Affordable i7-950 Motion Graphics Build

[luch1050]

Greetings this is my first post!

After much reading I think I have narrowed down the build I need for a professional level motion graphics work hackintosh ( after effects, premiere, c4d etc. ) at an affordable price, under $2000 CAD.

I want to make sure this is tonymac approved, so if I could get a heads up about anything obvious things I missed, any up/down grades, or any hurdles that I could expect, it would be greatly appreciated.

The Build

Processor:
Intel Core i7 950

Motherboard:
Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD3R

Case:
Cooler Master Storm Sniper ATX Mid-T Blk Case

CPU Cooler:
Scythe Mugen-2 Rev.B (SCMG-2100)

Optical Drive:
Sony Optiarc AD-7260S-0B 24x DVDRW Drive - 24x, S-ATA

Graphics Card:
XFX HD587XZNFC Radeon HD 5870 Video Card - 1GB GDDR5 w/ Display Port

Memory:
Corsair Dominator PC12800 RAM - 12GB, 1600MHz, (6 x 2048MB) DDR3, Tri Channel, DHX

Storage:
Seagate 7200.11 ST31500341AS Barracuda Hard Drive - 1.5TB, 7200RPM, 32MB Cache, SATA-3G

Power Supply:
Corsair HX750W 750-Watt

My Canadian Local Store Total:
$1,536.79 + Tax

Additional:
27" Apple Cinema Display (Will this work correctly without pulling my hair out?)​

Thanks!!

- Luc

 

[vjkevlar]

If you can I would also get a small SSD drive for rendering quickly then dump final outputs to your large drive, especially good for Motion Graphics.

I've also noticed that faster ram does make a snappier machine but....1600mhz is still really good.

One thing about video cards: ATI radeon's are most compatible right now....however...once or IF CUDA is fully supported....you will be able to render motion graphics much faster.

ATI = SAFE BET, in a perfect world CUDA would work.

Good luck!

Kevlar

 

[joshua90009]

GREAT BULID AND FOR APPLE 27 LED viewtopic.php?f=15&t=6262

 

[luch1050]

If you can I would also get a small SSD drive for rendering quickly then dump final outputs to your large drive, especially good for Motion Graphics.

I've also noticed that faster ram does make a snappier machine but....1600mhz is still really good.

One thing about video cards: ATI radeon's are most compatible right now....however...once or IF CUDA is fully supported....you will be able to render motion graphics much faster.

ATI = SAFE BET, in a perfect world CUDA would work.

Good luck!

Kevlar

Great advice, I'm definitely gonna look into an SSD drive. As for the video card, if this card doesn't work with CUDA, what other card would work? I guess I need something fast for all that video work.

 

[justr]

Why not stick with the ATI right now, since it works so well-- and it's a powerful card. And if/when CUDA and hackintosh play nicely in the future, you can always swap out your ATI for a CUDA supported card... and probably not lose too much in the process.

If anything, you might be ready to upgrade your card by that point anyway.

 

[waffle head]

The GTX 285 is a CUDA supported card, and works with the Mercury Playback Engine in Adobe CS5. Supported OOB on a hack as well. The only problem is that it's been discontinued so you'd have to find a second hand one somewhere.

ATI would probably be a better choice if you're working with the Final Cut suite.

 

[luch1050]

Alright so it looks like to get the best out of my adobe products im going to have to use a GTX card, I cant seem to find the GTX 285 anywhere but I found this ZOTAC GTX 550.

http://www.amazon.com/ZOTAC-GeForce-GTX-GDDR5-PCIe/dp/B004SANZY6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1300402103&sr=8-1

Its from ZOTAC and comes with a Display Port, dont know if this will work properly. Does anyone know anything about this card?

Another option is the EVGA GTX 470, but it doesn't come with a Display Port.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003EEMFUC?ie=UTF8&tag=tonymacx86com-20

 

[waffle head]

The GTX 470 is very difficult to get working on a hack, and lots of people haven't managed to get their system stable with it. Do a search on the forum, as it has been discussed at great length. As for the 550, I don't think anyone has got that going.

If you can't get hold of a GTX 285, you could look for a GTX 260 or even a GTX 9800. There is a hack to get the Mercury Playback engine to work on almost any Nvidia card, read this:

http://www.studio1productions.com/Artic ... ereCS5.htm

I think the GTX 260 and the GTX 9800 both work OOB on a hack.

 

[vjkevlar]

I have a GTX285 and a GTX480, the 285 was soooooo easy to get working 1000% on mac hack.

The GTX480, i have it running all features however the performance is actually LESS then my 285. Prob because the drivers are not really utilizing the card properly. I think ill spend more time this weekend trying to hash that out and will have a solid advice for you by Monday.

so in summary, ATI is ready to go, GTX 285 is ready to go, GTX480 (nothing higher is working properly)...needs more working out before i can recommend.

EBAY has 285's available.

Kev

 

[MacMan]

The GTX 470 is very difficult to get working on a hack, and lots of people haven't managed to get their system stable with it. Do a search on the forum, as it has been discussed at great length. As for the 550, I don't think anyone has got that going.

If you can't get hold of a GTX 285, you could look for a GTX 260 or even a GTX 9800. There is a hack to get the Mercury Playback engine to work on almost any Nvidia card, read this:

http://www.studio1productions.com/Artic ... ereCS5.htm

I think the GTX 260 and the GTX 9800 both work OOB on a hack.

I have had zero problems getting my GTX 470 working on my system. I haven't seen the "Fermi Freeze" or crashes.