Where are we TODAY?

[Dennis Radeke]

[Andrew Stone] “Dennis, similarly is their a desktop machine that would come down in the same category, as a good starting point for an editing workstation?”

Andrew, a desktop is a lot less of a clear proposition because a desktop is more commoditized – meaning that you have a lot of choices when it comes to spending your money on a desktop. Here are a few ideas.

Local VAR – there are almost certainly a regional or local dealer that can build you a system for a reasonable cost. I can recommend some if you want to tell me the area you live. The key is to know their support and how much they know about professional video editing. They are out there and can be a big help to a user.

Big Box – I’m an admitted fan of HP for a lot of reasons. Their tooless case design is clearly superior to the Mac Pro and it’s fit and finish is very strong. They also include a 3 year onsite warranty as standard, so figure that when making a purchase. I have both a Z600 and a Z800. Take a look at them. I also like Boxx and Alienware.

Build your own – I think this is potentially the most rewarding if you take the time to understand what you’re doing and are into this kind of thing. The advantage is you waste no money and can build a system that perfectly fits what you want to do. Building a CS5.5 box is all about balance – CPU, GPU, RAM are key things you need to consider and you don’t want to skimp on any. Building your own box allows you that flexibility. I liken it to building a model – if you’re into doing that thing (I do), then this can be a lot of fun.

Final thought for Mac people looking at a PC box – Windows 7 doesn’t smell at all…It’s quite good as a user of both…

Cheers,
Dennis

[Andrew Stone]

Thanks again for your input Dennis.

I have built many a PC over the past 15 years with exception of the last 4 when I made a conscious decision to spend more time using creative tools than being singularly obsessed with the underlying technology and trying out every Linux and BSD distribution that is out there. So my preference would be building a PC but I am out of the loop on the Intel i7 processors and the requisite motherboards required. Also being a Final Cut/Apple Color user until 5 weeks ago I was oblivious to the CUDA technology and the NVIDIA offerings in this area.

I’ve used largely ASUS mobos but I’ve used some others from other manufacturers.

Generally speaking I don’t cheap out on motherboards as, in the scheme of things and considering what they achieve computationally, I think they are a downright bargain. I have poked around a couple of times looking for ones that have incorporated the Thunderbolt (Light Peak) technology that Intel pioneered with Apple but have yet to find any decent ones, other than bolt-on/afterthought ones that utilize a PCI… slot rather than having a direct fat pipeline to the processor. Not sure if that has changed yet. Also looking for a board that will be compatible with Blackmagic Design’s Ultrascope and unfortunately they have been extremely lax in keeping up with blessing new motherboards since they released this product a couple of years ago. It seems graphics cards and USB 3 is the big sticking point but not sure if there is a particular USB 3 chip set that is required. Just throwing that out there in case you have run into this.

I know the retired NVIDIA GTX285 is Premiere/CUDA compliant and there are a few others.

Presently I am using a Mac Pro 2.66 quad core machine with an ATI 5770 card. Apparently it can use the 1st gen of the GTX285 but not the second generation one. I’m not looking to turn this into a Windows box. I figure it is time to carve out a new one and building it would be my first option as Apple’s decision on FCP requires me to not only get new computers but new software which will easily cost 10 grand in the next year.

-Andrew
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Steadicam & Camera Operator