Real-time effects card for Mac G5 at DVinfo.net

Mark Monciardini · December 25th, 2003, 06:37 PM

I'm looking for a realtime card to put in my G5. Is there such a thing? Any recommendations?

Glenn Chan · December 25th, 2003, 07:03 PM

Pinnacle Cinewave.

Mark Monciardini · December 26th, 2003, 12:13 AM

Wow, I just looked it up and Pinnacle Cinewave is a dream setup. Is there anything a little cheaper in price?. Cinewave is going around 5k.

Glenn Chan · December 26th, 2003, 12:24 AM

Isn't your dual1.8mhz G5 fast enough?

Hmm maybe you can get another G5 :P

Actually, if you get some sort of PC or used Mac you can free up your G5 for some tasks. PCs are very good for making DVDs and encoding for the web and also very cheap. Macs play well with PCs so that isn't too much of a problem.

I haven't heard of anything cheaper than the Cinewave that'll work for your G5.

Mark Monciardini · December 26th, 2003, 02:37 AM

Thanks.

No don't get me wrong. It is fast. But there is lots of rendering that goes on to preview things. Sometimes have it just a little faster or no rendering at all can speed up work flow.

Yes it's fast, but not as fast as Apple makes it sound.

How would another G5 make things better for me? Just curious. Can I hook them both up together?

If can, then I'll buy another one. But I'm not sure how that works.

Jeff Donald · December 26th, 2003, 07:37 AM

Mark, how much ram do you have in your G5? Tests reports I've seen show significant improvement with large amounts ram. The two duals have a 8GB limit, but the price to max them out is in the range of the Pinnacle board.

Glenn Chan · December 26th, 2003, 04:00 PM

Quote:

How would another G5 make things better for me? Just curious. Can I hook them both up together?

While you're waiting around during a render or encode you can use the other computer to do something useful, like editing or another project (maybe just log and capture clips).

Some programs like After Effects can use other machines on a network to render faster. FCP doesn't do this so another computer wouldn't be helpful at all.

The only advantage to having another computer is that it lets you do something else when your main computer is tied up in a render/encode. Depending on your workflow this may not be helpful at all.

Boyd Ostroff · December 26th, 2003, 04:55 PM

Working on a big project last fall I used two desktop G4's and a PowerBook G4 as you describe. But this was often for something specialized, like rendering 3d animation. It also saved me when the hard drive died on one of the desktop machines since I was able to continue by using the older machine as a backup.

Depending on what you would use the additional computer for, you might get away with something used that's less expensive. Or maybe this is the time to get that laptop you've always wanted... :-)

December 25th, 2003, 06:37 PM	#1
Mark Monciardini Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Salt Lake City, Utah Posts: 158	Real-time effects card for Mac G5 I'm looking for a realtime card to put in my G5. Is there such a thing? Any recommendations? __________________ Best Regards, Mark T. Monciardini Riverlight Studios www.riverlightstudios.com DVX100/Final Cut Pro 4/Mac G5 Dual 1.8

December 26th, 2003, 12:13 AM	#3
Mark Monciardini Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Salt Lake City, Utah Posts: 158	Wow, I just looked it up and Pinnacle Cinewave is a dream setup. Is there anything a little cheaper in price?. Cinewave is going around 5k. __________________ Best Regards, Mark T. Monciardini Riverlight Studios www.riverlightstudios.com DVX100/Final Cut Pro 4/Mac G5 Dual 1.8

December 26th, 2003, 02:37 AM	#5
Mark Monciardini Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Salt Lake City, Utah Posts: 158	Thanks. No don't get me wrong. It is fast. But there is lots of rendering that goes on to preview things. Sometimes have it just a little faster or no rendering at all can speed up work flow. Yes it's fast, but not as fast as Apple makes it sound. How would another G5 make things better for me? Just curious. Can I hook them both up together? If can, then I'll buy another one. But I'm not sure how that works. __________________ Best Regards, Mark T. Monciardini Riverlight Studios www.riverlightstudios.com DVX100/Final Cut Pro 4/Mac G5 Dual 1.8

December 26th, 2003, 07:37 AM	#6
Jeff Donald Warden Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Clearwater, FL Posts: 8,287	Mark, how much ram do you have in your G5? Tests reports I've seen show significant improvement with large amounts ram. The two duals have a 8GB limit, but the price to max them out is in the range of the Pinnacle board. __________________ Jeff Donald Carpe Diem Search DVinfo.net for quick answers \| Where to Buy? From the best in the business: DVinfo.net sponsors

December 25th, 2003, 07:03 PM	#2
Glenn Chan Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Toronto, Canada Posts: 4,750	Pinnacle Cinewave.

December 26th, 2003, 12:24 AM	#4
Glenn Chan Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Toronto, Canada Posts: 4,750	Isn't your dual1.8mhz G5 fast enough? Hmm maybe you can get another G5 :P Actually, if you get some sort of PC or used Mac you can free up your G5 for some tasks. PCs are very good for making DVDs and encoding for the web and also very cheap. Macs play well with PCs so that isn't too much of a problem. I haven't heard of anything cheaper than the Cinewave that'll work for your G5.

December 26th, 2003, 04:55 PM	#8
Boyd Ostroff Wrangler Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Mays Landing, NJ Posts: 11,801	Working on a big project last fall I used two desktop G4's and a PowerBook G4 as you describe. But this was often for something specialized, like rendering 3d animation. It also saved me when the hard drive died on one of the desktop machines since I was able to continue by using the older machine as a backup. Depending on what you would use the additional computer for, you might get away with something used that's less expensive. Or maybe this is the time to get that laptop you've always wanted... :-)