- This topic has 35 replies, 8 voices, and was last updated 16 years, 2 months ago by
.
-
Posts
-
This machine I’m looking at is a PM G5 Dual Core 2.3GHz/512MB/250GB/SuperDr with 2GB PC4200 DDR2 SDRAM, 20in Flat Panel Screen and Retrospect Mac boxed desktop backup V6 running drive synchronisation with a second 500Gb unit. We haven’t nailed a price for it yet but my mate reckons in the region of $NZ1300 (which is about $US4,669,523,000).
Do any of you guys edit HD video on either Mac or PC? What would you say are the minimum specs to work in that format (at hobby level) in terms of processor speed and RAM?
- Women sense my power and they seek the life essence.
Depends on patience. RAM previews take a moment, but I’ve been editing both 720p and 1080 stuff on my Macbook with it’s stock 2GB of RAM since I got it. I was doing it for a living too. In fact, both of the videos I posted tonight were edited on it, and most of that materials ran pretty fast. The particle effects ran a bit slower in AE on the intros, but they are just busy bits.
That machine is a beast for sure, and a great ‘have’. The trouble is, software is just not being optimized for it anymore.
I’ve done video on both platforms, and for my PCs it always took a dedicated effects card (on top of the decent video card) to do any effects editing in real-time or near real-time. From day one, my consumer grade machines were able to outrun the PC I switched from that was running a DV Storm, then eventually a DV Storm II.
at the current exchange rate, $1300NZ would be $849.68US. if it was me i would pass on it at that price. but realize i’m new to the mac scene, so i’m not as keen on mac hardware/software as i am on the pc side of things.
i’d say it all comes down to how urgent you need a new machine.
My essence still senses Bucho's women.
Agreed, other than the video card, a stock Macbook will as fast for most applications, and should cost basically the same. I’d say it’s something that you could consider to be close to a decent deal if you really want the screen, the drive and stuff… but if you are buying it base don the horsepower of the machine don’t. The G5s have a great calculation per cycle, but software is not being written to take advantage of the way they work anymore. That is basically the same config (it was a dual 2.4GHz) that I had when I first got to Mango, and I had 3GB of RAM, and a 23″ cinema display…. and the fist 2.4 GHz Macbook Pro I got was significantly faster with less vRAM.
Figure out how flexible your budget is, and will be in the near future then rethink your purchase.
Bucho, how much would an iMac run over there? Here in the US, for about $1200 US you can get the entry level machine with a much faster process on current architecture, 2GB RAM, 320GB hard drive and 256MB of vRAM with that nice look 20″ screen. For 500 more, you can really have a decent machine, and you can edit video all day long on those if you want. Granted you aren’t going to stack up against a Mac Pro quad or anything, but it won’t piss you off either.
When you say software is not being written for the G5 anymore, is that a problem as long as that machine already has the software and power to do the job? What new software would it need? Net browsing type stuff like flash players etc?
I mean, the Mac stuff in particular is pretty new to me so what I’m wondering is whether the version of iMovie from that time can do the job. I know iMovie isn’t the sexiest thing you can edit on for Mac but I don’t need too much in terms of fancy effects, just the basics. The most I usually alter my footage might be to change the speed, run some fades, slap on a title or two. I guess the weirdest thing I might try and do would be to combine footage from the two cams, cutting 1080 with 720 in the same project, just because some of the family stuff I have is shot on both, but I’m sure it could handle that. What software do you use to edit video on each platform Bryan?
A new Intel 2.66GHz 20in iMac goes for $2600 in NZ. It’s pretty fucking mouthwatering but the catch is that I can’t help feeling it’d be irresponsible for me to spend those extra bucks with both the dicey state of the economy in NZ (particularly for my industry) and saving for a house. (The 24″ 2.66 is $3300, the 24″ 2.93 is $4000 and the big daddy 24″ 3.06 is $4800.)
http://search.dse.co.nz/search?w=imac&sessionid=4a66c03d008b0a94273fc0a87f3b06e4
Also, I know Macs have a rep for being stable as hell, but a three year old machine is a three year old machine and that’s weighing on my mind. Do they have a habit of conking out or can they rock on for up to five years? And when they do blow a gasket how much damage can that do to the wallet? All things being equal I’d go Mac in a heartbeat, but when it comes to the price things are a fair way from equal.
- Women sense my power and they seek the life essence.
Wow Bucho, shit is expensive over there. Well, I can definitely see your point about spending the dough. You don’t need a house if you have a Mac though, I don’t know if you already knew that or not. :p
Your assumption about software is correct. Much of the stuff written for the transition is “Universal” meaning it was written for both, but there is a lot of stuff that is written in the areas of media authoring that is now written only for Intel. As you said though, if you run it with the stuff from it’s period it should and will run it pretty well (and likely without issue). The trouble in this department comes in when you want to convert it using this great encoder that everyone uses… oh, but it doesn’t run on PowerPC. Or you want to add this utility that makes ____ easier, but of course… no PowerPC. As long as you keep it setup basically how you get it in terms of authoring software, it should be a strong workstation. New browsers and stuff won’t matter, they run fine on anything. Flash on the otherhand, just flat out sucks on anything but Windows (there is a development relationship and history there). It works on Mac just fine, but it’s performance has always been weak, and it prone to bugs and hang ups. I believe that the best one for the G5 is player 9… which of course doesn’t support some more advanced video player stuff in use on sites like Facebook. My concern for you with the G5 in terms of outdated software, is that it won’t be a big problem for you day one, but it will be a much bigger issue when you are used to your machine, and dependent on it. It looks like Apple is dropping PowerPC builds in the next version of OSX (Snow Leopard).
As for your other question, you are correct that it’s an aged machine and has potential issues inherent to it’s age and that situation. However, keep in mind that Apple doesn’t really use “parts of the week” discounted crap to build their machines. The PowerMac is built on the best crap you could really put in a machine at the time… it’s server grade gear. Seriously. At three years, you should expect that one of the drives or more is susceptible, fans could give up (keep them clean) and the rest should run pretty reliable based on the history of these machines. They don’t have a lot of ‘known’ issues. Some of the parts can be replaced with upgrades (these machines are some of the few that are easier to upgrade due to the nature of the builds) should they go out, or you just want more from it, such as the video card, the RAM and of course the drives.
Apple has some basic info on what the internals are like and what you can do in terms of replacement/upgrades here. Additionally, you can go to this site for an example of some upgrade and replacement parts.
Thanks Bryan, these are the sorts of issues I need to be considering at the moment and your experience and knowledge is worth a bunch. I have two fairly new 500Gb SATA drives so those should cover potential problems with the older drives dying, and I can keep internal things spic and span easy enough, so this up-to-date software issue is the main drawback as I see it now.
And yeah, a lot of electronic shit is pretty expensive out here on our little outpost, on account of ships and planes having to drive about three million miles to reach us. Thanks for the advice and the site link too.
- Women sense my power and they seek the life essence.
You guys need to just hire a few Guatemalans and Ethiopians to run back and forth in row boats. The replacement costs of Guatemalans, Ethiopians and boats lost at see has GOT to be cheaper than commercial shipping costs, right?
Yeah, I actually tried that a couple of years back but the Tongan pirates eat them for breakfast.
- Women sense my power and they seek the life essence.
This is a very informative thread. I’m picking up some really helpful advice from you bunch of super computer nerds. And, yes…that was intended as a compliment.
(buncha fags)
please keep going…in a nbliangw
Hey Bucho… have you taken a good look at the Mac Mini? I did editing on that for a bit, and it was fine for most tasks. In fact, the current Mac Mini, can do up to 4GB of RAM, FW800, has 256MB available for shared memory on the M9400 (and even the new Final Cut Studio released today will support that one) and has pretty decent performance for a tiny package.
People act like it’s a toy computer, or not capable, but truth be told it’s as powerful as the entry level MacBook Pro, and more powerful than most sub $1000 notebooks and often desktops (excluding builds).
I did a configure at the Psystar site, and once you add on all of the shit that the Mini already had (Bluetooth and Wireless and such) the Psystar is actually MORE money, and the only two real performance items in the mix are the video card (a valid difference) and the drive speed. The processor thing is somewhat a difference, but typically unless you are just doing tons of renders, you won’t really notice the difference between 2.0ish and 2.4ish. It’s measurable of course, but may not quantify into dollars saved/spent when really comparing the two.
Actually, being retarded in such matters I hadn’t thought of a Mini yet. Turns out they go for $NZ1500 with 2Gb RAM ($99 for each additional Gb) and a 120Gb drive, then I guess the screen, dvd writer and bits and pieces get added on. When you say you edited on one does that mean it handled HD for you? I’m guessing being a pro you’d be working with Final Cut. From what I can see iMovie seems quite limited in a lot of ways, like allowing only one video and two audio tracks.
Also, I’m glad you’re here Bing so I’m not the only one who feels all out of his depth and mouth-breathin’ when it comes to this stuff. Sometimes I feel like I should just go back to herding nerfs.
- Women sense my power and they seek the life essence.
I’d edited HD on it yes, but I think 720p was the biggest I’d done on it. Codec is important to performance on it. I’m not saying it’s an ideal solution, just don’t rule it out totally. With FireWire 800 on it, you can get an external drive that will really haul ass.
Final Cut, of course. That’s how edits get done. But between those, is Final Cut Express, and it’s probably what you need to do what you are doing. It’s about $200 US retail, as opposed to the studio bundle. Watch out for Express, it wasn’t updated yesterday with the studio bundle, and typically is a month or two behind… so a new version should be coming.
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.