I need to replace a laptop that's been running MC3. I whad been planning to get a desktop, but was waiting until Avid qualified Core i7 and Windows 7 but now my hand's been forced, I would like to know if either or both are likely to run MC3.0 or 3.5 (Or even 4.0).

Because I'm a hard-up hobbyist, I need the best I can get for the least cash, which pretty well means self-build, so I thought of going all the way to at least quad Core i7, either with Win XP Pro or else to Win 7, bypassing Vista altogether.

Has anyone gone down this route? and if so what pitfalls should I avoid? I assume I will be able to use my old dongle with the new machine, so either download the 3.0 update or else splash out on 3.5.4 with 4.0 in due course.

My old L/T had an Nvidia card with 256 meg but the repair shop could only find an AT Radion with 128 meg, so it's no longer up to teh job of running MC.

Sorry to ramble a bit, but I hope someone can help.

Dave

I think Avid will never qualify Core i7 for MC. This because Avid qualifies Workstations and these use E3500 and E5500, which is the Xenon version of Core i7.

As for OS, Vista is supported and if You buy Vista today, you often got upgrade rigths to W7. It is difficult to tell then Avid will qualify W7. It depends on how much Microsoft has change in the code, and if the code changes is important for Avids software. Based on observations, from the official release it can take everything from two months(compare to OSX upgrades and some SP from Microsoft) to 24 months (Vista).

Also, MC software is often more "foregiving" than MC wiht hardware. It is often the hardware which make problems for qualifications).

No answer, but maybe some input to Your plans.

Ok, thanks for the reply.

I can't aford any DNA, so that should make things easyier.

I looked down the pages of threads and found a couple of people running Win 7 RC, so maybe it will work. I know about which graphics cards, firewire and audio work, so will be taking those on board.

Dave

I would go for the i7 but not for W7. At least untill SP1.

This was the case with XP and Vista.

Many forum members are successfully running i7 systems, do a search for DIY and or i7 or go to the www.videoguys.com DIY pages for additional info; moreover: the newly approved HP z400 is x58 chipset based, like many i7 mainboards if I recall. Go for Vista 64 and the most ram You can afford: it's going to take a while before Win7 will be approved and the benefits of running MC on a 64bit OS with enough memory are remarkable. hth

DIYer with i7 here.

Many thanks to all!

I'll try going the Core i7 route with Vista Business 64, then Win 7 when it's qualified. It should come in cheaper than a Dell or HP workstation.

Dave

Dom

I note you are not upgraded to MC 3.5.  What are your plans with this system?  Would you try your system with 3.5 or even MC 4?

Any personal thoughts about windows 7?

Maybe some of these questions I'll have to answer by trying more DIY myself, but any info from you appreciated.

Thanks

George

I have a small project in 3.1 and have a policy of no upgrade until the projects are done.

I would love to upgrade though and looking forward to 3.5/4.

From what I have read so far Windows 7 is looking promising so that too is an expected upgrade but probably 2-3 months after initial release. I might do dual boot.

Dom

Thanks for your response.

I'm in a similar position.  I'm finishing a project, however my machine crapped out.  So I want to build a new one.

Since I've already bought MC3.5, I'm looking at what and how to do it.

I'm thinking of a dual boot via a removable hard drive slot for the boot drive.  One hard drive for MC3.5 and one for my MC2.8 with XP Pro.  On the MC 3.5 I'll try the full Monty, Windows 7, i7 920 and GTX 275. When I totally convert to that, I can use the other hard drive for internt surfing and the many other computer programs I use.

Best,

George

My computer case Lian Li PC-C34F allows easy swapping of hard-drive. Since I have an extra 80 GB drive, dual booting makes perfect sense.

I will stay with my 3/3.5 Vista while I test MC 4 and Windows 7 on another drive.