Computer System

G-Man

G-Man

Well-known member
Hello everyone. I am trying to decide on a computer setup to work specifically with the Hvx200.

I was playing around with the Mac configurator and was wondering whether the following setup would allow me to work with hd video:

2 2.66 ghz dual core xeon
1 gb memory
hard drive bay 1- 500 GB
hard drive bay 2- 500 GB
Nvidia ge force 7300 gt 256 mb

approx price $3099

The monitor I'm looking at is the Gateway fpd2185w. approx price $599

I would probably install the latest version of fcp studio.

Can I work with this setup or do I have to make some adjustments?

I'm just looking for an affordable setup that will allow me to work with the hvx, and do some cc, basic fx (gunshot flashes, composite shots, etc), and decent titles.

Thoughts?
 
I suggest to add as ram as you can. I think 1gb is not enough. I don't know this monitor, but one other good monitor would be the Dell 24". Many people here work with this monitor. Otherwise your setup seems to be great.

Theodoros.
 
Don't get the dell 24". It's a great, great computer monitor, but it sucks for viewing HVX footage. For some reason it magnifies the noise. Trust me, I know. I have one.
 
you put more money in the graphix card when u should put that in the ram.

graphics cards in general are great for rendering real time lighting and 3D detail, mostly gaming, but whe nyour editing, its your processor, bus speed, and ram that kick in.
 
In Final Cut Studio, many RT effects are offloaded to the GPU, so a good graphics card is important as well. That said, I really think you would be limiting yourself unnecessarily with 1G of RAM, just pick up 2 or 3 G's from a non-apple source and save yourself several hundred dollars.
 
GO for the best processor you can. Also go for 4 gb of ram. Don't go for a ATI graphics card, since there's a problem between them and Motion/Shake. It limits you to just work in 8bit. You want to work with 16 bit colors or even 24 bit for the best results.

Buy a cheap monitor for computing and timeline- I've an inexpesnive 19" Samsung- and buy a good CRT HD monitor- look for the JVC 17" broadcast monitor- not very expensive, but very good.
 
I can attest to the super quality and usability of the Apple Cinema HD Monitors.

Get the best graphics card you can, get as much RAM as you can.
 
BenB said:
I can attest to the super quality and usability of the Apple Cinema HD Monitors.

Get the best graphics card you can, get as much RAM as you can.
Click to expand...

I was looking into purchasing the new MacBook pro and upgrade to 2G of RAM. Is that enough to work with DVCproHD??

It comes with the ATI Mobility Radeon X1600 graphics processor, dual link DVI support, 256MB of GDDR3, is that sufficient to use all of the programs in the latest version of Final cut Studio??

Thanks for any responses.
 
Check Apple's web site. All the technical specs are there. Never assume just cause it's a Mac it will run everything in Final Cut Suite.
 
6society said:
I was looking into purchasing the new MacBook pro and upgrade to 2G of RAM. Is that enough to work with DVCproHD??

It comes with the ATI Mobility Radeon X1600 graphics processor, dual link DVI support, 256MB of GDDR3, is that sufficient to use all of the programs in the latest version of Final cut Studio??

Thanks for any responses.
Click to expand...

It's plenty to work with DVCProHD. Plus you can't add any more.

Make certain if you are capturing to FCP to get a eSATA or FW400/800 ExpressCard/34 and use that for cam and the internal bus for capture.

We actually are capturing to a USB2 bus powered external drive in a MacBook.

Kinda of nice
 
Thanks for the responses guys. I'll look into getting more RAM. I'll also look at the monitors you guys mentioned. If you guys think of anything else, let me know.

Thanks!
 
David S. said:
It's plenty to work with DVCProHD. Plus you can't add any more.

Make certain if you are capturing to FCP to get a eSATA or FW400/800 ExpressCard/34 and use that for cam and the internal bus for capture.

We actually are capturing to a USB2 bus powered external drive in a MacBook.

Kinda of nice
Click to expand...

David,
I will be using a P2 store in the field, does that change what I should get as far as an eSATA or ExpressCard? Thanks
 
If you are using a p2 store and capturing to p2 cards, no need for either adapter. Only necessary, I believe, when capturing directly to FCP using FW
 
David S. said:
If you are using a p2 store and capturing to p2 cards, no need for either adapter. Only necessary, I believe, when capturing directly to FCP using FW
Click to expand...


Thanks again for the response David. One more question if you don't mind:).

For external storage, I was looking at the G-Drive site. I wanted to get 500MB of storage. What would be the best hardware to purchase for editing and storage of DVCProHD material on a MacBook Pro??
Thanks again David.
 
G-Technology makes good stuff, but so does wiebetech.com.

Don't know what you mean by "best hardware."

I do see an awful lot of Lacie issues.
 
I've been using Other World Computing and LaCie for years. Never had an issue with any of them. Just started using G-Tech 1TB RAID drive. No issues with any of them ever.
 
The one's I've been using don't, but neither do my OWC (same as MacSales). Depending on the case design, some drives can disapate heat just fine w/out fans. I would never judge a name brand HDD based of if it has fans or not. If you buy one without fans, and it doesn't get hot (my LaCies get warm, not hot), it's fine. My G-Tech 1TB has a major fan, and still gets really hot.

My favs are OWC and G-Tech. I am big on G-Tech at the moment.

There was a time back ago, when I remember one or two LaCie drives had compatability problems. But I've never heard of one overheating.
 
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