I built this system about two years ago and want to improve my workflow for editing 4K/6K footage, 3D work, and general productivity. My current hardware is an Intel Core i5-12600KF, MSI MAG B760M Mortar WiFi II, 48GB of DDR5-5200 memory, a 1TB Lexar NM710 NVMe SSD, an Asus RTX 4070 Super, and a Corsair RM850e power supply. I originally considered increasing the memory to 96GB, but I may keep the current 48GB for now. For the CPU, I am considering an AMD Ryzen 9 9950X or possibly the 9950X3D. I am not interested in Intel's 13th- or 14th-generation processors, though I might consider a newer Intel platform. For the GPU, I wanted an RTX 5080, but Canadian pricing has climbed from roughly $1,400 to more than $1,900. I could wait for a future refresh or next-generation card, or consider alternatives such as newer Radeon or Intel Arc models, although I am unsure how well they fit my editing and 3D workloads. I have also considered traveling to the United States to buy a system with an RTX 5090. What upgrade path would provide the best improvement for the money, particularly for GPU performance and VRAM in applications such as DaVinci Resolve and 3D software?
3 Answers
A newer Intel productivity chip could still be worth considering because Quick Sync can accelerate H.264 and H.265 decoding and encoding in some editing applications. However, since you do not want a 13th- or 14th-generation processor, that would mean buying into Intel’s newer socket and accepting early-adopter pricing. It is worth checking benchmarks for the specific applications you use instead of assuming the highest core count will always be fastest.
The RTX 4070 Super is still capable, so the reason to replace it should be clear: either you need more raw GPU performance or you are running into the 12GB VRAM limit. For Resolve effects, GPU rendering, and larger 3D scenes, a 16GB-or-more card would be a meaningful target. I would avoid paying a large premium for an RTX 5080 or importing a 5090 unless your workload genuinely saves enough time to justify the cost. Waiting for better availability or a later generation may offer a better value than buying during a price spike.
Before replacing major components, consider storage. A 1TB system drive can become a real bottleneck for footage, project files, caches, previews, proxies, and simulations. Your board has three M.2 slots, so you could keep the existing SSD for Windows and applications, add a 2TB–4TB NVMe drive for active projects, and eventually dedicate another drive to cache and previews. PCIe 5.0 is probably unnecessary for this use case. That said, if your 24TB RAID already handles the active media, storage may not be the priority. For the GPU, moving from 12GB to a card with 16GB or more VRAM should help with heavier Resolve and 3D projects, but it may be better to wait rather than pay inflated prices.
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