Building a system

[georget13]

Hello :
I'm a current adobe cs3 rtx2 user wondering if the max board is better suited for the pc or does it work well on the Mac ? Seems like there are some stability issues on the Mac judging from the posts?

What system configuration that has been certified by both Adobe and Matrox would you recommend ?

George T

[Andrew Smith]

The Max option for the MXO2 works well on both PC and Mac. Those that get their MXO2 without Max tend to regret it as time goes on.

On the Mac side, the biggest issues of late that I have seen are (a) things not working when you upgrade to the Mac "Lion" release, and (b) no Matrox effects released for working in conjunction with the Mac drivers.

Matrox doesn't certify system configurations like they did in the old days of X.100 and the X.2 .... the critical bottlenecks of the time have been surpassed by hardware advances. However, I would highly recommend working through the VideoGuys.com DIY series.

My advice is:

? Definitely go for a PC. The software is the same and you get more grunt for you buck. You won't miss the shiny look of the computer case in a darkened edit suite.

? Get a NVIDIA type GeForce video card for working with CS5.5. Whilst you can hack in the ability to use a cheaper card than those listed by Adobe, the ones listed do have the ability to handle long periods of work without overheating.

? Have multiple physical hard drives. Chances are that you know this already.

? Have a bucket load of RAM. I've got 24GB on my computer and am glad I did. RAM is so cheap these days and is one of the easiest ways to improve the performance of a computer.

That's just the stuff off the top of my head. Minor details depend on what tyoe of work you are wanting to undertake.

Andrew

[georget13]

Thanks Andrew I've stuck with Pc for your reasons.So in your experience there is no horsepower to be gained on the Mac side these days? What kind of Pc configuration do you have? Is it stable, any issues? What's your thoughts on the Hp 800 series? What about dell workstations? Alot of our stuff is short form that needs to be outputted quickly and to multiple formats hence the interest in Max. I' m thinking the Mojito Max internal board makes the most sense but I'm intrigued by portability of the Mx02 line.

[Andrew Smith]

Hi George,

This is the sort of setup that I have ....

Case: CoolerMaster 850W Silent Pro Modular / CoolerMaster Silencio 550 case with USB3.0 SDCard Audio.
It's worth it to pay extra for a silent running case with good air flow and an X-dock for attaching a HDD in the same manner as you would with a floppy disc. Haven't used it yet, but it's bound to be handy.

Guts: Gigabyte G1.GUERRILLA X58 motherboard (x58 chipset) with 24GB of 2 Kingston Hyperx 1600Mhz DDR3 RAM, Intel Core i7 980 Processor LGA1366 3.33GHz 12MB Cache CPU.
Sandy Bridge wasn't quite ready for prime time when I was making my purchase last November. Courtesy of the VideoGuys DIY articles I stuck with the X58 chipset using the one suitable motherboard I could still find.

Graphics: Gainward GTX580 Phantom 3072Mb PCI Express
So far I'm glad I went to the 580 instead of a 570. This particular card has heaps of RAM and is yet to break a sweat with even the h264 section of the PPro Benchmark test. Not worth going to a 590 card as this gets you in to dual GPU territory and the Adobe Mercury engine can only take advantage of a single GPU chip. Likewise with multiple video cards lashed together ... not worth it.

HDD storage: 6 x Hitachi 2TB 7200rpm HDDs.
Two of these are used as physical C: and D: drives inside the computer case. The other four are used inside a Stardom RAID5 external unit which is attached by eSATA. Why all the same model? If I should lose a physical HDD in the RAID5 unit and I can't purchase one of the exact same model then the physical D: drive inside the computer box has its data shunted elsewhere and then becomes the physical replacement drive for the RAID5 array.

Optical: CD / DVD / BluRay drive
Even though I am yet to ever burn a BluRay disc or even be asked for one, I might as well spend an extra few dollars now rather than futz around with revisiting the computer shop in the future. Besides, 25GB per disc is kinda handy for sneakernet.

OS: Windows 7 64-bit
Thank goodness we're well beyond Vista.

Logitech MK120 USB Desktop Keyboard/Mouse
Can't remember whether the two of them cost $8 or $12. Feels weird buying something so cheap, yet they work properly as you would expect them to.

Of course, we can't forget the MXO2 which transforms your computer + software in to a broadcast quality video editing station.

As for the Mojito? Deep down I don't really "get it". My understanding is that it's simply the same hardware but in a computer card form factor so that you can have it all inside the computer box. Some post-production houses prefer it this way. You still need to connect an external box for your analogue / SDI / HDMI etc in/outs. Might as well just go with an MXO2 and have the flexibility.

And definitely get the "Max" option. Crazy not to.

I don't know much about the Dell computers except that they would be aiming towards a general consumer market and you'll probably pay extra for the good bits that you need. Personally, I can't stand dealing over the phone with an operator working his way through a script. Our computing needs for video work are anything but commodity consumer level.

HP workstations are the ones that have a close relationship with Adobe. Some writers feel that they are the only true workstation manufacturer left (ie Apple isn't doing it with their Macs any more, something to do with being distracted by profitable iThinggie products)

Ultimately? The parts that go in to a HP computer still come out of all the other factories. You might as well control the parts for your own computer amd have it assembled to your specs.

So far my computer is very stable and I'm yet to max out the physical RAM. (20GB is as far as I've managed to take it). The only thing that alarmed me is the amount of heat put out from the i7 processor. I envisage that one day we'll be able to connect a copper heat pipe between our computer and the hot water system. In the mean time I won't need to put the heater on in winter.

Andrew

[Matrox_Support_Vic]

Great write up Andrew.

Regards

Vic