>We already have the full Final Cut suite (please don't ask why we bought >the software before the hardware-wasn't my decision)
Why would we ask? Picking software first is the smart thing to do. And you picked the software that is generally considered the best NLE. Be happy. >I'd like to get some suggestions for hardware. Hopefully, we can keep >this under $10,000. You can easily keep it under $10,000. Base model is $2799. Its specs exceed all of the minimums listed by Apple for FCP by many times. Much of the hardware you need is already in the box. The Quad Core Xeon is available at 2.8, 3.0, and 3.2 GHz. Each speed increment is another $800, but the practical difference between 2.8 and 3.2 is negligable. Not a good place to spend money. Don't buy RAM from Apple. Very overpriced. More RAM will cost you about $300. RAID is old tech. A waste of money. It has 4 SATA drive bays that are very easy to access. The drives just slide in. The 1st drive is just for your OS and software so get the minimum (320GB). You have 3 internal drive bays to fill. Add some 1TB drives, but not from Apple. Very overpriced. Lots of drives will cost about $1000. Add $150 for the better video card. It will drive two 30-inch screens. Apple's 30-inch screen is $1799 and overpriced. Remember that the screens are for editing, not for judging color. Dell's 30-incher is $1099. You'll need another video card to drive an NTSC monitor and an NTSC monitor. You'll want a professional monitor that can be easily calibrated. I'm not tracking such anymore so I won't be specific. You'll have a couple $1000 left over to spend on beer. If you can get your hands on the B&H Professional Video catalog it is an amazing resource, in two volumes it is thicker than the Manhattan phone book. Full of valuable information. Remember that the world is full of hardware fan bois who are very good at wasting money with no good result. ************************************************************************* ** List info, subscription management, list rules, archives, privacy ** ** policy, calmness, a member map, and more at http://www.cguys.org/ ** *************************************************************************
