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Mathieu Kassovitz
June 20th, 2007, 09:21 AM
I did a quick web search but could not find any details on the 10/100/1000 Network Interface Card or controller (NIC) for that model Asus. I suggest you contact the vendor directly.

It has a Gigabit ethernet controller. Realtek Gbic LAN not Intel. Is this a problem?


I don't understand your question about the color correction. Please explain further...

Can I edit and provide 2K color correction from such Asus laptop?


What about that?

ASUS S96s
Santa Rosa equipped

Processor & Cache Memory
Intel® Merom Core 2 Duo Processor T7700 2.4GHz 4MB 800FSB

Chipset
Intel 945PM & ICH8-M

Main Memory
4GB 667MHz DDR2 SODIMM
DDR2-533/667 MHz up to 4B
2 x SODIMM Dual Channel Slots

Cache Module
512MB Robeson Cache Module

Display
15.4" WXGA (1280 x 800) TFT Display (Glare)

Video Graphics & Memory
Nvidia GeForce Go 8400 (256MB Dedicated Graphics)

Hard Drive
160GB 5400RPM SATA HDD
(perhaps will 7200RPM be better?. . .or will 5400RPM be enough?. . .but anyways, is the rest ok?)


Merci

Jason Rodriguez
June 20th, 2007, 02:12 PM
It has a Gigabit ethernet controller. Realtek Gbic LAN not Intel. Is this a problem?

Actually yes, that will be a big problem since the Realtek does not support full 9K Jumbo packets

In order of good->to->bad:

1) Intel Gigabit Ethernet

2) Marvell Yukon Gigabit Ethernet

Adapters that won't work at all (will require you to purchase another third-party card with one of the above):

1) Broadcom

2) RealTek

Mathieu Kassovitz
June 21st, 2007, 04:21 AM
will require you to purchase another third-party card

OK

Swapping cards . . . does it work on this laptop from ASUS?

How much is it?
Intel . . .
Marvell Yukon . . .

Such a wide price range:

http://www.bizrate.com/nic/networking-connection-type--gigabit-ethernet/brand--intel/products__att148--2178-__att259--534-.html

Jason Rodriguez
June 21st, 2007, 06:28 AM
I would suggest this card:

http://www.addonics.com/products/host_controller/adn1gex34.asp

It uses the Marvell Yukon adapter. So far I haven't found any eXpressCard adapters that use Intel ethernet adapters.

Mathieu Kassovitz
June 23rd, 2007, 02:41 PM
I would suggest this card:

http://www.addonics.com/products/host_controller/adn1gex34.asp

It uses the Marvell Yukon adapter. So far I haven't found any eXpressCard adapters that use Intel ethernet adapters.

Will this simple add be work fine with such ASUS laptop?

ASUS S96s
Santa Rosa equipped

Processor & Cache Memory
Intel® Merom Core 2 Duo Processor T7700 2.4GHz 4MB 800FSB

Chipset
Intel 945PM & ICH8-M

Main Memory
4GB 667MHz DDR2 SODIMM
DDR2-533/667 MHz up to 4B
2 x SODIMM Dual Channel Slots

Cache Module
512MB Robeson Cache Module

Display
15.4" WXGA (1280 x 800) TFT Display (Glare)

Video Graphics & Memory
Nvidia GeForce Go 8400 (256MB Dedicated Graphics)

Hard Drive
160GB 5400RPM SATA HDD
(perhaps will 7200RPM be better?. . .or will 5400RPM be enough?. . .but anyways, is the rest ok?)

Online editing and real time color correction at 1080p, as well?

John DeLuca
June 24th, 2007, 01:35 PM
Mathieu-

Just an FYI. Our Dell M90 moble workstation has been extremely reliable for both capture, basic A-B editing and Speed Grade (no crashes, dropped frames, ect). The laptop body is extremely rigid and built like a tank so you can take it on location. Also, the 1920x1200-resolution screen is great for focus.


-John

Jason Rodriguez
June 25th, 2007, 12:20 PM
Hi Mattieu,

Yes, that laptop will work for full 1080P editing in Premiere Pro. The resolution on the screen is a little low though for what I'd want for HD editing.

The Addonics adapter is an expresscard adapter. It fits in the side of the laptop like the old cardbus cards. You will need this card for the gigabit ethernet connection.

Steve Collins
June 26th, 2007, 09:07 PM
For those looking at new laptops I would check out:

http://www.q-play.us/laptop.html

and

http://www.sagernotebook.com/index.html

Mathieu Kassovitz
June 27th, 2007, 02:48 AM
Merci John, Jason and Steve for your care.

Hi Mattieu,

Yes, that laptop will work for full 1080P editing in Premiere Pro.

2k and color correction too? Cineform?

Note to Steve: The Sager seems more interesting (the other one is overpriced). Can one or another (like the ASUS) be a better option?

Will the Intel® Merom Core 2 Duo Processor T7700 2.4GHz 4MB 800FSB be enough?

Or will an Intel® Core™ 2 Extreme Processor X6800 / 4MB L2 Cache, 2.93 GHz, 1066MHz FSB (with RAID 1 or RAID 0 or RAID 5) be THE definitive hardware add-on?

Jason Rodriguez
June 27th, 2007, 12:32 PM
Hi Matthieu,

Faster is always better from a pure performance point of view. But do you want to be fast, or trade-off for mobile (and battery time)?

If you're talking about recording and simple editing, a new T7700 laptop will work nicely for 2K (1080P and 2K aren't that much different, at least when it comes to editing them). But what are you trying to-do? That is the question that you're not quite answering . . . i.e., are we talking basically cuts (like a film), and some effects here and there, or are we talking visually intense commericals with tons of special effects, graphic overlays, etc.? I mean that makes a big difference in what I'd suggest. For instance, if you plan on muscling a lot of stuff through After Effects, I'd suggest quad-core. If you're only planning on editing single stream with the occasional dissolve, and then just color-correction, the fast mobile laptops work just fine.

It all depends on what you're trying to do.

Mathieu Kassovitz
June 27th, 2007, 04:39 PM
Hi Matthieu,

Faster is always better from a pure performance point of view. But do you want to be fast, or trade-off for mobile (and battery time)?

If you're talking about recording and simple editing, a new T7700 laptop will work nicely for 2K (1080P and 2K aren't that much different, at least when it comes to editing them). But what are you trying to-do? That is the question that you're not quite answering . . . i.e., are we talking basically cuts (like a film), and some effects here and there, or are we talking visually intense commericals with tons of special effects, graphic overlays, etc.? I mean that makes a big difference in what I'd suggest. For instance, if you plan on muscling a lot of stuff through After Effects, I'd suggest quad-core. If you're only planning on editing single stream with the occasional dissolve, and then just color-correction, the fast mobile laptops work just fine.

It all depends on what you're trying to do.

Merci Jason,

As matter of fact, since my work is most narrative (cut based). Yes, with some effects here and there BUT with major color correction. So, the Intel® Merom Core 2 Duo Processor T7700 2.4GHz 4MB 800FSB will be enough, correct?

Although when you're referring quad-core, is the Intel® Core™ 2 Extreme Processor X6800 / 4MB L2 Cache, 2.93 GHz, 1066MHz FSB (with RAID 1 or RAID 0 or RAID 5) a quad-core solution? I thought it is not (only available at desktop or isn't it so?) *Sorry my IT ignorance but that's actually not my business. Only the narrative work.*

Anyways, I need both (for digital acquisition but also for editing and color correction): fast and trade-off for mobile (battery time is not a problem).

I've thought that the future proof (like future 4k) may have some advantage. But both can't handle 4k, I suppose or am I missing something?

(I 'd just like to figure out the real differences between both offers . . . will twice or even 3x the price be useless for the job?)

Jason Rodriguez
June 28th, 2007, 10:47 AM
The X6800 is a quad-core part.

As far as color-correction, that actually, for SpeedGrade HD, runs on the GPU, and the higher-end laptops now have pretty good GPU's (if they are 7600 or 8400 and higher series from Nvidia, or X1600 and higher from ATI).

I'm not up to speed on 4K right now, other than I would expect for any "real" work, you'll probably want a good desktop machine.

Mathieu Kassovitz
August 24th, 2007, 04:38 AM
Any update on faster hardware offer?

Merci

Jason Rodriguez
August 24th, 2007, 07:48 AM
The new 2.4Ghz Macbook Pro's work very nicely.

There are also some newer notebooks coming out using the 2.6 and 2.8Ghz Extreme Edition mobile parts (not desktop parts like the X6800 or E6600 which are fire-breathing monsters for a notebook, but true mobile parts . . . it's the T7800 and T7900 processors), and those will work very nicely as well.

Mathieu Kassovitz
August 28th, 2007, 08:59 PM
There are also some newer notebooks coming out using the 2.6 and 2.8Ghz Extreme Edition mobile parts (not desktop parts like the X6800 or E6600 which are fire-breathing monsters for a notebook, but true mobile parts . . . it's the T7800 and T7900 processors), and those will work very nicely as well.At the PC side?

Jason Rodriguez
August 29th, 2007, 08:09 AM
Yes, those will be PC notebooks, not MacBook Pro's (at least for now . . . I have no foreknowledge of any upcoming Apple product release dates).

Mathieu Kassovitz
August 29th, 2007, 10:43 PM
Brands? Availability?

Merci

Jason Rodriguez
August 30th, 2007, 05:58 AM
Well, I'm under NDA for now . . . sorry . . . Very shortly though the notebook in question (a really good one) will be out.

Sergio Sanchez
August 31st, 2007, 02:13 PM
Do you think you can post a list of supported network adapters for laptos, i`ve been looking all the web but most of the manufacturers dont specify the chipset they are using for ther Gigabit ethernet PCMCIA cards.

It will be very helpfull for all the people wanting to know if they can use their current hardware with the camera, and what kind of upgrades they need to make it functional.

Jason Rodriguez
August 31st, 2007, 07:26 PM
Hi Sergio,

As far as "certified" laptops go, we currently have the Dell M90 at 2.33Ghz processor speed and at least the QuadroFX 2500M GPU. You will also need at least 2GB of RAM. Finally you will need a gigabit ethernet ExpressCard adapter from Linksys, Addonics, or Abocom.

There are "pseudo-verified" laptops out there like the MacBook Pro at 2.4Ghz and 2GB of RAM, and some others that meet the hardware specifications of the Dell M90, but these are not verified platforms. While SiliconDVR should work, there might be little gotchas here that we've never seen, and you as the customer would have to report to us, and hopefully we can reproduce that issue on our systems, or else we're simply flying in the dark . . . you can't fix a bug you can't reproduce.

So, with the Dell M90, we've been testing them for quite a while, we know they work, and we have them in-house so if something goes wrong with yours, it should be re-produceable on ours, and if it's not, then it's most likely a hardware problem which Dell is typically very good at solving themselves with their great warranties and support services . . . so that makes trouble-shooting for both of us very easy.

We're working on some other platforms, and again, there are "pseudo-verified" configurations out there that basically mirror the Dell, but are from some other manufacturer, but we can't vouch for their reliability and whether compatibility issues might crop up.

That being said, we currently do not support ATI video cards. While the software will run, we've seen driver issues affect things and cause odd/sporatic/non-reproduceable behavior. So whatever you do, don't get something with ATI. If you have a problem, we're not going to be able to help you, since in our experience, it's typically a driver related issue, and that's too low-level for us to fix.

Sergio Sanchez
September 4th, 2007, 04:15 PM
Jason:

Do you know if the Linksys PCM1000 cardbus works with the camera.

Jason Rodriguez
September 4th, 2007, 06:26 PM
No, there are no cardbus cards on the market that work with the SI-2K because they don't support Jumbo Packets at 8K size.

Mathieu Kassovitz
September 21st, 2007, 06:08 PM
Any update?

Well, I'm under NDA for now . . . sorry . . . Very shortly though the notebook in question (a really good one) will be out.

Jason Rodriguez
September 21st, 2007, 10:32 PM
Here's the new details on the M6300 from Dell:

http://www.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx/precn_m6300?c=us&l=en&s=bsd&cs=04

I would get the version with the 2.6Ghz proc . . . that should be a good balance between price/performance.

Bob Grant
September 22nd, 2007, 10:02 PM
The M6300 looks very nice. One question. Any advantage to getting 2x 2GB cards over 2x 1GB cards when using it to capture from the SI-MINI?
How about the built in network controller, no big deal as we've already got the Addonics card but nice if we don't have to use up the slot.

Jason Rodriguez
September 23rd, 2007, 12:36 AM
Same issues with the built-in NIC not supporting Jumbo Packets so you still will require the Addonics card (or Linksys EC1000, etc.)

Bob Grant
September 23rd, 2007, 04:13 PM
Thanks,
what about RAM?
Any advantage getting 4GB for DVR?

Jason Rodriguez
September 23rd, 2007, 08:24 PM
The advantage of a larger RAM buffer decreases as you add more processing power. So especially with these new machines running at 2.6Ghz or faster, 2GB will be plenty of RAM.