Hackintosh for editing 6K video footage

[scullen]

Hi guys,

OK I am a video editor and I have been using a Hackintosh I built about 6 years ago for editing most of my projects. More and more now I am getting projects that have been shot in 6K and some even 8K. 4K seems to be the lower end of the footage resolution now it's not even the norm for me anymore.
I am wanting to upgrade my system and wanted to ask if anybody has advice on build specs that would be good for my needs.

Any help much appreciated.

Sidenote: I recently purchased a AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT 8 GB GPU so if any builds could put that into the mix that would be helpful but if a gruntier GPU is a better idea then have at it!

 

[backinblackx86]

I currently have the same GPU in my video editing workstation built around a 12900K, but I do not have an 8K camera to test the NLE with. I do have a Canon 1DXmkiii that can record in 5.5K Raw but I have yet to test out the RAW video feature as I am more photographer than videographer these days.

Over the past decade, I have predominantly used FCPX to cut Multi-Cam music video content of 8 angles or more of 1080p but haven't had much video timeline work lately and have dived into the world of NDI and real-time server Nvidia NVENC based ffmpeg encoding for streaming HLS.

Using OBS, the system doesn't falter with cutting between multiple real time incoming NDI streams, however, I don't have an 8K screen either. Are you even able to drive such a large pixel count on your monitor with this mid-range card? I paid $651.74 for mine back in April and now it is on sale for $279.99 at my local Best Buy, quite the price drop!

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/msi-amd-radeon-rx-6600-xt-mech-2x-8g-oc-gddr6-pci-express-4-0-gaming-graphics-card-black/6476228.p?skuId=6476228

The ASUS ROG Z690 GAMING-E includes the NVME hypercard, I thought it could be used as a RAID0 scratch disk but I have yet to test it. For my DAW, I do want to include Thunderbolt 4 for a low latency AD/DA, with 6k and 8k, I'd image you have HUGE files to transfer, so I recommend you strictly look at boards that feature TB4/USB4. BnH currently lists 6 boards with TB4 in stock and 2 Z790 as "New Releases."

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The Pro-ART board is very popular and sold out at BnH:

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1670824-REG/asus_90mb19h0_m0aay0_proart_z690_creator_wifi_lga.html

However, There is an extensive thread on the precise setup and installation. I suggest you read through it: https://www.tonymacx86.com/threads/...hunderbolt-4-i7-12700k-amd-rx-6800-xt.318311/

Linked below is technical info about my camera if you believe I can conduct any Multicam tests for you so you can get an idea of what the 12900K can handle with FCPX. Sorry I'm not hip to 8K yet, Lol.

Canon 1D X Mark III with 12bit 5.5K RAW in-depth – FINALLY Canon get serious about DSLR video – EOSHD.com – Filmmaking Gear and Camera Reviews

www.eoshd.com

 

[etorix]

What about an actual Mac Studio (and its built-in video accelerators) rather than a Hackintosh?

 

[backinblackx86]

a valid point, just buy a real modern Mac unless you really need the ATX form factor or Windows 11, I’m considering the same thing as well.

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[scullen]

What about an actual Mac Studio (and its built-in video accelerators) rather than a Hackintosh?

i guess that is an option given that now the price to build a decent comparable Hackintosh is quite high

 

[scottkendall]

i guess that is an option given that now the price to build a decent comparable Hackintosh is quite high

In terms of raw video processing the hack with a 6900xt is still go more power then the real Mac at least from a Geekbench stand point. The M1 Ultra is sitting just below the 6600xt on Geekbench. While we do not know what core count the M1 ultra is listed a score of 66k higher is fairly significant number considering the overall score is 160k or 40% more power. This likely does not take into account all the on chip stuff like encoders/decoders, neural engine etc. But to get the max video, memory, and 1TB hard drive you are looking at like $5500. If you are a student you're looking at around $5200 maxed out and maybe that is totally overkill for you.

 

[etorix]

In terms of raw video processing the hack with a 6900xt is still go more power then the real Mac at least from a Geekbench stand point. The M1 Ultra is sitting just below the 6600xt on Geekbench.

The question being how Geekbench relates to actual work performance… Likely not a lot especially when considering these nice video encoders which eat ProRes streams for breakfast but are not in the benchmark.

But to get the max video, memory, and 1TB hard drive you are looking at like $5500.

I remember seeing a review (DPReview maybe?) of the MacStudio which found that the Ultra actually had little benefit over the Max for video work, beside the better cooling.
Max GPU and RAM may not be required, however 1 TB local storage may be somewhat small for 6K or 8K projects.

 

[scottkendall]

The question being how Geekbench relates to actual work performance… Likely not a lot especially when considering these nice video encoders which eat ProRes streams for breakfast but are not in the benchmark.


I remember seeing a review (DPReview maybe?) of the MacStudio which found that the Ultra actually had little benefit over the Max for video work, beside the better cooling.
Max GPU and RAM may not be required, however 1 TB local storage may be somewhat small for 6K or 8K projects.

Maybe yes maybe no.

I mostly was only commenting on the cost comparable. @scullen system is 7 or 8 years old I just assumed that at that span of time between systems the only real choice was the top. What the software does not know how to use today it mike just know how to use it tomorrow. 1TB is just fine since for the real work they will need a NAS, because you can not have that Drive failing since you can not replace it. You got to have the max memory because you once again can not upgrade it and 8 years from now you will need about 128 gigs of memory Some people have a upgrade bug others do not...

 

[AferAveka]

Working in the video editor, I often encountered program freezes, so I concluded that my hardware was unsuitable for this application. Soon I saved up money and bought a more powerful laptop and no longer had to worry about improving the performance of the old laptop. At this point, I can easily use the Fastreel editor. You can learn more about this video editor by going to https://www.fastreel.com/. You don't need to buy the most expensive equipment to get started. You can use this video editor on Windows without any lags. I am sure you will quickly figure out how to use the application.