Which AMD CPU should I choose for 4K video editing?

Question

I'm trying to decide which AMD chip I should actually get for 4K video editing because I'm building a new rig this weekend and im kind of stuck. I've got a budget of about 450 quid for the processor since I'm here in the UK and I need this thing ready for a big wedding project I'm starting next Tuesday. I did a bunch of reading and saw that the Ryzen 7 7700X is supposedly great for the money but then everyone on Reddit says you absolutely need the 12 or 16 cores of the Ryzen 9 series if you're doing heavy 4K timelines. I mostly work in Premiere Pro and sometimes DaVinci Resolve with 10-bit 4:2:2 files which I know is a nightmare for some CPUs to decode. I'm looking at the 7900X and it seems like a good middle ground but is the 7950X really worth the extra 150 pounds or am I just paying for cores I wont use for basic scrubbing and rendering? I dont plan on doing much gaming mostly just want the smoothest playback possible so I dont have to use proxies all the time... it just slows my workflow down so much when I have to generate them for every tiny clip. What do you guys think is the better long-term investment for a freelance editor?

Danielmam · Accepted Answer

honestly i would be a bit careful going with the 7700X for those specific 10-bit files. 4:2:2 is a total beast to decode and might choke an 8-core chip once you start adding transitions or color grades. if you really want to avoid proxies to save time you should probably look for that extra headroom to be safe. I suggest grabbing the AMD Ryzen 9 7900X 12-Core 24-Thread Processor. it fits your 450 quid budget perfectly and gives you a much better buffer for heavy timelines.

make sure you have a beefy cooler because these chips run hot by design

check your ram is at least 6000mhz for the best stability in premiere

double check your power supply has enough overhead for the extra draw the 7950X is amazing but honestly the 7900X is the safer investment if you want to keep some cash for your other components. just dont skimp on the cooling setup or youll see it throttling during long renders.

pqimvsxvmq · Answer

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NAERTREGE1253669NEHTYHYHTR · Answer

Late to the party but if you want that wedding project to fly you should really try to snag the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X 16-Core 32-Thread Processor!! it is an absolute monster for 4k timelines and worth every single penny of that extra cost. the time you save on rendering alone is gonna pay for the difference in like two projects! if you really gotta stick under 450 though check out the AMD Ryzen 9 7900 12-Core 24-Thread Processor. it runs way cooler and is almost as fast as the X version but usually costs less. use that leftover cash to grab a Crucial Pro 64GB Kit 2x32GB DDR5 5600MHz kit because ram is actually the secret sauce for scrubbing through 10-bit footage without proxies... you need all you can get for those heavy files!