Is anyone here using Core 2 duo to edit Avid Xpress?

I am looking for options to setup an editing system for my HDV works.

So suggestions are welcome.



Carlos

Carlos,

This probably would received faster attention over on the Avid Family forum. Any rate, I'm using Avid Xpress Pro 5.5.3 on a Centrino based notebook which is equal to a 2 MHz P4 and an Athlon 3200+ on the desktop side. Both have 2Gb of memory. So, a Dual Core is plenty fast for editing HDV in Avid Xpress as long as you have enough memory.

If you are planning on editing any 24 Frame HDV, DO NOT get avid. They have no HDV 24 Frame support at all, and none is planned for any release in the near future. The company has overtly lied to its customers promising JVC HD100 24P support along with the Canon (and new Sony). Make sure you only use either 1080/60i or 720/30P.

2 Gigs of Ram is enough, but 3 is much better. Any new Dual-Core processor should be fine.

If you are planning on editing any 24 Frame HDV, DO NOT get avid. They have no HDV 24 Frame support at all, and none is planned for any release in the near future. The company has overtly lied to its customers promising JVC HD100 24P support along with the Canon (and new Sony). Make sure you only use either 1080/60i or 720/30P.

2 Gigs of Ram is enough, but 3 is much better. Any new Dual-Core processor should be fine.

Thanks for your comments. I am not really planning on HDV 24 for now. If I want to gor for a film project I will shoot 1080/50i, which the Z1 allows. So I will stick with Avid. It's quite likely they solve that gap soon, or at least before I work on a 24p project of mine.

Even if I asked for opinions on what hardware to use, I quite made up my mind on at least two things: Asus P5W DH for the mobo and Core 2 Duo (probably E6600) for the cpu. For the memory I will go for 2GB at first, probably adding 2GB more a bit later. This board benefits from paired RAM.

The video board will not be a Quadro, but a Geforce 7600, which costs much less and should do a proper job.

This probably would received faster attention over on the Avid Family forum.

Which forum would that be? If it's a forum at Avid's site, I think most opinions might be to stick to what Avid recommends. Certainly not assembling your own PC.

So, a Dual Core is plenty fast for editing HDV in Avid Xpress as long as you have enough memory.

Memory or HDD space?

I have just ordered the parts for a new PC and have gone for the same mboard as you but would recommend the ATI cards over the Nvidia. I have bought a Saphire X1950 Pro 512Mb which is apparently close in performance to the Quadro FX3450.

Andy

I have just ordered the parts for a new PC and have gone for the same mboard as you but would recommend the ATI cards over the Nvidia. I have bought a Saphire X1950 Pro 512Mb which is apparently close in performance to the Quadro FX3450.


Andy,

I think there have been some compatibility issues between ATI and Avid in the past. But they may have been solved by now, probably on some Avid update. In my case I had problems with the Saphire board I had got, which died after a few months.

As far as possible, I try to follow some of Avid recommendations. Which I believe are due mostly to software problems. I don't go for Quadro boards, very expensive, but keep in the Nvidia family.

The board I am now considering is the XFX PVT71PUDP3. XFX boards have proven more reliable with me in the past. This specific model has a higher PixelPipelines spec, which may help in other areas. But more important, customer feedback (on Newegg) reports almost no cons, particularly on heat issues, which is important for me.

The other board I am considering, GIGABYTE GV-NX76G256D-RH, has a fanless heatsinking system, which would help keep noise down.

You seem to be getting a good board too. How did you to compare the performance of yours to the Quadro?


Carlos