-
Dell vs Apple
-
I agree Oliver – I really only have one more round of upgrades on the old Mac due to aging PCIe 2.0 and slow RAM – lots of bottle necks. The only problem I have with the new Mac Pro is the D700’s are now getting their butts kicked by a single Titan X card. This is why I may move back to PC as main workstation if Resolve 12 is as good as it looks – it’s so easy to stick a new GPU in every time there’s a major increase in performance, which is often vs. being stuck with D700’s with no upgrade path.
It was at a Vegas premiere that I resolved to become an avid FCPX user.
Lance Bachelder
Writer, Editor, Director
Downtown Long Beach, California
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1680680/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1 -
[Andrew Kimery] “You could do what some Resolve users do and use an external PCI box to get more slots.”
I’ve never used one, but it seems like a decent solution to limited card expansion. I would still be limited to a single CPU though…
Shawn
-
[Lance Bachelder] “This is why I may move back to PC as main workstation if Resolve 12 is as good as it looks – it’s so easy to stick a new GPU in every time there’s a major increase in performance, which is often vs. being stuck with D700’s with no upgrade path.”
Of course, you could simply go to PC with Premiere Pro now, regardless of what Resolve is like.
The downside of the MacPro integrated design is the planned obsolescence and lack of upgradeability.
– Oliver
Oliver Peters Post Production Services, LLC
Orlando, FL
http://www.oliverpeters.com -
I have to agree mostly with David (DRW). If you have the time, know-how, and patience you can build a brilliant PC editing workstation that will run rings around just about anything. It’s not that hard. But there are VARs out there specializing in video who will save you the frustrations (minor and otherwise).
The idea that Windows is inferior to MacOS is just ideological twaddle. Both have their strong and weak points. But inside your cross platform NLE the experience is the same. If you object to the seconds spent in the OS before you launch – or to Explorer instead of Finder for copying files then there’s little help for you. The Fires of Hades await you on your death. St. Peter has little use for fanboys inside the Pearly Gates. He doesn’t mind OS preferences…OTOH I hear he’s partial to tracks.
David
https://AllinOneFilms.com -
[David Cherniack] “I have to agree mostly with David (DRW). If you have the time, know-how, and patience you can build a brilliant PC editing workstation that will run rings around just about anything. It’s not that hard. But there are VARs out there specializing in video who will save you the frustrations (minor and otherwise). “
I’m not sure why there’s any discussion of a DIY PC. Both Dell and HP has small-and-medium business units. Configure the machine you want from their specs and you are done. Pick up the phone if you need advice. Just like buying a Mac Pro, but with more options and a much better warranty. Or, if you really want something more specialized, there’s Boxx.
– Oliver
Oliver Peters Post Production Services, LLC
Orlando, FL
http://www.oliverpeters.com -
[Oliver Peters] “Or, if you really want something more specialized, there’s Boxx.”
Or Puget Systems.
HP business computers are great and I love the 24 hr on site service. But the fact remains that if you know what your doing and don’t mind the odd burp or two you can save a bunch of money by DIY.
David
https://AllinOneFilms.com -
[Andrew Kimery] “OWC’s CPU upgrade program has the 3.33GHz Quad-core Nehalem CPU as the fastest offered. If you have a 2010/2012 MP you can go up to the 3.46GHz 6-core Westmere chips.”
You can totally 100% use that 3.46GHz 6-core Westmere in the 2009 Mac Pro. As a matter
of fact, that’s what I am running in my 2009 Mac Pro that I am typing this on. It took me
almost 10 whole minutes to switch out the stock quad core 2.66ghz for the hex core 3.46 ghz.
If you are interested you can read about it in my blog here:
https://www.alaskacameradude.blogspot.com/2015/07/macgyver-pro-upgrade.htmlIf you have the 2009 ‘dual’ quad core Mac Pro, you can upgrade to dual hex cores.
It’s a little harder as the 2009 Mac Pro ‘duals’ used ‘lidless’ CPU’s and the 2009 Mac Pro
‘singles’ used off the shelf CPU’s. I personally would not try to remove the lids on the CPU’s.
However if you are interested, Erik Naso posted about upgrading his 2009 ‘dual’ quad core Mac Pro
and how he did it (with a kit from a reseller) here:
https://eriknaso.com/2015/03/21/upgrading-the-processors-on-my-early-2009-mac-pro-at-a-bargain-price/And finally, if any of you are serious about upgrading an older Mac Pro and would like
to be able to get advice on CPU’s, GPU’s, SSD’s, other upgrade options from people who
are actually doing it, you should look into joining this group….some very knowledgable people
posting about stuff like the above mentioned Titan 12Gig GPU’s and USB 3 cards that work,
as well as different ways to install SSD drives here and even how to remove the lids on the CPU’s
for the 2009 ‘dual’ quad core Mac Pro’s:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/Mac.Pro.Upgrade/Yes, you only have the expansion options that
are in the Mac Pro (4 slots), but you can do more with these machines than many people
realize.Gabe Strong
G-Force Productions
http://www.gforcevideo.com -
In my Bay Area film class this week, the teacher who works professionally as an AC and or data rangler said get a Mac if you want to work here because it is the de facto standard. This was focused on field work and not necessarily for desk top editing in post.
Good luck to Dell, they had enormous quality problems in the past and their reliability was terrible. -
I move from Mac OS to Win 7 to Linux Mint every day. Each has strengths and weaknesses.
Without a doubt the best bang for buck in a rack mounted facility like mine is to build my own PCs. Currently I have upgraded to a Titan X card in a four year old PC and just graded a 5k RED Epic job without playback issues. To get any where near that performance from a Mac I would have spent twice as much and without the easy graphics upgrade path that on board PCI slots gives.
I always build my own and always over spec the power supply and use on board RAID. If I was to buy an off the shelf server then HP over Dell most likely.
-
[Claude Lyneis] “In my Bay Area film class this week, the teacher who works professionally as an AC and or data rangler said get a Mac if you want to work here because it is the de facto standard. “
Not even vaguely the case, even in Hollywood. It certainly WAS true, but it’s simply not anymore. In much of Europe and Asia, it far skews toward Windows.
I say this having worked for two different companies selling both Mac and Windows software and hardware into markets around the world, including very heavily into Hollywood, and could see the numbers myself.
Here in the COW, the mix is about 60% Windows, 40% Mac. If anything, I would think that the Mac number skews high, because of the number of people who WORK on Windows, but SURF on Mac. I can’t imagine that the there are many people working on Macs and surfing on Windows. 🙂
Hey, if you want to use a Mac, use a Mac. There are ton of great reasons, especially for people who LIKE them. If you like them, don’t let anyone try to talk you out of it.
But among your reasons for choosing Mac should NOT be that it’s the de facto standard. It ain’t.
BTW, if by “Bay Area film class” you mean “Bay Area Video Coalition,” be sure to give everyone there my fond regards. They were pioneers of Mac-based community activist video instruction, and part of the very first FCP-focused user group, SF Cutters. Kevin Monahan, now at Adobe and a frequent poster in the COW, was one of the founders, and can tell you many a tale of the early days…
…including the time that he and I cut straight out of a BAVC meeting to see Sonic Youth at the Winterland. 🙂
My regular visits to BAVC and SF Cutters over the years, starting in 1999 or 2000 (I forget), were among the best parts of my job.
Reply to this Discussion! Login or Sign Up