[Aisurf]

Hey Mark,

Hope you had a great holiday. Just wanted to send you a quick thanks for all of your help. I made the post in the liquid forum regarding the version. I am several big steps down the road on my editing journey. After I decide on the software version I will be sending my PC to the avid dealer to upgrade, configure and load the software. Can’t wait to get started. Thanks again for everything. Have a great new year!

Ron

[Aisurf]

Hey Mark,

I found a place that is an Avid dealer – Core Microsystems-in San Jose. They are friendly, knowledgeable and support Liquid – the downside is they are about a 9hr drive from me (can’t have everything). They have a Liquid turnkey system that is built on the same processor and similar specs as mine – so they are open to working with the componenets I have. They made similar suggestions as you and can make the changes necessary to make my system work. They want me to ship my system to them so they can look at it. They said they may need to change the case because my Dell may not provide proper cooling and ventilation to house another drive and handle the cooling needs. They said they will change the case (if necessary), add the system drive, load the software, configure & test the system, create the restore disk and ship it back guaranteed to work great. All & all I’m looking at $750 with labor, materials & shipping (assuming they need to change case). What do you think?

Software questions: I have not yet bought the Liquid software. I can buy the vs. 7 for $479 or I can buy version 6(which includes Mind Meld Liquid Edition 6 Training DVD and the Discovering Liquid Edition DVD) for $249. Remember I am using Liquid to produce instructional videos(for resale) for my wifes cooking and healthy eating courses. I am also a newbie so the training videos would be nice. Do you think in my case vs 7 is worth the additional money and absence of training dvd’s?

As always – thanks for your outstanding advice – it is truly priceless.

Ron

[Aisurf]

Thanks again for all of your help. You’ve got me hunting for a good PC shop. I tried the Avid dealer approach and got shot down. One in my area said they cannot work on the Dell system I have because it is not on their approved Avid list. Eventhough it could work, if a system is not on the list they won’t touch it. Another Avid dealer tried to talk me out of Liquid edition calling it an inferior editing program designed only for those taking home videos of “their kids playing soccer” and into Avid Express Pro. Then they proceeded to reconstruct my whole system, finally shooting it down stating I should just buy a dedicated Avid express system with dual monitors. “Wouldn’t it be great if I had a money tree”. I am still on the hunt for someone to assist with my system – If you have any other suggestions, comments, or insights I’m all ears.

Thanks again – Have a Fantastic Holiday!

Ron

[Aisurf]

Mark,

My motherboard has the ability to house 4 drives but I do not have anymore room in my case for another hard drive. I have my two raid drives and two rom drives taking up all the room. Would an external usb sata drive be sufficient to accomplish what you describe? I suppose a pc shop could answer that question but I want to go in there at least faking I know what I’m talking about.

Thanks

Ron

[Aisurf]

Mark,

Thanks so much for your input. I am always amazed how kind people can be on these forums – it is so generous to respond and a huge help. I have only the Raid set up (Raid 0) – no additional drives. I have seen where people have a different drive for each application – editing software, email & internet, word processing etc. and they remove each one and replace it with the application they are using. Would this be beneficial or overkill. I was thinking a seperate external drive for my editing software and another external drive for all the other stuff together(excel, word, email, internet, virus protection etc) what do you think? Be warned a stupid question about to come next….If you think this is wise do I put the operating system on the internal Raid where the video data will be held or does it go on each external drive I mentioned above? Not sure how all that works?

If you don’t have time for this type of question I understand. I really appreciate your valuable time.

Thanks Again,

Ron