You must choose a Mac immediately

[Pietro Impagliazzo]

Apple should really think about installing more PCIe ports on their tower.
Implementing the memory bandwidth;
And maybe also using DDR3 Memory.

But they are all concentrated on making laptops and Ipods... for consumer market.
I'm sure this is the right commercial choice but sometime i feel a bit frustrated when I need something I can't have because I'm on a Mac

Next update will only make sense if it uses the new Core i7 and DDR3 memory in triple channel.

So I wouldn't worry too much about it.

 

[Thor Wixom]

You can have your Vista.

Yes, I'll have a Vista tower... with 32 cores, please.

Throw in 128 GB of RAM while you're at it.

And I'll take a Vista quadcore laptop to go!

Let me know when these flavors are available in Mac.

-Thor

 

[Mark L. Pederson]

Yes, I'll have a Vista tower... with 32 cores, please.

Throw in 128 GB of RAM while you're at it.

And I'll take a Vista quadcore laptop to go!

Let me know when these flavors are available in Mac.

-Thor

LOL!

So, Thor - are you currently running a 32 core tower with Vista? How's that workin' out for 'ya?

 

[PatrickW]

Jeff... Do you know of a good Liquid Cooling System you can recomend?

Back when I was a kid, into computers to the extreme, Swiftech http://www.swiftnets.com/ was the name for reliability and performance. There are a few other companies that do watercooling, D-Tek and Innovatek also make great stuff more for PC Enthusiasts. Swiftech is more about engineered excellence, workstation grade quality, but it comes at a price $$$.

 

[Thor Wixom]

LOL!

So, Thor - are you currently running a 32 core tower with Vista? How's that workin' out for 'ya?

Mark,

I'm glad you saw the humor in that.

I actually have two such systems on order. I'm hoping to get them in time for the next feature.

I'm currently working on an octo-Mac on the set of the latest National Lampoon movie.

It has been a valuable tool, and I hope to be as proficient on the Mac at some point as I feel I am in the PC environment.

I know I haven't given Apple a lot of love on Reduser. But really, it's best to know both sides and understand which OS is better suited for which tasks.

If nothing else, it just makes you well rounded, and that much more attractive to clients.

I'll let you know how the Vista towers hold up.

-Thor

 

[JanneJansson]

Here's my computer, 24 core, 48GB ram, cost about the same as a macpro.
http://helmer.sfe.se/

Cheers

 

[Mark L. Pederson]

I know I haven't given Apple a lot of love on Reduser. But really, it's best to know both sides and understand which OS is better suited for which tasks.

If nothing else, it just makes you well rounded, and that much more attractive to clients.

I'll let you know how the Vista towers hold up.

-Thor

Agreed. We use Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition on our Scratch systems.

For the record, there are 16 and 32 core Macs in the works. But you didn't hear that from me ....:devil:

 

[Michele Gavazzeni]

there are 16 and 32 core Macs in the works

The main problem with actual computers (Mac & Pc) isn't their processing power!
But the limitations given by the memory bandwidth that can't handle the amount of data the processor can produce.

So if the software you are running needs to write/read data to/from RAM memory the processing speed is limited from memory bandwidth.

Its also limited by the HDDs speed if you are writing something on them.

Basically without a massive memory bandwidth 8,16 or 32 cores will not make your system noticeable faster.

 

[Steve Sherrick]

Here's my computer, 24 core, 48GB ram, cost about the same as a macpro.
http://helmer.sfe.se/

Cheers

Jeesh, I envy you guys who build these insane systems. I've got to get off my butt and start getting my hands dirty again. I use to do a lot of the Avid tech support for a production company in my early days in the business and I was always taking them apart, rebuilding them from spare parts, etc.

Now I just buy a Mac, stick a Kona 3 in it, load FCP and away I go. I've lost some ground in the "build the computer system from scratch" world.

 

[JanneJansson]

You can have a real insane FCP workstation. Just go get a bunch of mobo, allot of quad cpu's and tons of ram. Install WMware ESX server and let the mac run virtually on the cluster. You can easy get a mac the have 24-48 core process power for same hardware $$ a normal mac pro. ...and if you think it runs slow, just add another mobo to the cluster and instantly more cpu's You don't even have to reboot it!

My 24 core cluster beat my mac pro 1:5 in process speed at same cost. It's more works getting it working and I have not worked out all odd ends yet, like getting Kona or Blackmagic cards working. But for pure render/process jobs it's great. I guess there are licensing issues, but if you are poor (like me) then there are allot of free open source software to use also.

 

[RivaiC]

Agreed. We use Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition on our Scratch systems.

For the record, there are 16 and 32 core Macs in the works. But you didn't hear that from me ....:devil:

Sounds cool, but useless if the software cant took the advantage of it. We will see if it can keep up or not.

 

[Mark Phelan]

And the winner is...

MacPro 2.8GHz 16GB ram, ATI Raedon HD 3870.

My reasoning? Well,

A) The iMac was just too much of a stop-gap measure. Plus, can't hook up a RAID to it. Okay, a firewire, but that wasn't going to help me.

B) Laptop, yes I need a new laptop, but if I had to, I can use the one I have on location to ingest footage onto an external HDD like the G-Tek, which I'll also buy soon. This way, I can get a new, fast laptop that hopefully will be great on location. We shall see.

C) The MacPro is also a little bit of a stop-gap in my mind, but a very usable one that could last for several years if need be. The faster 3.0GHz model was a waste of money, IMO. It allows me to hook up a big, fast external RAID that I will keep after moving onto the next version of the MacPro, whatever that incarnation is going to be. There is ALWAYS something bigger and faster on the horizon. And I have a job coming up soon that will need the horsepower.

Thanks for all the insight and tips. They are ALWAYS appreciated and welcome.