Sometimes, the video editing and visual effects jobs we get can demand some pretty hardcore specs for maximum performance. While we were at NAB 2019, we spotted a PC on the ASUS stand that definitely seemed to have specs that fall under that “hardcore” category. We spoke with ASUS to find out more.
The ASUS E900 G4 supports up to two Intel Xeon processors, four Nvidia Quadro GPUs, up to 1.5 terabytes of RAM, 8 SATA drives with an M.2 SSD. With prices starting at $9,000, it’s certainly not a desktop for the faint of heart, but fully maxed out it could cost over $100K – especially if you throw four NVidia Quadro RTX 8000s and a couple of Intel Xeon Platinum 8180 CPUs in there.
This kind of power just sounds absolutely insane for most of us. But when working with video, any time saved on the workflow, including editing & render time, is also money saved. If you’re doing it often enough, a machine like this might actually pay for itself surprisingly quickly – depending on how you spec it out. But if you regularly edit video in Premiere Pro or DaVinci Resolve and are doing visual effects and motion graphics in After Effects or Fusion, then you know how long those render times can be sometimes, not to mention the lag when you’re laying lots of clips with effects on top of each other. Thanks to GPU performance updates recently added into Adobe Premiere Pro and After Effects CC, many users will already see some improvement without having to upgrade their computer or hardware. But it’s still nice to know what your future options may be. I certainly can’t justify this kind of price for my own work. But boy, would it be a fun PC to have. Maybe if I win the lottery. The ASUS E900 G4 is available to buy now, with the base model starting at around $9,000. We would love to send a shoutout to our sponsors who helped bring you this NAB 2019 coverage: Artlist, StoryBlocks Video, SYRP, B&H, Spiffy Gear. Don’t forget to check out our NAB Giveaway, where we’re offering over $8,500 worth of cinema goodies.
