First Build for Video Editing/FCP/CS5

[stephenbrock]

Re: First Build for Video Editing/FCP

Wow, this has been some fantastic advice!

And so far you guys are making alot of sense. And don't worry @slowjin, I knew what you ment. Unfortunately, I'm having to keep everything under $900, otherwise I would definately spring for a seperate SSD and HDD combo! But alas, it will have to wait.

So here's what I'm thinking for the GPU and RAM now:
GPU
XFX HD577AZNFC Radeon HD 5770 Video Card - 1GB GDDR5

RAM
CORSAIR XMS3 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Triple Channel

To get the full picture, I've updated my first post to reflect these new choices.

The very next thing to be upgraded after we've worked a while on this setup is SSD, followed closely by some more RAM! I'll also be monitor temp and grab an H70 like @MAD AUDI SCIENTIST mentioned for better cooling if the need arises.

But I think this setup will get us off the ground for now and hopefully we can easily upgrade in a few months. One question though: When I do get the chance to go SSD, can I just clone the old HDD to the new SSD? (given that the capacity fits into the SSD with OS and apps only) Will I end up needing to redo any kexts or even reinstall from scratch? I don't mind either way, just curious.

Lastly, with this initial setup, will 650W be enough? And if so, after a RAM upgrade to 12GB, an H70 liquid cooler, and a SSD+HDD combo...Will more juice just be inevitable?

Thanks so very much again! Viva la Hackintosh!

 

[MAD AUDI SCIENTIST]

Re: First Build for Video Editing/FCP

I bought a 650 at first, but realized it was too many power wires all over the place and i might get a 2nd GC later so i upgraded to a Seasonic 760. You can always have a little extra power, it wont hurt. I always rather be safe then spend the money twice.

Good question about the SSD and if cloning it would work. In theory i don't see why not but you should see if someone els knows more about that can answer that question. I would love to know myself.

Good luck with your build.

 

[stephenbrock]

Re: First Build for Video Editing/FCP

Ok,

I've been reading some stuff about Premiere CS5 and I'm thinking it may be better for me to switch and also use a CUDA compatible Nvidia card...Let me explain.

This Hackintosh is going to be used for weekly teaching videos shot in a home-brewed set. So this machine will be used to do the exact same thing every week, at least 90 percent of the time.

1) We shoot a 30 minutes - 1.5 hour long non-stop segment in AVCHD.
2) We turn around and drop the footage from the camera to the Hackintosh's Ext. eSATA HDD.
3) We Chop up the video a little bit, add some fullscreen titles/notes, and add some pre-composed animations at the beginning and end. Also a watermark and maybe some background music.
4) Export the final edit. Transcode for web. Archive compressed original full-res.
5) Upload a finished h264 and flv duplicate to our host server.

That's it. Rinse and repeat once every week. It's use will vary only slightly and very seldom. That varition only really consists of me using some additional footage from a Canon DSLR(native h.264).

So since we're working primarily with only AVCHD footage and lots of it, would it be smarter to just switch to CS5 and a NVidia card to reduce our turn-around time?

Thanks again everyone!

By the way, when everything is done and operational, I'm already planning on making a walk-through video of our setup and workflow! Very excited.

 

[slowjin]

Carbon Copy is what I used to create a bootable clone. I think there are other apps that will do the same. So in short yes once you get the SSD or any other separate drive, you should be able to create a bootable clone then disconnect the old drive.

 

[MAD AUDI SCIENTIST]

Thanks for that info slowjin. I knew things of that nature were possible just needed a confirmation. SSD is my next upgrade along with another 8GB of RAM. I already see that my machine eat up lots of memory when I'm working on 3D stuff.

 

[waffle head]

Ok,

I've been reading some stuff about Premiere CS5 and I'm thinking it may be better for me to switch and also use a CUDA compatible Nvidia card...Let me explain.

This Hackintosh is going to be used for weekly teaching videos shot in a home-brewed set. So this machine will be used to do the exact same thing every week, at least 90 percent of the time.

1) We shoot a 30 minutes - 1.5 hour long non-stop segment in AVCHD.
2) We turn around and drop the footage from the camera to the Hackintosh's Ext. eSATA HDD.
3) We Chop up the video a little bit, add some fullscreen titles/notes, and add some pre-composed animations at the beginning and end. Also a watermark and maybe some background music.
4) Export the final edit. Transcode for web. Archive compressed original full-res.
5) Upload a finished h264 and flv duplicate to our host server.

That's it. Rinse and repeat once every week. It's use will vary only slightly and very seldom. That varition only really consists of me using some additional footage from a Canon DSLR(native h.264).

So since we're working primarily with only AVCHD footage and lots of it, would it be smarter to just switch to CS5 and a NVidia card to reduce our turn-around time?

Thanks again everyone!

By the way, when everything is done and operational, I'm already planning on making a walk-through video of our setup and workflow! Very excited.

I would say that considering your workflow Adobe CS5 would be a much better option than Final Cut. CS5 can handle DSLR h.264 and AVCHD natively, whereas with Final Cut you would need to convert to ProRes, which creates massive files and adds time to the workflow. In addition to that there is also all the benifits of the MPE in CS5.

The new Nvidia cards might be a bit more difficult to get going on a hack than the latest ATIs, but MacMan has a build with a GTX 470 and has not encountered the 'Fermi Freeze' or any of the other problems others have had with the new Nvidia cards:

viewtopic.php?f=54&t=14260

The only thing you would need to change to follow MacMan's build (apart from the graphics card obviously) is the motherboard, as he suggests that the Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD5 is perhaps the reason why he has not had the problems others have had with this card.

Another option would be to go for an older Nvidia card that is supported OOB on hacks. I have a GTX 285 and I use CS5 to edit Canon DSLR footage, it worked OOB and I can use the MPE in CS5. I also think that performance-wise the 2XX series cards do almost as well as the 4XX cards on hacks due to the weak Mac drivers for the newer cards. The only problem is that the GTX 285 has been discontinued, but you could look for a 260 or 9800; those cards aren't supported by the MPE, but there is a hack (which looks quite straight-forward) to get them working:

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

 

[snoop85]

hi guys,

what internal HDDs are ppl using to work from, in terms of brand and speeds? i.e. video projects files from a Canon XF300.

im already planning SSD for the OS and apps.

 

[stephenbrock]

I've always loved seagate as my first pick. But western digital is nice runner up. For speed, I try and go 7200 rpm and 6gb/s if your board can take it. Basically that's the fastest I know of within the 'cheaper' price range. Faster drives exist, both ssd and non, but theres a pretty big price jump once you exceed 7200 rpm + 6gb/s.

At least, that's what I understand. Someone correct me if I'm mistaken with any of that.

 

[snoop85]

@stephen

thanks, ye my research has already confirmed speed 7200 as ideal. Im trying to witle down to brand. So far i've come up with

Seagate Barracuda XT 7200 2TB - which is 6gb/s
and
WD Black Caviar 2TB - again 6gb.

Has anyone had any bad experiences with either drives.

As it stands this is what i plan to do:
80GB SSD OS X (internal)

1TB Samsung F3 Spinpoint - Scratch disk/Page file (internal) -

1TB Samsung F3 Spinpoint - (internal)
PART A (1TB) - Working Disk - project files, indexed and conformed/peak files

1TB Samsung F3 Spinpoint - (internal)
PART A (1TB) - Working Disk - media/footage

2TB Seagate Barracuda XT 7200 - Back-up (internal)
PART A (1TB) - Project files, indexed and conformed/peak files
PART A (1TB) - Media/footage