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It's technology wonderful? Only 18 months ago, in order to have any kind of serious editing system you needed to spend Tens of Thousands of Dollars. And if you wanted Avid Technology… Forget it. A halfway decent Express Meridian System would set you back about $50,000.
Thankfully, the advancements in computing horsepower have changed all that. The personal computer has gotten so fast, and all of it's corresponding sub systems are so powerful that for the price of an average gaming PC, you can be editing multiple streams of DV video in real time.
Now, if you're an Avid Xpress DV or PRO owner, Avid's system requirements are all at once a bit of a mystery and a wee bit steep. The fact of the matter is Avid won't support any software related-issues unless you've got a 100% certified system. And truthfully, the MAJOR majority of Avid Xpress DV and PRO users are NOT using Avid certified systems – and they run just fine.
The purpose of this report is to give you, the Avid User a list of quality, competitively priced PC components from which you can build a truly powerful, stable and inexpensive Avid Editing Platform
I have 3 different types of Host Computers in my Editing Suite. They all have different motherboards, Hard Drives, Memory, Graphic Cards, sound Cards, and Cases. They also all have different levels of performance.
And they all run Avid Xpress DV and Pro VERY WELL.
So, over the next few days, we'll talk about each on of these critical components. In order to give this report some organization, I'll talk about 3 different levels of Host Computer – Big – Bigger – Biggest.
Each category will be defined by the price, performance, and complexity of that particular machine and it's components.
So, if you're just starting out and want to either upgrade your current rig or build a new, inexpensive one completely from scratch, the “Big" Rig is for you.
Or maybe you need a Fastest Host PC and you won't be running Mojo. Then take a look at the “Bigger" components.
On the other hand, maybe you want to run Avid Xpress Pro with MOJO. If that's the case, you'll be building the “Biggest" Rig, simply because you're going to need a very particular type of motherboard chip set if you want to run MOJO and any kind of External Storage or LAN share network.
Don't worry, it's not as complicated as it sounds.
One last thing. Keep in mind that these systems work for me. They are not in anyway guaranteed to work for you. I feel the need to say that because if you do decide to purchase your system components based on the information in this report, you do so at your own risk. Look, the truth is, these systems are all based, one way or another, on Avid's own system requirements. And they do indeed all work very well for me and my business. But your level of skill, troubleshooting ability, general technical aptitude and business requirements may be different than mine.
So, if you do indeed use the same component as are outlined in this report, you must do so with the understanding that we cannot be responsible for them working with any Avid Software at all. Okay?
All right, with that out of the way, lets talk about the first a most important component of your Host System – your Motherboard.
MOTHERBOARDS
All of the Avid systems, from Xpress DV all the way up to the DSHD are developed, tested and certified on Intel Chipsets.
Now, that does not mean that they are certified on Intel “BRAND" motherboards. There is a difference. Intel has created a standard chipset configuration which is supposed to guarantee compatibility across different types of hardware that are used with it.
The chip set series that we are going to talk about for each category of system is:
Big – Intel 865
Bigger – Intel 875
Biggest - Intel 7505 (Dual XENON Motherboards).
Now, you don't need to get all hung up about which chipset series that you should be using – uless you're using MOJO. If your motherboard choice is part of the 865, 875 or even the 845 family, you'll be fine.
Now, the 7505 chipset is specifically designed for Dual Processor systems, but there is another critical feature of the 7505 chipset that enables use of the AVID MOJO with external storage devices. We'll talk about that in a moment.
What about BRAND NAME?
I can speak for 2 Brand Names that I trust. ASUS and INTEL. I've been using ASUS motherboards for years and years without a failure. I've had the INTEL 7505 motherboard for about a year now, and I have to say that it's rock solid.
So, what's the difference? Features.
In general, you'll find that 3rd party manufacturers try to distinguish themselves in the marketplace by offering added functionality to their products. For example, my favorite motherboard in the “Bigger" category, the ASUS P4P800 Deluxe includes Built-In Audio, Both IDE and SATA Hard Disk Support, RAID, LAN, FireWire, PAT technology, 800MHz FSB, blah blah blah…
In counterpoint, the Intel Brands don't always throw in that kind of functionality, and you have to purchase specific components (Audio Cards, for example) separately.
Ultimately, you can't loose with either brand.
What kind of Processor should I be using?
STICK WITH PENTIUM 4.
Avid has not certified any AMD Athlon CPUs, at all. Do yourself a favor, if you are starting with a Pentium CPU, stay with a Pentium CPU. Which means, no matter what motherboard you're buying, you'll be purchasing a SOCKET 478 ATX Motherboard.
What kind of feature might be included on a motherboard?
ADDED FEAUTURES
Again, you might find yourself with all kinds of extra goodies as part of your motherboard package. Usually, that's a good thing. The only real issue that some Do-It-Yourselfers have is when their motherboard comes equipped with built-in Firewire Support. Now, I realize that you might be thinking “GREAT – I don't need to go get a Firewire Card!" Well, not so fast.
You see, Avid has only certified on type of Firewire Chipset (yes, even Firewire hardware has chipsets) to work with Avid Xpress PRO and DV software. The chipset that you need to use for Avid compatibility is made by TEXAS INSTURMENTS (TI). The thing is, a lot of Built-In Firewire chipsets are made by VIA. Does this mean that you can't use that motherboard?
Absolutely not.
Does it mean that you can't use that built-In Firewire adaptor? Maybe Yes, Sometimes No.
In 90% of the cases where I've built a Host PC for the AVID PRO software, I was able to use the VIA built-in Firewire port for my external Firewire drives.
However, you MUST get a TI Firewire card if you want to have the Avid Software control your Firewire Device, and that's the bottom line. Don't worry, they're less than $50.
Other Features.
FRONT SIDE BUS.
The Front Side Bus, or FSB is a measure of how fast a motherboard can communicates with all of it's peripheral hardware. Meaning, how fast can it talk to the CPU, the Memory, the IDE or SATA interface, etc.
So, it would bear out that the faster the FSB, the fast the computer. Right?
Yeah, pretty much. But it's really not a measure of computing speed, it's a measure of communication speed. So, while a Motherboard with an 800MHz will feel faster than a 533MHZ FSB (some will be able to notice it, some will not), the Computing Power will always be a measure of CPU speed. So, rendering a shot sequence may not be any faster on a motherboard with a faster FSB.
MEMORY
Double Data Rate or SDRAM? This specification has the same sort of ramifications as the Front Side Bus. By itself, with DDR memory, you will notice slightly snappier response form your machine. What really makes a huge difference is the amount of RAM you have installed. GET AS MUCH AS YOU POSSIBLY CAN. It's cheap, or at least relatively so, and it will indeed make an impact on your overall system performance.
Also, keep in mind that there are several speeds of RAM and Error Corrections capacities. In terms of Error Capacity Checking, you can probably get away with NON-ECC RAM. If you're machine also doubles as a data server, then you probably want ECC RAM. In terms of RAM SPEED, get whatever your motherboards Front Side Bus is rated to handle. IE, if you have a FSB speed of 800MHZ, with DDR RAM, you should be using PC3200 RAM. That's 800x2(Double Data Rate)x2(Dual Channel RAM). More about memory later.
Okay, here are the motherboards that I use in each one of the performance categories.
BIG – The Asus P4P8X - Socket 478 Motherboard.
This is really a ripsnorter of a motherboard, even at it's sub $100 price point. It included all kinds of Goodies, Like SATA Hard Drive Interfaces, 8X AGP Video Card Support, Built-In Surround Sound Audio, and it'll support Pentium 4 Speeds all the way up to 3.2GHz. It's a monster, and for the price, it can't be beat.
Follow this link for detailed information
http://www.likeapromedia.com/asusp48x.html
BIGGER - Asus P4P800 Deluxe - Socket 478 ATX Motherboard
Simply an awesome Motherboard. It includes all of the features of it's little brother, and much more. It's the bomb – and I use a system with this motherboard as my primary Avid Xpress Pro System. It's stable, has NEVER crashed to the Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) and it's FAST.
Follow this link detailed information
http://www.likeapromedia.com/asusp4p800deluxe.html
BIGGEST – Intel® Server Board SE7505VB2
This is actually a server motherboard and it comes equipped with 2 critical features that you'll need in order to run Avid MOJO with your Xpress Pro software.
First, it's a DUAL XENON Motherboard, meaning it has the capacity to support 2 XENON Pentium 4 Processor. Frankly, this is the Ultimate in Performance for any workstation, whether your running Avid Xpress Pro of Avid DSHD.
The Second critical feature is it's multiple PCI Bus Segmentation.
Basically, this board has a PCI-X slot, which has it's own separate data channel for maximum bandwidth. On this PCI-X slot, you'll place your Firewire card and hook your MOJO to it. Basically, the PCI-X slot with the Firewire card allows the MOJO to communicate with the Host system at an incredible data rate. The rate is so high, in fact, that if you don't have multiple PCI Busses on your Host Computer, MOJO is not likely to work – at all. This board is an enterprise level board, meaning that it's designed to be run hard, for 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It's VERY expensive ($300-$400), but if you need MOJO, you don't have much of a choice if you want to use external storage.
Follow this link for detailed information.
http://www.likeapromedia.com/mojomotherboard.html
That's it for this article. In the next chapter we'll talk about Video Cards.
Thanks!
AJ at Like a Pro, LLC.
AJ@likeapromedia.com
4 Hours and 42 minutes of Professional Avid Tutorials on 2 DVDs
http://www.likeapromedia.com
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