Blog | Hardsoft Computers » mac pro

Mac Pro’s for VFX

andrew.m — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 07:47:29 +0000

Hasraf Dulull, is Visual Effects Supervisor at Prime Focus Ltd and Director / VFX Supervisor at HaZ- VFX. He has worked on films such as the Dark Knight, Hell Boy 2 and Prince of Persia. He has just finished directing and producing his first short film “FUBAR” using the Apple Mac Pro 8-Core and an Apple MacBook Pro leased from HardSoft. Take a look at his creative but unusual movie…

HardSoft Computers are a specialist Apple Reseller who offer leasing and finance for Apple Mac solutions needed by Visual Effects designers . Hasraf has had two Macs from HardSoft on lease and understands that HardSoft can offer the lease solution which gives him options to upgrade and stay up to date. Understand more about HardSoft Leasing and how it helps create movies.

Guild of Televison Cameramen-Sponsor 2011

andrew.m — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 10:58:15 +0000

HardSoft are proud to be an Official Sponsor of the Guild of Television Cameramen for 2011. With constant demands for new Apple hardware and software in the difficult economic climate the HardSoft Flexi-Lease has great synergy with the Guild. Previously sponsor of the summer Awards show at the BFI Southbank ,HardSoft have been keen to foster the relationship. The move to HD & 3D is putting technology demands on the creative industry and the HardSoft one stop approach to both the supply of the solution and the lease finance is perfect for the times we live in.

HardSoft will announce enhancements specially for members during 2011 to make things even easier .

Broadcast Video Expo 2011

andrew.m — Fri, 26 Nov 2010 12:45:31 +0000

HardSoft are pulling together for BVE 2011 which is 15-17th February at Earls Cout. The 2010 show had 12000 visitors looking at products from over 240 companies from across the industry including the BBC, ITV and SKY. HardSofts flexible computer leasing offers the creative industry in these difficult times the ability to acquire new Apple hardware and software with little outlay and the ability to change as projects change. The growth of HD is forcing many creative professionals to acquire new equipment and interstingly the BBc’s choice of software is now Final Cut. HardSoft can provide all this with additional on site support package and overses insurance. HardSoft can offer bespoke solutions using non Apple products such as Quadro graphics and faster hard drives. Plus Lacie & NEC screen etc

If you want a FREE ticket for this years show please contact us. We can provide up to 3 tickets at no cost.

A faster Mac Pro

andrew.m — Thu, 25 Nov 2010 13:36:04 +0000

The new Mac Pro although fast could be faster. Those using creative software such as Final Cut, Avid and Adobe often request faster hard drives. The Mac Pro offers little options as standard. main issue is the slow 3gb/sec sata connection linked with 7200rpm hard drives. HardSoft Flexible Leasing are now offering a 6Gb expansion card within the Mac Pro that will support two drives internally . This together with the very fast Western Digital Velociraptor drive which is 10000rpm AND 6Gig can really liven up the Mac Pro. Given the substantial cost of the Mac Pro this is quite a minor cost. Only downside is that the maximum drive size is 600GB but there no reason mixing additional 7200rpm/3gig drives into the four bays of the Pro.

The Apple changes in detail

andrew.m — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 17:29:05 +0000

Rather than any design led changes the differences are all about internal specs….The Mac Mini has though changed colour from white to traditional Apple silver and is now easier to access internally but with higher spec CPU and graphics but at an enhanced cost. HardSoft have recently added the Logitech Cordless keyboard and mouse which is one third cheaper than the Apple equivalent. Prices for the new Mac Mini start at £8.50 per week on a three year flexible lease, inclusive and warranty.

The Apple iMac was the next to be updated in July with faster Intel Core i3 processors introduced at the entry level and a new fastest ever i7 CPU with 2.93GHz. Again graphics performance was increased across the range. The cheapest 21.5” now starts from £ 9.20 plus VAT per week on a three year flexible business lease, and goes up to £ 19.55 per week for the 27” i7 with 16 GB Ram.

The Mac Pro was overdue an overhaul. Even as an Apple Authorised Reseller we are still awaiting for stock to become freely available. The entry level Quad Core sees an increase in CPU performance and graphics card whilst the big change is on the higher spec options featuring eight core and twelve core ‘Westmere’ CPUs. Prices have increased by circa 5% as is now becoming the norm for each range facelift.

Ram prices are starting to drop which should offset some of the Apple prices increases reflected in the new products. For detailed pricing please contact us. The HardSoft website will reflect some Apple reductions in the coming weeks.

Colour Accurate Screens save money?

andrew.m — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 18:41:22 +0000

A high proportion of Printers/Litho tell us that they are wasting money investing in a high quality monitors. This maybe true for the printer who never looks at his clients’ work on screen and never receives client proofs. For the rest of us a colour accurate monitor is a must if we want to save money and improve production.

The monitor is the cheapest place to get it right. A colour accurate LCD monitor is essential. A customer recently received a proof from his client with the instructions to ‘match my proof’. He opened the job in Adobe CS4 InDesign and soon saw there was a significant colour difference between the proof and the file.

A phone call to the client resolved the problem. Without the colour accurate monitor the press minder could have been wasting ages trying to match an impossible target. HardSoft offer a range of Colour Accurate screens from such places as NEC, Lacie , IIyama and Eizo. Suitable for both Apple Mac Pro and PC Workstations. We can add these to any of these products and are available on our flexible lease scheme.

If you are in doubt about your monitors there is some free software to test it ! Go to http://www.presssign.comand download a fully working 30 day demo version of viewSIGN and see how your screens perform.

Contact HardSoft for options on leasing the Mac Pro or Workstation with Colour Accurate screens.

Avid Qualified Apple Mac’s

andrew.m — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 12:31:02 +0000

HardSoft returned from exhibiting at the Broadcast Video Expo 2010 this week with a weight of enquiries for a Mac Pro we are rarely asked for. The Mac Pro is the fastest and most expandable Apple computer. A lot of interest at the show was in a Eight Core Mac Pro with 2 X 2.66ghz processors with at least 8gb ram. This is the perfect spec for Avid’s software. We have now further developed an ‘Avid Qualifying’ Mac Pro that is now available on our lease packages. We can tailor this further with a selection of screens from not only Apple but Lacie, NEC and Formac. Storage can be added from Promise , Drobo etc. Contact us for some detailed specs and costs. All our prices include 3 years warranty.

This Mac Pro works with the entire range of Avid software. We do offer MacBook Pro’s as well for Avid but not all of their software runs on a MacBook Pro laptop. Certainly the iMacs struggle ! Why lease your Apple then click here ?

Apple Mac Pro- New Graphics card option

andrew.m — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 11:58:29 +0000

Following feedback from customers HardSoft are introducing an additional graphics card option on the Apple Mac Pro. The Mac Pro technically only has two options, at the moment the standard Geforce Gt120 and the ATI Radeon. The previous Apple Mac Pro had far better choices and options !

BUT on the US Apple Store there is a third option the Geforce GTX285-1GB. We are able to source this in the UK and can install as an extra option. The great thing is that Apple support it on their US Website. Please contact us for this option as it is not yet on our website.

We have extended the range of Displays we have available and as well as the normal Apple Cinema Displays we also offer NEC, IIyama, Lacie and Formac. Again contact us for your options here.