Avid Xpress Pro System Requirements
Avid Xpress Pro 5.8 System Requirements
Will Avid Xpress Pro 5.8 work on my machine?
If your system does not meet minimum system specifications it may not work.
If your system does meet minimum system specifications, but is not on the qualified list, it has a good chance of working, but there can be reasons outside of this spec that cause problems. By using a system that has not been Avid Qualified you are at risk that you will not be able to receive proper customer support from Avid reps due to conflicts that are outside the scope of certified Avid support coverage. This includes all newer systems not yet tested, audio and video cards and other related peripherals. To minimize your risk of hardware/software conflicts it is recommended that you use an Avid certified system.
Keep in mind there is a difference between running "minimum specifications" and running a qualified system. Your performance may vary depending on your configuration. If you are looking for specific performance and quality, we suggest buying a qualified system or a qualified turnkey system from an Avid Authorized Integrator.
Qualified workstations and notebooks
Qualified workstations
Qualified Notebooks
Minimum System Specifications
PC
- Operating System: Microsoft Windows XP 32-bit Edition - Service Pack 2. Microsoft Vista is not supported.
- System Memory: 1GB DDR2 SDRAM (2GB recommended for HD and high-stream count SD projects: 4GB (4 x 1GB) required for HP xw8400 workstations in Avid Unity MediaNetwork 5.0 environments
- One of the following processors: (minimum speed listed)
- Xeon 2.4 GHz (single or dual core)
- Intel Core 2 Duo 2.13 GHz
- Intel Core Duo 1.67 GHz
- Pentium 4 1.8 GHz
- Pentium M 1.8 GHz (mobile)
- Pentium D 1.7 GHz (mobile)
- Qualified graphics card (per model, as supported by system vendors)
- Qualified IEEE-1394 FireWire port (integrated or add-in card; Avid Mojo is not supported on notebook systems with PCMCIA cards of any kind)
- 40GB or larger internal drive
- DVD-ROM or DVD+RW drive
- QuickTime 7.1 or higher; Windows Media Player 10 (with version 9.5 codecs)
The following specific graphics cards have been tested by Avid:
Graphics Cards (Workstations)
- NVIDIA QuadroFX 3500 PCI Express
- NVIDIA QuadroFX 3450 PCI Express
- NVIDIA QuadroFX 3400 PCI Express
- NVIDIA QuadroFX 1500 PCI Express
- NVIDIA QuadroFX 1400 PCI Express
- NVIDIA QuadroFX 1300 PCI Express
- NVIDIA QuadroFX 560 PCI Express
- NVIDIA QuadroFX 550 PCI Express
- NVIDIA QuadroFX 3000 AGP 8X
- NVIDIA QuadroFX 1100 AGP 8X
- NVIDIA QuadroFX 500 AGP 8X
Graphics Cards (Notebooks)
- NVIDIA QuadroFX 1500M
- NVIDIA Quadro FX 350M
- NVIDIA Quadro FX Go1400
- ATI Mobility FireGL V5200*
- ATI Mobility Fire GL V5000*
- ATI Mobility Radeon X600*
* Please Note: Refer to the support matrix for any specific Avid editor version requirements regarding ATI chipsets.
The add-in PCI card must be a universal PCI card with the T.I chip set. Qualified 1394 (FireWire) Cards for PC Workstations include
- ADS PYRO PCI 64, part #API-311 or API-315 [Required in Intel Xeon systems with expanded storage]
- SIIG 1394 3-Port PCI i/e, part #NN-440012
- SUNIX FWA2414
Qualified 1394 (FireWire) Cards for PC Notebooks include
- ADS PYRO 1394DV for Notebooks, part #API-601 or #API-602
- SIIG CardBus PC Card, part #NN-PCM012
- SIIG 1394 CardBus Dual, part #NN-PCM212
- IBM 1394 CardBus PC Card, part #19K5678
The boot drive should be IDE, SCSI, or SATA 7200 RPM. Do not use internal SCSI as a boot device if you also plan on adding external SCSI drives (in which case use IDE or SATA).
Macintosh
- Operating System: Mac OS X 10.4.10
- Earlier versions of Mac OS X are not supported. Mac OSX Leopard is not supported.
- System Memory (same requirements for software-only, with Avid Mojo or with Avid Mojo SDI)
- 1GB system minimum
- 2GB recommended for HD and high-stream count SD projects
- 3GB maximum – more than 3GB will not be recognized by the system
- A graphics adapter supported by Apple – 128MB (or higher) memory on graphics card
- Apple native FireWire, included with all qualified systems
- 40GB or larger internal SATA boot drive
- CD or DVD-ROM drive or DVD+RW drive
- QuickTime 7.2
The system requirements for Avid Xpress Pro will vary, based on whether the software is used with Avid Mojo, and whether external storage or Avid Unity LANshare EX connectivity is required.
QuickTime Support
Avid has tested and approved the use of Apple QuickTime version 7.2.
DV Devices
For a list of qualified DV devices, click here.
Important Notes:
PCI Bus Segment Requirements for Avid Mojo & Avid Mojo SDI
Avid Xpress Pro with Avid Mojo or Avid Mojo SDI requires platforms with more than one PCI bus segment whenever external storage is used. External storage includes Fibre, SCSI, FireWire and Avid Unity media networks. The configurations qualified by Avid will accommodate users’ requirements for local storage and/or Avid Unity shared storage. Avid Mojo connects to the host via an IEEE-1394 cable. For proper real-time performance, Avid Mojo must connect to a PCI bus segment that is not shared with any SCSI or Fibre Channel storage controller being used for local or shared storage.
Avid Xpress Pro with Avid Mojo must be used on Avid-qualified platforms. For more details on PCI Bus Segment requirements see the PCI Bus Segmentation Requirements for Avid Adrenaline and Avid Mojo.
FireWire drives cannot be connected to the same 1394 controller as Avid Mojo or Avid Mojo SDI. Avid Mojo must be connected to the 1394a port. The 1394b port is not qualified for Avid Mojo.