Thought I would share an experience that many of you will have to go through at some point - upgrading the workstation that processes and edits all your MFD files.
Working in post prod is one of the most time consuming parts of the MFD experience. A fast, slick computer makes the whole experience a joy. A slow one and the whole process is a nightmare, especially when there are time constraints. So when the time comes to upgrade, I fret, worry and then do a whole load of research. After all I'm going to have to live with the decision for a long period of time. I thought I would share the solution I came from, what I ended up going with and first impressions of this new system. If you end up learning from my experience, great, hopefully I have reduced your pain a little.
Abstract
The solution had to efficiently work with 1000's of Phase P40+ files, Capture 1, Lightroom & Photoshop. Plus there had to be a location solution too.
So what do I currently use?
Studio
Mac Pro / 2008 / 2x Quad 3GHz / 16GB RAM / 500GB HDD
Proavio 3TB RAID 5 Disk Array / 8x 500GB / Port Multiplier (limited to about 250MB/s)
Location
Macbook Pro 15" / 2008 / 2.53GHz / 8GB RAM / 240GB SSD (macsales.com)
I am probably similar to many people in that I have a beefed up Mac Pro but need a Macbook Pro for location. Basically great in the studio, but a bit of a pain on location. I had grown accustomed to desktop + laptop as the accepted solution.
What were my issues?
1. The Macbook Pro was too slow on location and I needed to upgrade. I had maxed out the RAM and installed a fast SSD, but it was not cutting it with large P40+ files.
2. The Mac Pro was getting old and was pretty beaten up. It could handle the Phase P40+ files pretty well, but was noticeably slow in certain processing areas.
3. I had a feeling that the RAID 5 enclosure was a possible bottleneck in performance as the port multiplier technology limits the disk access speeds to about 250MB/s.
Upgrading My Existing Kit
For the Mac Pro I considered buying a SSD and boosting the RAM. However this would cost $1,400 for the component upgrades as RAM on older Mac Pro's is very expensive. I would still need to upgrade the Macbook Pro @ $3,000 for a good spec. So minimum spend @ $4,400.
Buying New
I could buy a new Mac Pro @ $4,000 for the sweet spot model, 3.33GHz 6 Core, boost the RAM and install a decent SSD @ $1,000. Ouch. $5,000. PLUS I would still need to upgrade the Macbook Pro @ $3,000 for a good spec. So absolute minimum @ $8,000.
Add to this a possible new disk array, a critical component in the whole workflow. I had estimated an additional @ $1,400.
So upgrading would probably be @ $5,800 and buying new @ $9,400. So painful and ... damn!
I had a niggling feeling that putting money into Mac Pro's when they were so long in the tooth was a mistake. I had also been researching the new Thunderbolt technology for fast external RAID 5 disk access and found out that it will *probably* not be possible to make a PCI card that retrofits to the existing Mac Pro's. Apparently Thunderbolt compatibility needs to be built into the motherboard. So buying a new Mac Pro just felt bad.
Thinking laterally
Then a photog friend of mine suggested I research the top end i7 Macbook Pro's. He suggested that they were a significant improvement over older models and potentially there was no need to buy a Mac Pro. There was potential that they would be more than capable of handling P40+ files and the processing associated. Plus they could be linked up to Thunderbolt technology for really fast disk access. I also discovered that they can be upgraded to 16GB RAM, a bare minimum IMO. So a top end Macbook Pro @ $3,000, SSD @ $450, and 16GB RAM @ $550 brought the budget in at $4,000. Not bad. But would it cut it?
I still had concerns that the setup would not be able to handle the workload, but I knew Apple have a 14 day period to try and if I didn't like it, I could simply return it. So the only thing I had to loose was my time.
So what did I buy?
Macbook Pro 17" / 2.5Ghz i7 / Matt Screen / 16GB RAM (macsales.com) / 240GB SSD (macsales.com)
Promise Pegasus / 6TB / 6x 1TB HDD
Total spend came in @ $5,400
Initial Impressions
I cannot give facts and figures, just how it works in post prod for me. The setup works considerably faster than my existing Mac Pro. Especially in Lightroom. It really does stay out of the way when I am working through the Library and viewing 100% previews and moving in and around Develop mode is much faster than the Mac Pro. Processing files in C1 is again much better and reading macperformanceguide.com it seems that the only faster Mac Pro's are the 3.33Ghz and above. Even then, only slightly. Basically I am delighted with the setup. Mac Pro performance that I can take on location! Sweet. Plus I can now sell the old Mac Pro / Macbook Pro and make some of that spend back.
So what makes it work so well?
In my opinion, and from a photography slant, I think the following factors are important.
1. Having the extra fast disk access gives a great boost in performance. Especially when writing large files to disk; moving into Develop mode in Lightroom; and opening files in photoshop. These seem to be HDD intensive and are now much faster.
2. Having a fast internal SSD separate from the image files is fantastic. In fact I would go as far as saying I will never use an internal HDD again.
3. 16GB RAM is the minimum for Phase files. Ideally I would have loved to take this higher, but it is enough.
4. Keeping the Lightroom Catalog files on the internal SSD and the image files on the external disk array seems to also give a performance boost. Coupled with an increase in the Raw Cache available to lightroom.
5. The processor is very important, but IMO, it comes after really fast disk access, an internal SSD and RAM.
I have talked endlessly, my apologies. I have spent a considerable amount of time researching what to do and I wanted to put it down on paper so that other people might be able to benefit in some way.
Working in post prod is one of the most time consuming parts of the MFD experience. A fast, slick computer makes the whole experience a joy. A slow one and the whole process is a nightmare, especially when there are time constraints. So when the time comes to upgrade, I fret, worry and then do a whole load of research. After all I'm going to have to live with the decision for a long period of time. I thought I would share the solution I came from, what I ended up going with and first impressions of this new system. If you end up learning from my experience, great, hopefully I have reduced your pain a little.
Abstract
The solution had to efficiently work with 1000's of Phase P40+ files, Capture 1, Lightroom & Photoshop. Plus there had to be a location solution too.
So what do I currently use?
Studio
Mac Pro / 2008 / 2x Quad 3GHz / 16GB RAM / 500GB HDD
Proavio 3TB RAID 5 Disk Array / 8x 500GB / Port Multiplier (limited to about 250MB/s)
Location
Macbook Pro 15" / 2008 / 2.53GHz / 8GB RAM / 240GB SSD (macsales.com)
I am probably similar to many people in that I have a beefed up Mac Pro but need a Macbook Pro for location. Basically great in the studio, but a bit of a pain on location. I had grown accustomed to desktop + laptop as the accepted solution.
What were my issues?
1. The Macbook Pro was too slow on location and I needed to upgrade. I had maxed out the RAM and installed a fast SSD, but it was not cutting it with large P40+ files.
2. The Mac Pro was getting old and was pretty beaten up. It could handle the Phase P40+ files pretty well, but was noticeably slow in certain processing areas.
3. I had a feeling that the RAID 5 enclosure was a possible bottleneck in performance as the port multiplier technology limits the disk access speeds to about 250MB/s.
Upgrading My Existing Kit
For the Mac Pro I considered buying a SSD and boosting the RAM. However this would cost $1,400 for the component upgrades as RAM on older Mac Pro's is very expensive. I would still need to upgrade the Macbook Pro @ $3,000 for a good spec. So minimum spend @ $4,400.
Buying New
I could buy a new Mac Pro @ $4,000 for the sweet spot model, 3.33GHz 6 Core, boost the RAM and install a decent SSD @ $1,000. Ouch. $5,000. PLUS I would still need to upgrade the Macbook Pro @ $3,000 for a good spec. So absolute minimum @ $8,000.
Add to this a possible new disk array, a critical component in the whole workflow. I had estimated an additional @ $1,400.
So upgrading would probably be @ $5,800 and buying new @ $9,400. So painful and ... damn!
I had a niggling feeling that putting money into Mac Pro's when they were so long in the tooth was a mistake. I had also been researching the new Thunderbolt technology for fast external RAID 5 disk access and found out that it will *probably* not be possible to make a PCI card that retrofits to the existing Mac Pro's. Apparently Thunderbolt compatibility needs to be built into the motherboard. So buying a new Mac Pro just felt bad.
Thinking laterally
Then a photog friend of mine suggested I research the top end i7 Macbook Pro's. He suggested that they were a significant improvement over older models and potentially there was no need to buy a Mac Pro. There was potential that they would be more than capable of handling P40+ files and the processing associated. Plus they could be linked up to Thunderbolt technology for really fast disk access. I also discovered that they can be upgraded to 16GB RAM, a bare minimum IMO. So a top end Macbook Pro @ $3,000, SSD @ $450, and 16GB RAM @ $550 brought the budget in at $4,000. Not bad. But would it cut it?
I still had concerns that the setup would not be able to handle the workload, but I knew Apple have a 14 day period to try and if I didn't like it, I could simply return it. So the only thing I had to loose was my time.
So what did I buy?
Macbook Pro 17" / 2.5Ghz i7 / Matt Screen / 16GB RAM (macsales.com) / 240GB SSD (macsales.com)
Promise Pegasus / 6TB / 6x 1TB HDD
Total spend came in @ $5,400
Initial Impressions
I cannot give facts and figures, just how it works in post prod for me. The setup works considerably faster than my existing Mac Pro. Especially in Lightroom. It really does stay out of the way when I am working through the Library and viewing 100% previews and moving in and around Develop mode is much faster than the Mac Pro. Processing files in C1 is again much better and reading macperformanceguide.com it seems that the only faster Mac Pro's are the 3.33Ghz and above. Even then, only slightly. Basically I am delighted with the setup. Mac Pro performance that I can take on location! Sweet. Plus I can now sell the old Mac Pro / Macbook Pro and make some of that spend back.
So what makes it work so well?
In my opinion, and from a photography slant, I think the following factors are important.
1. Having the extra fast disk access gives a great boost in performance. Especially when writing large files to disk; moving into Develop mode in Lightroom; and opening files in photoshop. These seem to be HDD intensive and are now much faster.
2. Having a fast internal SSD separate from the image files is fantastic. In fact I would go as far as saying I will never use an internal HDD again.
3. 16GB RAM is the minimum for Phase files. Ideally I would have loved to take this higher, but it is enough.
4. Keeping the Lightroom Catalog files on the internal SSD and the image files on the external disk array seems to also give a performance boost. Coupled with an increase in the Raw Cache available to lightroom.
5. The processor is very important, but IMO, it comes after really fast disk access, an internal SSD and RAM.
I have talked endlessly, my apologies. I have spent a considerable amount of time researching what to do and I wanted to put it down on paper so that other people might be able to benefit in some way.