Avid Qualified PC???

[Doctor Bang]

Hey all. I've searched for an answer to my following question, but came up empty. If the answer(s) I need exist somewhere, sorry I missed it, and you can refer me to where I need to go. Otherwise...
My current PT setup is ancient, and I've finally decided to upgrade to modern times. I'm looking at getting the Eleven Rack with PT11, but I'll also need to buy a new PC (want to stick to PC desktop). I was reading through Avid's site about the system requirements and what a "qualified" PC is. My questions/concerns are the following:
1. What does Avid REALLY mean by "qualified?" Are the hardware options presented the ONLY things that will work, or just what they "recommend?"
2. My understanding of the inner-workings of computers are limited (consider me an idiot when replying...); I would assume to run any particular version of PT, my computer would need an appropriate OS, ample processing power/speed and RAM, two hard drives, and a proper interface. So why so specific on something like a video card? I tried to find some of the particular HP and Dell models listed, but couldn't find the exact ones on their websites. I looked up models that were "close," and then found that to upgrade them to what Avid wants (like putting in a specific NVIDIA video card), upped the price far beyond what I'm feeling comfortable with....
3. Any opinions on what's REALLY necessary? Has anyone bought/built a PC that didn't exactly follow Avid's recommendations and was able to run PT11 without any problem?
Any and all opinions are welcome! Thanks.

[bonestonne]

My machine is far from Avid qualified for PT11, and works totally fine (depending on your opinion of totally fine).

If you're using a firewire interface, you should have a TI based firewire card to try and get the best compatibility out of it. The minimum needs of PT11 is a 64 bit compatible CPU, a 64bit Operating System installed, and minimum 4gb RAM, 8GB or more recommended (not pulled from Avid directly, but a general idea of what to look for). For the most part, this is nearly every machine sold today.

When you mention video cards, on the website, it specifically says a dedicated card is recommended, but not necessary. If you're doing video specific work (editing audio for a movie) then there are requirements for what video devices are confirmed to work correctly, however if you're not working specifically with video, it's irrelevant for you.

http://avid.force.com/pkb/articles/e...dows-Computers

You can get the specs of my machine from my signature, if you want more detailed info shoot me a PM and I'll give you a link to read more.

For what it's worth, I'm using Windows 8.1, and the Pro Tools software itself works fine. Not supported (specifically says so on the website), but it works fine. Other software is a different story.

[Shan]

Originally Posted by Doctor Bang

Has anyone bought/built a PC that didn't exactly follow Avid's recommendations and was able to run PT11 without any problem?
Any and all opinions are welcome! Thanks.

Go here for the builds thread.

Shane

[JoelG]

Qualified means tested. Those are specific computers that AVID has done Pro Tools testing on. You should for the most part be able to follow the other posts suggestions and be ok. Shane's link is probably your best starting point if you're looking to build a computer. I'd still get a dedicated video card though.

Joel

[Doctor Bang]

Thanks for the tips, everyone. I'll still be doing some more research, but all the advice is helpful and appreciated!