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Can AE utilize MAC PRO 8 core system?
I’ve ordered the MAC quad core 3.0GHZ just a day before the 8 core was announced. Being impulsive, I ordered the 8 core as well, with the idea that I would just refuse the quad core delivery. As I type this, the quad is sitting here just begging to be opened, and the 8 core should show up about a week from now.
My delima is that everything I’m reading says that there’s not much out there that can take advantage of 8 cores, and that there isn’t that much difference in speed of applications.
My question is: Would AE renders benefit from 8 cores, or would I be better off to stick with the quad core and get more ram?
What to do, what to do…..
Thanks.
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21 Replies
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Look for an April 4 post by Gridiron’s Steve Forde on that matter.
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Thanks for the info! I was searching on “8 core” and not “8core”. Here’s the thread for anyone else who’s interested:
https://forums.creativecow.net/readpost/2/902854?univpostid=902764&pview=t
Still not sure what I’m gonna do. Because, as the thread point out, that you need at least 2GB RAM per core, I’ll probably stick with the quad for now and be happy.
Dave
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[QUOTE]
Still not sure what I’m gonna do. Because, as the thread point out, that you need at least 2GB RAM per core, I’ll probably stick with the quad for now and be happy.
[/QUOTE]That may be ideal, but 1 Gigabyte per core should work well too.
For dual core laptop users, even a bit less than that will be OK too.Adolfo Rozenfeld
Buenos Aires – Argentina
ar(AT)adolforozenfeld.com -
i would agree that 1GB per core to start should be fine.
depending on what kind of work you do though, the storage may be a bottleneck to watch out for
who is that masked man…
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“depending on what kind of work you do though, the storage may be a bottleneck to watch out for”
Good point. So the key would be to run AE on the drive that comes with the machine, but locate the project(s) on a stripped set? Or is AE happier to run from a stripped set?
To make matters worse, I just called the vendor and the 8 core has shipped already. The quad just arrived today and sits unopened. So which one do I keep? I’m leaning towards being happy with the quad, and purchasing extra RAM for a total of 8GB. However, if I keep the 8 core, all I can afford is the 2GB that comes with it (at least for now). Arrrgggg…. I hate these decisions. Basically, I want the thing to still be very productive 5 years from now.
Dave
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if you can only have 2 gig of ram on the 8 way then i think your decision is made as that would not be beneficial at all.
as far as drives go…
on any mac pro i would run a raid, but..
if your work consists of mainly animating stills, vs if you are doing multi layer comps of HD footage, then those are 2 extremes as far as how disk speed will affect your render time. When you multiply that by 8 cores trying to get that data you can see what type of bottleneck storage becomes.
who is that masked man…
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rendernyc,
Ahh, The light just went on for me with your comment. So unless I had sufficient $$ to solve the write-to-storage issues associated with multi layer comps, AND even more $$ for at least 8GB of RAM, 8 cores would be a bit of a waste at this point? Sounds like I would be better served then with less raw power, but invest in fast storage and RAM to make it sing…
With this MAC upgrade, I’m coming from a 2.53Ghz non-hyperthreaded world, so it’s hard for me to imagine what 4 cores might do, let alone 8… I guess my thought is that with 8 cores, perhaps it’s a good starting point, until I can afford to scale the machine up with the appropriate RAM/RAID. It seems like it would last me longer in the long haul, obsolescence-wise…. I want something VERY fast, yet I don’t want it to become obsolete tomorrow if you know what I mean.
What would you do?
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i would def go with the 4 cores if you cant afford the 8GB ram for the 8 way.
right now there isnt anything stopping you from upgrading the procs in a year or so down the line (a few people had upgraded from dual core to quad core when the first test chips were out in public.)
who is that masked man…
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Upgrade the processors? Is that right?
The vendor where I purchased told me that the MAC PRO is not upgradable…the processors are sealed. However if what you say is true, then yes, it’s a no brainer to go quad now, and upgrade in a year or so.
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well, your warranty will be gone if thats what your vendor meant, but about 7 months ago…
https://www.anandtech.com/mac/showdoc.aspx?i=2832&p=6
who is that masked man…
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