Andrew I just made the switch as well. To maximize the Mercury Playback Engine I got the most Powerful combo of CPU (2-Sandy Bridge EP 2687ws) ram (645GB), GPU (Nvidia PNY GTX 570) and a raid (Dulce ProDqg2 16TB) to insure I could handle whatever I need to.
I play files native on the timeline and use DNxHD which is an industry standard codec. Uncompressed files are to large and not usually deliverable.
Tom Daigon
PrP / After Effects Editor
http://www.hdshotsandcuts.com
HP Z820 Dual 2687
64GB ram
Dulce DQg2 16TB raid
