Graphics card on the Mac Pro

How important are they for video/photo editing?

When working with 1080p and large still shots, what are the things one should look at when purchasing a new high performance computer?

A big newbie thanks in advance!

Mark II wrote in post #9378840
How important are they for video/photo editing?

When working with 1080p and large still shots, what are the things one should look at when purchasing a new high performance computer?

A big newbie thanks in advance!

If you use FCP, or Vegas, not really all that important to have a good video card. You need a very fast processor in this case though.

If you use Premiere Pro, 99% of video cards out there won't help at all, but cards based off of the nvidia GTX285, quadro FX 4800 or CX cards will allow GPU acceleration of h264 (5dmkii, 7d, t1i, 1dmkiv) in CS4 (when updated to 4.2) without the need of a third party GPU decoder. Avid has similar acceleration with certain cards. Both (and Vegas) also support third part video decoders that allow for GPU acceleration.

If you are in town for a new computer, specs depend on the programs you want to put in it.

If you run Premiere Pro, specs should be:
Intel i7 (860 or higher, 920 or higher) processor
6gb ram or higher (12gb or 16gb suggested)
Nvidia Geforce GTX285 graphics card (some fermi cards may be acceptable too when they come out)

And sorry to burst your bubble (if it formed, if not, can't pop what's not there), but Mac Pros aren't the top of the line, and the single processor version cannot be called a high performance machine. If you are in the mac realm already, check out the i7 based iMac 27" before the mac pro. It'll be 5-10% faster in most cases, and a few hundred bucks cheaper. If you need ultra high level video editing, you wouldn't be asking us here, so no need for a mac pro. If you don't already have all OSX machines, no need to go with macs, plenty of other options that are faster and better suited for video editing (especially with GPU acceleration)

Basroil,

Thanks for the info!
I'm not very educated with the video end of things but I have spent a little bit of time on CS2 & CS4 with stills.
The laptop I have (old!) is XP ... and my Desktop has Vista (p.o.s.!).

Both are slow when it comes to editing large stills. Editing videos is out of the question on the lap top.
In the future, I'd like the option of doing video work without watching paint dry and grass grow. Right now, I'm most concerned with large jpegs and RAW. I plan on using Snow leapord and Aperture. I have NO idea what kind of video editing software I should use.

Do you think either of these two systems will do the job well?
http://www.bhphotovide​o.com …Pro_Desktop_Com​puter.html

http://www.bhphotovide​o.com …Pro_Desktop_Com​puter.html

Thanks again

Mark II wrote in post #9383945
Basroil,

Thanks for the info!
I'm not very educated with the video end of things but I have spent a little bit of time on CS2 & CS4 with stills.
The laptop I have (old!) is XP ... and my Desktop has Vista (p.o.s.!).

Both are slow when it comes to editing large stills. Editing videos is out of the question on the lap top.
In the future, I'd like the option of doing video work without watching paint dry and grass grow. Right now, I'm most concerned with large jpegs and RAW. I plan on using Snow leapord and Aperture. I have NO idea what kind of video editing software I should use.

Do you think either of these two systems will do the job well?
http://www.bhphotovide​o.com …Pro_Desktop_Com​puter.html

http://www.bhphotovide​o.com …Pro_Desktop_Com​puter.html

Thanks again

Both of them are pretty much overkill for what you want.

If your laptop was XP based, chances are it's over 4 years old. If the desktop is vista, chances are that you never properly set up the system. I suggest cleaning out your desktop before thinking about upgrades. Putting windows 7 on that thing might actually make it feel faster, and cleaning out the garbage will make it faster.

And for any dual processor computer, double the ram. You should look for 12gb ram rather than 6.

If you MUST go with mac, go with the i7 27" iMac instead. If you only want to go with mac, go find a friend/shop that has an i7 based desktop with a properly installed version of windows 7 and CS3/4. You'll be able to see that you'll never wait for paint to dry while editing, and exporting wise, you'll have enough power to watch bluray movies while exporting video.

Also remember you'll want to buy a decent IPS monitor afterwards, so you're looking at $300-1500 on top of the price of the tower.

Mark II wrote in post #9383945
Basroil,

Thanks for the info!
I'm not very educated with the video end of things but I have spent a little bit of time on CS2 & CS4 with stills.
The laptop I have (old!) is XP ... and my Desktop has Vista (p.o.s.!).

Both are slow when it comes to editing large stills. Editing videos is out of the question on the lap top.
In the future, I'd like the option of doing video work without watching paint dry and grass grow. Right now, I'm most concerned with large jpegs and RAW. I plan on using Snow leapord and Aperture. I have NO idea what kind of video editing software I should use.

Do you think either of these two systems will do the job well?
http://www.bhphotovide​o.com …Pro_Desktop_Com​puter.html

http://www.bhphotovide​o.com …Pro_Desktop_Com​puter.html

Thanks again

If you can afford the Mac Pro go for it. You can purchase the 27" iMac with a i7 processor but it is only 5% - 10% faster than the LOW-END Mac Pro without the tremendous capability for expansion. I have a 2006 1st generation Mac Pro that is still very capable today. I've upgraded the video card in it and it chews through video in Final Cut Express and 25MB RAW files from my 7D. Would the iMac perform better than my 4 year old machine? Certainly! The latest Mac Pro would also, but, my machine is FOUR YEARS OLD and is still an awesome beast with ZERO problems.

There are capable Windows-based boxes out there as well. But it sounds to me as if you are leaning towards/already familiar with/more comfortable with Macs and if that is the case, I would suggest you make the Mac Pro your investment and it will serve you for the long term. I personally, will wait until the summer of next year and purchase one of the new Mac Pro machines that I feel is due to be released in the first or second quarter of this year with new Intel hardware based on the i7 (Gulftown, I believe is the processor's code name - 6 cores per processor). Good luck with your decision!

So much thanks, Basroil and Scout!
That info should take me to the next step.

Scout7id wrote in post #9384696
There are capable Windows-based boxes out there as well. But it sounds to me as if you are leaning towards/already familiar with/more comfortable with Macs and if that is the case, I would suggest you make the Mac Pro your investment and it will serve you for the long term. I personally, will wait until the summer of next year and purchase one of the new Mac Pro machines that I feel is due to be released in the first or second quarter of this year with new Intel hardware based on the i7 (Gulftown, I believe is the processor's code name - 6 cores per processor). Good luck with your decision!

Just remember, it's really easy to replace CPUs in anything except macs. iMac can't be upgraded at all (just ram, everything else is glued or requires special tools), and you can't upgrade the processors in a Mac Pro (well, you can, but there's a risk of burning out or cracking in half your new $1k chip(s) in the process).


I highly suggest you take a good look at non-apple hardware unless you already own all the programs for osx. My i7 920 system (well, upgraded version of it) is faster than a single processor mac pro, and only about $1k. Stable as can be, and I could buy a 7d with the difference.

basroil wrote in post #9387219
Just remember, it's really easy to replace CPUs in anything except macs. iMac can't be upgraded at all (just ram, everything else is glued or requires special tools), and you can't upgrade the processors in a Mac Pro (well, you can, but there's a risk of burning out or cracking in half your new $1k chip(s) in the process).


I highly suggest you take a good look at non-apple hardware unless you already own all the programs for osx. My i7 920 system (well, upgraded version of it) is faster than a single processor mac pro, and only about $1k. Stable as can be, and I could buy a 7d with the difference.

Thanks for making another point...ah, nevermind.

Scout7id wrote in post #9387351
Thanks for making another point...ah, nevermind.

Mac Pros aren't the solution, just a solution. As are non-apple computers. OP clearly doesn't know the current market, and it may end up costing him hundreds for extra parts he probably doesn't need.

i'm thinking of jumping ship and getting an imac i7 mainly coz of the screen. i know i can get a faster config on a PC for the money but i can't find the same monitor sadly enough...

muscleflex wrote in post #9397930
i'm thinking of jumping ship and getting an imac i7 mainly coz of the screen. i know i can get a faster config on a PC for the money but i can't find the same monitor sadly enough...

Dell's U2711. Check the computer forum for more info. It should be ready for order/shipping within a month if the U2410 is any indication. Same size and resolution panel as the iMac 27", but with added 12bit LUT, every monitor connection you can think of (from displayport to composite video), and dell's 0 defect warranty.

Not to turn this into another mac vs pc thread, but seeings how the OP doesn't sound very "computer savvy" I would urge you to get a mac on the principle of not having to worry about your computer ever getting slow. Mac has the approach or simplicity in there computers which let you spend more time being creative and less time trying to figure out anti-virus software. If you can handle your computer crashing then I would say get a pc, you will get more bang for the buck, if your willing to pay for the piece of mind knowing that 4 years from now your computer will still be just as fast as the day you bought it then get a mac.

Stutterbug wrote in post #9406005
Not to turn this into another mac vs pc thread, but seeings how the OP doesn't sound very "computer savvy" I would urge you to get a mac on the principle of not having to worry about your computer ever getting slow. Mac has the approach or simplicity in there computers which let you spend more time being creative and less time trying to figure out anti-virus software. If you can handle your computer crashing then I would say get a pc, you will get more bang for the buck, if your willing to pay for the piece of mind knowing that 4 years from now your computer will still be just as fast as the day you bought it then get a mac.

Might have been true back in the windows 98 days, but with Windows 7, it's as easy (or easier for certain things) to properly maintain a computer as in OSX. OS is more of a matter of choice, hardware specs for photo/video really aren't a matter of choice, rather how much you can afford.

Basroil, you sound like an IT Manager.

PS - to OP - If you want to get more computer savvy, look into a Hackintosh.

kalieaire wrote in post #9480728
Basroil, you sound like an IT Manager.

PS - to OP - If you want to get more computer savvy, look into a Hackintosh.

IT manager would say to use Windows XP