looking to put together a decent home system

[Scott Sheriff]

Hard to answer.
What is a ‘home system’? My ‘home system’ is significantly better than the local broadcast stations best FCP suite. Working from home is not the same as ‘hobbyist’.

IMHO more, faster processors is always better. Even if FCP can’t use all the cores now, other apps can. And eventually FCP probably will too.
But…
Whats your budget?
What do you already own? Are you starting from scratch?
What is your experience and skill level?
What kind of clients and work will you expect to do?
How long do you expect to go without upgrading your system?
How long to you expect to take to make back the purchase of the system?
Unless this is strictly a hobby, your best bet is to do a biz plan before you plunk down the cash.
Everybodys situation is unique, so there isn’t really a single ‘whats best’ answer.

Scott Sheriff
Director
SST Digital Media
https://www.sstdigitalmedia.com

[Donato M. rondinelli]

Good feedback!

>>>What is a ‘home system’?
My employer lets me work on freelance in my suite after hrs. I’ve been holding off of buying a system for home until I need to.

I just got a bigger freelance job and now would be the time to make the transition to get my own stuff. I have nothing at home so I’m starting from scratch. I’d like to stay as close to $3k as possible for the computer only. It doesn’t have to be tricked out now. And I can still capture/master to/from tape at work if necessary.

>>>IMHO more, faster processors is always better. Even if FCP can’t use all the cores now, other apps can. And eventually FCP probably will too.
But…
>>>Whats your budget? What do you already own? Are you starting from scratch?
I have two 22” NEC tubes from an old adrenaline. Color/Brightness is still good. Budget for just the computer… as far under $4k as I can get. Will get Ram from OWC.

>>>What is your experience and skill level?
Broadcast professional.
>>>What kind of clients and work will you expect to do?
My freelance clients range from simple corporate to broadcast.

>>>How long do you expect to go without upgrading your system?
I’ll start off with a computer, software and single SATA.
I’ll add a raid, lcds, video monitor and sound as I go.
When all that’s done, I’ll go back upgrade the computer. Maybe add another processor from OWC if needed.

>>>How long to you expect to take to make back the purchase of the system?
I have the cash for phase 1.

>>>Unless this is strictly a hobby, your best bet is to do a biz plan before you plunk down the cash.
Good idea. It’s in my head but I need to write it down.

I looked at used 2008 2.8/3.0 8 cores and the new 3.33 6 core out performs them, plus I’d rather have new. So it’s either a new 2.4 eight core or 3.33 6 core. 3.33 is almost a ghz faster so I’m wondering if that’s better for FCP especially if it only uses 4 cores. I hear processor power is better.

I use lots of layers & fxs (BCC, Sapphire, Red Giant) so I want something that can keep up. I do use AE 25% of the time.

Based on my situation, should I go with the slower 2.4 with 4 more cores, or the faster 3.33 with less?

I do shoot photos too. Hundreds of raw 21mp at a time. But LR & PS and probably deal with either system I guess.

[Donato M. rondinelli]

>>>Based on my situation, should I go with the slower 2.4 with 4 more cores, or the faster 3.33 with less?

Sorry for the flub. Obviously the 2.4 only has 2 more cores and 1 Ghz slower. My mind is almost set but I’m open for advice. I don’t want to make a bad decision here.

[Scott Sheriff]

One of the things a lot of folks don’t think about is all the ‘little’ stuff. A good edit workstation desk, UPS, audio monitors, lighting, storage, tablet and other input devices. This stuff adds up quick, so the more you already have, the better.
Get as much speed as you can, but it won’t do much good if you don’t have any cash leftover for decent audio monitoring, or a place to work at.
I would urge everyone thinking about building their own system (which means spending your money) to plan it all out on paper, and really think it through.

Scott Sheriff
Director
SST Digital Media
https://www.sstdigitalmedia.com