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  • Final Cut Pro 7.x – Mac Pro or iMac 5K ?

    Posted by Niklas Wikman on November 18, 2014 at 12:03 pm

    Our setup today:

    Final Cut Studio 3 (FCP 7, DVDSP 4, Compressor 3,5, Soundtrack, etc…)

    Main suite: Mac Pro (3,1) with Aja IoHD serving as HDMI output and audio output to Yamaha speakers
    Videodisk connected via eSATA and/or FW800
    Dual 23″ computer monitors

    Secondary suites: iMac 27″ late 2010 (I think, not sure) – disks connected via FW800

    It’s time to upgrade the old Mac Pro.

    Should we go for an iMac 27″ 5K, with a few adapters/cables for eSATA/FW800, etc?
    Or should we go for a Mac Pro? If the latter, we will most likely have to upgrade our Fujitsu 23″ computers monitors as well.

    I figure the Mac Pro and the iMac would compare quite equal when it comes to speed, rendering, etc?

    One advantage with Mac pro is the number of different connectors. But the iMac can provide both eSATA, FW800 and HDMI using various cables/adapters.

    What do you suggest, good people of the Cow?

    Shane Ross replied 11 years, 9 months ago 3 Members · 2 Replies
  • 2 Replies
  • Roger Poole

    November 18, 2014 at 2:52 pm

    Well, if it were me I would stick with what you have. If you wish to continue working with FCP7 your older setup will work best.

  • Shane Ross

    November 18, 2014 at 4:23 pm

    What Roger said. FCP 7 is 3.5 years end of life…last updated more than 4 years ago. The last supported OS was Mountain Lion, and we are now two OS versions past that. Every OS version that doesn’t support the software, the more unstable it will be. More things won’t function properly. So, if you plan on keeping FCP 7, it’s best to keep it on an older computer with supported OS version. But if you move forward with FCP-X, then more current computers and OS will be good…

    Personally, I’d go for the iMac 5K…the Tube is a bit overpriced at the moment.

    Shane
    Little Frog Post
    Read my blog, Little Frog in High Def

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