Upgrade bang for the buck?

With the increasing percentage of time I'm spending on HD projects as well as Motion work, I need to speed up my setup. I'm weighing bang for the buck between investing in my current machine or scrapping it and buying a new machine. My principle issues are:
1) I need to be able to drive a 32" HD display for my clients in addition to my 20" monitor. Can't afford a broadcast HD monitor so I'm using a consumer display.
2) Need to improve render times on FCP and Motion
3) Would like to improve compression time for QT output
If you had $2500 for upgrades or $4000 for a new machine (assuming I can sell this rig for $1500) what would you do? New video card, increase ram, faster disk i/o? New quad processor xeon machine (on the low end of the spectrum)? I'm struggling with whether it's worth putting considerable money into a G5 machine in this Xeon world.
Any advice is appreciated. Thanks.

Not exactly sure how to tackle this. But the bottom line is: get a new machine! There's a couple ways to view it, I suppose:
1. Performance: Let's say you spend only the $2,500 on 'upgrades' to the G5. That's (about) 62% of the $4,000 route. Will that G5 perform 62% as well as a new Mac Pro. My guess is: no. The new Mac Pro will so handily spank that G5 that it's not even a contest.
2. Upgrades: whatever the fastest GFX card you can get into that G5 is a finite element. If you get a Mac Pro you could start with the "stock" card which is probably on par with the best of the G5 candidates. You could then upgrade to an ATI 3870. If you waited a little bit you could upgrade to the ATI 4870. (Not available yet.) Point being: the best options out there for the Mac Pro trounce the G5's options and we haven't even seen the end of the tunnel yet.
3. Longevity: let's peek into a worst case scenario: You spend $2,500 on 'upgrades' and the G5 poops out. Motherboard meltdown or something that renders it a doorstop. What recourse is there then? If you buy new, you've got a warranty and the ability to extend that as well. I like that peace of mind personally.
4. Future: Things are only going to grow more and more optimized for Leopard (and beyond) and the Intel platform. The PowerPC is already starting to get phased out. For example, Adobe has said After Effects CS4 will not even run on PowerPC. You can't expect any vendors - even Apple - to continue to focus on PPC when those resources can be put to optimizing the present and future: Intel & Leopard.
Just my 2 cents worth. But if it were me, I'd bust out the buffing cloth, put it to work, and introduce that G5 to some new friends over here.

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Capture Cards fro Premiere: What is best bang for the buck

I am looking to upgrade to the new Premiere and I am having a computer built for it. I wanted to find out what would be the best solution for capture cards. I will be wanting to capture analog (S-video cable) video in larger chunks, maybe up to 30 minutes or more. But doing this through firewire in the past, the audio would get out of sinc. What capture card has the best bang for the buck to accomplish this?

The challenge of using 3rd party tools (sw and hw) to bolster PPRO is you will be forever in the game of updating drivers here and there to make sure this or that works with that or this. Then when adobe updates their sw, the game begins anew with no guarantee of anything working together.
So; the promise of faster and better comes at a price of complexity and sometimes frailty and often a very short life. Well worth it for some; nightmare for others.
Consider a simple A/D converter for acquiring analog sd video. Or a cam with analog passthr.
Curt Wrigley

Bang for the buck board and ram ?

well ive looked thru the sticky about ram and i really dont feel like spending an hour looking thru a million posts of each persons different experience with different ram
so
whats my best nvidia based mobo to get and which ram ?
or which is going to be the best bang for the buck ?
k8n neo fsr ? k8n neo fs2r k8n neo platinum ? too many different boards.
and if i dot his 64 bit jump and fork out all this money which is actually better the nvidia or the via based boards.
also if you know for sure which cpu is going to be the best bang for the buck.
im not trying to go cheap i just dont have alot of money to throw around, if i do this i want to do it right the firs time.

Kingston 400MHz 512MB CL3
thats pretty much the same mem that i have CL3 @ 400mhz.
im still torn between a nforce or via board.
i just havent heard much good about either chipset over the last few years. they both have had some serious issues especially in the AGP driver area. and that i dont need to have problems with.
overall im getting the sneaky feeling that there isnt much difference from teh nforce or the via, but maybe the nforce is better. also i get the picture that the 64's arent really good for much unless your a gamer.
windows and everything else isnt going to run any better then my current rig.
can anyone confirm or deny this ?
im also curious for those who switched to amd 64's what was your old computer ? did you make a big leap from an old POS to the 64 or was it a newer system. meaning if you were on a newer system and went to the 64, are you seeing a drastic difference in performance and how well programs and windows runs ? or is it about the same, until you start gaming ?
i just wont throw a bunch of $$$ out there until i know its worth it to do it. but like i said if gaming is the only good thing, along with maybe audio and video converting, then i aint gunna do it. it isnt feasible for me, i need a cpu and mobo that kicks the snot out of what i got. which i why ive commented before maybe i just need to wait another year.
but thats why im here asking for you gentleman's thoughts.

My new computer build, good bang for the buck?

I'm just starting out with CS 5.5, need a new computer, and want a solid base for upgrading as I go. I think I'm on the right track but uncertain of the video card.
Intel 970 six core
Asus Rampage III 1366 X58 ATX
MSI Lightning GTX 580 3072MB
Asus PA246Q 24''
#3 (total 24GB) G. Skill Ripjaws 8GB (2x4GB) 24O-Pin DDR3 1600 (PC312800) F3-1280CL9D08GBRL
#6 Samsung F3 3.0 7200 32MB
Corsair Series Gold 850 WAtt Power Suppy
Antec Kuhlen H20 920 CPU Cooling System
Logotec 500 corded mouse
Logetec corded slim line back lit
Lain Li A77F case
I'm uncertain if the GTX 580 3GB video card ($475) is overkill? The other options are GTX 570 2.5 MB ($375) GTX 560 2MB ($225)
I've read all the reviews but there are mostly gamers who have more than one card.
Will the GTX 560 2MB be good enough? It's appealing because of the 2GB and the $225. If this could work for the next year few years then the GTX 580 may be down to $200. I just don't have much experience with video processing, how many layers I'll be using, etc. Or are all of these poor choices because they don't have the copper tubing?
When I upgrade I'll add a RAID card. For now I'll just start with the 6 Samsung and use a few for backups as I go along. Maybe I'll need to order more or another external back up sooner than later. Hope that makes sense. My approach is to get started then upgrade. I don't need to win any bench mark test but want a computer that's reasonably fast, upgradeable, reliable and have a long life.
Oh yeah, I had no idea about the keyboard and mouse so just went with a wired one as it will be on a desktop.
So does this look like a well balanced approach? Does anything look excessive or insufficiant?
Thanks for bearing with me. This forum has been a great resource! Of couse you recognize the parts from other recent builds. I've been doing a lot of reseach and really looking forward to getting this together.
thanks again!
John C

Yes, Frederic, some of the parts should look familiar! Your approach was really interesting how you were concerned about cooling and air flow. I actually had ordered most of it, including the MB, kayboard and mouse, last Thursday, then decided to go with the same case instead of the Half X and the CPU cooler, so I'm really glad you posted your system when you did.
Really appreciate the feed back. As far as what codec I'll be using, I suppose the ones that are the most versatile and most often used. I would like it to be capable to handle professional work standards yet not overkill. Do most editors use native and a codec for ACHDV? I was planning on the AVID codec and probably the CinaForm. A week ago I was put off by spending $100 for a codec but now that I'm configuring the hardware that might be a good option. I just don't know how to put all this into perspective until I get a real idea of the work flow; if it will save minutes or hours off the edit time.
I was confused about the disk performance. Thanks a bunch for pointing that out. I must have misunderstood some of the post, as I was under the impression that the SATA II disk 3.0 32 mb exceeded the throughput of the SATA connection, however you are saying that’s not the case with a RAID card, and that the RAID card with a decent disk set up would be best approach to improve the performance as opposed to more VRAM on the video card.
I am planning a good raid configuration in the near future so will get the SATA III. It's nice to be able to upgrade like that. I also want a good RAID card and the RAID will be also for redundancy. I may even have to go with a 10000 RPM primary drive like yours as those appear to be a nice boost. I planned to start off with 4 disk set up with a few disk for backups and ordered 6 disk. I was going to look into that next and didn't even realize the SATA III was on the MB. I'll probably be shooting a lot just to learn how to process the video, and once I start processing quality video I'll upgrade the RAID and backup.
Ok, off to see if I can cancel the Samsung order, gotta love Amazon for that.
Have a great day and thanks again!

Bang for the buck?

Since I am waiting on my "November" deliver date, I'm thinking that I may be able to augment my order before its delivery.
The iMac listed in my info below died, so I ordered a new quad-core iMac a few days after their announcement.
I often tell people that I have only owned Macs, because I'm not smart enough to use a PC, suggesting my understanding of computers is not deep.
I use my computer for internet access, minimal word processing, iTunes and various other simple software applications. Most of my time on the computer, however, is spent editing video (as a serious hobby--not as a profession). I produce "event" DVDs using a multi-camera setup, so my FCE timeline has 3-6 simultaneous tracks.
I know the new iMac will be much faster than my old PPC iMac, but if I were going to spend another $200, would I see more of a difference in 8 GB RAM upgrade OR i7 chip upgrade?
I'm thinking that I might be better off with the i7 upgrade, then save my pennies for cheaper RAM purchase down the road.
Any thoughts/feedback is appreciated.
Gary

Thanks Zak, Thanks Martin.
The good news is, I just changed my order to get the i7 chip.
The bad news is, my shipping date just dropped to the end of the list.
But in a month from now, I don't think I'll care.
Thanks,
Gary

Which Compression has the most bang for the buck?

When I'm 'exporting' a quicktime that I need to post for download, I try to get the size of the file down as much as I can while preserving the video quality.
However, there are so many compression choices, and then more choices with that! Which is best? Sorenson? Motion J-peg?

However, there are so many compression choices, and then more choices with that! Which is best? Sorenson?I agree with David here. H.264/AAC generally provides the best quality for a given file size but does require a QT 7 (or eqivalent) media player. Sorenson 3/AAC would maximize compatibility with older, less powerful platforms but requires larger files for a given level of quality. The MPEG4/AAC combination is somewhere in the middle offering rigid standards with easy to use preset management. Would recommend DivX/XviD only if you are trying to attract Windows users and don't care about the possibly of alienating mainstream Mac users.

New Mac Pro - Best bang for the buck

I'm looking to replace my G5 2.7 with a new MP. I'll be running Logic, Reason, Photoshop, Dreamweaver, video conversion, ...
I'm thinking about either the Two 2.4GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon “Westmere” (8 cores) with 8GB ram
or
One 3.2GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon “Nehalem” [Add $360.00] with 6GB ram
I know the dual Westmere will be faster but will it be $1k faster and will the software I run support the 2 processors?
Thanks for any input!!

That test session has been run on many different machines, it has become somewhat of a standard benchmark session for Logic users. For comparison, quad machines at considerably lower clock speed have done 50 tracks when the six core at 3.33 only does 45-47 (another 6 core user tested and confirmed the same result). I'm not sure what he means by "a lot of Logic is single threaded" since Logic can generally use up to eight cores - since he has only tested on one machine and not made any comparisons, he makes some conclusions that aren't correct.
http://www.gearslutz.com/board/music-computers/371545-logic-pro-multicore-benchm arktest.html

MSI 430GT !!! Fermi based Bang for the Bucks!!!

This is the first Fermi based entry level video card that Nvidia released and so far it gives one hell of a punch for its price. This is a GPU GF108 Chip with the same 40nm technology size like other Fermis. Thus, will give you low power consumption, less heat and a big headroom for GPU overclocking.
What I have here today is MSI’s N430GT-MD1GD3-OC/LP. From the model name itself, it is a low profile video card and already been factory overclocked. Box is simple and the only bundled stuff included in the package are manuals and the software CD.
Basic specifications of the card:
•Core Speed- 785mhz Core
•Memory – 1GB DDR3 2000mhz Memory
•Memory Interface – 128bit
•Video Output – DVI, HDMI, D-Sub
As you can see, the cooler used for this video card is like a mini version of the Twin Frozr II. Has a very good heat dissipation, large heatsink and dual fans.
So cute!!!!
Test system
•Processor: Amd Phenom II X4 965 3.4ghz Stock (oc'ed to 3.8ghz)
•Motherboard: 890FXA-GD70
•PSU: Acbel M8 670
•Mems: GSKill Trident 2GB DDR3 1333mhz
So far I had a free time of testing the card with the built-in benchmarks of some games. Also, I will include Vantage scores as well.
Game Benchmarks
Street Fighter 4. All high settings, 1440x900, AA 8x,
RE5 DX10. All high settings, 1440x900, AA 8x,
Devil May Cry 4. DX10. All high settings,1440x900, AA 8x,
3dmark06. All stock
3dmark . OC’ed
3dmark Vantage. All stock
3dmark Vantage. OC’Ed
For me this would be a really good HTPC card and It won’t cost you too much. Planning to get one for my personal use.
Thanks

This is the first Fermi based entry level video card that Nvidia released and so far it gives one hell of a punch for its price. This is a GPU GF108 Chip with the same 40nm technology size like other Fermis. Thus, will give you low power consumption, less heat and a big headroom for GPU overclocking.
What I have here today is MSI’s N430GT-MD1GD3-OC/LP. From the model name itself, it is a low profile video card and already been factory overclocked. Box is simple and the only bundled stuff included in the package are manuals and the software CD.
Basic specifications of the card:
•Core Speed- 785mhz Core
•Memory – 1GB DDR3 2000mhz Memory
•Memory Interface – 128bit
•Video Output – DVI, HDMI, D-Sub
As you can see, the cooler used for this video card is like a mini version of the Twin Frozr II. Has a very good heat dissipation, large heatsink and dual fans.
So cute!!!!
Test system
•Processor: Amd Phenom II X4 965 3.4ghz Stock (oc'ed to 3.8ghz)
•Motherboard: 890FXA-GD70
•PSU: Acbel M8 670
•Mems: GSKill Trident 2GB DDR3 1333mhz
So far I had a free time of testing the card with the built-in benchmarks of some games. Also, I will include Vantage scores as well.
Game Benchmarks
Street Fighter 4. All high settings, 1440x900, AA 8x,
RE5 DX10. All high settings, 1440x900, AA 8x,
Devil May Cry 4. DX10. All high settings,1440x900, AA 8x,
3dmark06. All stock
3dmark . OC’ed
3dmark Vantage. All stock
3dmark Vantage. OC’Ed
For me this would be a really good HTPC card and It won’t cost you too much. Planning to get one for my personal use.
Thanks

HP CQ42 403ax (AMD P320 + AMD Ati 6370) bang for the buck!

I have this model for a few days and bought for a low price in the Philippines.
Thanks!

Bumping this!
My laptop is not yet one year old and yet AMD has stopped supporting its discrete graphics of hd4200 now on legacy. Video graphics driver sucks big time. This laptop needs to be able to disable one of its two graphics card (the other hd6300) in its bios or it would be a really bad laptop.

MOVED: Getting the biggest bang for the buck

This topic has been moved to Overclockers & Modding Corner.
https://forum-en.msi.com/index.php?topic=119924.0

What's your RAM voltage set at?

Upgrade status for the current version: Outdated for

Hello,
we are running solution manager 7 EHP1 sps22.
this system has been recently upgraded to this version.
now before running solman_setup i tried to log into the /smd - solution
manager diagnostics i got the following messages -
"Upgrade status for the current version is outdated. Please upgrade now""Maintenance mode is enabled. Some applications will be disabled or might
not work"
i couldn't change the maintenence mode to disabled mode - since there isno agaent administration in the regular path - Diagnostics
Administration-Managed SystemsAgent Administration.
as a result i can't goto Diagnostics Setup-----Diagnostics
System--Advance setup and start the upgrader - i'm getting the followingerror message - Upgrade status for the current version: Outdated for
this version .
LM-Service is in patch 06 - latest release asa far as i know.

you are running into the same error like in your other thread.
please avoid double postings
see SAP Note #1273028
Known problems in all Releases 80
The bytecode instrumentation agent 8.0 cannot be used for Solution Manager self-monitoring. Please use Java agent version 7.2 for self monitoring of the Solution Manager Java stack. Otherwise Setup for Introscope Agents fails with
java.lang.NoSuchMethodError: com.wily.isengard.api.TransportConfiguration.<init>(IZZ)V ...

HT1444 What is the "software upgrade" available for the OS X 10.5.8?

What is the "software upgrade" available for the OS X 10.5.8?

Here is a link to buy Snow Leopard, but you need to wait to use it because the Apple Store is being updated, probably because of the meeting Apple has called for today.
Snow Leopard Purchase

Macbook Pro Retina 2.3 VS 2.6 GHz Which is the bang for your buck?

Hello everyone,
So today i am contemplating whether i should go with the 2.3 or the 2.6 GHz macbook pro with retina display, no matter which one i get i will be upgrading the ram to 16GB and leaving the processors at the same clock speed. The price differentation from the 2.3 to the 2.6 is quite a big leap going from 2496.06 to 3174.96 that is a difference of $ 678.90, I am a college business student who does school work so, microsoft word, powerpoint, excel, text edit and other regular school programs on the computer, i also do web browsing, emailing, itunes, downloading, bootcamp, videos, photos and playing games such as Dota 2, Crysis 2, Modern Warefare series, Battlefield 3 and so on.
So my main concern with getting the 2.3 GHz is that it has 256 GB less of SSD than the 2.6, this worries me because i use bootcamp extensively so im just worried i might run out of space when doing all the things i do on my macbook, also another thing that i need the apple community to clear up is the CPU for the things i do is 2.3 GHz enough power for what i wanna do, or will it be overkill if i go for the 2.6 GHz?
Take in mind that i do have enough money for the 2.6 GHz one, but if i do not need it i will not spend the extra $678.90. So in clear detailed explanation can you guys and girls please explain which one you prefer, and why you prefer it?, also please give me some suggestions on things i could do with the $ 700.00 i have if i did go with the 2.3 GHz
Both models really appeal to me excluding that they are the exact same only difference being the CPU and the size of the SSD. So what do you guys think is the 2.3 GHz good enough for what i do or shall i go with the 2.6 GHz?
Best answer will be noted.

So here is the thought process I used to buy:
1. Memory soldered on the motherboard so buy the max. I dont plan to upgrade this computer for years.
2. Faster CPU is just not necessary unless you are doing computaional tasks. Even if so, cI an see no reason why the base model i7 cannot handle just about anything
3. The 256GB SSD is plenty big. Can see no reason to shell out BIG $$$ just so I can carry around media that I am not watching. With USB 3 and TB there will be ample opportunities to get a far less expensive, and very fast external harddrive. Something that is easy to carry around. I expect something like the g-drive slim will be available in USB 3. Right now I use an external 6gps drive to backup on my Win system via USB 3 and its fast. I expect the same performance on the Mac.
4. I have 2 external monitors and so I bought 2 TB to DVI adapters.

Best bang of the buck upgrades to MacBook Pro?

I'm in the market for a MBPro 15" with the anti-glare screen. I am weighing two other options: 1) the 2.4 Ghz v. 2.2 Ghz processor; 2) the 7200 rpm drive.
My usage is pretty typical office work (excel sheets, sometimes on the large / complex side, statistical analysis, wordprocessing, powerpoint, etc.), plus occasional video streaming to a cinema display monitor. I want processes such as time machine backups to be quick, and I don't like waiting on software or files to load.
Is the faster processor worth the money (as in, noticeable)? How about the faster RPM drive? Do either significantly increase heat? I have a couple year old 13" MBPro and like the fact that it runs cool, in contrast to my old 15" which was like a small space heater.
Thanks for any advice.

The only decisions you have make at this stage is determining what to order for the new MBP that you cannot change later on. You have chosen the antiglare screen but still seem to be undecided regarding the CPU. Though my rule of thumb is to buyt the fastest processor I can afford (gives a little edge in keeping up with technology), the final decision is yours.
Do not order RAM or HDDs from Apple. These are user installed items where you save significant money via third party vendors.
If you keep the Time Machine HDD connected all the time, the update speed is irrelevant since it does the processing in the backgroud automatically. If you do it only occasionally, the update speed is a function of the HDD and the connection you have USB, Firewire or eSata, not the MBP.
Though have largely restated what Ralph and indigo831 have already said and perhaps added a bit, but note that we are all fundamentally in the same camp.
Good luck.
Ciao.

Does the QT MPEG2 upgrade allow for the use of m2t files in FCP?

I just noticed the product the Apple store - and since I'm on the way to return a Firestore FS4..... Will this upgrade allow FCP to edit m2t?

Thanks gents - I heard the same rumor today from Focus' technical support - they are waiting for the QT patch to test and issue a firmware upgrade for the Firestore units, but they didn't expect a solution until April. sigh I had hoped the upgrade was new, and this was the software they were waiting for.

Upgrade bang for the buck?

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