Hardware/software upgrade

For my long overdue hardware/software upgrade.

I'm leaning towards a macPro 2.26 dual Quad-core intel Xeon with 6 gigs of ram and 640 Gigs of memory for the FCS upgrade. Would a single 2.93 Ghz perform better? Is it worth the extra $1500 to leap to dual 2.66's?

Is the Nvidia GT120 sufficient for the graphics card or do I need to upgrade there as well? It's $400 to upgrade to the ATI HD4870. Is that worth it? Is there a better option?

I work primarily in HDV and SDV for direct-to-DVD market.

I can't really afford to buy the wrong thing right off the bat.

Any additional suggestions would be appreciated?

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I can't really afford to buy the wrong thing right off the bat.

I don't think ANYONE falls into that category...or if they do, I have about 15,000 acres of prime Everglades swamp land for sale!

I would ask hardware-related questions HERE:

[www.barefeats.com]

When life gives you dilemmas...make dilemmanade.

Thanks Joe.

Actually, I've got it narrowed to a Mac Pro:

Dual 2.26 Ghz Quad Core Intel
8 Gigs of Ram
1 TB 7200 RPM SATA
ATI HD4870
18x Superdrive

Will that support FCS and will it get me through my feature?

I'm concerned I need more storage.

Your graphics card is basically irrelevant. You're cutting, not doing graphics, effects or color grading? Then yeah, forget about the graphics card; it doesn't matter.

Not only do you need more storage, you need an entirely different kind of storage. I'd recommend a RAID-5 unit from Caldigit. They have a variety of sizes and form factors to suit your requirements.

Conspicuously missing from your list is your I/O board and a client or broadcast monitor. There's not a whole lot you can do without those.

Um...before you waste some money...I am not kidding...I would still ask hardware related questions @ Barefeats. For instance...did you know that the "Nehalem" MacPros have a 3-channel integrated memory controller and memory in matched divisions of 3 are FASTER than the other configs? IOW, 6 GB RAM is FASTER than 8 GIGS.

Go to barefeats. Trust me.

When life gives you dilemmas...make dilemmanade.

Thanks again Joe, I've been over to barefeats.com a number of times and I've started a dialogue over there.

>Your graphics card is basically irrelevant.

Hmm... I've been working on one of the GT120 card, but I seem to be getting a display lag when shifting windows, etc.. I'm attributing it to the graphics card not being able to handle powering up 2 30" monitors. Otherwise, it zips along pretty well.



www.strypesinpost.com

Graphics doesn't matter?

Graphics definitely matters, especially for Motion and Color. Many of the FXPro plugins take advantage of the GPU and you can open Motion templates directly in FCP.

I have the ATI HD3870 and it rocks. If the ATI HD 4870 is the upgrade of that graphics card then its definitely worth the money. You might want to check to see if the HD 3870 is still available.

Next to memory, the GPU is probably the most important upgrade you can get.

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Graphics definitely matters, especially for Motion and Color.

Which is why I said:

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You're cutting, not doing graphics, effects or color grading? Then yeah, forget about the graphics card; it doesn't matter.