Video Workstations
for DaVinci Resolve

Understand DaVinci Resolve’s hardware requirements and pick the perfect 3XS Systems graphics workstation for your project

What is DaVinci Resolve?

DaVinci Resolve, from BlackMagic Design, is a colour correction and non-linear video editing application that combines editing, visual effects, motion graphics and audio post production all in one software package. Its elegant, modern interface is fast to learn and easy enough for new users, yet powerful for professionals.

What makes the best system for DaVinci Resolve?

There is no one ideal system configuration for DaVinci Resolve, as users will have different video resolutions to edit and make different use of the software. DaVinci Resolve does make use of higher CPU core counts and higher clock speeds, but a greater degree of performance increase will be seen by investing in higher end or even dual GPUs especially if you are working with 8K content.

What CPU should I choose for DaVinci Resolve?

As explained above, a system that will be used for a mixture of DaVinci Resolve functions needs to strike a good balance between CPU and GPU(s). Like most digital content creation (DCC) applications DaVinci Resolve performs best on a CPU with a high frequency and at least eight cores, although more cores can be beneficial in some processes. We recommend starting with an AMD Ryzen 7 or Intel Core i7, upgrading to Ryzen 9 or Core i9 if budget allows. If you’re also going to be generating higher resolution video content then an AMD Threadripper PRO or Intel Xeon W is a good choice as these CPUs have more PCIe lanes, enabling the system to support multiple GPUs and other devices such as capture cards and faster network interfaces.

What GPU(s) do I need for DaVinci Resolve?

GPU power is crucial for a responsive experience in DaVinci Resolve, with more powerful models providing a more noticeable benefit when working with complex and high resolution video. We recommend the NVIDIA GeForce RTX GPUs as a good starting point in the NVIDIA range, choosing a higher memory version for better performance. Also adding additional GPUs will boost capability if budget allows.

If you are considering a dedicated workstation for DaVinci Resolve then we recommend consumer-grade NVIDIA GeForce RTX cards thanks to their outstanding value for money. Typically Resolve will perform better on a single GPU with a large memory buffer than two less powerful GPUs. However, if you’re also planning other intensive workloads on the same workstation or working with 8K video, then it’s worth considering a professional-grade NVIDIA RTX GPU thanks to their larger memory buffer and certified drivers.

How much RAM is recommended for DaVinci Resolve?

The minimum RAM that we recommend for DaVinci Resolve is 32GB for 1080p content, upgrading to 64GB, 128GB and 256GB respectively for 4K, 6K and 8K workloads.

What storage does DaVinci Resolve need?

We always recommend using an SSD for the boot drive that will host your OS, DaVinci Resolve itself, and any active projects you are working on. The high speed of SSDs allows your system to boot, launch applications, and load files many times faster than any traditional hard drive. We would also recommend a second SSD or even an NVMe SSD - depending on your budget - for active DaVinci Resolve projects files. If files are large or numerous several secondary SSDs can be added in RAID configurations to protect data integrity. An alternative solution for high capacity SSD active storage or cheaper HDD archiving could be to employ an external NAS device allowing both sharing and RAID protection.

When it comes to deciding on drive capacity, this will very much depend on your number of files and the project sizes. You should also consider the space required by other applications and their associated files too

Recommended DaVinci Resolve Workstation Specifications

Workstation specifications
	High-End (8K)	Mid-Range (4K)	Entry-Level (HD)
CPU	AMD Threadripper PRO / Intel Xeon W	AMD Ryzen 9 / Intel Core i9	AMD Ryzen 7 / Intel Core i7
RAM	128GB	64GB	32GB
GPU	2x NVIDIA RTX	NVIDIA GeForce RTX	NVIDIA GeForce RTX