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Forum: VirtualDJ Technical Support

Topic: What are the best specs for a small form desk top PC to run VDJ8 ... video mixing application - Page: 1

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drjustPRO InfinityMember since 2006
I need to buy a new computer that will properly handle VDJ 8 .... in video DJ mode IE play back of music vids, without freezing lagging etc.

What are the best specs for a small form desk top PC?
 
geposted Tue 21 Nov 17 @ 8:57 pm
Are you planning on building it yourself, or buying already assembled? What is your budget?
 
geposted Tue 21 Nov 17 @ 9:13 pm
drjustPRO InfinityMember since 2006
buying already assembled.... budget $800 max been looking at computers on amazon:

HP CR16VFHPDT0207 6200 Small Form Business High Performance Desktop, Intel Core i5 2400 3.1G, 16G DDR3, 2TB HDD, DVDRW, Windows 10 Professional,

Processor 3.1 GHz Intel Core i5
RAM 16 GB DDR3
Hard Drive 2000 GB Mechanical Hard Drive
Card Description Integrated
Graphics Card Ram Size 128 GB

2018 HP Elite 8300 SFF Small Form Factor Business Desktop Computer, Intel Quad Core i7-3770 Up to 3.9GHz, 16GB RAM, 256GB SSD, 2TB HDD, WiFi, USB 3.0, DVD, Windows 7 Pro

Processor: Intel Quad Core i7-3770 Processor 3.4GHz (Turbo up to 3.9GHz, 8 MB Cache)
Graphics: Integrated Intel HD 2500 Graphics
Memory: 16GB DDR3 Memory
Memory Slots: 4
Hard Drive: 256GB SSD+2TB HDD
 
geposted Tue 21 Nov 17 @ 9:57 pm
drjustPRO InfinityMember since 2006
HP Pavilion 510-a157cb desktop


CPUAMD A8-7410 Processor (4 cores, 4 threads)
CPU features2MB cache and 2.2GHZ, Up to 2.5GHz
RAM8GB Memory
RAM TypeDDR3-1600MHz
Hard Drive1TB SATA HDD
Hard Drive RPM7200 RPM
Optical DriveDVD drive
Cloud storage–
DisplayHP 22uh 21.5-inch Monitor
Display featuresFull HD LED Backlit
Resolution1920x 1080
TouchscreenNo
GraphicsAMD Radeon R5 Graphics
Graphics Memory–
 
geposted Tue 21 Nov 17 @ 10:06 pm
I build desktops, and these are my thoughts about these computers. I only use Intel processors. I will not do intergraded graphics. There are people here that say they don't have issues with them, but personally I like to keep my work load separate. I don't do VGA, as I personally think it's dated, as is Windows 7. The 16g of RAM is good, but it is DDR3. My advice is to save your money and get what you want, not what you can afford. Why, because you will end up getting what you want later on, so why spend twice.

I am in the process of rebuilding my desktop, and realize that not everyone is in my position. I was not always in this position. I am not doing as well as some, but doing better than most. That's been my outlook on life, and carries over into my DJ business. If you want to just get by, they will work, but I would make the investment to exceed, and make that money back.

My desktop has been sitting here almost 2 months, waiting for some love. I have been lazy and busy, but also waiting for this weekend for deals. I also have the laptop and a Surface Pro 3 as a backup. I may also get a new laptop, as this one will be 3 years old next month.

So you can listen to some of the other members here, but my advise is to not go with any of these machines.
 
geposted Tue 21 Nov 17 @ 10:42 pm
drjustPRO InfinityMember since 2006
going with a msi gaming laptop
 
geposted Wed 22 Nov 17 @ 11:01 am
drjustPRO InfinityMember since 2006
after further research I came across this liquid cooled small form factor desk top


PROCESSOR Intel Core i5-6400 (quad-core 2.7GHz, up to 3.3GHz)
CHIPSET Intel, NVIDIA
SYSTEM MEMORY 2 x DDR3L-1600 SODIMM Slots (up to 16GB)
GRAPHICS

GRAPHICS ENGINE NVIDIA GeForce® GTX 980 w/ 4GB GDDR5

any thoughts on performance potential RE vd 8 video play back to video displays
 
geposted Thu 23 Nov 17 @ 12:40 am
drjustPRO InfinityMember since 2006
msi laptop specs (i7-7700HQ, 16GB RAM, 256GB SATA SSD + 1TB HDD, NVIDIA GTX 1050 2GB, thoughts?
 
geposted Thu 23 Nov 17 @ 2:49 am
Mac mini $699.00

2.6GHz Processor
1TB Storage
2.6GHz dual-core Intel Core i5
8GB memory
1TB hard drive1
Intel Iris Graphics

Will run video flawlessly
 
geposted Fri 24 Nov 17 @ 1:27 am
drjustPRO InfinityMember since 2006
what about this
Zotac Magnus Intel Core i5-7500T 2.7GHz/2TB 5400RPM + 500GB M.2 Solid State Drive - 32GB DDR4 SDRAM - Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 6GB GDDR5 Graphics - Windows 10 Mini Gaming Desktop
 
geposted Fri 24 Nov 17 @ 6:40 am
AdionPRO InfinityCTOMember since 2006
I would definitely not recommend the mac mini, it is severely outdated, has little memory, no dedicated video card and not even an ssd.

Most of the others look fine, a recent i5 processor, SSD, 16GB ram and a dedicated video card with lots of ram will certainly help :)
 
geposted Fri 24 Nov 17 @ 7:14 am
What is the advantage of having an external video card in real life terms?

I have been running video out from VDJ to HDMI from my Lenovo laptop which has on-board Intel 4400 graphics and it's worked perfectly for three years now.

Two of my weekly gigs are all video for 4 hours plus and no issues at all.

To be honest, a lot of the problems I see on forums relating to video playback are those with dedicated cards due to unstable or updated drivers that don't work properly. No such problems with the Intel integrated graphics whatsoever.

There may have been an advantage in having a dedicated card years ago, but now I'm not so sure. Any answers to this would be helpful.
 
geposted Fri 24 Nov 17 @ 10:39 am
AdionPRO InfinityCTOMember since 2006
Yes, in most recent cpu's the integrated graphics are very decent as well, so for most video work a dedicated card is not absolutely necessary.

The dedicated video memory can be useful in case you want to do a lot of video scratching.
The extra power is probably only needed when using power-hungry effects/visualisations or running a lot of 4k/60fps videos simultaneously.
 
geposted Fri 24 Nov 17 @ 11:13 am
Adion, its true the mac mini is older in specs and does not have an ssd (which doesnt make VDJ run any better) however dollar for dollar (especially if you look at factory refurnished) it will run VDJ as well or better than many windows machines costing the same. Plus the biggest benefit is that it can run both windows and mac os.
 
geposted Sat 25 Nov 17 @ 7:33 pm
AdionPRO InfinityCTOMember since 2006
For the price it is ridiculously expensive compared to what you could get from a new pc.
Of course refurbished or second hand will be cheaper but that would be the same for a pc.
 
geposted Sat 25 Nov 17 @ 10:13 pm
 
geposted Sun 26 Nov 17 @ 2:52 am
kradcliffe wrote :
To be honest, a lot of the problems I see on forums relating to video playback are those with dedicated cards due to unstable or updated drivers that don't work properly. No such problems with the Intel integrated graphics whatsoever.


When you see people reporting such problems, it is from a large user base. An individual may never see a problem like that. Intel GPUs do have driver problems on occasion but it appears they make an extreme attempt to hide that fact. I know because I had to hunt an Intel GPU driver problem down. It took months. I finally found where Intel admitted to the problem and it was buried very deep. I found the driver that fixed the problem which was not publicly available at the time. Some problems occur because they try to cram a high end GPU and low end GPU in to same laptop to work in tandem and it causes problems at times. This is a bad thing. Computers don't normally come with a high end GPU. Some people just don't need it and so no point is raising the cost in general. So with laptops, some have a second GPU slotted in and probably not something a user can do. Desktops and tower computers have no such problem. You can most put any GPU you want in them. My tower came with a low end GPU in it. I never even tried using it. The on board GPU is completely disabled when you put another GPU into the computer. There is no conflict or confusion.


kradcliffe wrote :
There may have been an advantage in having a dedicated card years ago, but now I'm not so sure. Any answers to this would be helpful.


Someday you may become aware of your limitations but if something is doing an adequate job for you then fine. There can be a great advantage to using a high end GPU and CPU.

1) I want my computer running smooth and not stressed out at all times. To me it is laughable when someone says my computer CPU is only running at 60-80 percent. I would be freaking out if I was out there performing and my computer was doing that.

2) I spent a lot of time trying to milk a low end GPU to get the most out of it. It was fine for basic video but I could only go so far with it. I tried everything I could and since I am programmer it was from that perspective. It does depend on what you are doing but I don't want to be limited to just basic stuff. That is boring in my eyes. Everyone can already play video at home or where ever and on a 25 dollar DVD player, television, computer, etc. I only had that low end GPU because I had to replace my other GPU and needed something quick so I could work and that's all they had had here in beach town. But with most everything I get I usually take it thru a number of test while I have it. By the way I use a tower computer that sits on the floor and not a laptop so I can plug and play stuff in my computer whenever. I then replaced the low end GPU with a GTX 1060. The 1060 cost me 240 dollars for the dual fan version. I get the card and realize my computer did not have an adequate power supply for it. Big deal, I have other computer parts here I have saved over the years. I take the correct power supply out of another shell and presto, everything is golden. Now I could see where the next level of high end graphics could go for real rather than just thoughts.

3) A lot of people just don't realize how weak there computers might be when it comes to certain things. They can't see a problem so to them everything is perfect. The 'looks good to me" for testing is valid. You may not see the problems because you are just playing videos that have a lot of noise and movement which hides the problems from you. Sort of the magic of animation in some cases. If you really can't see the problems then it is still all good. It is extremely easy to run things that show the problems though and for everyone the "looks good to me" test will fail. I have spent a lot of time in the forums on this subject with test cases and explanations. Not many respond though or don't understand it or don't think it applies to them. It is in these forums and you can go find it if you think your computer is perfect.

Notes on laptops, desktops and tower computers.

Desktops are mostly designed to sit on your desk. Some place their monitor on top of it. Tower computers are mostly designed to sit on the floor and have a vertical orientation and can have more room in them then desktops. Desktops and Tower computer are more or less equivalent in terms of parts and performance. If there is a problem with some part, it can be easily replaced or upgraded by you with just a little common sense. Laptops are limited in this respect and can be costly when something breaks and the manufacturer may have to fix it. Laptops are slower than desktops with similar parts. Heat is a problem with laptops so the chips for laptops are designed with that in mind. For example, The laptop GTX 980m has about half the performance of the GTX 980 (does not have the 'm' designation). Similar for CPUs. This is changing though. NVIDIA has dropped the 'm' designation for the 10 series of GPUs. So the 1050, 1060, 1070, 1080 are about the same for laptops and desktops according to Intel. Like hell. I would like to see them cram my dual fan 1060 that can breathe into a laptop. That aside, they are tying to make the performance similar for all configurations. Even so, heat still builds up and heat can cause things to slow down. With that said, laptops are remarkable devices. Just more costly, slower, and can be hard to upgrade or fix.

Beware of the word 'gaming'. Seems like just a word to sell more computers. Like the word 'free'. If I can buy an 800 dollar gaming computer why would I buy a 5000 dollar one? What games can be played and all that... a lot of BS i think. Some gamers won't have anything to do with a laptop just because of performance. An on going debate and laptops are getting better.

So I am not a DJ and don't have to be mobile. I did have to be mobile with my computer long ago. I had a mini tower that fit into an easy carry case and it went in the over head compartment with me on the plane. I think if I was a DJ I might do this. I would get a small tower and mount it onto an easy 2 wheel pull cart. The pull cart would have a place for keyboard and monitor. When at venue, cart may unfold a bit and monitor and keyboard could be raised into place to an easy standing position. For some venues the keyboard and monitor just detach and cart placed under or behind a table. All ready to just plugin with multiple power connectors locked on the cart. Cart would probably carry some extra supplies as well. Probably 80 percent of the DJs would disagree but I would not want to use a more costly weaker thing just for the sake of convenience.

I would go with an i7 and 1060. I have an older i7-2600 and works fine. The 1060 / i7 work in tandem and you don't really want one of them being weak. You can go much higher but at great cost. You can get a better I7 at not much cost if you shop around. The 1070 GPU goes way up in price. The 1050 is lower priced than 1060 but about 4 times weaker. 1050 comes with 2GB and 1060 comes with 6GB. You can save a lot by going with a refurbished certified computer. You would probably have to add some things (if not a laptop) which is easy but just shop around.

If you buy the right computer now it can last you many years. That of course should be taken into account because it can be cheaper in the long run. I would not even listen to the people claiming perfection for the integrated Intel GPU because they are talking from a limited perspective.

By the way... If you go with a tower or desktop computer buy a case that can be upgraded and not some specialized one. Parts that plug and play are common and so are the cases and they have standards. Just beware of the specialized ones.
 
geposted Sun 26 Nov 17 @ 3:29 am
also if u are goning be lugging around a desktop make sure it has a SSD... not sure a mechanical drive can handle all the transporting etc...

desktop drives aren't made to be moved around all the time like laptop drives but a SSD has no moving parts so it would be great.
 
geposted Sun 26 Nov 17 @ 4:57 am
In the early days of hard drives it was a nightmare. Just the slightest bump and they were toast. We had to travel to conventions in trucks or planes and we packed them very well and also had plenty of spares. I can't confirm what wicked is saying though. I have moved by computers around a lot and after they finally fixed the drives after the early years have not had any problem. Once I had a computer that fell from about 3 feet up to the floor. The computer was damaged but drives were fine. I have moved around with my computers a lot...Just don't have to do that so much anymore. I have only had one drive go bad in all the years since the early days and it was not from movement of the computer. I have a butt load of old drives. Not because they went bad, but because they became obsolete via connections, performance, capacity, and other things.

With that said I have an SSD drive and HDD drive in computer. You can also plug laptop drives into a desktop or tower but not needed and favor the SSD drives.
 
geposted Sun 26 Nov 17 @ 5:24 am
Don Moir wrote :

If you buy the right computer now it can last you many years.

I agree with you there! I've just got myself a new tower system, because I felt I needed to go 64 bit (several s/w progs I use have gone 64 bit only).

It was only during a discussion with someone that I worked out the previous tower was around ten years old. :-(

There was really nothing wrong with it operationally. It stayed on 24/7 and did all I asked of it. It just had a 32 bit OS. Putting a 64 bit OS on there would've meant starting over, so I figured I may as well get a new beastie.

So now I have an i7 7700K 4.2GHz with 16Gb of RAM and the OS running from a SSD. Everything else is stored on 2Tb of striped HDD, with hard/symbolic links diverting progs away from the SSD.

Loving it so far. It's dead quiet in comparison to the old one, and starts up in the blink of an eye.

 
geposted Sun 26 Nov 17 @ 10:27 am
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