blackmagic intensity pro

[ClaytonJoness]

could i use a blackmagic intensity pro with this does anyone know?

Case
PCS MAELSTROM T900 BLACK GAMING CASE

Processor (CPU)
AMD PHENOM II X6 1075T (3.00GHz/9MB CACHE/AM3/) - BLACK EDITION

Motherboard
ASUS® M4A78LT-M: mATX MAINBOARD, DDR3, USB 2.0, SATA 3.0Gb/s

Memory (RAM)
4GB SAMSUNG DDR3 DUAL-DDR3 1333MHz (2 X 2GB)

Graphics Card
INTEGRATED GRAPHICS ACCELERATOR (GPU)

2nd Graphics Card
NONE

Memory - 1st Hard Disk
1TB WD CAVIAR GREEN WD10EARS, SATA 3 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE

2nd Hard Disk
NONE

RAID
NONE

1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM

2nd DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
NONE

Memory Card Reader
NONE

Power Supply
350W Dual Rail PSU + 120mm Case Fan

Processor Cooling
STANDARD AMD CPU COOLER

Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)

Network Facilities
ONBOARD 10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT - AS STANDARD ON ALL PCs

USB Options
2 PORT USB 3.0 INTERNAL PCI EXPRESS CARD

Modem
NONE, I WILL BE USING BROADBAND

 

[pengipete]

I notice that you asked this question on the CreativeCow forums and were told that it wasn't compatible with this motherboard. I don't understand the reasoning behind those replies - the USB3 suggestion only applies to the Intensity Shuttle and the manual for the Intensity Pro just says that "Intensity Pro hardware is a x1 lane PCI Express card and should work in any x1, x4, x8 or x16 lane PCI Express slot".

Having said that, BlackMagic's website does contain a warning that their PCI-e products don't work with a particular motherboard (not this one) so there is obviously some element of their design that is not entirely on spec.

Unless there happens to be someone on this forum who uses that exact motherboard/CPU combintion along with that specific capture card, there's not much anyone can tell you except that it should work but if it's a vital factor in your choice of motherboard, you should contact BlackMagic before makingyour decision since they are the only ones who can answer your question with authority. You can contac them at http://www.blackmagic-design.com/support/contact/

There's another angle - if you haven't already purchased that capture card, you could tell the retailer that you will buy it in the understanding that it works with your stated motherboard - just bear in mind that the retailer can simply to refuse to sell it on those terms. You may also be able to use Distance Selling Regulations to your advantage - effectively giving you the chance to try the card with your PC and return it if it doesn't work. Obviously, no-one here can give you legal advice or make presumptions about another company's terms and conditions so you'll need to check those details for yourself.

Aside from that, if you find that the card will work with any PCI-e slot on any motherboard (which it should), I think you may have something else to consider. If you plan on editing HD video, I think that the PC you've selected is nowhere near powerful enough unless you have a lot of spare time on your hands. If, for example, you will be using Adobe Premier to edit video, you will get a huge performance boost by using an NVidia graphics card with CUDA support. Onboard graphics are fine for basic PC use but you really need a decent graphics card for video editing - it doesn't need to be a top of the range gaming card - just something with plenty of memory onboard and a reasonaly fast GPU. You'll also find that video editing really benefits from having lots of RAM - I'd say that 6GB is a realistic minimum. A second hard-drive would also be sensible but that's something you can add later.

When you put all of that together, there's another issue. The motherboard you've chosen there is a MicroATX design whch means somewhat limited expansion options. With many graphics cards being dual-height and a looking at the layout of that board, if you install a graphics card and the Intensity Pro, you'll only have one PCI slot left so if you have any hardware that needs to be fitted internally - such as a sound or wifi card - you'll need to take that into account.

There is one option to consider - the Intensity Suttle is external, costs around the same and only requires a USB3 port. That obviously wouldn't work with this motherboard (no USB3) but it may be a better choice if you need a MicroATX board and need to use those expansion slots for other hardware.

All in all, if you tell us what sort of budget you have for the PC, we can look at putting something suitable together - meanwhile, contact BlackMagic.