What MAC PRO Desktop for AVID MEDIA COMPOSER 5 ?

[Michael Kammes]

One of the main reasons for staying away from the slower machine is capture of DNxHD and XDCAM codecs (as well as playback). Newer tapeless formats require a beefier processor, that sometimes a dual core cannot handle. That being said, it will probably work, but there are no guarantees, and your performance may vary. I mean, if the dual quad Nehalems are qualified, then a dual quad Westmere *should* be fine. But, since I don’t want to be stuck in an unqualified configuration if problems arise, I’d go for something on Avid’s list.

From the doc:
“Minimum system requirements for Media Composer Software
Operating System:
· Intel dual, dual core 2.66 GHz Xeon

MC uses the GPU for playback. The NVIDIA cards are great for that. Although not qualified, I’ve seen other NVidia cards work fine (including the 4800). Since the NVidias come with a MacPro from Apple, you don’t have to order a card separately and spend MORE money.

Avid spells out in it’s doc “These [machines listed] are the only systems that support an ATI Radeon graphics card. These cards are not qualified to run in other systems.”

I ALWAYS recommend going with a sanctioned config, unless I am willing to dedicate time into tracking down ghosts in the machine.

Also, remember: NAB is coming up fast. Avid is probably due for a software update, and requirements for the update may or may not change.

Good Luck!

~Michael

.: michael kammes mpse
.: senior applications editor . post workflow consultant
.: audio specialist . act fcp . acsr
.: michaelkammes.com

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[Duncan Cowan]

Huge thanks for your advice Michael.

Problem is that Apple don’t appeal to sell many of the tested configs the tick the boxes. The 2.66 & 2.93 westmere’s are sold, but that’s it. Even the second config suggests Nehalem, but the is no Nehalen Dual Cores…!

Also, they don’t sell NVidia with the Mac Pro desktops – you have to buy them at some expense, separately.

Besides, i can’t really afford the 2.66, and there’s nothing tested below £4000 for the MacPro/processor alone.

It’s been suggested that i go for the ‘One 3.33GHz 6-Core Intel Xeon Westmere. I had been under the impression that a ‘One quad core’ was a single processor and i’d need dual processors, but i’m the 3.33 is so fast it dosen’t matter. They also suggested that either NVidia, or Radeon 5870 would be ok.

I’d like to buy one of the tested rigs, but the only one Apple actually sell is the Dual 2.66 quad, which at £5K is beyond my means.

Also, on the 2.66 they tested, they mention that its only 32bit. Would that apply to all Mac set-ups, or just that one?

Many thanks for replying Michael, it’s much appreciated.

[Dennis Kutchera]

If you review that list of qualified Macs, they are pretty much the stock configurations without options other than increased RAM. Avid will only test so many configs and they know THOSE will work. Will others work? In most cases, yes—but they were not tested, so there may be issues in some circumstances. Will a Dual 2.66 Quad core Nehalem work with a 1 tb drive rather than a 640 gb drive as Avid lists? Of course, that is just a base configuration as tested by Avid.

I am using a single processor 2.66 Nehalem with 3 gb of RAM and a Radeon 4870. Avid calls for a Nvidia GT120. The only issues I have are with Boris Red (also tested FX and Graffiti). It indicates that the graphics card is not qualified and I will have to reset it in the preferences. But, if I go to the preferences, it will crash. So for now I leave it alone. I now have an Nvidia GT120 I am going to install soon. I found an open box one at B&H. The reason I have had this odd config is that I was using it with Final Cut Pro. But I have had my fill of that and decided to come back to Avid now that AMA will let me use archived Final Cut Pro files directly.

So I am using an untested Mac Pro with 5.03 and a Matrox Mini with virtually no issues. I am editing almost exclusively with AMA files in a mix of PAL, NTSC and a few frame rate and raster variations of HD. I am not doing any capturing from tape. That may be where my system would not perform. So far it is all good and since I do not have a client over my shoulder, I can work around any shortcomings that may arise. I’d say they are far fewer than I would experience with Final Cut Pro, so I am happy with it.

As the saying goes, your mileage may vary. But I have always gone the road less traveled. I used to edit Avid on PC, and I had some setups that were definitely not as per qualified configs and they worked at least 90% Avid aims for 100. If you are as confessed, not real tech savvy with computers, I would pick the cheapest qualified configuration. I don’t think you will see a tremendous difference in performance from one tier to the next unless you compare the lowest end machine to the top shelf Mac Pro. Look in the Apple Store refurb section. I have seen some sweet deals on the dual 2.26 for example and that is qualified. Then if you have any tech issues, Avid support or someone who knows Avid can help you because you are working with a known to work machine.

All the best,

Dennis