Purchasing

[Sawyer]

Things get pretty rushed. I know all small business work this way but one month I am close to slow. I have 1 project that is long term and gets updated every few weeks but it's often slow. I bought a new CPU in Feb and it's almost never off and there are times when I am up late and up early and like now I am very busy. One day I got 4 new contracts all for the same week and one client has given me 6 jobs since then. And looming is a very large job.

 

Right now my network is running non stop and its not enough. I have 2 computers and right now this week I really need another node. I have deadlines some I have extended and some were rushed up but there are times where I am rendering when I should be working (both comps running in the am). Basically now I am screaming for more power when 2 months ago I didn't have the network running at all. Now I know there is no rule for this and for me it seems not a % of yearly income to consider when purchasing new equiptment but % of time used and unused to consider.

 

I am not asking for advise as to where to throw money. I am curious as to the factors others may use in these decisions.

 

Cheers.

[Noise]

Invest

 

at least one extra dual core dual processor machine for rendering.

 

My previous company was so tight fisted that I left beacuse one dual processor is a nonesense when, there are 10 projects on and if you have to work during the day and often late and weekends - you need atleast one or two machines to render - which is, lets be honest - all the time.

 

It makes sense even if the outlay seems too much to handle presently.

 

We are now in exactly the same situation - just got a dual processor and 2 months down the line need another and an editing suite - avid, no less. Now that makes me tremble if you have ever seen the cost of those things.

 

As I say to my friends when I take them kitesurfing, hold on tight, this may freak you out a little !

 

n

[AJLynn]

If you have that much work it makes sense to increase your ability to produce - only way to build an empire. If you're nervous about putting a lot of money into it you might try Ebay - there are always a ton of things like used or refurb Precisions (some still under warranty) for a lot less than you'd expect.

[thinice]

This is how I work,

 

One fully equipped workstation (x2, dual processor , dual monitor, whatever) for working. I never use this workstation for rendering unless I am out of office.

 

I use another computer for scanning, printing and downloading stuffs - this computer is can also be used for rendering as long as it does not slow down other tasks.

 

2 or 3 dedicated render nodes. They are quite cheap once you strip them of all the non-essentials. I have always found that 2 single processor machine to be cheaper than a dual-processors. Dual-core on the other hand, is god-send as long as it is AMD. Don't bother with Intel's dual-core, at least for now.

 

If yo do a lot of heavy duty editing, you may want a dedicated editing suite as well.

 

If you are really on really tight schedule, you may want to try render farm services ( eg: http://www.respower.com). Just make sure that you clients' budget is enough to cover the charges.

[manta]

Invest

at least one extra dual core dual processor machine for rendering.

My previous company was so tight fisted that I left beacuse one dual processor is a nonesense when, there are 10 projects on and if you have to work during the day and often late and weekends - you need atleast one or two machines to render - which is, lets be honest - all the time.

It makes sense even if the outlay seems too much to handle presently.

We are now in exactly the same situation - just got a dual processor and 2 months down the line need another and an editing suite - avid, no less. Now that makes me tremble if you have ever seen the cost of those things.

As I say to my friends when I take them kitesurfing, hold on tight, this may freak you out a little !

n

 

 

Isn't Avid kind of over kill, why not just buy a Mac and final cut...I mean you're not doing feature film at HD resolution, or are you ?

[Noise]

Manta

 

A number of avenues have recently opened up to us and with my colleagues skills with avid, we are seriously looking at this as a potential route.

 

You are right, there are also more reasonable possibilities that are being looked at also.

 

regards

 

n