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Understanding FCPX under the hood.
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Dude, what is going on? There’s no one answer. Some people like DIY, some people hate it. Added stability? I haven’t looked back at the post, but that’s probably because he’s over-clocking, and he needs something that can take the extra heat.
Listen, don’t go there. If you’re not intrigued by it or interested in it, DIY is not for you. Most people buy their cars fully configured, and add nothing more than their iPod; some people like to rework the engine. Its the same thing. Some people pay an integrator to put together an NLE all the way down to the monitor speakers; some people build their own component by component. And some people build their own card by card. Its just levels of expertise and interest. I don’t understand why you are stressing over it.
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[Jeremy Garchow] “What is happeing here, and what I am trying to point out, is the inconsistencies. There has been much blood spilled over the “death of the MacPro” and of course, some are scrambling, some are waiting, some have moved to the i7 platform, some have moved to the Xeon PC platform. What I find ironic about this whole situation is that all of a sudden, on the PC side, i7s are good enough and as a matter of fact are “recommended”, yet on the Mac side, they aren’t.”
The way Apple structures their product line, the Mac Pro kind of conflates processing power and expansion options. These are separate issues on the PC platform.
If you wanted a Mac Pro for expansion, you might well be happy with an i7 PC (and somewhat unhappy with the iMac). If you wanted a Mac Pro for the Xeons… well, you won’t really be happy with the Mac Pro.
It’s not like there’s a single voice wailing about the Mac Pro — different people valued different things about it, so they have different viable replacement options.
Personally, I like the new i7 iMacs (for what they are). I’m sad that they are arguably superior to the “current” Mac Pro.
[Jeremy Garchow] “I’d rather pay a few extra bucks and get a system that’s tested and built. And if it doesn’t work and there’s a recall, I can make a phone call to get a new one.”
I’m with you here. I think it’s nice that you can build your own PC, but I’m glad I don’t have to do that.
Walter Soyka
Principal & Designer at Keen Live
Motion Graphics, Widescreen Events, Presentation Design, and Consulting
RenderBreak Blog – What I’m thinking when my workstation’s thinking
Creative Cow Forum Host: Live & Stage Events -
[Chris Harlan] “Added stability?”
This is not a knock on VideoGuys, truly.
I am just pointing out that “just change it” isn’t that easy.
From this link: https://www.videoguys.com/Guide/C/DIY+Systems/Videoguys+DIY9+Its+Time+for+Sandy+Bridge+E/0xe9b142f408a2b03ab88144a434e88de7.aspx
“We are going with the Asus P9X79 Pro motherboard after getting some valuable feedback from one of our DIY followers. We’ll pay $50 more, but the added stability will be worth it.”
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[Jeremy Garchow] “Everyone, so far, that we’ve talked to and mentioned here that is building a PC is building an iMac tower. The newegg comment was a Xeon based motherboard, that one not withstanding.
And all of a sudden, it’s pro enough.
“I don’t get the tear you’re off on. I must have missed the post that set you off. For the record, I love my i7 Macbook Pro; I probably do most of my work on it right now. And, I WOULD consider an iMac, but I’m unhappy they aren’t made with matte finish anymore, and that is probably enough to keep me from buying one. I’ve been debating an external monitor for the laptop, and I like that the Apple monitor supports TBolt, but I’m probably going to go with Dell because I really hate glossy.
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Jeremy –
A couple of points.
We can’t compare costs between a MacPro vs PC Xeon DIY build because there is no equivalent MacPro to look at.
On the surface it might seem unfair that Imacs are getting hammered for not being good enough while a PC i7 (or in one case i5) are being touted as more than good enough. However the fact is that these PC builds are far superior in terms of GPU and PCIe flexibility and power, and that is where their superiority lies.
Like you I have no desire to “roll my own” but the fact is that if you were of that mind you could get a system superior to an Imac for between $2000 – 2500. Which means you are paying a 20 to 50% premium for Apple’s name and reliability. You are correct that you would have to pay the same premium to get HP’s name on the box. The difference is that in PC land there are many VARs that are making video specific boxes with better warranties than either HP or Apple and are charging about a 15-20% premium for their work. Nothing like that exists in the OSX world.
Herb Sevush
Zebra Productions
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nothin’ attached to nothin’
“Deciding the spine is the process of editing” F. Bieberkopf -
It really boils down to being able to swap the GPU, and that’s about it.
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[Walter Soyka] “well, you won’t really be happy with the Mac Pro.”
Unless of course you build your own, which is why I am even continuing this conversation.
If there’s nothing but an iMac in the future, I might have to take to the black market and roll my own Mac. Of course, I believe there will be more than an i7 Mac in the future.
I am not interested in 100% interested in PCs, but I am interested in Macs.
If I continue with FCPX and use it for its potential, it is a virtual transcoding, file flipping powerhouse. It is going to need more CPU and fast, as Apple states that most transcoding is done on the CPU (background rendering and encode on GPU). The i7 will not be enough.
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[Chris Harlan] “I don’t get the tear you’re off on. “
Just trying to keep the conversation going.
I understand that DIY isn’t for everyone, but it might be a necessity.
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[Jeremy Garchow] “I am just pointing out that “just change it” isn’t that easy.
“I think its a matter of generational perspective. When I was first getting into computers, they didn’t come with sound cards; you bought them after-market and installed them yourself. There was no USB; you had to physically install almost any device and assign them IRQ spots, which you had to continually manage. I used to keep a chart of IRQ usage on the side of my computer. There was no plug-and-play. You want to add a scanner or a MODEM? Pop the hood. Find a slot, and when that slot doesn’t work, spend your day reordering the existing cards, and try to find the right balance of IRQs and AMAs. The things that you keep linking to don’t seem at all intimidating compared to what it used to be like.
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[Walter Soyka] “well, you won’t really be happy with the Mac Pro.”
[Jeremy Garchow] “Unless of course you build your own, which is why I am even continuing this conversation. If there’s nothing but an iMac in the future, I might have to take to the black market and roll my own Mac. Of course, I believe there will be more than an i7 Mac in the future.”
Got it.
In that case, building your own and just swapping stuff out gets even harder, and any notion of even limited support flies out the window.
Of course, if there’s nothing by an i7 Mac in the future, who’s to say you could roll your own even if you wanted to? If Apple were to drop the Mac Pro entirely, why would they bother writing drivers for anything but the hardware in their laptops and iMacs?
[Jeremy Garchow] “If I continue with FCPX and use it for its potential, it is a virtual transcoding, file flipping powerhouse. It is going to need more CPU and fast, as Apple states that most transcoding is done on the CPU (background rendering and encode on GPU). The i7 will not be enough.”
I hope there will be a nice sizzle core for you!
Walter Soyka
Principal & Designer at Keen Live
Motion Graphics, Widescreen Events, Presentation Design, and Consulting
RenderBreak Blog – What I’m thinking when my workstation’s thinking
Creative Cow Forum Host: Live & Stage Events
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