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.

Graphics

Premiere Pro and After Effects take advantage of the GPU. We recommend a GPU with at least 8GB of memory. Multiple GPUs will speed up export and rendering.

6K/8K production recommendations

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Super
NVIDIA Quadro RTX A6000 / A5500 / A5000
NVIDIA Quadro RTX 6000 Ada / 5000 Ada

4K production recommendations

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Super / 4070 Super
NVIDIA Quadro RTX A5000 / A4500
NVIDIA Quadro RTX 4500 Ada / 4000 Ada

A common question we get is whether to go with a GeForce or Quadro graphics card and what the main differences are. In short, the actual graphics processor powering both series of cards is exactly the same. In fact, the processors come off of the same assembly line.

So why does the Quadro cost multiples more than the GeForce? The main reason is because the target customers for Quadro cards, namely large content production studios and engineering firms can afford these cards which allows NVIDIA to charge a premium for the couple extra features they enable.

However the GeForce and Quadro cards are not quite the same. For example, NVIDIA controls the specifications and quality assurance on all Quadro cards, while with GeForce cards the specifications and quality assurance are managed by the third party board partners. Furthermore, Quadro cards are a little more reliable because NVIDIA chooses the higher quality graphics chips for them. This results in better reliability, lower power consumption and lower heat output. In addition, Quadro cards have a larger video memory frame buffer that features error correction technology.

In terms of drivers, Quadro cards also get special drivers that are validated for professional grade applications such as for 3D modeling, animation, etc.

Storage

We recommend a NVMe SSD for the operating system, applications and project files. 1TB is the most common capacity for DaVinci Resolve workstations. 1TB is fine if your projects are moderately sized. 2TB is recommended if your projects are large and you will you will use the workstation for a variety of professional applications.

If your projects are complex, are running multiple applications as the same time, and you want to maximize performance, we recommend two SSDs:

1. Primary NVMe SSD: operating system and applications
2. Secondary NVMe SSD: dedicated to active projects

For storage or backup, we recommend a SATA SSD or Hard Drive.

M.2 NVMe Gen4 SSD performs at ~5,000MB/s
2.5-inch SATA SSD performs at ~500MB/s
3.5-inch SATA Hard Drive performs at ~250MB/s

The Z Turbo Drive Dual Pro yields maximum performance - remarkable drive speeds combined with massive SSD capacity. Supporting two M.2 NVMe SSDs on one PCIe Gen4 slot, each achieving 5000MB/s, the Z Turbo Drive Dual Pro is the ultimate footage drive. With the Intel Virtual RAID on CPU (Intel VROC), the NVMe SSDs can be partitioned in RAID array.

1. RAID0 for performance - two NVMe Gen4 SSDs in RAID0 will result in combined drive speeds and capacity. For example, two 4TB SSDs will result in a 8TB RAID0 partition performing at 10,000MB/s or 10Gb/s speeds ideal for your active editing/footage partition.
2. RAID1 for redundancy - two NVMe Gen4 SSDs in RAID1 will result in fast performance with redundancy. For example, two 4TB SSDs will result in a 4TB RAID1 partition performing at 5,000MB/s or 5Gb/s speeds while maintaining the 2nd drive is a mirror. If one drive fails, your data will be safe.

Memory

In general, 4GB 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.