Recommended Systems for DaVinci Resolve

 

Standard Workstation

Intel w/ Thunderbolt 3

Configure

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R3D Optimized

AMD Threadripper

Configure

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I'm thinking of moving from Mac to PC. Can you help?

Absolutely! Over the years we have helped quite a few of our customer make the move from Mac to PC. In fact, it is a large enough number that we have a dedicated Moving from Mac to PC? FAQ page to answer some of the more common questions we receive.

Will these systems work for the Free Edition of Resolve?

From a hardware perspective, the main limitation of the free edition is that it only supports a single GPU. Either of our Resolve workstations should work great for the free edition of Resolve, just don't waste your budget on multiple GPUs that you will not be able to use.

Do any of your systems support Thunderbolt?

Yes! Our Standard Workstation natively supports Thunderbolt 3 which is currently the latest and fastest version of Thunderbolt. Unfortunately, our R3D Optimized system uses the AMD Threadripper platform which, while great when working with RED footage, does not have official Thunderbolt support.

Do your systems support 10-bit HDMI or SDI displays?

Depending on the selected hardware, our workstations do support 10-bit displays. One method to do so is to use an NVIDIA Quadro video card, but we also list a number of Blackmagic Decklink cards that can be used for 10-bit HDMI/SDI 4K displays. Depending on the ports you need, we currently offer both the Blackmagic Decklink Mini Monitor 4K and the Decklink Studio 4K 6G-SDI.

These systems are too big. Do you have anything more compact?

We can certainly configure a more compact workstation if you need something that either fits in a smaller space or is easier to transport. However, be aware that they will be limited to a maximum of two GPUs and less total system RAM so they will not be quite as powerful as the systems we specifically target for DaVinci Resolve. We recommend contacting one of our consultants, or if you wish to configure one yourself, our Peak Mini platform is a great starting point.

Can I use Linux instead of Windows?

While Linux can at times be the right choice, in our DaVinci Resolve 14 Performance: Windows vs Linux testing we actually found that Windows should overall give you slightly better performance. In addition, there are a number of major considerations that should be taken into account such as the steep learning curve of Linux, lack of support for features like Thunderbolt, and the fact that you need to use a Decklink or Intensity card if you want to have audio through DaVinci Resolve. If you have a specific need for Linux, we can install CentOS by special request but in general we highly recommend using Windows 10 if possible.

I'm not sure what system hardware I should use. Help!

Depending on how much you want to dig into hardware and system specs, we have a couple different ways to help. First, we have a Hardware Recommendations page specifically for DaVinci Resolve that goes over all the different major hardware components and why you would use one part over another. Alternatively, you can always contact one of our consultants and we can help you configure a system that is perfectly tailored for your workflow.
Phone: (425) 458-0273
Email: sales@pugetsystems.com