Should I buy CS5.5 Production premium?
 

I've been using Final Cut express for about two years, mostly for my own personal videos. Lately I've been working on getting my videography business started, and I've realized I need something that will handle my AVCHD files without transcoding, plus burn decent Blu-rays (i.e. not Toast).

Since I'm a student, I can get CS5.5 production premium for $369.99 from Amazon. I've also been contemplating buying Avid Media Composer, but considering that I can get After Effects, Photoshop Extended, Illustrator, and Encore for about the same price, I'm leaning toward going with Adobe.
My question is, should I wait for CS6, or should I go ahead and buy CS5.5 now?

Re: Should I buy CS5.5 Production premium?
 

My theory is that you should buy the biggest bang for the buck when you need it. Then, get out of the market -- quit researching, quit looking at the latest thing, concentrate instead on learning your new tool to get the most out of it.

To do anything else seems to surrender your life to FUD from the manufacturers (designed to keep you from buying a competitors' product before their product cycles through) and GAS. And who really wants to live like that? Just sayin'.

So, the question that comes back to you is, when do you need it?

Re: Should I buy CS5.5 Production premium?
 

I went to CS5.5 when my Mac laptop started to throw fits processing 32GB in files. That one decision cost a lot more than CS5.5 as I really needed new hardware. Measure twice, buy once. GL

Re: Should I buy CS5.5 Production premium?
 

Yes Thomas, but make sure your hardware is up to the job: RAM, Video Card, HDD I/Os and CPU cores & speed. Given you can purchase with the educational discount makes those (like me) who had to pay the full price rather envious.

But who knows what CS6 might bring? But if you have a need now - then meet that need.

If you intend to start your video work as a fulltime business then you need to have a full-time business attitude and the tools to match

CS5.5 (compared to CS4) cut my edit time by a third.

Good Luck Thomas.

:)

Re: Should I buy CS5.5 Production premium?
 

Thank you all. I've made the decision to go ahead and purchase it, since I really could use it now.

As far as my setup, I have a mid 2010 i5 2.4 GHz Macbook Pro with a 64GB SSD, 8GB of RAM, and an Nvidia 330m graphics card.
I also have an external Firewire 800 2TB hard drive and an LG Blu-ray burner to use with Encore.

Re: Should I buy CS5.5 Production premium?
 

Thomas,

Do check out the hardware requirements.

Your current setup falls short, especially if you are wanting to edit AVCHD material and probably utilise effects and processing.

Do more research.

Eg:

I run Hex core i7 970 with 24 GB RAM, Nvidia GTX580 with OCZ SSD 120GB for OS.
One x2 WD Black RAID 0 1TB for Cache and Media,
One x2 WD Black RAID 0 2TB for Media Source, and a single WD Black 1TB for Media Output and Projects.
A total of 6 hardrives split into 3 separate functions.

:)

Re: Should I buy CS5.5 Production premium?
 

When I had the trial, I had found that, even with my 5400 rpm HD and 4GB of RAM, I could edit my GH2 footage in Premiere Pro reasonably quickly. Since I've upgraded my HD and RAM since then, I'm confident it'll be fast enough for my purposes.

Maybe eventually I can upgrade my laptop, but I'm happy with my MBP for now.

Re: Should I buy CS5.5 Production premium?
 

AVCHD is CPU intensive, but the files are pretty small, so there is relatively little need for quick HDDs in such case.

Re: Should I buy CS5.5 Production premium?
 

Thomas,

As well maybe, but you might want to check out the issue using the 330m card - to hack or not to hack? And as already has been said about the CPU work load... No doubt (like somebody whose been smoking 50 years and hasn't got cancer... yet.) there are exceptions to the rule.

Adobe Forums: 2010 MacBook Pro and Premiere Pro CS5

But as you are happy for now - this will change as your professional client base changes and the pressure mounts with a one-hour timeline and multiple effects. Simply cutting video is different to producing a video with production value.

But I wish you well in your venture - good luck :)

Re: Should I buy CS5.5 Production premium?
 

Unfortunately I can't do the hack as I only have 256MB of VRAM.

I spoke with Adobe, and if I want to crossgrade later from Mac to Windows, they'll do it for free. So I think I'll try it out on my Mac for a while, and if it's not fast enough, I'll sell the MBP and pick up a faster Windows laptop.

What would you all recommend for a Windows laptop under $1200? I would consider a desktop, but I'll be starting college next year, and I need the portability.

Re: Should I buy CS5.5 Production premium?
 

Thomas - I would advise against a laptop if you are planning this for a business. I made the same mistake once before and I now regret it 'somewhat' (luckily it worked out for me).

At the same price, you can build a PC twice as powerful as any laptop. I recommend building your own PC and go for CS5.5. So what if there's a CS6 next month?

Re: Should I buy CS5.5 Production premium?
 

I suppose I could buy a desktop plus a cheap netbook for taking notes and the like.
What build would you recommend for under $1000? I already have a 40" LCD that I use for a monitor, plus the LG Blu-ray burner, so that cuts down the cost somewhat.
EDIT: And I also have Windows 7 Professional 64 bit, so that's another expense I don't have to take into account.

Re: Should I buy CS5.5 Production premium?
 

You can start with this: Videoguys Blog - Videoguys DIY8 Hex Core

It makes sense to go for the Sandy Bridge architecture to allow you to scale up more easily later on when business grows. You will need a lot more hard drives though.

Re: Should I buy CS5.5 Production premium?
 

Thanks for the link.
I will be picking up some more hard drives, but I'm going to wait until the prices settle down.

I'm thinking about selling my Macbook Pro and getting the following setup.

CPU: i7-2600k
Graphics: EVGA Geforce GTX 560 ti
Motherboard: BIOSTAR TZ68A
Computer Case: Antec Three Hundred Illusion Black Steel ATX Mid Tower
PSU: Seasonic M12II 520W
RAM: CORSAIR XMS3 4 x 4GB 1600
Drive: 64GB SSD boot drive, 2TB Hitachi second drive
Optical drive: LG Blu-ray burner
System: Windows 7 Professional

This whole system is under $1000, which would leave me with enough money to get a cheap netbook.
Are all of the components I listed compatible?

Re: Should I buy CS5.5 Production premium?
 

A 64GB OS drive ostensibly should be adequate but that obligates you to make sure to set your preferences so all your temp files (Peak files, video renders, etc) are NOT saved to their default location on your C drive. As much a fan of SSD for the OS drive as I am, with the tight budget you're on, you might be better off to get a couple more larger capacity, less expensive HDDs, one for OS and another for media (there are quite a few threads in this forum about best drive configurations, as well as a primer on the Adobe site). An SSD is really nice to have for overall system snappiness, but not truly essential for good editing performance. Make sure the HDDs are not "green" drives -- green always comes at the expense of performance and editing boxes demand performance.

The PSU will probably be sufficient for your system as configured, but in case you do decide to add more hardware than that, I think you'd be best to up the wattage a bit to give you that margin, at least 650W. Stressing a PSU's capacity (even a very good brand like Seasonic) is one reason for inexplicable system instabilities.

Re: Should I buy CS5.5 Production premium?
 

If I were in your shoes, I would look at a different brand than Biostar for the mobo, for instance Asus or Gigabyte. I would exchange the Antec 300 for a big tower like the CoolerMaster 932 HAF because of better cooling, easier installation, better cable management and more expansion capabilities. I would get a gold label PSU with around 750 W and add at least 2 more 7200 SATA disks to the equation.

Re: Should I buy CS5.5 Production premium?
 

I agree with your recommendations for the motherboard, case and HDD: Biostar is a good choice for a relatively basic rig, but not so good for a serious editing rig due to the lower-quality components used on the boards themselves. The Antec 300 case is okay if the OP wants to limit the maximum total number of hard drives to four: This is because the higher-end graphics cards such as the GTX 560+ will interfere with two of the hard drive positions in the case, creating a conflict of interior space usage. And one hard drive in addition to the OS drive is the absolute minimum requirement for any prosumer NLE to work adequately.

And oh, yes, the PSU is definitely underpowered for editing on that system even if the OP were to stick with only his chosen components, especially when overclocking. This is because in many of the situations that he will encounter during an editing and encoding session, both CPU and GPU utilization will go up to relatively high levels. That puts significantly more stress on any lower-wattage PSU.

Re: Should I buy CS5.5 Production premium?
 

Like the others have suggested, get ASUS or Gigabyte. You need a good reliable MB - period.

I suggest 850 to 1000W. Don't skimp here.

I'm not sure about this. I prefer 12GB or 24GB. I think as a new business you'd be okay with 12GB - you can scale up later if you've chosen a good board.

I suggest the following:
SSD for OS only
500GB for Data and Programs, etc.
1TB Work Drive for Projects files, Temp, Cache, etc.
1TB for Media - Strictly a Read drive

When you ouptut large projects, you might want to add another write drive, or even go RAID. But don't dump everything on to one drive and create partitions.

If you have to have the netbook, then you can save some money by avoiding the SSD drive, cutting the RAM to 12GB and getting a lower GTX model that is compatible with CS5.5. You'll still be okay.

Re: Should I buy CS5.5 Production premium?
 

Good suggestions everyone.

About the RAM - are you saying that it would be better to have 12GB than 16GB? I mean, 12GB would probably be enough, but I'm just wondering the advantage of having it over 16GB.

I already have the SSD and the 2TB hard drive, so I'd like to use both of those in the setup.
I will also be picking up at least two more hard drives once the prices settle.

I definitely would prefer a mid size tower since I need it to be as small and portable as possible.
Since I only have one 5.25" drive (the Blu-ray burner) couldn't I use the other two 5.25" slots for hard drives should the need arise?

CPU: i7-2600k
GPU: EVGA Geforce GTX 560 ti
Motherboard: ASUS Maximus IV Gene-Z LGA 1155
Computer Case: Antec Three Hundred Illusion Black Steel ATX Mid Tower
PSU: Rosewill Xtreme Series RX850
RAM: CORSAIR XMS3 3 or 4 x 4GB 1600
Drive: 64GB SSD boot drive, 2TB Hitachi second drive (plus two additional drives to buy later)
Optical drive: LG Blu-ray burner
System: Windows 7 Professional

Re: Should I buy CS5.5 Production premium?
 

If you can afford it, why not? I would make it a priority to get more hard drives though, or aim for a RAID 0/5 setup, before scaling up on RAM. Same applies to the GTX.

Re: Should I buy CS5.5 Production premium?
 

On an i7-2600 board you will definitely want 4 sticks, so 16 GB, not 12 GB with three sticks because that would mean you reduce dual channel memory access to single channel.

Re: Should I buy CS5.5 Production premium?
 

You still did not change the case. Read my comment about the Antec 300 case in my previous post in this thread. Plus, the air circulation inside that case is not as good as some other cases in the same price range because the 300 offers absolutely no cable management features at all whatsoever. This means that if the PSU you choose has a lot of permanently hardwired, non-modular cables, those cables will choke off airflow inside the case. This can result in your system running significantly hotter inside than is desirable or even overheating at even a failsafe speed of 1.6GHz for the CPU.

In addition, you changed the PSU from a good but underpowered Sea Sonic unit to a higher-wattage but much lower quality ATNG-built unit. Good 850W PSUs do not cost anywhere close to $106 shipped; in fact, a minimally decent 850W unit costs at least $140 (and good 850W units cost between $170 and $200).

Re: Should I buy CS5.5 Production premium?
 

I didn't change the case because I don't want a huge tower. It's already a stretch to go from a Macbook pro to a desktop, and a mid sized case is as big as I can go. Four hard drive bays is plenty for me.

I might go with a CorsairEnthusiast Series CMPSU-850TX 850W PSU which is $135 on Amazon. It has over 800 reviews and five stars on Newegg. I don't really know if I need something with that much wattage, but I guess it leaves me the option to overclock if I want.

EDIT: What about the COOLER MASTER HAF 912? It is supposed to be significantly better as far as airflow and cable management.

Re: Should I buy CS5.5 Production premium?
 

Guys, while I think that your suggestions are valid if a person would be buying an optimal low-end editing workstation, I'm not sure that you address Thomas' needs and budget.

For one, he is editing AVCHD files. Therefore a single system drive and another data/project drive will be sufficient for him in the short run. He can add additional two drives, and that will be more than enough for his needs, there's no need to use RAID setup unless he was playing back more than 3 streams of AVCHD simultaneously.

Second, this kind of system uses about 400-450W under full load. Even if we add additional 50W for stability or new HDDs, a decent 650W 80%+ unit (at least 520 W of effective power) will be enough to cater these needs, and 750W would be an excess.

I know this setup is not "optimal", ie. for another couple hundred bucks you can get something which would be more "future proof" if Thomas chooses to pursue another codecs, but it is "good enough", and will serve well for his needs.

Re: Should I buy CS5.5 Production premium?
 

I'd like to thank everyone for the good advice. I picked a good time to build a computer considering last Friday was Black Friday.
I did get the Antec 300 case, but I got a modular PSU which greatly helped with cable management. I also picked up a 23" monitor, since I was having doubts about the use of my 40" TV.
I was pleased to find out that the graphics card only blocks one HDD slot. Given that I can mount the SSD on the bottom of the case, I'll have 5 slots for additional hard drives.

The following is my setup, which I purchased with the money from the sale of my MacBook Pro.
CPU: i7-2600k
GPU: Gigabyte GTX 560 ti
Motherboard: ASUS Maximus IV Gene-Z
Computer Case: Antec 300
PSU: SeaSonic 750w modular PSU
RAM: CORSAIR Vengeance 4 x 4GB 1600
Drive: 64GB SSD boot drive, 2TB Hitachi second drive
Keyboard and mouse: Logitech MK520 wireless keyboard
Optical drive: LG Blu-ray burner
Monitor: Asus 23" 2ms LED backlit display
System: Windows 7 Professional

Re: Should I buy CS5.5 Production premium?
 

Bart,

Check out eXtreme Outer Vision - eXtreme tools for computer enthusiasts, get the Pro version and then enter all your components and the ones you want to add in the future, including fans, USB devices, keyboard etc. Then set CPU system load to 100% and capacitor aging to 30% and add 10- 15% for safety and you have the wattage required for the system. Also look closely at the required amperage on each rail, not all power supplies deliver the correct amperage on each rail, although the total wattage seems sufficient.

Further keep in mind that a PSU that is taxed to the max will operate with high fan speeds whereas a more powerful PSU that is not heavily taxed can run at lower fan speeds, meaning quieter.

Re: Should I buy CS5.5 Production premium?
 

Harm - that's a great resource. Thanks for sharing.

Re: Should I buy CS5.5 Production premium?
 

Just go and download EDIUS 6.
Native AVCHD and or Canon MOV's real time together at full resolution with effects no problems even on an old 2.4 Quad 2008 PC :-),

Re: Should I buy CS5.5 Production premium?
 

Heard some really good things about the new Edius...will try it the first opportunity I get.