For a long time, professionals the world over have been using Apple computers to create some of the most notable content available. It says something about a company when its customers refuse to use anything but the products made by that company. While it may seem “cultish” to some, there’s a good reason for it. Apple computers have generally always been stable, reliable, innovative, and run some fantastic professional software with aplomb. Full disclosure—I am a Mac user and I own an iPhone, but the reason I own them is not necessarily because they look great on the outside, but because they always do what I need them to do on a consistent basis, including video editing on my Mac (I say this as I type it at home on that very same Mac, using Apple’s Pages application).
All Mac computers have the capability to edit video on some level, complemented by wonderful industry-standard software suites including Apple’s own Final Cut Pro, Adobe’s Premiere and After Effects and, more recently,. It’s safe to say that, basically, with any Mac you buy, you can edit video. So let’s look at some of the models offered that are conducive to video editing and post production. IMac The is such a ubiquitous design, it’s nearly an icon of the all-in-one concept. While I was in college, every one of my media-related classes would feature rows and rows of iMacs loaded with professional-level software. I learned many techniques that I apply today, in Final Cut Pro, on iMacs that ran the software quietly and without interruptions of any kind; leaving me to my work.
See it on Amazon. Powerful specs that make video editing easy HP Pavilion Desktop PC Tower. Editing videos on the HP Pavilion desktop PC tower should be a seamless task as the computer has been designed with powerful hardware components, connectivity ports and software programs to make it easy for creators. The best of the best Video editing is definitely resource intensive, but laptops have finally become flexible and powerful enough to handle the task with aplomb.
The sleek, unified design has evolved over time, but the power—it has always been about the power. The iMac has been a mainstay on the desks of professionals for many years because of that power inside the chassis, which takes up little desk real estate and provides a beautiful display. This statement about the display is truer today than ever, with Apple’s Retina panels. The iMac has been thinned, almost impossibly so, in stature, while becoming more powerful on the inside. This year, 2015, has seen updates to the entire iMac line with the arrival of new and models. For pro video work, the 27' model is probably the better choice, because as you will see below, its internal hardware updates are quite substantial.
Looking at the actual screens, both tiers now have high-resolution retina displays, providing 4K resolution on the 21.5' model and huge 5K on the 27' model. Having extra screen real estate is always important for video editing, especially when critically analyzing high-resolution video. 4K video is becoming increasingly popular and with that, editors like me have to be able to see every pixel to check that our shots are adequately sharp. In addition to the massive resolution, Apple did not rest on its laurels and just roll with the panel used in the previous model, it was updated so it can display almost the entire p3 color space. This is important if you are doing color grading on wide-gamut images created by high-end cinema cameras.
The new generation of 27' iMacs is also the first to feature the new 6th-generation Intel® Skylake™ processors. These new processors promise greater efficiency and faster speeds, absolutely essential qualities when dealing with such a slim body as the one found on the iMac. While the 21.5' iMacs have integrated graphics, yet another upgrade to the 27' iMacs comes by the way of the discrete graphics card or GPU.
All GPU options available are now part of AMD’s latest R9 300 series graphics, which also promise a slight bump in power without producing excessive heat. Professional applications like those from Adobe, with their Mercury Playback Engine built into Premeire and After Effects or Blackmagic Design’s DaVinci Resolve, which uses CUDA or OpenCL, leverage the power of the GPU to a great degree for rendering video and effects in real time. The most powerful GPU offered on the 27' iMac is the R9 m395x, which offers 4GB of vRAM and 2048 cores, and translates into being able to render high-resolution video in real time, essential for monitoring footage. Another important aspect of both model iMacs for video is the presence of the Thunderbolt 2 interface. With the potential to carry 20 Gbps of data, as well as 4K video over a single port, high-resolution and even RAW video files can be read in real time from external drives, provided your drives can support the speeds and your computer has enough horsepower to play it back.
You can also use outboard video equipment like the and -series products to output your video to an external monitor with full 10-bit color reproduction (something to which Apple is bringing native support). Thunderbolt 2 can also be adapted to other ports, such as a Firewire port for legacy DV support. The iMac offers dual Thunderbolt 2 ports for versatile connectivity. Four USB 3.0 ports, which provide up to 5 Gbps speed, complement the Thunderbolt ports for connecting more storage and other necessary peripherals, such as card readers. Overall, the iMac is an extremely well-rounded choice for professional video editing, compositing, color correcting, or even some visual effects (you will want the beefiest iMac you can get if you want to start dabbling in VFX processing), which doesn’t take up any more space than a monitor would. This reviewer likes the iMac quite a bit, possibly enough to try and obtain one in the near future.
MacBook Pro I can’t help but love the. It’s both powerful and portable—exceptionally so in the case of the model—and still sports the trend-setting aluminum unibody design for which Apple is so well known. The MacBook Pro Retina Display line was updated in 2015 to include Force Touch on the already wonderfully smooth trackpads and updated discrete graphics in the higher-end 15.4' models. Pro video users who want a mobile computer as their main editing platform will want to have discrete graphics for that extra processing boost that can be applied in certain programs. However, the processing power offered in the non-discrete graphics models (all 13' and lower-end 15' models) is nothing to shake a stick at, and is definitely adequate in a pinch or for some lighter editing on the go. Case in point: my own 13.3' MacBook Pro from 2010 can run Final Cut Pro (7) and edit HD video with no problem. I can even get by editing 4K ProRes on occasion!
The was the first Mac to get the Retina Display treatment. I remember seeing it for the first time and being taken aback at how much resolution Apple was able to cram into such a space. The Retina Display experience has changed since then, and as application support has increased, the screen continues to be one of the best to be found on a laptop—in this writer’s opinion. For reviewing HD video before or after an edit, or simply enjoying a quick respite on YouTube or Netflix, the Retina Display doesn’t fail to please.
A great application for a small, light, and powerful computer such as a MacBook Pro—that any professional can appreciate—is for on-set work. Can be centered around a MacBook Pro running checksum programs to ensure that all media from the day’s shoot is securely copied and backed up to prepare for the editing stage. Proxies can also be made for client review or a quick rough edit before the shooting day is done—talk about productivity! Thunderbolt 2 is also featured on the MacBook pro, offering the same blazing data-transfer speeds as the iMac. Copying RAW or 4K footage should be a cinch. While there are two Thunderbolt 2 ports, you may want to save one for adapting to Ethernet or breaking it out to other ports with a, as the other port offerings are sparse because of the thin chassis.
Dual USB 3.0, an audio I/O port, and an HDMI output are the only other ones offered at this time. The notable aluminum unibody design has function beneath the aesthetics. It provides a sturdy frame for the internals that can take more than a few knocks.
I’ve used my own MacBook Pro through more than five years of transporting it, docking it at my desk, dropping it, and putting it through other rigors known to imaging professionals and college students alike. Yet, it’s still alive and kicking. Mac Pro This brings us to the head of the Mac lineup, the venerable. Introduced in 2013 at Apple’s WWDC (World-Wide Developers Conference) to much critical reception, Apple’s most powerful computer to date is certainly an intriguing one. It sports an industrial design and cylindrical form factor that is unprecedentedly small, yet very functional, inspiring some rather trite nicknames.
When a colleague of mine looked over and saw it on my computer screen, he remarked “looks like a nice coffee mug, can you order me one?” Well, while some may mistake its outward appearance for other household objects, the inside of the Mac Pro is a force to be reckoned with. Underneath the cylindrical sleek metal outer shell hums an Intel® Xeon™ processor and dual workstation-grade graphics cards. All the hardware runs under the nearly silent top fan that cools the entire Mac Pro. Of all the Mac computers out there, the Mac Pro is offered with, by far, the highest-spec hardware. The top stock configuration has a Xeon processor with 12 cores, 12GB of vRAM split over dual 2048 stream-processor-loaded AMD FirePro D700 graphics cards, and 64GB of DDR3 RAM with ECC (Error-Correcting Code—important for complex computing workloads).
This configuration can blaze through RAW and 4K video workflows riddled with effects, compositions, color corrections, blur nodes, and anything else you throw at your editing workflow—within reason—and the Mac Pro will hardly break a sweat. If you gun it hard enough, you may even be able to hear the fan! As supply and demand would dictate, a configuration like that will cost you a pretty penny, though. I can still dream right? As a workstation, the Mac Pro is an interesting beast.
While it is inherently powerful, the internal expansion is rather limited. But, with Thunderbolt 2 ports (six of them), storage and fast connectivity shouldn’t be an issue, in most cases. You will need to save Thunderbolt ports for displays (the lone HDMI output is limited to a 30 Hz maximum refresh rate); the Mac Pro can support up to three 4K displays simultaneously for a view-encompassing, drool-worthy workstation setup. If you find yourself in need of standard PCI-E connectivity, you will have to look to an external box that can connect via Thunderbolt, such as the to hold your PCI cards (please note that external graphics cards are not officially supported as of this writing).
What’s more interesting however, is that the compact cylindrical design is rather versatile, as far as placement is concerned. You can put the Mac Pro on your desk, on the floor, or even take it with you! The Mac Pro is small enough to fit into a large backpack. I can’t recall any other full-fledged workstation that can reasonably do that (it’s not a perfect solution, as carrying a giant 4K monitor with you might be troublesome). The portability factor makes having the Mac Pro as part of a larger DIT cart a good-use case. And what’s more, after you’re finished with it, you can just take it back with you and plug it into your home setup at the end of the day.
With all that computing prowess and external connectivity, it’s hard to find things the Mac Pro can’t do. From 3D rendering, to video editing, to portable DIT functions, the Mac Pro really has the bases covered. With all these Macs, it seems like video editing is in their genes. But where do we go from here? IPad Ah, yes, the.
Some view it as being stuck in some sort of limbo; it’s not quite a computer but not a smartphone. Any way you slice it, the iPad can be a valuable tool for the video professional. It can roll as a camera (see my article on that topic ), but in my opinion, the iPad is more interesting for the editing side of things. The new is supposedly capable of editing multiple streams of 4K video. That’s pretty incredible, if you think about it. A device with no fans, an ARM-based processor, and little space imposition to speak of can handle 4K video better than my own Mac?
This has me intrigued. While the iOS platform is still relatively sparse in terms of direct professional video applications—as in no major NLE (Non-Linear-Editing) systems are available yet—it’s very interesting to think of the possibility of editing high-resolution video on such a device. Using the intuitive tactile input provided by the touchscreen to manipulate video files while lying down on my couch?
That would be something! I’m saying this like it can’t be done yet. Completely on the iPhone 5s and had the initial edits done on iMovie using iPads! I know iMovie is not something you would generally use to edit a fully professional production, but as a proof of concept, this is really all I need to see to demonstrate that the iPad could be reckoned as a force in the pro video world sooner than we may expect it to be. Practically speaking, the iPad can run many major apps that can be lifesavers for any video pro. From slates to shot-list makers to storyboarding software, if there is something to be done during the production of your project, chances are there’s an app that will help with that. For further reading, by my colleague, Chris Gold, points out some of the better apps that are available to filmmakers and help make their lives a little bit easier.
From the MacBook Pro to the iMac and up to the Mac Pro, Apple has a great lineup of products that can satisfy video editors, 3D animators, DITs, and more. Even the iPad shows the potential of what can be done on mobile devices in the future. Apple computers have evolved and continue to evolve, becoming more powerful and more stylish with each iteration.
Yeah, it’s nice to have a pretty computer, but for we who involve ourselves in the world of professional video production, it’s the hardware that’s inside that counts and Apple’s comprehensive selection of Mac computers is a reflection of that.
Determining your 4K editing needs, both now and in the near future may take some time, but it will ensure that you purchase an editing system than can handle all the projects you'll be working on, the type of footage you'll be editing and the length and complexity of the edits. To start editing 4K video, you’ll first need to ask yourself some questions about your projects. What type of footage will you be editing: R3D, CinemaDNG, ProRes, XAVC S, mp4? How complex are your projects: single shot, single camera, multi-camera, animation, VFX? What are your output formats?
How long do you have to deliver your edits? Finally, are you editing online or offline? Offline Editing, Nothing to Do With the Web Offline editing refers to editing a proxy of the original source footage; online editing is cutting the original material. If you don’t have to deliver right away then you can edit offline.
Offline editing can also be a good option if you’re only delivering in HD. See “Getting to Know Offline Editing” for more on this topic. Where offline editing takes more time and storage space, it allows you ease in editing your footage. It can help a less powerful system run more smoothly. If you’re working with minimal 4K footage and your final edit isn’t that long, like a short promo or a music video, offline editing may be a good option for you. Formats Matter Digital footage formats vary from camera to camera. Recording format makes a huge difference in meeting what your editing system requires.
If you’re editing footage from 4K cameras like a, JVC, or Sony, then the demands aren’t much more than that of low compression HD because the bitrates are similar. However, if you’re working with footage from RED cameras, or Sony, the raw 4K files have much higher bitrates, requiring more storage and processing power. Editing raw 4K footage takes more horsepower and storage than compressed formats. Additionally, multi-camera edits, VFX, and tight deadlines typically require a much more powerful system. The Speed You Need We’ll break things down into two categories: offline editing — and limited online work — and online editing, meaning a good entry level for multiple 4K streams, VFX and color grading at or near real-time. These specs are good for both PC and Mac since there isn’t much difference in the hardware. Offline Editing: NVIDIA GeForce GT 750M Online Editing: Dual NVIDIA GeForce GTX 760M Always check the compatibility of your editing software with your video card to ensure that GPU rendering and multiple GPUs are supported.
A comparable, compatible AMD or NVIDIA GPU can be used. The GeForce cards listed above are a baseline.
While many GPUs have greater video rendering power than system CPUs and RAM, remember GPUs need enough power to drive your system display monitors in addition to rendering video. When monitoring in 4K, you can improve system performance by taking some of the workload off your GPU using a RED ROCKET card, Blackmagic Design’s. It’s important to note that with the developments of REDCINE-X PRO, you can now use GPU rendering instead of needing a Red Rocket card for accelerated transcoding of R3D footage. RAM – Memory Offline Editing: 8GB RAM. Online Editing: 32GB RAM RAM is relatively cheap so don’t skimp here. Remember, when you’re running RAM intensive programs like Adobe’s Photoshop or concurrently with your editing software, your RAM needs may increase.
Storage Offline Editing: dedicated 7200rpm hard drive or SSD for media Online Editing: dedicated 7200rpm hard drive or SSD for project files and a striped RAID array Your storage needs depend on how much source footage you expect to be working with. Generally, your media storage should be three to four times the size of the source footage of a project.
For example, if you’re editing offline on a laptop, a 3TB USB 3.0 drive might be sufficient, but if you’re doing an online edit of a four-camera shoot in 4K raw, you might need a 12TB RAID. You want to ensure that any hard drive you use spins at 7200rpm or faster for a smooth data throughput. Additionally, by storing your media and project files on separate drives from your programs and operating system, you’ll see a boost in performance.
Despite the recent hype about SSDs, not all SSDs are as fast as they claim to be. SSDs are a good replacement for boot drives and project drives, but not for raid array drives unless you need greater speed. In the long run, the cost per GB of hard drives is a more affordable solution.
SSDs are a good replacement for boot drives and project drives, but not for raid array drives unless you need greater speed. In the long run, the cost per GB of hard drives is a more affordable solution. For online editing of 4K, you need a striped RAID array of three disks or more to ensure data speed. You’ll also need a hardware RAID controller as well. Beware of less expensive RAID controllers that are software based; these are slower and use your system CPU and RAM which hinders overall performance. Photo of server hard drive array Motherboard Whether you’re doing offline or online editing, you’ll want to look for a motherboard that supports all your current component needs while giving you space to expand. A good motherboard will have at least three to four PCIe x16 ports that can all be used at full speed for video cards, RAID cards and monitoring cards.
ASUS, GIGABYTE and Supermicro make quality motherboards. Remember, most laptop motherboards don’t support add-on cards. Photo of girl with motherboard Audio Many on-board audio chipsets pick up noise from the motherboard, noise that can sometimes be heard when you move the mouse. Dedicated audio cards don’t always solve this problem; furthermore, they take up valuable space inside your computer. Instead, you can use an external sound card. For $100, you can get M-Audio’s M-Track which combines an external sound card and a two channel mixer with two XLR inputs.
So What’s All This Going to Cost You can purchase a properly equipped laptop to offline edit like the, HP or Apple 15-inch Retina Display for less than $3,500. Combine that with a or Thunderbolt hard drive that costs around $150 and you’re ready to edit offline. You could probably find a desktop solution for even less. For online editing, you’ll need a custom configured or custom built system that tends to range from about $8,000 and up. There are many companies offering custom Macs and PCs for editing. HP has partnered with RED on the RED Edition which has built in RED card readers.
Of course, if you’re a little hardware savvy, you can build your own system and save thousands. Your Software Makes a Difference Most editing software packages do not support all the codecs and file types used by 4K cameras. Likewise, they don’t all work well with all the video cards available. So it’s best to look at the system requirements for any post software you plan on running especially the recommended or certified video cards since these have been tested by the software company with the software. Keep in mind that often the hardware specs listed are a minimum to have the software function, unless you have a lot of patience and time to spare your going to want a bit more in system power.
Right now and are the top editing solutions that have native support for CinemaDNG. DiVinci Resolve also has native CinemaDNG support and continues to expand its editing capabilities. Has the best support for XAVC-S and XDCam footage. REDCODE (R3D) is supported natively by all the major editing software packages and has the major advantage in post of letting you choose a playback resolution. For example you can cut 4K R3D at 1/4 resolution (1080) and have performance similar to editing offline in HD. This can save a lot of time and storage space.
Lightworks and offer little in native codec support beyond R3D, although the fact that they due essentially automatically edit offline by transcoding most footage on import does insure a more stable editing environment. Editing software updates are frequent and native support for camera files are usually a priority. Before you buy, check websites for updates to see what formats are supported. If you’re planning to edit 4K with 7, supports FrameFlex 4K, but note that you may not qualify for product support unless you work on an Avid certified system. This is something to keep in mind when considering system options. Don’t Forget the Monitoring If you’re building a new 4K editing system, it’s easy to get consumed with GPUs and storage needs and forget about monitoring solutions.
While you can continue to use HD computer monitors for your editing interface, it’s important to use a 4K external video monitor to watch the footage as you edit, particularly if you’re mastering in 4K. 4K monitors are gradually becoming less expensive and for most editors, there are now some affordable solutions. Seiki Digital released its (3840×2160 resolution) which has a retail price of $599 and can be connected via HDMI. The SE39UY04’s color reproduction is subpar making it poor choice for color monitoring; however, you can pair it with a lower resolution monitor with good color reproduction for your color correction work. Dell announced three 4K monitors that reproduce 100 percent of the sRGB color space making them a good option for color grading. The Dell UltraSharp 32 Ultra HD Monitor retails for a hefty $3,500, where the UltraSharp 24 Ultra HD Monitor is $1,400. The Dell UltraSharp 28 Ultra HD Monitor is expected to release sometime this year and retail for $700.
Protect Your Investment Even if you’re editing on a laptop, you can benefit from using an uninterrupted power supply with voltage monitoring and filtering. While your standard UPS only turns on when the power goes out, more advanced models include power filtering and under- and over-voltage protection. Low voltage can damage electronics just as easily as over voltage and is a common and costly problem. Conclusion Determining your 4K editing needs, both now and in the near future may take some time, but it will ensure that you purchase an editing system than can handle all the projects you’ll be working on, the type of footage you’ll be editing and the length and complexity of the edits. Remember that minimum specs get minimum performance. Go above the minimums for optimal performance. SIDEBAR: Building Your Own 4K Editing System for About $4k Building your own editing system can be a little scary at first, but a DIY rig can save you thousands of dollars.
If you need help, there are many tutorials and guides to computer construction online. Here is a list of parts with prices sourced from one online retailer, so it should be considered an average, knowing that with fluctuations in the market, you may find either greater or lesser prices. CPUs: Dual Xeon 2GHz six-core $819 CPU Cooler: CoolerMaster Hyper T4 (2) $60 Motherboard: $520 GPU: GIGABYTE 4GB (2) $600 RAM: Kingston 16GB DDR3 1600 ECC (2) $360 Storage: Boot Drive; $175 Project Drive; $89 Media Drive; (6) $720 Blu-ray Disc Drive: $90 Case: RPC-800 $90 OS: Windows 7 Pro 64-bit $140 Power Supply: $250 Cables and misc. $50 Total: $3,963 You could save a little money if you don’t need an 18TB RAID and can use fewer drives; however, at minimum you would need three drives striped (RAID 0) to have fast enough media storage for 4K. In addition to your computer, you’ll need monitors, speakers, a UPS and any computer peripherals you don’t already own.
That could ultimately bring your cost up to approximately $6,500. To start off, you need to ask yourself some questions about your projects. What type of footage will you be editing: R3D, CinemaDNG, ProRes,? How complex are your projects: single camera, multi-camera, animation, VFX?
What are your output formats? How long do you have to deliver your edits?
Finally, are you editing online or offline? vmads:segmentbreak:1 Odin Lindblom is an award-winning editor whose work includes film, commercials, and corporate video. Odin has been building his own editing systems for the past ten years. And images from Shutterstock. Your comments about avoiding AMD because of the lack of PCIe v 3.0 are completely ignorant!
You are using SSD's attached to the SOUTHBRIDGE SATA ports which are the limiting factor at 6 Gb/s. If you were using SSD's slotted directly into the PCIe slots on the board it would make a differnce but you are not! As such I do my editng with 2 Samsung SSD's and a 3TB 7200 Rpm HDD with a much cheaper system with great performance! FX-8350 8 core CPU + 32GB 2000Mhz Ram + Radeon 7870LE 2GB (Radeons are known for better colour reproduction than Nvidia cards) On a Gigabyte 990 series Motherbaord and get comparable results and times to people with DEARER Intel setups! I have been building my own systems for 20 years now.
Your argument is almost as silly as people who swear by APPLE! To me Apple lost all relevance when they switched away from the Power PC Processors.
Why pay for for Apple when the same stuff is under the hood? If I wanted a Mac I would by a computer with no Operating system and install Linux (a free Operting system on which Mac OS is built) and put an Apple sticker on it andsave myself some serious cash! I edit 4k ProRes 4:2:2 files in Adobe Premiere Pro all the time. My PC is nowhere neat the specs mentioned above, and I have experienced any slow-down's in performance. My PC: AMD FX 8150 OC'ed to 5.2GHz, 16GB DDR3 Ram, GTX 760 2GB Graphics Card.
Everything else is standard, run-of-the-mill. As for the comment that MAC's are faster editing computers, this is just plan false. Apple uses Intel and other PC parts, such as NVidia graphics.
The primary difference in modern-day MAC's vs. PC's is the operating system. Honestly, for the price, I can custom-build a PC that is 2-3x faster than a MAC of the same price, if not less. My PC will edit 4k Prores, online, with no problem – and it cost me a grand total of $1,023 in 2012. If I would have put another grand into it, I could have had dual top of the line graphics and a Raid array.
I guess it all comes down to individual needs. For short films shot on a single 4k camera, you can spend about 1500 dollars, I spent 1600 on an Asus MD50, 16gb ram, 7200rpm, i7 4790, 2 TB HDD with 4k monitor and it previews and edits 4K like it's nothing, although with GH4 I hear the file sizes are a bit friendlier to the PC. Anyway I haven't tested Adobe premiere to the hilt, but I put together a 7 minute min film, downscaled from 4K to 1080p and it ran as smooth as silk, rendered in no time as well. I very much doubt it's necessary to spend 8000 dollars unless you are making an FX-heavy feature film. Please forgive me but I wanted to pontificate a littleor maybe its whine.LOL.
I sort of have grown to hate this hardware aspect anymore.every few years trying to decide whether to tweak my current system or start new. I built a system in 2012 using an MSI 760GM-P23 (FX) AMD Series Motherboard, 16 gb of memory, AMD HDT45TWFGRBOX Phenom II X6 1045T Processor and 7200rpm drives, and a nVideo GeForce. I was versed on what was what back then but when I look at specs now I find myself lostso I guess I need to spend more countless hours figuring out what is what in the realm of PC hardware.
TiIl now I could edit regular HD just fine in CS5/6 including 5-6 cameras and I was perfectly happy till the concept of 4k entered my cranium Though lately I have started to have some stuttering in playback in Premiere and even with YT videos on the web.so I know I need some tweaking, tuning or fixing.so I think to myself, look into 4k editing. See, I had picked up a Sony PXW-X70 camera last december and recently upgraded to 4k to take advantage of the rebate sony was offering. But since CS6 doesnt support 4k, I loaded Resolve just look at the test footage. System wont play it without bad stuttering. Ok, so more reason to look at upgrading right? Sure but now again comes the question of how much can/should I upgrade versus just building a whole new box.and if you upgrade mobo or processor, windows needs reloaded which means reloading everything else.which means buying into Adobe’s new cloud software lease if I want to edit 4k in Adobe.(catching my breath).I just want to edit. LOL Not sure if I should spend hours to tweak/upgrade what I have or countless hours and much more money to learn the new tech curve and spec out a new system.
I read the comments about the mac performance, etc, etc, etc. Well, actually I do have two Mac Pro cheesegrater, a full updated 1.1 (CPU to 8 cores, GPU 2GB, Mem, eSata Disk Array and SDD) and a 4.1 8 cores update with two SDD, eSata 4 disk array. Mem, GPU 4GB. So, the MP 1.1 works very well, ah I updated it to Maverick in the way to used the foWIN GPU with a hack that allow to boot 64bit, up to 2K and a little higher. The other one works well upto 6K The news is that if I used it as WIN machines, the performance as renders, decoding and FX are much faster than in OSX.
I had read that its happens to a lots of people. I just don’t used it as windows because the final users, editor, like the “clean” OSX interface.