PC User Succumbing... Need Help Building New Quad

S

scarfhead

Member
I am a longtime PC user and have finally succumbed. Anyone want to chime in on what my first system should look like? I will be purchasing it in the next week or two to edit micro-budget features in Final Cut Studio. These projects will mostly be shot on the forthcoming HVX-200 using DVC-PRO HD at 1080/24p.

Processors: Quad Mac vs. Dual 2.7 or new 2.3? Will I notice a big difference in FCP?

Video: 7800 GT? I assume this is the best choice. Quadro overkill?

RAM: 4GB?
Any thoughts on best Non-ECC RAM for Mac? And where should I purchase it outside of CA? Am I right that FCP will only recognize up to 3.5 gigs?

Monitor opinions:
I have one Dell 2405FPW already. Should I get another? If I do, will it also suffice for monitoring HD via its component input until I'm doing heavy duty color correcting? Any other basic monitor and HD monitoring suggestions? Also, what do I need in the way of Decklink vs. Kona?

Drive Options:
Any thoughts on most cost effective external RAID arrays? Probably want around 3.5TB that has enough throughput to support uncompressed HD if necessary. Might wait until early next year for this though.

Keyboard/Mouse Options:
Best FCP Keyboard? Mightmouse or cordless?

Anything I'm missing? Oh, what's the best place to buy this system outside of CA? Clearly there are not huge cost differences but saving a few hundred bucks and getting good support would be nice.

Thanks for the help.
 
the quad will help with any rendering..especially when exporting in compressor or cleaner etc.
To be fair..my dual 2.7 with 2.5 gigs ram works well for long form....you could get away with a dual 2.0 or dual core 2.0 and be fine. Depends on your budget.

to stay cheap...stay in DVCPRO HD in final cut..you wont need a capture card, or fancy fiber raid. A firewire raid will work..but SATA raid would be better.

Use a DVI monitor to view video..you really need at least a 2 monitor setup to edit.
 
I bought a 2.0 power mac and added 4gig ram from 4allmemory. It uses it fine. I have 2 sata hard drives and one external. I still hate rendering time. I still need my pc for other things. Now it is a two computer platform world. I have to network and share files. FCP and PPro both do afew things the other doesn't. I don't miss all the windows errors however I have lost work on the Mac cause I didn't save.
 
I second Crucial for the memory. Can't go wrong there.

I'd slap in 4 gigs into the quad, get a sata raid going, setup a second monitor. I only use wired mice because i hate the bluetooth lag, but that's just me.
 
I love crucial as well - good prices, good RAM, free shipping, fast service.

As far as the computer - AppleCare is an awesome way to get 3 years of tech support and hardware support - $249 for a powermac and covers everything the machine comes w/ all the way down to at-your-door service for 3 years.

7800 GT is a great card - price/performance it's definitely the leader - but it is a bit longer of a wait (6-8 weeks, vs. 3-4 for just the box), but again, I think well worth it at this point.

Do be aware right now SATA cards haven't been made mac-compatible and PCIe - it's inevitable they will be made eventually, but now the only real way to get massive storage is via Fiber (Xserve RAID; obviously the best option, and furthest from affordable) or firewire (not as desireable performance as SATA).

Feel free to contact me via PM if you have any other inquiries - I do work for Apple and can help you setup an order and answer any more questions.

Spencer Berry
 
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