SOMETIMES BIGGER IS BETTER
I have to admit that when I saw the size of the box being delivered to my front door, I thought I was getting a small appliance for my kitchen but soon found out that it was the Cerise Quad-Core Workstation for this review. All kidding aside, this machine is a model of efficiency. From the sleek all-aluminum tower to the retractable I/O ports on top of the machine, the designers at Cerise have something pretty good going here. This workstation is truly a unique custom solution that’s built for photographers, videographers, and multimedia users.
But first, let’s focus on what it doesn’t have. It doesn’t have the “gamer” frills (you know, everything lights up; is overclocked within an inch of its life; and is optimized for gaming, not multimedia). I love my games but my work comes first, so I need my machine to be optimized to run my Adobe, Autodesk, and various other graphics and multimedia apps that I need to earn a living. I can live with Halo running a bit slower but not my Photoshop!
So what makes this machine cook? The unit tested ran Microsoft XP 32-Bit Home Edition powered by an Intel Core 2 Quad Q6700 (2.66 GHz), 4 GB of 800-MHz DDR2 memory, and a 512-MB GeForce 8800 GT graphics card that provided adequate horsepower to tackle the multimedia tasks I tossed its way. Also included in this configuration are five (yes, five) 500-GB hard drives. One hard drive is for the OS and programs and the other four are set up in RAID 5 configuration for editing, ensuring that no data will ever be lost if there’s a drive failure. What’s really cool about this setup is that it uses a hardware RAID card instead of the typical software solution. The hardware card handles the bottlenecking that typically happens when you’re trying to access files on your computer, allowing you more time to produce and less time waiting for things to happen. I’m always looking for ways to improve productivity, so that was a welcomed feature. (The unit also came with an 18X DVD+R DVD burner and 7.1 channel audio integrated into the motherboard.)
The computer is configured with strategically placed fans and one large cooling vent that cuts through the box to ensure maximum airflow, keeping everything nice and cool so that it doesn’t become a space heater under your desk. This also helps keep the machine operating quietly. In fact, it runs so quietly you may find yourself checking to see if the machine is turned on. The inside of the box is pretty impressive as well with every cable, card, fan, and screw in its place and neatly put together.
Now that I’ve told you about the features, you probably want to know how it actually performed. Sure, I ran all of the benchmarks (Cinebench R10: 9526; OpenGL: 5292; PS CS3 Action Set: 0:25; and Windows Media Encoder: 0:54) and yes, this thing is fast. The numbers are nice but what it boils down to is real-world performance. On any given day in my studio, I could be (and usually am) working on anything from photography to animation, then throw in some video editing and voiceover work for good measure. So I loaded everything I had on this box. I can honestly say this machine handled everything I threw at it without a grunt or lag. At one point I had more than 20 images open in Photoshop; a 20-minute After Effects composition rendering; while tweaking a problem in Maya for a client—and I had no problems with lag or hang-ups. It took it like a champ. And for the month that I used the Cerise as my main workstation, it breezed right through even the most difficult tasks. I do have to say, however, that if you’re doing a lot of multimedia or animation, I would strongly suggest upgrading to a more powerful video card to take advantage of rendering times.
For the price and capabilities, the Cerise Quad-Core Workstation is definitely a machine worth considering for your workspace, as they can set you up with a box that meets your needs, not something that’s made for the masses.—Bruce Bicknell
PRICE: $3,479 (as tested)
FROM: Cerise Computers, LLC
WEB: www.cerise.com
RATING: 4
LAYERS VERDICT
HOT Hardware RAID Controller; quiet and cool; no bloatware
NOT Box is huge; price is up there
This seems to be the dream machine for every graphic person possible! However, I don’t understand the Windows 32 bit on it. This machine is bound by the 32 bit system. A much better choice would be a 64 bit (win vista in this case) Wich could use all of the 4 Gigs of memory (and much more, if one wants to!)
Brass tax:
For experienced working artists, is the machine Bruce reviewed worth the $3500 pricetag?
NO.
(It’s about $1000 TOO much for what you get.)
HOWEVER…is it a great machine for someone who lacks, or simply doesn’t care about, the experience or know-how to make a wiser investment?
YES.
On that note, Great review Bruce:)
To justify the extra grand pricetag, if it’s got 24-hour LOCAL support, then thats probably worth it to some over the long haul, if not most.
Yet another reason why so many people buy Macs because of the support structure for those not willing or knowledgeable make it truly a strong/fast and efficient machine they REALLY want to use daily.
…and in reality, that’s perfectly fine:)
**On the topic of 64bit goodness:
I also agree with Gianluca.
I do high-end compositing and vfx work, and after seeing Vista 64bit Ult. tackle my heavier-than-normal work requirements, I’ll never go back to a 32bit OS.
My box specs are quite a bit more powerful than the above however it is FAR cheaper:
-Tyan Server board (to run my dual quad-core procs for a total of 8-cores)
-16gigs of low-latency ram
-lianli server tower case
-server mobo
-hardware raid card for both of my Seagate raid arrays.
(6 drives total with 2 for a raid Zero boot, and 4 for my raid Zero speedy & redundant storage array)
-Fibre controller card for my external JBOD working array.
-Nvidia GeForce 8800 GTS – soft-quatro’ed to unlock its’ Quatro 4600 hardware capability.
(safely saving $1500 in the process)
-and a few various optical drives.
Grand total? Less than $2500 brand new
from Newegg.com
All brand-names, all warrantied, etc.
….I already owned 2 dell 24″ widescreens but got those @ $220 a piece from Dell.com last year.
(they are even cheaper now)
The trick to making my rig efficient and bulletproof, i.e. worth the trouble, was having a friend that knows what they are doing to build it SPECIFICALLY for what I do.
Not many folks know someone that REALLY knows what they are doing when it comes to higher-end hardware/software configs, so I believe most of the problems we hear out there with others having issues with home-builds boil-down to lack of experience in actual configuration for a specific task.
One cannot just go out and buy a machine and expect it to do REALLY hardcore fluid/dynamics simulation, or be able to scrub though uncompressed 2k plates without knowing what they are doing, or realizing why they are doing it.
Again, great review Bruce:)
So your friend built you a computer for free? Very nice.
What do you do when the hard drive goes belly up? New Egg has zero tech support and their hard drive warranty lasts a whole 30 days. The hard drive manufacturer will give you a refurbished drive after that time.
We haven’t even gone into the 30 other components that make up your computer. What would your friend do then? My suspicion is that your friendship would become pretty strained if you started pushing him to do your warranty replacement.
That’s the beauty of a buying a computer from a custom shop like Cerise. Everything is in the US under one roof and believe me, if you did have a hardware problem, they would turn it around a lot faster than your friend can.
So if you have a lot of time on your hands and a good friend like Izzy has, get your friend to build your next workstation.
For everyone else, do yourself a massive favor and get it from a custom shop like Cerise.
This is to the post above.
Yes, you can build your own computer.
You can also make your own furniture.
The question is whether you would want it in your living room.
If it’s a choice between a Cerise Computer and one made by Izzy’s “friend” in his basement, I know which one I would choose.
Can someone explain to me why it is impossible to post a response to Izzy’s comments above?