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MacPro 2008 vs 4K
- Thread starter Parsuto
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This MacPro doesn't work with SSD at full power, as it only has SATA-II interfaces!
32GB Ram? Why not 48, it could be better.
Also, people on other topics said that cMP 3.1 is not good even for editing HD... But didn't say why...
32GB Ram? Why not 48, it could be better.
Also, people on other topics said that cMP 3.1 is not good even for editing HD... But didn't say why...
I don't have that exact combination of hardware and software, but I expect it would work. Working "well," however, is subjective.
* Make sure the GH4 is on the list of devices that CS6 still supports.
* 32 GB of RAM should be quite good, especially if you run a recent version of OS-X, which have become excellent at managing memory via compression, etc. I run CS6 on a 3,1 (8 core) with only 12 GB and it's perfectly fine with my largest files, even huge stitched ones (I don't keep many files open at once, though). I don't do video, so I can't comment about that, but realistically I just about never run into high RAM "pressure" with 12 GB, and I've never felt a need for more.
* The GTX 960 ought to be OK. But don't even think about running games at 4k on it.
* SATA SSD's in the normal drive sleds work fine, but you will be limited to SATA-II speeds, meaning about 1/2 to 1/3 of the speed of the fastest SATA SSD's. It's hard to buy a drive that slow these days. Running two drives in RAID 0 (with backup) will speed them up by almost a factor of 2, and this works pretty well. For an additional investment you can get a PCI card that will mostly live up to faster SATA drives, but the expense is not trivial and it's probably only worth-while for larger drives. (Based on some bad experiences, I do not recommend running drives in RAID 0 on PCI cards.)
Ultimately, though, my thought these days is that a 3,1 is just too old to make further investments in. If you have or are getting this fully kitted as you described for an excellent price, it will certainly be a good and reliable machine. But 3,1's are not a great platform to make further investments in any more (nor, in my opinion, are any cMPs except on the margins).
* Make sure the GH4 is on the list of devices that CS6 still supports.
* 32 GB of RAM should be quite good, especially if you run a recent version of OS-X, which have become excellent at managing memory via compression, etc. I run CS6 on a 3,1 (8 core) with only 12 GB and it's perfectly fine with my largest files, even huge stitched ones (I don't keep many files open at once, though). I don't do video, so I can't comment about that, but realistically I just about never run into high RAM "pressure" with 12 GB, and I've never felt a need for more.
* The GTX 960 ought to be OK. But don't even think about running games at 4k on it.
* SATA SSD's in the normal drive sleds work fine, but you will be limited to SATA-II speeds, meaning about 1/2 to 1/3 of the speed of the fastest SATA SSD's. It's hard to buy a drive that slow these days. Running two drives in RAID 0 (with backup) will speed them up by almost a factor of 2, and this works pretty well. For an additional investment you can get a PCI card that will mostly live up to faster SATA drives, but the expense is not trivial and it's probably only worth-while for larger drives. (Based on some bad experiences, I do not recommend running drives in RAID 0 on PCI cards.)
Ultimately, though, my thought these days is that a 3,1 is just too old to make further investments in. If you have or are getting this fully kitted as you described for an excellent price, it will certainly be a good and reliable machine. But 3,1's are not a great platform to make further investments in any more (nor, in my opinion, are any cMPs except on the margins).
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Ph.D., how to understand "I run CS6 on a 3,1....I don't do video" ???
Is is so strange, you said 12GB RAM is ok, many people tell it is always not enough, mucher is better it uses all.
About RAm compression in recentOS X. Do you mean Sierra, or El.Capitan too?
Is is so strange, you said 12GB RAM is ok, many people tell it is always not enough, mucher is better it uses all.
About RAm compression in recentOS X. Do you mean Sierra, or El.Capitan too?
I'll reply to a couple posts here and the OP's question. For starters, do you want to edit it natively or via proxy? If via proxy, of course you can handle 4k editing on the 3,1 with those specs. Natively? Most likely not. Unless you want to edit at 5fps with nonstop drops.
As for Acden's posts wondering about various ram requirements; 32gb vs 48gb of ram will not matter on this machine for video editing. Amount of ram will not be his bottleneck. Further, the 3,1 can handle 1080p multicam editing with grading and over 5 effects per camera with just 8-10gb of ram without any issues. So, whoever said it's not good for editing HD literally has no idea what they're doing.
My advice is the same for everyone now - keep your mac if you love using OSX and have OSX only apps. But if you're going to be using Premiere or Davinci, pick up an additional used PC just for those purposes. It'll literally cost you less than simple upgrades on the mac, and you'll have a machine comparable to the highest end mac's currently available.
As for Acden's posts wondering about various ram requirements; 32gb vs 48gb of ram will not matter on this machine for video editing. Amount of ram will not be his bottleneck. Further, the 3,1 can handle 1080p multicam editing with grading and over 5 effects per camera with just 8-10gb of ram without any issues. So, whoever said it's not good for editing HD literally has no idea what they're doing.
My advice is the same for everyone now - keep your mac if you love using OSX and have OSX only apps. But if you're going to be using Premiere or Davinci, pick up an additional used PC just for those purposes. It'll literally cost you less than simple upgrades on the mac, and you'll have a machine comparable to the highest end mac's currently available.
^^ might be worth using a proxy codec if you find it to slow, it will work it's just at what speed 
and that's when proxy's are nice.
it relay depends on the complexity of your project's and how much time you have to work on them, i edited 1080P projects without any major problems on my 3.1 4K's biger so a tad slower but will work fine.
i think dnx or 422 LT are the best proxy codecs?
^^ relay nice to see you editing of SSD's, nice for responsive timeline
and that's when proxy's are nice.it relay depends on the complexity of your project's and how much time you have to work on them, i edited 1080P projects without any major problems on my 3.1 4K's biger so a tad slower but will work fine.
i think dnx or 422 LT are the best proxy codecs?
^^ relay nice to see you editing of SSD's, nice for responsive timeline
^^ might be worth using a proxy codec if you find it to slow, it will work it's just at what speed
it relay depends on the complexity of your project's and how much time you have to work on them, i edited 1080P projects without any major problems on my 3.1 4K's biger so a tad slower but will work fine.
i think dnx or 422 LT are the best proxy codecs?
^^ relay nice to see you editing of SSD's, nice for responsive timeline
Thank you for having responded to me friend, but how do you work im ProRes Proxy or LT?
is a very low quality I thought of working in ProRes 444 HQ least see the good qualities also to do color correction seeing the original clip.
otherwise proxy or LT do not understand how they really are the colors of the clip.
Thanks again
well first check to see if your happy with editing, then look in to proxy's if you have problems with speed.
i gess proxy type may depend on your workflow, might be best to look in to it if you need to use them.
im trying to think of the last time i did it and how, i think it was finalcut 7 .im not shore 100% how it works in PP cs6
google found
https://helpx.adobe.com/premiere-pro/using/create-clips-offline-editing.html
you can always just render if needed i gess mm ill have to look in to it, it was easy in FC7 and FCX makes the proxys on the fly & looks like PP CC has a easy proxy workflow so might just be a week spot in cs6.
have a look on forums.creativecow.net/ and try asking there if you cant find any info
edit
found this nice simple article with video that enplanes everything
http://nofilmschool.com/2014/12/transcoding-should-you-be-doing-it
i think i last used proxy's on my dual G5 it's been that long
i gess proxy type may depend on your workflow, might be best to look in to it if you need to use them.
im trying to think of the last time i did it and how, i think it was finalcut 7
.im not shore 100% how it works in PP cs6google found
https://helpx.adobe.com/premiere-pro/using/create-clips-offline-editing.html
you can always just render if needed i gess
mm ill have to look in to it, it was easy in FC7 and FCX makes the proxys on the fly & looks like PP CC has a easy proxy workflow so might just be a week spot in cs6.have a look on forums.creativecow.net/ and try asking there if you cant find any info
edit
found this nice simple article with video that enplanes everything
http://nofilmschool.com/2014/12/transcoding-should-you-be-doing-it
i think i last used proxy's on my dual G5
it's been that long
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well first check to see if your happy with editing, then look in to proxy's if you have problems with speed.
i gess proxy type may depend on your workflow, might be best to look in to it if you need to use them.
im trying to think of the last time i did it and how, i think it was finalcut 7
google found
https://helpx.adobe.com/premiere-pro/using/create-clips-offline-editing.html
you can always just render if needed i gess
have a look on forums.creativecow.net/ and try asking there if you cant find any info
edit
found this nice simple article with video that enplanes everything
http://nofilmschool.com/2014/12/transcoding-should-you-be-doing-it
i think i last used proxy's on my dual G5
Thanks take your advice