New User advice for buying a computer (PC-MAC) Laptop, Shuttle, or Tower

[xiayu]

Originally posted by sleepytom
there is almost no point in raid systems unless you are planning on playing back more than 4 PAL res clips at the same time - as this is not possible in most VJ software there is little point in spending the cash on expensive and unreliable raid systems.

also a point about laptop hard drives - laptop drives are smaller diameter than desktop drives - thus they can achive the same access and transfer speeds at a lower RPM. it is not allways the case that an external drive will be faster than a internal drive. use a bench marking util to determin the fastest place to keep you video files and make sure that you keep that drive defragged and less than 75% full.

Don't dis a true raid solution. I run resolume with 3 layers of DV NTSC. I could not do this without my 3ware. I mean I could but I'm sure you would be able to count the fps on one hand.

[sleepytom]

3x 3.5 meg a second is 10.5 meg a second

a single Maxtor 250 gig sata has a sustained read speed of between 39 and 51 meg a second.

so you don't need a raid at all.

[xiayu]

First of all: If your pulling 3 or 4 streams from a single drive it would be random read, not sustained, that would matter.

Second: If you think you're getting a 51MB/sec read from a 7200rpm drive you're ignorant.

Third: I find the DV files to be closer to 4MB/sec

Fourth: Latency is the real issue not bandwidth. 3 Files at 4MB/sec obviously needs at least 12MB/sec so the roughly 30MB/sec random read should be sufficient but it doesn't take care of latency. 2 of the Maxtors in RAID 0 on a 3ware access almost twice as fast compared to a single Maxtor.

P.S. If you knew anything about 3ware you would know that they don't use a traditional PATA or SATA interface with their RAID cards. They use onboard SCSI chips to change the interface, so essentially getting the benefits of SCSI without the price.

[Hambone]

All of my video is at 1024 x 768 (projector's native resolution), and I can stream 3 layers compressed with H.264 from a single 10,000 RPM SATA drive with no frame rate drop.

It will start to drop if using some CPU-intensive software effects, so that's why I stick mostly to Core Image and Arkaos hardware effects.

Until the Macintels roll out...

[L.R>]

HI! I am form Buenos Aires, Argentina
Here you got few l "dumb" questions
I am a really beginner and my approach is through a natural born orientation to art and photographic memory. So I have no clue about computers, software and nothing to do with that. Being Reading this forum I found myself with no idea about some stuff that seems to be basic....What the ??? is a Raid, a 3ware etc, etc?

is there any place/ book i can read about 'til i get to further institutional studies?
I own a IbookG4, 512mb, 80g.....i think it's gonna be useful for few years more enough to get started and learn...
Tks.

[Kyle]

LR,
The search function and Google are two resources that many people often overlook. For example try Google.com and search what is Raid and Google spits out tons of pages all about RAID

[holly]

Originally Posted by L.R>

my approach is through a natural born orientation to art and photographic memory. So I have no clue about computers....

I was going to say "buy a Mac", but I see you already have!

I agree with Rova. Don't worry about your computer's limitations. Use what you got for the first year. Your early VJing projects will visually be a bit random as you find and make clips, learn about video codecs and how to optimize your system, and try lots of new demo softwares. ALL RIGS HAVE LIMITATIONS so it is best you learn that hard lesson right up front. It is pointless to buy the Formula1 race car if it is always breaking down (analogy 1). Successful gigs are about longevity so a stable rig should be your #1 priority. Once you understand your system's strengths and limitations, it is like you have mastered the brush. Until then you can't really paint (analogy 2).

Any VJ worth his salt can squeeze a good show out of the most primative equipment, and it will take a year or two of research and live gigging experience before you really know what you want/need to invest in. Sometimes it is not the most expensive or the newest toy that is the answer. Next year's computer will only be a little bit faster, and it has happened where upgrades are actually a bad thing because they break compatability or drop a feature in favor of mainstream users (like compromising speed for batterylife mentioned above). Check eBay for used. As a general rule for computers, last year's top-o-the-line-model is still better than this year's option-B-model.

[L.R>]

KYLE thanks for the advice and link
I am always at Google, keep on reading a lot
I was swimming deeply in this Forum and didn't want to leave it to check google......but once again Google is your friend (F*?hell there's so much to read and never enough time!!!)

Holly......agree with you....I'm not looking for THE best equipment....I am more than happy with what I got and i'llkeep for a while. Thanks to a big personal efforts I'm able to manage my weakness, impatience....so then

Would you recommend me any books to read? I prefer to be self tought at first before taking courses or further studies..
I am not really interested in books about computer graphics since I prefer an approach a litle bit less "synthetic" to the image, althoug I want to learn that 'cause it depends in how / when you use i....i just prefer the basic books now.
I mean nothing to do with programming softwares and that "pro" stuff, yet.

(I am a little bit against that commercial side of everything, that $$ mind and the design just for the reason of business)

Lovely!
This Forum has such a nice atmosphere!!
Keep on moving, keep on dreaming!
L.R>

[xiayu]

I suggest Inspiron 9300 and 9400 if you are going the way of the laptop.

[Kyle]

Originally Posted by xiayu

I suggest Inspiron 9300 and 9400 if you are going the way of the laptop.

Hey Xiayu, can you elaborate and tell us why you think these are wise choices for a laptop...pros vs. cons...etc...any info would be appreciated by all.