Need advice on Mac-based work setup

Hi, hoping for some advice on the best Mac-based system to purchase for our 6 design workstations. We are jumping from CS5 to CC. We do GFX for multiple tv stations, motion GFX, compositing, 3D, editing, print design. SPEED is important and we only buy new computers every 4 years or so. Typical workflow has the following open simultaneously: AE, PR or FCP, PS, ID, AI, Firefox, Outlook, and maybe also Word or Text Edit or Quicktime. We do short but complex stuff, 60 seconds tops.
We’ve got one test system set up so far. These are the specs of our test system; putting all projects and assets on the thunderbolt RAID:
Mac Pro 10.9.2      3.7 Ghz Quad-Core    Intel Xeon E5      12 Gig DDR3
30 Inch Apple Cinema Display Display 2560 X 1600    AMD FirePro 2048 MB Graphics
HDMI to DVI converter for 2008 Apple Studio Display
Drive: Areca 5026 RAID-ed RAID 5    each slot has a 1TB    Toshiba 7200 RPM 32MB cache SATA 6.0GB/s drive, connected by thunderbolt 2.0
Blackmagic card: UltraStudio 3D thunderbolt device running the 9.6.7 Black magic drivers, connected thunderbolt 2.0
Panasonic HD pro tv monitor
PROBLEM: with this setup we’re disappointed in both rendering and render to RAM speed, and RAM preview at full res is dropping frames on some projects. Turning on multiprocessing does not make it any faster, and won’t render at all in certain codecs (like DV50). I have 12GB of RAM, and reserved 3GB for other applications. With multiprocessing on I have 8 CPUs, leaving 2 for other applications, reserving 2GB per CPU.
Designers render locally on their own Macs while multi-tasking on print projects, run web browsers, outlook etc.
QUESTIONS:
1. What is the best fastest system AE can take advantage of? If we get 6 or 8 or 12 core Mac Pros (instead of the quad core) with more RAM, would AE be able to access that speed, and if so up to how many GB can it use, only up to 2GB per core or can it use more?
2. Should we replace the graphics card with an Nvidia CUDA? Is the ray-tracing engine something we’ll need with Cinema 4D work?
Thank you!

> 1. What is the best fastest system AE can take advantage of? If we get 6 or 8 or 12 core Mac Pros (instead of the quad core) with more RAM, would AE be able to access that speed, and if so up to how many GB can it use, only up to 2GB per core or can it use more?
Yes, After Effects will take advantage of multiple fast CPUs and all of the RAM that you can install.
You also want to have a decent-sized SSD connected over a fast bus for the disk cache. The new Mac Pro does very well in that regard.
2. Should we replace the graphics card with an Nvidia CUDA? Is the ray-tracing engine something we’ll need with Cinema 4D work?
The After Effects ray-traced 3D renderer has nothing whatsoever to do with Cinema 4D.
Do not make any buying decisions based on the After Effects ray-traced 3D renderer unless you already know for certain that you have a need for it. Since you're asking, it seems that the answer is that you don't.
See this page for information about hardware for Premiere Pro and After Effects: http://adobe.ly/pRYOuk

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Need advice about Mac Pro and Windows networking

I currently have 2 machines at work: One HP Windows PC (high configuration) and a PowerMac G5 2GHz dual. I'm basically close to purchasing a new Mac Pro to replace both machines but need some advice. I do the majority of design work on the Mac. However I need the Windows PC to also do some design work but mainly use it to connect into the windows network at work. Basically I need to be able to access the network drives (which are set up with Novell Netware, with IPX turned off), Novell GroupWise email system and connect to the internet through the LAN. Can I do this with a Mac Pro, with either Bootcamp or Parallels? Is there any sacrifice in terms of performance in using Bootcamp or Parallels? The end result I want is similar to what I am doing at the moment - at the moment I use a PC to network and the Mac to design, side by side with each other. What I want is to do this from one machine, not two. (I also need the PC side of things as I need to use some software that isn't available on the Mac, eg. bespoke databases that run on PC). Is it easy to network under Bootcamp/Parallels? What pitfalls are there that I need to be aware of?

When your running Windows via bootcamp, you are essentially Running windows on a PC architecture. You will have all the same capabilities that you have now.
When you use Parallels to run Windows, you are running Windows as a virtual machine running within the confines of the Mac OS. The advantage is that you can run multiple OS's at the same time, and easily share files and data between them. The disadvantage is that the OS running within Parallels has a slightly performance hit, meaning you are not running as fast as the bootcamp version, but the performance hit is very slight. The only place that Parallels is lacking at the moment is in support of 3D or accelerated graphics. That is Parallels currently cannot make use of a graphics card 3D capabilities or advance GPU options. Parallels has stated their intent is to provide better graphic card support in the near future.
With all this in mind, I don;t see any reason why you cannot use Parallels for your Windows networking needs, and the Mac for your design needs, all at the same time. You will need of course to ensure you have enough RAM to support both OS's if you intend to run them at the same time.
Tom N.

Looking for opinions & advice on Mac G5 -- television setup

Hi everyone!
I just moved in to a new home, and have gotten a great new surround system and is just about to invest in a new, modern television as well.
I have a Mac G5 dual 2 GHz that I would love to be able to hook up to the new TV set somehow. I realize that Front Row isn't supposed to work on my G5, and it's really not necessary per se I guess - but if there is a way to do it that would be my goal.
I have a remote control for the G5 already that's working great in DVD player and iTunes.
The questions:
=========
1) Can I connect somehow directly from the G5 into a modern telvision set using the second output from the built in video card? (My main goes to a cinema display now). Or do I need to have a separate video card?
2) What telvision set is recommended? (40" or bigger preferred)
3) The G5 is pretty far away from the telvision area and the surround sound receiver. Is there a way to get optical cable that's really long somewhere? I dont seem to be able to find optical cable longer than 12 feet - is there some kind of technical limit?
4) Should I just forget the G5 altogether and get a Mac mini for all TV purposes?
5) Whatever happened to that iTV product thing that Steve Jobs was talking about?
All opinions/comments welcome! Thanks!

Martnlindhe,
I chose to purchase a MacMini Intel model to hookup to my 36 inch Sony TV.
I chose this model for several reasons as I also have a Web Camera hooked up to it at the same time via Firewire. I use Front Row and iTunes to distribute music throughout the house wirelessly to other stereos and to view what is playing now via the TV.
Here are some photos of the MacMini hooked up to the TV and using Front Row.
http://users.sisqtel.net/jkriz/MacMini/OSX.jpg
http://users.sisqtel.net/jkriz/MacMini/FrontRow.jpg
http://users.sisqtel.net/jkriz/MacMini/frontrow_albumcovers.jpg
The photos aren't that great but you get the idea. The TV screen looks great in person as opposed to the photos with the glare and the darkness.
Some TV's don't look as good as my TV looks from what I have heard so your TV may or may not look as good. I am about to upgrade to a 42 inch Panasonic HD Plasma TV which should give an even better picture. At this time, my TV is connected to the MacMini via the "S-Video" cable. The HDMI video cable is a better choice if your TV has that capability.
The new iTV from Apple is rumored to be released sometime this coming Spring.

Need advice on Mac file security

1. I use Office For Mac, Excel version 14.3.0 I can save an Excel file with a password, but I do not know what type of encrption Excel uses to encrypt the file. Maybe AES 128?
2. I know I can use Disk Utility to create an encrypted disk image, and then store the Excel file in the encrypted disk image.
3. I also know that I can use FileVault to encrypt the entire drive.
When it comes to encrypting and protecting an individual Excel file, does one of the three options provide a higher level of security protection? If so, which one and why? Should I use a combination of the above options to "double encrypt" sensitive Excel files?
Advice welcome!

first of all please review this article and related posts....also do an assessment of how time machine will play into the equation in the advent of a restore
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht4790
as for excel proper
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/excel-help/password-protect-worksheet-or-workb ook-elements-HP010078580.aspx
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/excel-help/overview-of-security-and-protection -in-excel-HP005238854.aspx
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/excel-help/help-secure-and-protect-data-in-exc el-RZ001123531.aspx?section=5

Need Advice 2 computers with 3g setup

Morning all just wanted to see what I should do with getting the same data on both computers. My MacPro is in NY waiting for me to do a big shooting job and has not been updated to 7.7 Itunes but I did but the Iphone 3g from the original version and everything is rigged up to my MacBook Pro right now. I get to NY tomorrow and that is my main computer so I want to normally use the MacPro for the Iphone. Question I have what is the bet way to get this done. I would think update to the new Version 7.7 first than do a synce so all that correct data from Mobile me gets on the MacPro. Than do i setup the 3g as a new phone or what should I be doing here.
Or my other thought and not sure this would work is go to my user folder take the Itunes from the MacBook Pro and replace the MacPro with it, will the updates be there and the Iphone backup stuff.
Any help would be appreciated but what is the proper way of doing this.

In my view, the extra money for 7% (or whatever it is) extra performance isn't really worth it. Obviously, if you want the fastest you can get, then go for the more expensive one.
The VRAM really doesn't mean much unless you are using your computer for games (or perhaps some hardcore graphics stuff like Motion which will benefit from it). Regular applications won't benefit at all from the extra VRAM, and the 2.2 will drive big monitors quite happily.
I actually went to the Apple Store last week and played with one of the new MBP's, and in doing the research I was set on a matte screen, now I'm not so sure - it was nice graphically with the glossy. I'll make that decision when I have to...
It was funny watching people all crowding round the MBP's - most people were running Safari, iTunes and stuff, and there's me loading up and creating with Logic, then FCP, then Shake, then Colour, then Motion, all the hard core apps - I think they thought I was some kind of professional or something...
I will be getting a 2.2 when the issues and the component shortages are sorted out...

Need advice on Wifi setup

I need some advice on the best wifi setup to use for my house's configuration.
Currently I have cable internet coming in at one end of the house downstairs. I have an Airport Express (circa 2010) connected directly to the cable modem. On the second floor on the complete opposite side of the house is my bedroom/office. I have an Airport Extreme (2011 5th generation) set up to extend the wireless network.
This has worked fine and we have not had any problems connecting any of our wireless devices to the network.
I also have the airport express set up to use dyndns with a domain name I own so that I can remotely access my network at work.
I have just added a new mac mini to the mix to replace an aging and antiquated Windows Home Server. I want to administer all the user's (6 kids) in the house, manage photo and itunes libraries and eventually set up a webserver and allow remote access to our home computers.
So my question is this....is there a better way to configure the airport devices? I would prefer to have the cable modem connected directly to the airport extreme, but then I would be wasting the USB and gigabit ethernet ports as the location of the cable modem is in our living room with no electronic devices in sight. Since my primary connection for my main computer and the new mac mini is through the airport extreme connected wirelessly to the airport express, I am thinking the express could be the bottleneck. Would spending the cash on a 2nd Airport Extreme to replace the Airport Express be beneficial or just a waste of money?
Thanks.
Brian

Yes, I had considered running an etherent cable to the bedroom, but my wife doesn't like the idea of seeing the cable snaking through hallways.
In the bedroom, I have connected the imac, mac mini and the AEBS with etherent cable. It's just my connection to the internet that does not have the benefit of ethernet, although the speed I get from my cable internet is much slower than the wifi connection.
I would eventually like to move the cable modem upstairs and use the AEBS as the primary base station and the AX downstairs to extend my wireless network. However, there is an issue in that the cable modem has to be the only device on the cable connection and I am currently using the cable connection to carry my DISH Network signal and basic cable signal to the bedroom.
I guess my question really boils down to this...Would an AE in place of the AX give a stronger signal to the 2nd AE in the bedroom. I will turn off the AE tonight and see what kind of a signal I get from the AX downstairs. I haven't tried it, but I suppose I could also move the Airport Extreme (5th Gen) downstairs and hook it directly to the cable modem and not even use the AX because the signal from the new AE should be as good or better than last year's AX - but then I would lose the gigabit ethernet between those devices - which is why I haven't done that yet.
I could also drop the $$$ on a Time Capsule for the bedroom and use it for all my backups (but that's kinda what I'm hoping to do with the mac mini) and move the AE downstairs to the cable modem.
Decisions, decisions.

Need advice on on a Mac Pro 1,1 Media Center

I currently have a 2009 Mac Mini running as my home media center, but I recently came by a FREE Mac Pro 1,1 and have decided to repurpose it as my media center so I can migrate my Mac Mini to my bedroom TV where it will live an easy life doing nothing but run Plex Home Theater, Netflix, and EyeTV. This machine falling into my lap was also quite timely because my 4-bay Drobo is running low on available expansion and another Drobo isn't in the budget at the moment.
This vintage mac pro is running Lion 10.7.5, has 1 old and crusty 500GB hardrive, dual x5160 processors, 4GB RAM (one stick i'm pretty sure is toast judging by the red light and the kernel panics), and the standard NVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT 256MB graphics card. It will be used primarily for the following: network storage for iphoto and itunes libraries, streaming video, Plex Media Server & Plex Home Theater, and Handbrake encoding. I also have a goal of safety of data for my movies, photos and music as this machine will supplement my current Drobo storage.
My plans are for a 128GB SSD boot drive installed in one of the PCIe slots and then to load up all 4 of the 3.5" drive bays with WD Green hard drives. I have also ordered 4GB of replacement RAM, so upon removal of the faulty unit I will have 7GB.
Here is where I need advice because I am not very familiar with RAID and the differences between hardware or software raid. Am I better off getting four drives of the same size and setting them up as RAID 5 (I think) using Apple's RAID utility or should I throw in three 1TB drives and then install a fourth 3TB or 4TB drive as a Time Machine backup for the other three?
Should I upgrade the OSX to the technically unsupported latest version? Or is it not worth the trouble for this application?
Also, is there any benefit to upgrading the graphics card to the ATI Radeon 5770? Would this yield an improved image quality? I am outputting to a Denon AV Reciever and subsequently to a 100" projection screen, if that makes a difference. I also noticed the 5770 has an HDMI port, wich would be nice, but not necessary since I can use a DVI converter and woud still need to use the optical audio out anyway.
Much obliged for any input

My plans are for a 128GB SSD boot drive installed in one of the PCIe slots and then to load up all 4 of the 3.5" drive bays with WD Green hard drives. I have also ordered 4GB of replacement RAM, so upon removal of the faulty unit I will have 7GB.
PCIe cards that use or support SSD are not bootable until you get to 2008 (and that is limited too).
Green are not suited for any form of array unless say NAS and WD RED. Better option would be 3 x 2TB WD Blacks in a mirror, and too many people only use two drives, well 3 is much easier safer and works better. Might want to invest in www.SoftRAID.com product even.
Best price and quality, got my 1,1 with 8 x 2GB (ideal is 4 or 8 DIMMs)
2x2GB FBDIMM DDR2 667MHz @ $25
http://www.amazon.com/BUFFERED-PC2-5300-FB-DIMM-APPLE-Memory/dp/B002ORUUAC/
With price of 250GB SSD $155 I'd go with that or stick with $89 for 128GB .

Overly Excited New User Needs Advice on Windows for Mac

As of Christmas day, I am a proud owner of a new MBP 17" beautiful piece of machinery! I'm coming from a PC so you can imagine my excitement when I opened this gift from my parents. Also, I'm 33 years old so getting a gift this amazing from your parents is pretty huge!
Anyway, the point is I have to use a program for work that is only available for Windows and I just need some advice on whether to use Parallels or VM or just use the free boot camp. I don't want to use Windows for anything other than this program. Is there a way around having to buy the whole Windows OS? Also, is iWork any better than Office? Not sure which of those to buy either. I hate that I even have to have Windows on my new Mac! Thanks for any advice.

Hi eightezsteps, welcome to Apple Discussions!
What program do you need? Often PC programs have equivalents on the Mac platform, or even Mac versions that many people are not aware of. There are very few file formats that Macs cannot deal with.
The choice of Parallels, VMWare, or Boot Camp will also depend on whether you require 3D graphics support with that application. So, we'll need to know what it is!
is iWork any better than Office?
I prefer it to Office now after using it for a year. However, it is different, and there is a slight learning curve to it. Once you discover the differences from Office, you'll be as productive if not moreso. You should be aware that some of the more advanced features of Office are sometimes not included in iWork though. So if you require advanced formulas and macros in Excel (for example) to be cross-platform compatible then you'll need Office. If your work is slightly less hardcore than that, you'll be just fine with iWork once you get used to it.
I do some pretty extensive academic writing (scientific) using Pages and Numbers and I have never ran into anything it could not do for me. That includes formulae and scientific notation.
--Travis

Hi, I Would like to know what I need to do to make work iWork"09 with my portable which has mac OS Lion 10.7.5 ; it does non open it because it says I need to do some updates but how can I do it if it does not open it ?

Hi,
I Would like to know what I need to do to make work iWork"09 with my portable which has mac OS Lion 10.7.5 ; it does non open it because it says I need to do some updates but how can I do it if it does not open it ?
Thank You

WILL ANYONE ANSWER MY QUESTION? WHAT DO I HAVE TO DO TO GET A REPLY FOR MY CONUNDRUM/

I have a macbook thats running lion, and i want to take an iso i have on the mac and put it on my pc, i know i need to reformat it to work on macs, but i need to put it on a pc, please help!

i have a macbook thats running lion, and i want to take an iso i have on the mac and put it on my pc, i know i need to reformat it to work on macs, but i need to put it on a pc, please help!

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I'm desperately needing advice to a common question. I use Quicken and love it. But the Mac version is not as great as the PC.   Has anyone installed it by segmenting their Mac with Parallels or Fusion or Boot camp. If so, which one do you recommend.

I'm desperately needing advice. New Mac.   Used Quicken on my PC. Researched all software for Financial programs and Quicken is still the most recommended.   I want to use Quicken on my Mac. The Mac version is not highly rated so I would need to partition my Mac.   Has anyone done this for their quicken program and if so, which partitioning program did you use - Parallels, Fusion ware or Boot camp?
Thx

Lisa Ellies-Laye wrote:
Thanks. Hadn't heard of it. ? Is there any concern installing this free program on my Mac.    Have you used it? Apart from being free is there any other advantage of Parallels and VMfusion. ?
Virtual Box is safe and well developed, it offers similar or identical features to the paid competition, it may be a little less polished but that's all.
Download and try it out, nothing to lose (except time).

I have a new 27 inch i Mac which works well except the App store app will not open, and when it is attempting to, my network crashes. What do I need to do? Mark

I have a new 27 inch i Mac which works well, except the App store app will not open, and when it is attempting to, my network crashes. What do I need to do? Mark

Hi,
Bootup holding CMD+r, or the Option/alt key to boot from the Restore partition & use Disk Utility from there to Repair the Disk, then Repair Permissions.
If after reboot that doesn't help...
Open Console in Applications>Utilities & see if there are any clues or repeating messages when this happens.

Need advice on a new mac pro.

Hi,
I need to purchase a mac pro for work in final cut & after effects primarily. Apparently there is some sort of money crisis going on so "money is not an issue" doesn´t hold for me right now. I intend on getting around 16GB (+2 GB with the machine) of ram from other sources and the same with hard drives, I´ve also heard that the current standard video card ATI HD 2600 is fine as I don´t intend on using the machine for anything other than work. My question is regarding processors. For FCS & after effects, what is the real world difference in performance I´m looking at between the standard 2.8 GHz, the 3.0 & the 3.2 GHz processors? The video footage i use primarily comes off an EX1. If its a must have to get the 3.2 then I can afford it but the price hike is quite steep and I can think of other things I could use the money for (1.400€ difference). Thanks

Hi Fran, first of all: The EX1 produces Prores-files, and editing hd video is heavy duty for any computer, considering long render times and compositing and layering. Then again, you do not need the fastest Mac pro out there to get your work done. The 2.8 with 8 GB of ram will suffice. Faster models only save you seconds in waiting for stuff to render. Start out with the standard ATi 2600. Make sure to get a couple of speedy 1TB WD Sata drives (WD10EADS), no need for expensive raids. That's a budget Mac pro that is as good as any.
After that you just WAIT because the real progress should be in software that's yet to come: Snow Leopard and the next FCS should speed up your work noticably, considering that the current FCS isn't too multiprocessor-savvy at all. Also, FCS isn't even fully cocoa, there's a lot of old code in there (i've been told). Lastly you can always invest in a better GPU, because that's where the extra performance is shifted to.
Message was edited by: Emile vande Griendt
Message was edited by: Emile vande Griendt

I was working on my notes on my iPhone4 and suddenly it disappeared! It's also gone from my iPad2. It contained detailed medical information I need. Nothing seems to work to get it back. Any advice really appreciated.

I was working on my notes on my iPhone4 and suddenly it disappeared! It's also gone from my iPad2. It contained detailed medical information I need. Nothing seems to work to get it back. Any advice really appreciated. Thanks!

I seem to have fixed it by putting <div class="clearfloat"></div> after the navigation bar?

Need advice- using migration assistant in first 10.5.2 setup or not?

So, I just bought the newest MacBook Pro and sold my Powerbook G4 12-inch, before selling it I, of course made a clon of it's HDD with an external FireWire Iomega HDD with Carbon Copy Cloner (Superduper! gave me an error when creating the backup but CCC never did). So my question for all of you expirienced migrators from PowerPcs to Intel (going from tiger to leopard too) is that should I use the migration assitant (choosing the option to migrate from another mac in intial setup) or just start from 0 (a big pain u know where) and drap and drop my iTunes folder, assuming it would be recongized well with iTunes in that machine, from my clone and not to drag and drop apps but reinstall them? I heared that dragging and dropping doesn't work good for apps cause both of the arquitectures doesn't install them the same way. I of course will also drag and drop my documents folder and my iPhoto library..
So, please, really, what is the best option?
Thanks in advance guys, peace!
-Fernando

FCA wrote:
yes it is the newest one, very excited! Now, remember I was in tiger so I wouldnt be able to make a TM back up also what do you mean migrate some parts? Is there an option to just migrate dcuments of something like that? Thanks for your response!
I am not sure about Migration Assistant. Only going by what I read somewhere, that you can select what you want to migrate, with some limitations.
Don't confuse Migration Assistant with Transfer Assistant, which does move everything.
I used Transfer Assistant when I got my new MBP. Put the old one in Target mode and waited.
It worked, but both were running Tiger.
Someone else might have direct experience with Migration Asst. and give you more details.
On my G5, I installed Leopard on an empty drive and used MA. It worked but some apps came with warnings and they didn't work.
I just opened MA and it says you can migrate
User Accounts
Applications
Network and Computer settings
Files
Volumes
So I guests that answers your question.

Need advice on Mac-based work setup

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