Computer purchase help.

Simon Denny · November 28th, 2007, 01:36 PM

Hi Renton,
Nice render times, how much did this cost to put together?

I will have a look at the Core 2 Duo E6850, 3.00GHz seems to be a bit quicker.

Cheers
Simon

Renton Maclachlan · November 28th, 2007, 07:11 PM

All up I paid $NZ1560 assembled.

I didn't choose the bits. My son in law who is a techo just went to the www.ascent.co.nz site (a brilliant online supplier here) and went through and picked out the bits that looked the best for the price. We analysed the options as he did so. We didn't go for the absolute latest/fastest because of them being over priced at the mo.

The case has three case fans + the power supply fan and the best bit is they have blue lights on the fans!!! :-)

My old machine was a 1.7gb job.

Jeff Harper · November 29th, 2007, 12:09 AM

Quad core is the way to go for me...check out the Dell outlet and HP. Quad core is twice as fast rendering as duo core.

I also agree that to suggest to someone to switch to MAC when they are asking about Vegas and windows based hardware is not quite appropriate, but I certainly understand it.

There are legions of FCP fans out there, virtually all my competitors use Macs.

Scott Brickert · November 30th, 2007, 01:03 PM

Hey Renton,
that's a good looking machine.

Based on this article at Tom's Hardware [http://www.tomshardware.com/2007/09/...re/page3.html] I'm looking at a similar setup using a reliably overclocked E2160 running at 3.2GHz. Accomodating the 45nm processors allows a full upgrade path to the QX6800 quad's running at 3GHz (currently around US$1000 !).

I discovered the hard way the major role processor speed plays in Preview. The ol' P4 3.2GHz provided nearly 30fps preview, while an E24xx C2D with two processors at 1.8GHz was running 10-18fps preview rates, even though the FSB and memory speeds were 25% higher. Rendering and Preview are definitely two different processes.

Was hoping to get away with just upgrading the board, CPU and Ram, but it looks like I'll need a new vidcard supporting 16x PCIe. Then there's the question of power supply.

How quiet is the Raidmax 3 fan box?

I also recommend visiting the Dell Outlet store, particularly if you just want to plug it in, install your apps, and get to work. The XPS I had for a couple weeks was virtually silent. One drawback to them is the rarity of XP boxes.

Jeff Harper · November 30th, 2007, 01:09 PM

While the XPS systems ARE nice, I found I got lots for my money with Dell when purchasing a Precision buisness class machine. The warranty alone on Precsions is fantastic, and tech support is much better than with most of their other machines (I don't know about support for the XPS but the precision techs know Raid, etc. and you get through so much faster. Even though I know hardware pretty well, sometimes I had questions about my system and they are just a phone call away.

Jon Omiatek · November 30th, 2007, 02:09 PM

I am running vegas 7e on a Quad Core(8cores) Mac with no issues booted in Windows XP. I love that I can use it with FCP Studio 2 or PC for Vegas.

Jon

Jeff Harper · November 30th, 2007, 02:14 PM

wow, great setup Jon. By the way, I was wrong, and I'm sorry. I don't expect you to accept it, but at least it's been said. BTW, nice website.

Sean Seah · December 1st, 2007, 05:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jon Omiatek

I am running vegas 7e on a Quad Core(8cores) Mac with no issues booted in Windows XP. I love that I can use it with FCP Studio 2 or PC for Vegas.

Jon

Jon, watz yr setup on the mac pro? So u have FCPS2 together with Vegas8? I was considering that too but the mac pro is one expensive machine..

Renton Maclachlan · December 2nd, 2007, 11:03 PM

"How quiet is the Raidmax 3 fan box?" Scott Brickert.

It doesn't seem to be very noisy - at least I can live with it quite ok.

I can't record audio (something I've done a lot of in the past with my old set up) satisfactorily to the new computer though because of the noise.

Joe Sirbak · December 3rd, 2007, 02:13 PM

Here's an $800 quad-core that has been offered with a $150 rebate three times already this fall - bringing the total price to $650!

http://www.officedepot.com/ddSKU.do?level=SK&id=592945

You might want to add some RAM, an external HDD or two, and a video card, but this is a very affordable PC to get your system started. I got it, and even before any of my planned upgrades, saw 6x (!) faster render times compared to my old dinosaur of a system.

For Vegas, quad-core is the way to go, and this PC shows that you don't need to break the bank to go quad-core.

Jeff Harper · December 3rd, 2007, 02:22 PM

I have a Quad core I paid $2K for it....while I agree on a video card, I don't even know if I'd bother to add RAM, what a great system for the money...I'd buy it in a heart beat. No it's not "perfect", but it will render quickly and preview great! What else do you need?

Kim Olsson · December 3rd, 2007, 02:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jon Omiatek

I am running vegas 7e on a Quad Core(8cores) Mac with no issues booted in Windows XP. I love that I can use it with FCP Studio 2 or PC for Vegas.

Jon

I thought Vegas only could use four cores ??
Like in Preferences - Video - maximum rendering threads = 4...

Terry Esslinger · December 3rd, 2007, 04:44 PM

The $150 rebate ended Nov 21st:>(

Jason Robinson · December 3rd, 2007, 06:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kim Olsson

I thought Vegas only could use four cores ??
Like in Preferences - Video - maximum rendering threads = 4...

But keep in mind that all that disc IO has its own Operating System thread. The OS will still have hefty overhead just to feed those cores the necessary data. An 8 core system might indeed be overkill though.... not like it hurts to have an extra quad core Xeon in the mobo. :-)

Joe Sirbak · December 4th, 2007, 10:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Terry Esslinger

The $150 rebate ended Nov 21st:>(

Yes, but I was shopping around for awhile before pulling the trigger. The $150 rebate was offered at least 2 (and I believe 3) separate times over the past 2 months, so there's a decent chance the rebate will be back sometime in the coming weeks.

November 29th, 2007, 12:09 AM	#18
Jeff Harper Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Cincinnati, OH Posts: 8,425	Quad core is the way to go for me...check out the Dell outlet and HP. Quad core is twice as fast rendering as duo core. I also agree that to suggest to someone to switch to MAC when they are asking about Vegas and windows based hardware is not quite appropriate, but I certainly understand it. There are legions of FCP fans out there, virtually all my competitors use Macs. Last edited by Jeff Harper; November 29th, 2007 at 10:41 AM.

November 30th, 2007, 01:03 PM	#19
Scott Brickert Major Player Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Crested Butte, CO Posts: 576	Hey Renton, that's a good looking machine. Based on this article at Tom's Hardware [http://www.tomshardware.com/2007/09/...re/page3.html] I'm looking at a similar setup using a reliably overclocked E2160 running at 3.2GHz. Accomodating the 45nm processors allows a full upgrade path to the QX6800 quad's running at 3GHz (currently around US$1000 !). I discovered the hard way the major role processor speed plays in Preview. The ol' P4 3.2GHz provided nearly 30fps preview, while an E24xx C2D with two processors at 1.8GHz was running 10-18fps preview rates, even though the FSB and memory speeds were 25% higher. Rendering and Preview are definitely two different processes. Was hoping to get away with just upgrading the board, CPU and Ram, but it looks like I'll need a new vidcard supporting 16x PCIe. Then there's the question of power supply. How quiet is the Raidmax 3 fan box? I also recommend visiting the Dell Outlet store, particularly if you just want to plug it in, install your apps, and get to work. The XPS I had for a couple weeks was virtually silent. One drawback to them is the rarity of XP boxes. __________________ Scott Shot-By-Scott

December 3rd, 2007, 04:44 PM	#28
Terry Esslinger Major Player Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Sacramento, Elk Grove. Calif Posts: 306	The $150 rebate ended Nov 21st:>( __________________ Puttin the wet stuff on the red stuff!

November 28th, 2007, 01:36 PM	#16
Simon Denny Trustee Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Australia Posts: 1,409	Hi Renton, Nice render times, how much did this cost to put together? I will have a look at the Core 2 Duo E6850, 3.00GHz seems to be a bit quicker. Cheers Simon

November 28th, 2007, 07:11 PM	#17
Renton Maclachlan Trustee Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: New Zealand Posts: 1,180	All up I paid $NZ1560 assembled. I didn't choose the bits. My son in law who is a techo just went to the www.ascent.co.nz site (a brilliant online supplier here) and went through and picked out the bits that looked the best for the price. We analysed the options as he did so. We didn't go for the absolute latest/fastest because of them being over priced at the mo. The case has three case fans + the power supply fan and the best bit is they have blue lights on the fans!!! :-) My old machine was a 1.7gb job.

November 30th, 2007, 01:09 PM	#20
Jeff Harper Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Cincinnati, OH Posts: 8,425	While the XPS systems ARE nice, I found I got lots for my money with Dell when purchasing a Precision buisness class machine. The warranty alone on Precsions is fantastic, and tech support is much better than with most of their other machines (I don't know about support for the XPS but the precision techs know Raid, etc. and you get through so much faster. Even though I know hardware pretty well, sometimes I had questions about my system and they are just a phone call away.

November 30th, 2007, 02:09 PM	#21
Jon Omiatek Major Player Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Columbus, Ohio Posts: 755	I am running vegas 7e on a Quad Core(8cores) Mac with no issues booted in Windows XP. I love that I can use it with FCP Studio 2 or PC for Vegas. Jon

November 30th, 2007, 02:14 PM	#22
Jeff Harper Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Cincinnati, OH Posts: 8,425	wow, great setup Jon. By the way, I was wrong, and I'm sorry. I don't expect you to accept it, but at least it's been said. BTW, nice website.

December 2nd, 2007, 11:03 PM	#24
Renton Maclachlan Trustee Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: New Zealand Posts: 1,180	"How quiet is the Raidmax 3 fan box?" Scott Brickert. It doesn't seem to be very noisy - at least I can live with it quite ok. I can't record audio (something I've done a lot of in the past with my old set up) satisfactorily to the new computer though because of the noise.

December 3rd, 2007, 02:13 PM	#25
Joe Sirbak New Boot Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Philadelphia, PA Posts: 7	Here's an $800 quad-core that has been offered with a $150 rebate three times already this fall - bringing the total price to $650! http://www.officedepot.com/ddSKU.do?level=SK&id=592945 You might want to add some RAM, an external HDD or two, and a video card, but this is a very affordable PC to get your system started. I got it, and even before any of my planned upgrades, saw 6x (!) faster render times compared to my old dinosaur of a system. For Vegas, quad-core is the way to go, and this PC shows that you don't need to break the bank to go quad-core.

December 3rd, 2007, 02:22 PM	#26
Jeff Harper Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Cincinnati, OH Posts: 8,425	I have a Quad core I paid $2K for it....while I agree on a video card, I don't even know if I'd bother to add RAM, what a great system for the money...I'd buy it in a heart beat. No it's not "perfect", but it will render quickly and preview great! What else do you need?