Choosing the Right Tools for the Job

Choosing the Right Tools for the Job
Now that you have an understanding of the major hardware components, and how Adobe
Premiere Pro, After Effects, SpeedGrade, and Photoshop interact with them, you can make
informed decisions on what options to order for your next computer system, or how to upgrade
your existing computer to work more efficiently.
CPU: After Effects CS6 and Photoshop CS6 benefit the most from faster CPUs and more CPU
cores. Indeed, given sufficient RAM (discussed earlier), After Effects CS6 is capable of running
multiple copies of itself on individual physical cores to speed previews and rendering. Although
Adobe Premiere Pro CS6’s Mercury Playback Engine (MPE) also benefits from faster CPU
configurations, as noted earlier using an approved NVIDIA CUDA-enabled GPU accelerates MPE
by an even larger amount and is preferred. On the other hand, if you are relying on the relatively
few functions in Adobe Premiere Pro that are not accelerated by the MPE—for example, if you are
primarily converting media from one codec to another, rather than combining multiple streams of
different-sized media—then CPU power is more important to you. SpeedGrade CS6 runs almost
entirely on the GPU rather than the CPU, so if that is the only software you intend to use, then the
CPU is far less important.
GPU: A faster compatible OpenGL video card will allow you to perform more real-time processing
with the Lumetri Deep Color Engine in SpeedGrade CS6, and will also accelerate numerous
functions (outlined above) with the Mercury Graphics Engine in Photoshop CS6. It will also give
incremental performance boosts to Adobe Premiere Pro and After Effects.
To really get performance improvements with the Mercury Playback Engine (MPE) in Adobe
Premiere Pro CS6—and for those using the new Ray-traced 3D rendering engine in After Effects
CS6—you need to use an approved CUDA-compatible GPU from NVIDIA (and for Adobe Premiere
Pro, a limited selection of OpenCL-compatible AMD CPUs in Apple MacBook Pros), detailed earlier
in this document. Given that faster NVIDIA CUDA-enabled cards will also accelerate OpenGL and
OpenCL functions in SpeedGrade and Photoshop, these cards are the obvious choice. As a bonus,
both Adobe Premiere Pro and SpeedGrade can utilize an NVIDIA Quadro SDI Output card (only
under Windows 7 64-bit for SpeedGrade). If an approved CUDA-enabled card or chipset is simply
not an option for you, then choose a computer with the maximum number of CPU cores available
to help make up the difference.
Note that if you rely heavily on ray-traced 3D in After Effects CS6, it can take advantage of
multiple cards running the same version of CUDA for further acceleration. For example, if we
compare the render times for the transparent and reflective logo pictured on the previous page
(times in minutes:seconds):
44:30 CPU-only (12-core 2.93 GHz Xeon MacPro)
14:30 one NVIDIA Quadro FX4800
6:15 one NVIDIA Quadro 4000
3:37 two NVIDIA Quadro 4000s
As you can see, it is worth upgrading to newer generation cards, and installing multiple cards if
possible. In that vein, note that an HP Z820 has three 16-lane PCIe slots that can accept GPUs.
Again, for maximum performance make sure any add-in video card is installed in a 16x PCI slot
inside the host computer. For more on choosing the right GPU, refer to this blog (tinyurl.com/
AdobePWP-12) by Adobe Pro Video & Audio Field Team manager David Helmly.
RAM: If you plan to primarily run After Effects CS6, then you will directly benefit from installing
more RAM. Although the stated minimum is 4 GB of memory, if you plan on taking advantage
of multiprocessing, you should consider installing as much as 48 GB for a 12-core system and
64 GB for a 16-core system (check with the manufacturer for optimal memory configurations to
complement your CPU). You can install even more RAM for longer previews and Global RAM
Cache memory, and to run other programs at the same time as After Effects.


If you plan to use Adobe Premiere Pro, 4 or 6 GB of RAM is minimum, while 8 or 12 GB is suggested
for most users. SpeedGrade is the least RAM-dependent of the applications discussed here;
4GB is the minimum recommended amount, with 8 GB preferred. Although Photoshop’s Minimum
System Requirements states only 1 GB is needed, you should consider allocating 4 GB, with
8 GB allowing you to work on very large documents.
Remember that each of these numbers are for the software running alone (along with the
operating system); add at least their minimum requirements together if you plan on having
them open at the same time.
Storage: A recurring theme you may have noticed in this document is that employing multiple
drives is the secret to optimizing performance. As stated earlier, you should consider a two-drive
system as a minimum configuration, with one drive containing your operating system, software,
and media cache or scratch disk, while the other is used for your source files, previews, and final
exported renders. Preferred is a four-drive system, with one dedicated to the operating system
and software, the second for source media and project files, the third for the media cache or
scratch disk, and the fourth for exports and final renders. You can use a RAID (Redundant Array
of Inexpensive Drives) in lieu of multiple non-system individual drives. An SSD (Solid State Drive)
is an excellent choice for your media cache/scratch disk; PCI-based storage devices such as the
Fusion ioFX provide even higher performance.
Although Adobe Premiere Pro, After Effects, and Photoshop all benefit from faster drive
configurations, Adobe Premiere Pro is the most sensitive as you will inevitably want to play
multiple media streams in real time. A drive system that isn’t fast enough doesn’t just mean a
longer wait, it means dropped frames and jumpy playback. Although you can do a remarkable
amount with a single source drive (7200 RPM or faster) with a speedy connection, if you plan to
work with larger digital cinema formats, you need to consider moving up to a RAID. By contrast,
SpeedGrade only plays back one stream of media at a time, so you only need a drive fast enough
to play back your chosen media in real time.
Keep in mind that your computer system is an interconnected unit; not just a collection of
individual components. The goal is a balanced system with sufficient performance in every area
required, rather than a system that’s really fast in one area but deficient in others. For example,
there is little point in having a large number of processor cores if you don’t have enough RAM
installed to use multiprocessing in After Effects—if you are on a budget, you may be better off
spending it on more RAM rather than a hotter CPU. Similarly, the GPU can be even more important
than the CPU if you plan to edit multiple streams of media in Adobe Premiere Pro, use ray-traced
3D rendering in After Effects, or are a colorist interested in SpeedGrade.
And as we mentioned in the introduction, there are many things you can do as a user to optimize
your software, operating system, and—perhaps most importantly—how you use them. A good
starting point is this Adobe Customer Success page (tinyurl.com/AdobePWP-01), as well as the
online Help files for each program as well as the numerous blogs dedicated to each program
published by Adobe personnel (blogs.adobe.com).