM 288-Pin Memory (B&H, Amazon US)
- GPU (for DaVinci Resolve): Gigabyte GIGABYTE Radeon RX 560 Gaming OC 4GB GPU (B&H, Amazon US)
- GPU (for Adobe Premiere Pro): Gigabyte GTX 1050 Ti Windforce OC 4GB GDDR5 GPU (B&H, Amazon US)
- SSD (Storage): SanDisk SSD PLUS 120GB Solid State Drive (B&H, Amazon US)
- Case: NZXT S340 Mid Tower Computer Case, White (B&H, Amazon US)
- Power Supply: EVGA 450 B1, 80+ BRONZE 450W PSU (B&H, Amazon US)
- LED Lighting: Tingkam 5050 SMD 2 pcs. 18 LEDS 30cm Red Color LED Strip Case (Amazon US)
Now the real hero of this build is the Ryzen 5 processor from AMD as when overclocked from 3.2 GHz to 3.8 GHz, it delivers performance that matches more expensive processors at almost half the price. You can check out all of the comprehensive benchmarks conducted by Yuryev in the above video.
All in all, this workstation can process 4K footage at a fraction of the cost of editing computers of yesteryear. The benchmarks also show a significant speed increase when using DaVinci Resolve so if you’re currently in the market for a build optimized for the platform, this may be the one you’re looking for.
Ultimately, the beauty of this AMD Ryzen 5 PC is that in the future, you’ll be able to upgrade your components as your needs change. Thinking of adding some simple yet inexpensive speed increases? No problem, just upgrade the memory. Want a beefier graphics card? Sure, go right ahead and grab the latest one! At least with this build, you would have a solid foundation as your workload increases and your demand for processing power becomes more prevalent.
Again, kudos to Max for putting together this extremely efficient, budget-friendly video editing PC. If you like this build or want to find more similar custom configurations, make sure you check out and subscribe to Max Yuryev’s YouTube channel here.
[source: Max Yuryev]
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