After Effects CS 6 Workstation

[Aaron Kent]

Just wondering since this is a good thread when would be the best time this year to buy, if you were considering a higher end z820 (given Intel factors, new mac pro factors, nvidias new card offerings etc)

Cheers

AK

[Tom Daigon]

I would say now is as good as any. The Sandy Bridge dual Xeon platform was just released last summer so thats not going to change for a while.

And I would avoid the Quadro series of cards HP sells with them (get the cheapest Q2000) and swop in a GTX Titan for more power. And that was just released.

Do it thru the internet and you could get around 30% discount. Dont forget to get a good external raid if you will editing in an NLE as well as using AE.

Tom Daigon
PrP / After Effects Editor
http://www.hdshotsandcuts.com
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DxPrG3WUyz8
(Best viewed at 1080P and full screen)
HP Z820 Dual 2687
64GB ram
Dulce DQg2 16TB raid

[Aaron Kent]

Thanks Tom, I’ll look into the card options a bit. I run AE and Softimage primarily on my bootcamped towers, so I have to make sure I cover the bases with a good card to handle all software packages.

AK

[Tom Daigon]

I understand Aaron. In my working with Element 3D I found I needed to learn Blender to prep models for using in E3D. I was so blown away by Blender 2.66 that I started learning all facets of it. I found that its can utilize the CUDA on my Nvidia GTX 570 card instead of CPUs. Which speed up display and rendering in the Cycles (photo realistic renderer) about 4X. So the GPU card can really make a dramatic difference in software use.

Tom Daigon
PrP / After Effects Editor
http://www.hdshotsandcuts.com
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DxPrG3WUyz8
(Best viewed at 1080P and full screen)
HP Z820 Dual 2687
64GB ram
Dulce DQg2 16TB raid

[Aaron Kent]

Yes, I was wondering why you were pointedly against the quadro series? Is it largely cost? On the mac side of things the q4000 ran great with AE. I haven’t owned a full “windows” system in a while so I realize I need to figure out the best card. More CUDA seems to be the way to go.

AK

[Tom Daigon]

Over priced and underpowered (compared to GTX line). It has 10 bit output for display if you need that. I use a Kona 3 sending HD-SDI to an engineering monitor so I dont.

Google the specs and prices for the Quadro series then compare to the GTX models. I think you will understand my perspective on them better.

Tom Daigon
PrP / After Effects Editor
http://www.hdshotsandcuts.com
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DxPrG3WUyz8
(Best viewed at 1080P and full screen)
HP Z820 Dual 2687
64GB ram
Dulce DQg2 16TB raid

[Aaron Kent]

Thanks for the intel, Tom, very helpful. One final question. When you say buy it online you mean NewEgg or some outlet like that or straight from HP? I bought a XW workstation from HP years ago and remember it was a good deal / experience, I believe they even threw in a pair of passable monitors as part of the deal back then.

AK

[Tom Daigon]

I bought mine straight from HP. Got about 30% off and free next day delivery after it was assembled.Gabe Lucero was very helpful. 1-855-707-0285

Tom Daigon
PrP / After Effects Editor
http://www.hdshotsandcuts.com
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DxPrG3WUyz8
(Best viewed at 1080P and full screen)
HP Z820 Dual 2687
64GB ram
Dulce DQg2 16TB raid

[Brian Betz]

Hello all,

FYI I’ve been working with my ADK workstation for a few months now and very happy….ADK a great company and excellent tech support. Much thanks to Tom for the info on the company.

Brian

[Tom Daigon]

Brian, Im happy things worked out for you. Glad to help.

Tom Daigon
PrP / After Effects Editor
http://www.hdshotsandcuts.com
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DxPrG3WUyz8
(Best viewed at 1080P and full screen)
HP Z820 Dual 2687
64GB ram
Dulce DQg2 16TB raid