This IS the Avid L2: Re: [Avid-L2] HP Work Station recommendations

Friday, June 19, 2015

Re: [Avid-L2] HP Work Station recommendations

The bigger problem there is not that it wouldn't work, but that you will have a very hard time getting support if you are running the software on an unsupported machine. Avid's support teams will have a clear path to wiping their hands of your support requests if you're not running on an Avid-qualified system. So I agree with Wilson - run it on whatever you like, and it might well perform adequately. But the caveat remains that if you go off-reservation, don't expect to have your support contract hold up.

On Fri, Jun 19, 2015 at 11:17 AM, Wilson Chao wilsonchao@gmail.com [Avid-L2] <Avid-L2@yahoogroups.com> wrote:

Whoa, not so fast - you might want to reconsider your choice.

Here's my understanding of what it means to be an "Avid qualified" machine... Take a look at the current list:

http://avid.force.com/pkb/servlet/fileField?retURL=%2Fpkb%2Farticles%2Fen_US%2Fcompatibility%2Fen422411&entityId=ka1i00000003WohAAE&field=Attachment_1__Body__s

At the very bottom of this Avid list you'll see that the Dell M4600 is "qualified" for MC 8.3, with no limitations. This is 4-year-old laptop running an Intel quad-core i7 (with hyperthreading) at 2.2 Ghz. (BTW, I use one of these old warhorses as my personal carry-around Avid and it works just fine at DNxHD resolutions.)

And at the very top of this Avid list you'll see that the HP Z840 is "qualified" but only if it has dual 8, 10, or 12 core Xeon processors. However, HP now lists 19 processors as options for the Z840 from a 6-core single-threaded Xeon, to an 18-core hyperthreaded Xeon.

Avid engineering doesn't have the time to test every possible option of every make & model of computer; they have to limit their "qualification" to a selection of machines they deem most useful for their predicted market. The fact that for the Z840 they have only tested a few of the Xeons, and only in dual-processor rigs, doesn't mean that no other configurations work.

In fact, I'll bet that lots of other "not qualified" configurations will work just fine, or even better. If a dual 8-core is "qualified" I'll wager that the single 18-core works too. But a single 18-core costs more than even dual 12-cores, so there's not gonna be much demand from Avid users for that configuration, and Avid isn't gonna test it so it'll never get "qualified."

If a Z840 is your preferred machine, sure, go ahead & buy it, but feel free to choose whatever processor(s) make sense for the work you're going to do. You can always upgrade processors later.

Disclaimer: I don't speak for Avid; I'm just an end-user making television. YMMV.

On Fri, Jun 19, 2015 at 8:27 AM, Michael McDade mm.tv@mac.com [Avid-L2] <Avid-L2@yahoogroups.com> wrote:

Ok. So HP Z840s have to have a dual processor to have it AVID qualified.
That's makes a big price difference. Thanks. I'll look at refurbished 820s.
Are new Z machines dues this November? Do they cycle new ones every year or 2 years.

Mike McDade
207-318-7113

On Jun 18, 2015, at 9:03 PM, namyrb namyrb@gmail.com [Avid-L2] <Avid-L2@yahoogroups.com> wrote:

That system only has 1 processor so you'll need to spend more than that if you want an avid qualified system which requires 2 processors.

On Wednesday, June 17, 2015, McDade mm.tv@mac.com [Avid-L2] <Avid-L2@yahoogroups.com> wrote:

Thanks

The model I listed was just under 4k, I get government pricing, but will look at z820 refurbished units as well.

On Jun 17, 2015, at 2:59 PM, "'Job ter Burg (L2B)' Job_L2@terburg.com [Avid-L2]" <Avid-L2@yahoogroups.com> wrote:

Get a refurbished z820 spec'd to Avid's support configurations list. Way more bang for the buck and will handle HD really well. I don't think any of the Avid spec'd z840 models can be had for 4k USD. Oh, and Win7, not 8.1.

On 17 jun. 2015, at 18:39, mm.tv@mac.com [Avid-L2] <Avid-L2@yahoogroups.com> wrote:

I'm moving over for the first time from a Mac Pro to a HP workstation to run MC 8,1- Sym. Option. I'm currently working mostly with HD and very little 2k or 4k footage. Currently looking at the Z840 K7P07UT model.
RMT Xeon 8C E5-2630 v3 2.4GHz, 256 ssd boot drive, 32 gig ram, Thuderbolt 2, Quadra K4200.
Should I still run on Windows 7 vs. 8.1 ? Other thoughts? Trying to keep the cost around 4k. Thank you in advance. Avid Configuration Guidelines was helpful and might have to go to the E5-2667v3 @ 3.2Ghz.