Cool-Light's Blue Line body with "HMI" guts

Rich,

Now that Macs are intel cpu, its only the cost of the new Mac to move to both MAC and (shiver) Windows on the same computer.

You may say you are a die hard Windows user, but you will find Mac OS very easy after a few days, since windows is basically a bad rip off of the Mac OS :) I have converted many Windows users and they have all come to thank me for getting them to switch.

I could not imagine shooting with RED and not using FCP to cut with. I Know Red is working directly with Apple to support their camera on a daily basis.

Ben
 
I don't shiver when I am faced with Windows despite how unstable it is cause there are... well... OPTIONS :) but! I too can't imagine having a RED and not using FCP at the moment. However we will see CPU's and memory continuing the same rate of advancement that we've seen in the past decade for some time to come... a long time to come... so you could also build a PC with the latest motherboards and a quad... 4GB of fast RAM and "make sue" till we get 3GHz octo-core natives which won't be long. say 3 years... a native quad should make things possible with 2k, but nothing like you are used to now. AVID XpressPro should however handle it much better than the other NLE's and I can't speak from experience but it might be fast enough... building an AVID station is NOT nearly as hard as they say it is... I can tell you what to use without any problems. I dunno... I definitely would look at FCP regardless cause it is just way faster... not 2x but on it's way there given the same hardware... though building a PC and running MacOS is the best of both worlds.... the best hardware with the faster code bundles
 
bena said:
Rich,

Now that Macs are intel cpu, its only the cost of the new Mac to move to both MAC and (shiver) Windows on the same computer.

You may say you are a die hard Windows user, but you will find Mac OS very easy after a few days, since windows is basically a bad rip off of the Mac OS :) I have converted many Windows users and they have all come to thank me for getting them to switch.

I could not imagine shooting with RED and not using FCP to cut with. I Know Red is working directly with Apple to support their camera on a daily basis.

Ben
Click to expand...

You know I haven't kept up with this business of running Mac OS on a PC. So I feel a bit behind on this point. I did remember hearing something about this but I assumed it was some kind of emulation software which might slow down overall operation. Or maybe that was emulation for running Windows on a Mac.

So what I am understanding then is that I can run Mac OS and FCP on my PC? Any other hardware or changes I need to make? Sounds like I have some other research to do there as I never realized that before.

Are the Macs sold today basically the same architecture as the PC world now? I knew they had PCI bus and same video cards but was not sure about the rest of it.
 
USLatinContent said:
2k and anything bigger.
I am just saying that for heavy footage I would want the fastest system possible and tht would be in the 64-bit world with Apple software. Also that you can install on a PC so long as your motherboard, video card and, if you use one, are compatible. There are loads of them that will work. I don't think it fizzled, just that nobody wants to go though the trouble of building. But if you don't mind then you should be able to build a BEAST.
Click to expand...

If you're going to the trouble of building for video use and particularly a RED workflow, it better be a BEAST or you wasted your effort and what money you did spend. I think quad core is a minimum. I assume the Mac OS has busted the 3GB RAM limit that Windows XP Pro has...
 
Cool Lights said:
You know I haven't kept up with this business of running Mac OS on a PC. So I feel a bit behind on this point. I did remember hearing something about this but I assumed it was some kind of emulation software which might slow down overall operation. Or maybe that was emulation for running Windows on a Mac.

So what I am understanding then is that I can run Mac OS and FCP on my PC? Any other hardware or changes I need to make? Sounds like I have some other research to do there as I never realized that before.

Are the Macs sold today basically the same architecture as the PC world now? I knew they had PCI bus and same video cards but was not sure about the rest of it.
Click to expand...

Hi Richard:

You should be thinking the opposite. Many users now buy a Mac and run FCP and also run Parallels or Boot Camp and run Windows Vista on the Mac. To my knowledge, you cannot run FCP and OSX X on a PC but you can run Windows on a Mac. The perception used to be that Macs were too expensive, but comparisons now show that Macs are at about parity with high-end PCs as far as cost if you compare spec for spec for processors, drives, RAM, etc.

There was a big stink in a recent PC Magazine test that showed that the MacBook Pro ran Windows Vista faster and more efficiently than any of the PC contenders at the time and also when one of the PC magazines awarded it's best computer rating to the MacBook Pro. Really Macs have become PCs as far as hardware and the only thing that separates them is the OS and software. Many people (PC users included) conclude that OS X is superior to Vista and that FCP is superior to most of the PC contenders for editing software. As a RED user, you should seriously consider a Mac. Apple and RED have been working very closely to make sure that FCP integrates very closely with RED.

Mac market share has risen quite rapidly in the past few years. Most of us Mac users are hoping that the Mac doesn't get much more popular than it is now or we will be deluged with viruses, trojan horses, etc.

Dan
 
Yes, you can use loads of RAM and RAM is sooooooooooooooooo cheap now... you can get tight timings 1000MHz gigs for like $40 or lesshowever I am not sure if FCP makes full use of that RAM, then again chances are quite solid that it makes full use of big ammounts...
Richard, in terms of CPU power... yes.. if you build (and OC cause you MUST OC Intels or you should not be allowed to build) it would be far faster than anything you can buy at the mall :)
 
USLatinContent said:
Yes, you can use loads of RAM and RAM is sooooooooooooooooo cheap now... you can get tight timings 1000MHz gigs for like $40 or lesshowever I am not sure if FCP makes full use of that RAM, then again chances are quite solid that it makes full use of big ammounts...
Richard, in terms of CPU power... yes.. if you build (and OC cause you MUST OC Intels or you should not be allowed to build) it would be far faster than anything you can buy at the mall :)
Click to expand...

So I just did a test to see how final cut handles memory usage. Just starting up FCP with a small project used 123 MB's of real ram. With a couple of big projects and a few smaller projects all open at the same time, memory is up to 261 MB's real ram. That's pretty dang good for a program like FCP. In fact, Firefox is freakin using 116 MB's to only have this page I'm typing in open. Just FYI, peak memory useage when I was rendering was 460 MB's.

Looking at the Memory Usage prefrences, I have it set at 100% (it says 2560 MB's) So I am guessing that it can take only around 3 GB's of ram (same as AE.)

I also did some rendering tests to see how much processor time. With an apple effect added to a DV clip, it was making out at 150%. With one Sapphire effect it was around 250%, and then with another one it was 350%. I guess each plugin is written differently on how it pushes data through a processor and how many it uses. At least compressor will use all 8 when setup with a virtual render farm!

Let me know any other tests you would like to know about and I'll try and do them.

Matthew
PS. My computer is a MacPro 2.8 GHz 8 core with 6 GB ram.
 
You can definitely run OSX and FCP on a PC--it just has to be the right PC. there's a little thing called Project OSX 86. Not all motherboards, CPUs, and video cards are fully compatible (driver issues), but some work flawlessly. I'm actually in the process of building a quad-core 2.4 GHz system with 8gb RAM for my brother for only $800 (and saving up to build my own).

Of course, if you have a Mac, you can run Bootcamp or Parallels to get into Windows. Parallels emulates Windows, but I think Bootcamp is just booting from a separate partition, so performance isn't affected.

Back to the lights, are there going to be any Cool Light Kits? I'm just starting out in freelance work on the side and need to get some lights, but I'm not very knowledgeable in the area. I'll be doing documentaries, weddings, commercials, shorts, and all that freelance stuff. The only lights I've ever really had experience with were a Lowel kit from my school, and they get way hotter than I'd prefer--plus the stands sucked. Any possible kits in the future, or lighting suggestions?
 
LOL. Yeah, you can do it. =P I've been doing it for over a year now with no problems.

LuLlz

Though Quad Core + 8GB of ram? For 800? Is that all the computer is made of? Must be some slow ram.
 
it's just cheap ddr2 800. there won't be any overclocking here. it's also a single 500gb harddrive, cheap case/power supply, 7300gt video card. pretty basic except for the cpu and ram, but it'll probably need a new power supply once everything's in it.
 
Hey Kholi,
You've been runnin OSX on a PC? I'd like to get together and see how this was done. wouldn't mind setting up a boot hard drive with osX on my computer. Let me know when you have some time. (do you have my info? if not send me a PM and I'll give it to you.)
Thanks,
Luis
 
siniarch said:
Hey Kholi,
You've been runnin OSX on a PC? I'd like to get together and see how this was done. wouldn't mind setting up a boot hard drive with osX on my computer. Let me know when you have some time. (do you have my info? if not send me a PM and I'll give it to you.)
Thanks,
Luis
Click to expand...


There's like a whole thread on it in the Cafe. Been up since last year I believe. =P

Got some other guys to do it,, it's much easier now-a-days.

Just hit me up sometime this week and you can stop by and check it out.
 
My Current rig is OC'd to 3.6Ghz Daily and it tromps all over Quad Core Macs.

The hit is building it yourself and risking it. The payoff feels like the first time you built your own light and realized how much damage a low cost fixture could do.
 
So you guys are really making OSX work on a PC? Very impressive. Hmm...maybe I will consider a PC if I can NOT ever load Windows onto it.

What are the limitations as far as hardware you can hook up to it?

What about $$$? Can you only run OSX FCP on a HIGH end PC?

Dan
 
Kholi said:
My Current rig is OC'd to 3.6Ghz Daily and it tromps all over Quad Core Macs.

The hit is building it yourself and risking it. The payoff feels like the first time you built your own light and realized how much damage a low cost fixture could do.
Click to expand...

Hehe. I can understand that. I do build my own PCs and have for years but its true that not everyone I built was capable of OC'ing.

What processor did you use? Also has anyone used an AMD dual or quad core setup with OSX?
 
Core 2 Quad - Q6600 Latest Generation

Nothing shorter than Quad for me. And, about to take a go at Leopard here this weekend.

Computer hardware is disgusting, though. My rig is outdated and almost a year old. ALMOST. Not even, actually. I need to upgrade pretty soon but who has money to keep dumping into hardware like that?
 
puredrifting said:
So you guys are really making OSX work on a PC? Very impressive. Hmm...maybe I will consider a PC if I can NOT ever load Windows onto it.

What are the limitations as far as hardware you can hook up to it?

What about $$$? Can you only run OSX FCP on a HIGH end PC?

Dan
Click to expand...

This is why I was asking about this as I had some vague memory of people doing this and being successful. I too would like to know more about running FCP on a PC and what all it takes. Sounds like we have a better choice than Linux finally in the PC world.
 
puredrifting said:
So you guys are really making OSX work on a PC? Very impressive. Hmm...maybe I will consider a PC if I can NOT ever load Windows onto it.

What are the limitations as far as hardware you can hook up to it?

What about $$$? Can you only run OSX FCP on a HIGH end PC?

Dan
Click to expand...

No sense in runnin' it on anything less, I think. I've spent about 2700 on my desktop and it's equal to a topped out Quad Core Mac.

You CAN run it on a "low end" system, but again, why for? =P

You need to make sure you build it specifically for the application. However, apparently it's getting even EASIER thanks to the Leopard release. I know another member here that just built his Cube PC for portability and had major success with a Leopard install.

I'm a Hard-Drive whore and I always feel like I MUST have four HDDs in my rig at all times. Thus, a Cube isn't ideal for me. Might be for someone else, though!
 
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