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Hack Pro for 4K film editing and VFX

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Regarding audio... you don't need an internal card for what you are doing. Those cards are designed--I think--for providing people with lots more I/O possibilities, to take the ("DSP"?) processing load off the CPU, and enable audio work at crazy high resolutions that are almost certainly overkill for what you are going to be doing. Just get a USB or firewire breakout box: I've got an Mbox pro 3 and I love it. Another advantage of this is that you can take it with you wherever you want, setting it up on other people's computers or laptops for recording sessions.

RE the GA-X79-UD7, it apparently only allows 24gb RAM! Definite no-no for video editing build.

One other thing: apparently Davinci Resolve really likes / recommends having a separate, discrete graphics card for the GUI interface in addition to a card to handle all of its GPU processing. Of course, you can run just a single card for both GUI and GPU, but you apparently get better performance with two separate cards. In this regard, resolve is pretty PCI-slot hungry: a card for GPU, a card for GUI, and a card for sending video signal out! Jeez! They don't really advertise this as much as you need to know. I also know that some cards--I think the GTX 690 for example--are treated as two discrete 2gb cards, and one is allocated to the GUI.... so I would research that a bit more.

I want to possibly start another thread to ask DBP and other experts about proper RAID configurations. My data needs are quite as extreme as Marc's, nor is my budget! But I'd like to, for example, have 6TB worth of storage space for footage with some sort of RAID (1?) protection.... and I'd prefer to do this only using the OSX's disk utility configuration, and I recall DBP talking about using RAID 0 and RAID 1 together via OSX's disk utility function..... but I'm probably confusing this thread a bit right now. :)
 
@DBP
Ok..... I spent the last days trying to understand how work the airflow inside a case.
And with your last post, I think I'll have a good flow.

So, I can take the 2x "regular" fans provided with the C70, and use them as extractor on the top,
and buy 2x NF-F12 for the "outside front" (NF-F12 with its focused flow will pass through
the barrier of hard-drive) and 2x NF-F12/P12/S12 for the "inner-front" behind the drive,
to distribute the fresh air coming from the first pair of NF-F12.

Corsair-Vengeance-C70-09.jpg1235547-corsair-c70-hdd-rack.jpg

In this way, the airflow will be sent directly to the GPU/PSU, and a bottom fan will surely be useless, right ?
And if this summer I need more fresh air, I can use a NF-A14 FLX on the down-side window.

- 2x Corsair up extractor
- 1x Corsair rear extractor
- 2x NF-F12 outside front
- (if needed) 2x NF-F12/P12/S12 inside front
- (if needed for summer) 1x NF-A14 FLX down-side

Do you think it can work ? Or still too much and don't need up extractors ?
Are the 2 pairs of fans near drives really useful, or only one pair can be enough ?
And what will be the best to use in team with the outside NF-F12 ?
A second pair of NF-F12 will maybe send to much focused air inside the case to the GPU/PSU ?
And, the NF-S12 is maybe not enough... and the NF-P12 don't have anti-vibration pad,
so it's maybe not really good to attach this on the same cage than hard drive !
I never seen those fans, so I don't really know how much focused is a NF-F12....
but surely not an air blower !! :D

And, last important question, I will use the SSD on the 5,25 bay, with this dual SSD adapter.
But, in the C70 I can't put a fan in front of those bay.
So, do you think the best is to buy 2x adapters to let more space between SSD, or it won't change nothing ?

resource



@Qwerty123
About Resolve, I had the same thought, but my conclusion is we don't really need a second GPU.
As I read now there won't be lots of difference with a dedicated GUI graphic card...
and most important, Premiere has lot of trouble with 2 GPU inside a computer !
Blackmagic made few manuals really useful to build a workstation like the "DaVinci Resolve 9 Configuration for Mac".
 

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I want to possibly start another thread to ask DBP and other experts about proper RAID configurations. My data needs are quite as extreme as Marc's, nor is my budget! But I'd like to, for example, have 6TB worth of storage space for footage with some sort of RAID (1?) protection.... and I'd prefer to do this only using the OSX's disk utility configuration, and I recall DBP talking about using RAID 0 and RAID 1 together via OSX's disk utility function..... but I'm probably confusing this thread a bit right now. :)
I'm currently working on a guide for how to set this up. I've got 4 identical drives in hot-swap bays and am doing benchmarks of lots of different configurations. It won't be ready today (each test takes hours), but it shouldn't be too long now.

I can take the 2x "regular" fans provided with the C70, and use them as extractor on the top,
and buy 2x NF-F12 for the "outside front" (NF-F12 with its focused flow will pass through
the barrier of hard-drive) and 2x NF-F12/P12/S12 for the "inner-front" behind the drive,
to distribute the fresh air coming from the first pair of NF-F12.
Most HDDs don't need gales of air coming past them, so those two fans behind the drives may pull enough air through. I think there's a hole underneath the lower drive cage where you can put another fan, but I would cover that grill up so the fans don't suck air in through that but instead should result in a fairly equal draw across all drives from the front. I'm not sure that putting more fans at the front would give you a lot, but you can monitor the drive temperatures with HWMonitor early on and see if you want to force more air through.
But personally I would start without those extra fans.

Don't forget the NH-D14 which will be trying to draw air from the top-front of the case and move it (above the GPU card) towards the rear exhaust. I would initially not put extractor fans on top. If you do put one at the forward top position you may find it's sucking air away from the intake of the NH-D14, and it might be better to have one further back. But I would start with none.

In this way, the airflow will be sent directly to the GPU/PSU, and a bottom fan will surely be useless, right ?
The PSU is usually configured to draw its own air from underneath the case (there should be a grill and dust filter below the PSU location) but yes I would think the fans at the back of the drives will produce a good flow towards the GPU.

And if this summer I need more fresh air, I can use a NF-A14 FLX on the down-side window.
Or at the bottom: you could get one fan and experiment with the temperatures achieved with both configurations.

the NF-P12 don't have anti-vibration pad,
so it's maybe not really good to attach this on the same cage than hard drive !
It does come with rubber mounts (to be used instead of screws) which are good if you don't need the fans completely flush with the mounting points.
noctua_nf_p12_2.jpg


I will use the SSD on the 5,25 bay, with this dual SSD adapter.
But, in the C70 I can't put a fan in front of those bay.
So, do you think the best is to buy 2x adapters to let more space between SSD, or it won't change nothing ?
From the look of that adapter you could actually put 3x SSD in there, or two with a decent gap between them (most SSDs are very thin). SSDs generate very little heat, so I think you'll be fine.
Some models of SSD report their temperature via SMART, and this should show up in HWMonitor. It's more convenient than sticking a thermometer in there next to them. :)
 
Great! Anxiously looking forward to your guide DBP!

@Marc
Premiere shouldn't have a problem with a second GPU. It can't use both for CUDA processing, but it can certainly use one for GUI and one for CUDA.
 
@DBP
Ok.... great.... thanks !! :thumbup:
Just a last question, by curiosity. In a case, do we need to have one "extractor" fan for each "fresh air" fan ?
Because, if not, at the end there will be too much air inside the case ??!! :lol:
Well, I'm kidding, but I think you understand what I mean...
more "fresh air" fans than "extractor" fans, and all grids without fans covered...
can the "extractor" flush all the "dirty" air out of the case ??

@Qwerty123
Premiere absolutely can't use 2x or more GPU. Only one GPU (on the first PCI lane), and for GUI + render.
And, worse, if you have a SLI/Crossfire GPU (or just 2x simple GPU)
there's lots of chance to have big problem, or even don't start at all the software.
Of course, there's lot of people which don't have problems with it, but during my research,
I've also seen many reports of problems with 2x GPU/CUDA and Premiere.
That's why I choose to focus on Premiere, which will be the main software,
and give less power to Resolve, but more overall stability to the rest.

BUT.... some people report that deactivating CUDA on one GPU can stop those problems.
But, I don't know if it's possible to deactivate the CUDA under OSX.........
and maybe, with some precise GPU drivers, or new update of CS6, it will work.....
Well, in my opinion, it's still make lots of chance to have problems, so maybe,
before buying a second GPU, just borrow one, and make some tests.

Really, with big GPU like the GTX680, I don't know if for the price (and possibility of instability)
the "added value" worth it. The GUI will use something like..... I don't know.... 10% of the GPU ??
But, if I'm wrong, and it's really worth it, please tell me quickly, and I'll be the first to buy 2x GPU !! :D
 
It's not an issue of comparing the input and output fans (number, model, size) but rather of comparing the airflow of each. How much air each fan moves will depend on all of:
  • model and size of the fan (but the published airflow numbers don't tell the whole story)
  • how fast it's running (which also affects the noise level, and you can vary this for any fan)
  • how much pressure it has to deal with (obstructions on either side of it, plus overall air pressure)
Then you're looking at either a positive-pressure or negative-pressure system. The concept can be illustrated by considering a single-fan system.
A single intake pushes air inside (hopefully through a dust filter), increasing the air pressure, and the air inside then escapes through whatever holes it can find. In that case you would have many pockets of "dead air" which provide no cooling (and in fact are places where heat builds up, and dust settles too).
A single exhaust sucks air out, decreasing the internal pressure, and the air (and dust) comes in whatever holes it can find.

Unless your case is "straight-through", usually neither of these extremes is optimal but it is OK to go either side of "equal". I would expect your exhaust fan to move more air than one of the fans down at the drives, due to less resistance (if you check through the lammergeier build you'll see I've in fact removed the grill behind the exhaust fan to reduce the pressure (and the noise slightly) even more.

The important thing is to have air moving past the items that need cooling. Exactly balancing input and output flows is secondary (although that can affect how effective your dust filters are).

And keep in mind that the GPU will also be pushing some air out the back past the video connectors.
 
I just spend a VERY long time to read this thread (which probably is outdated). I hope you guys can give some ‘reallife’ answers

Purpose: Professional Video Editing: 100 hours, HD (2K) fluently playback in Premiere Pro CS 6 and working After Effects. (1/2 , 1/4 of playback resolution is okay)
Mostly AVCHD (28-70MBS) DSLR (hacked GH2 etc) DON’T want to work with proxies etc. It would be nice if I can use it the next 3-4 years with some bigger files as well.


Hardware:
i7 4770K
GA-Z87X-ud5-TH
GTX 770 (2 or 4GB)
Samsung EVO 250 GB OSX
LG Blu-ray Writer BH16NS40
Fractal Design R4
Seasonic X Platinum PSU 760W 760-XP
CPU Cooler Scythe SCMG-3PCGH Mugen 3 Rev.B PCGH

Already own:
Lacie eSATAII (3GBS) PCI-express card (2 ports)
Belkin Firewire 400, 3 port PCI Express Card
2x 3 TB Seagate Barracuda (and some other disks)
Samsung Pro SSD 256 GB
Many Esata, Firewire 800/ 400 , USB2 external drives

Please give your thoughts about this configuration for my purpose?

What would we be the best (bang for the buck), easy, stable fast disk setup for editing in Premiere ?
HDD 7200/ 10000 (/RAID), SSD, SSHD, Thunderbolt external, Promise, fiber SAN, veliorapter, PCI-E SSD?
The OSX will be on a separate SSD (Samsung Pro 256). I know the Premiere files (Project, Media, Cache, previews, export) should be on a separate disks and preferable in Raid.
But as I am a bit afraid of (and unexperienced with) RAID 0 (difficult to setup, or might break, etc) I wonder what the alternatives are.
Also because a RAID 0 (2x 7200 RPM) probably isn’t the fastest way to go as well? (SSD ?)

A )2x 3tb Raid 0 for media; the rest on separate 7200 drives.
B) 1x 3TB for media; cache/previews on separate SSD, and rest on separate 7200 drives.
C) External Thunderbolt device?
D) Something else?


AVCHD needs Fast CPU (GPU does not do anything) without having to make PRORES proxy for editing
@Marc_Ridele Did you finally build it? First from 4 cores, to 6 cores… or will you now just buy the New Mac Pro ?

I have a 3770k hack with 660ti, and I cannot get smooth playback at 1/2 resolution.
@qwerty123 I think you where referring to 4k, but will my configuration do? Or any other suggestions? Would the Noctua NH-D14 be better?

But if building the best system you can to handle 4k footage is your goal, then the more cores you can add the better, For my needs, thunderbolt is not nearly as important as saving time with transcodes/renders/etc.
@kundica 4K would be nice, but I’m not working with it yet. And I’ve just read too many issues with the 2011 socket. (and it will be my first hack)
I don’t mind the computer to render 6 hours at night or 8. But I do want fluent playback (half/ 1/4 resolution) Will this do?

I'm currently working on a guide for how to set this up. I've got 4 identical drives in hot-swap bays and am doing benchmarks of lots of different configurations. It won't be ready today (each test takes hours), but it shouldn't be too long now.

@ DBP Any suggestions for my case? How’s the guide going?
 
Not sure about bang for the buck but performance-wise your config will happily crunch through HD AVCHD. One thing to note: Premiere CS6 (and maybe subsequent versions too, not sure) has a bug decoding some hacked GH2 AVCHD footage. For example the FlowMotion2 hack is affected by it. It's not a bug in the hack, it's in Premiere.

Look for 'premiere digital rain' on http://www.personal-view.com/
There's also a thread on hackintoshes there: http://www.personal-view.com/talks/discussion/4150/the-definitive-hackintosh-topic/p13
 
.... performance-wise your config will happily crunch through HD AVCHD. One thing to note: Premiere CS6 (and maybe subsequent versions too, not sure) has a bug decoding some hacked GH2 AVCHD footage. For example the FlowMotion2 hack is affected by it. It's not a bug in the hack, it's in Premiere.

AHA... So that might be the problem I'm currently having with the GH2 material. Because editing does go much more easy with different AVCHD material from other cameras even on 50 P Full HD.
And I'm afraid I've used the FlowMotion

Is Premiere CC not influenced by it ? Because I have 100 hours of material, I'm still trying to edit (and can't reshoot)... Damn hack...
 
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