-
Mac Pro and FCP
I am thinking of changing from PC to MacPro.
The main reason is that I have been very impressed with everything I have seen about FCP.
On a different web site I have been told that the new FCP and new MacPro basically cannot fully utilise the multiple CPU/core effectively and so have been advised not to waste my money and go for an iMac…..
So I decided to come here and ask the FCP users what you think…I have a HD video camera and as a favor to my friends who are entertainers I generally have 2hours of HD video each month to edit and render, a very time consuming task in a mid range consumer PC, now I have the money for a MacPro but am not sure whether there is significant performance improvement with the higher end Mac Pro.
Advise would be appreciated.Spike
-
4 Replies
-
Hi Spike,
FCS does utilise the cores better than it ever has done in the past but there is only so far you can go with a 32bit app. Could FCS use the cores better? Yes it could. Will it happen with this version? I doubt it. When FCS becomes 64 bit is when we’ll really see the difference.
You’ll find the biggest speed bump when encoding your final videos.. Compressor does a great job of making the most of a multicore system. And if you’re working HD vision then those extra cores will help when rendering effects in FCP.
Motion focuses more on the graphics card you have installed than the processors and the AGPs on the Pro are better than those in the iMac. FCP can only use up to 4GB of system RAM but that doesn’t stop you from putting more RAM in your Mac for other apps and processes!!My advice would be to go for a MacPro. It doesn’t have to be the high end model though. The main thing that always pushes me towards the Pros than the iMacs is that the Pros are much easier to upgrade as you go. Extra RAM, graphics cards, HDs, capture cards etc. The iMac gives you very little choice for upgrading. Plus if you’re cutting HD vision you may want to consider ESATA ext HDs. The iMac doesn’t have an ESATA connection.
Don’t forget the other apps out there that are 64bit, like CS5. I used to use Adobe Media Encoder CS4 to create flvs and it was painfully slow. With CS5 and it’s 64bit architecture, the same encoding process flies! I haven’t upgraded my mac but the new app uses my resources in a much more effective, 64bit kinda way. I’m looking forward to FCS 64bit and I don’t think I’m the only one!
All the best,
Simon
“Is it me or do I spend half my life watching little grey bars turn into little blue bars??”
-
Simon,
Thanks for your post, it helped alot in my decision process.
Hope I can return the favor sometime in the future.Spike
-
No worries Spike! Happy Cutting!
“Is it me or do I spend half my life watching little grey bars turn into little blue bars??”
-
I am new to FCP & CS4. I was using a laptop which was not fast enough. I bought an iMac i7 a couple of weeks ago. It is slow as slow can be! The Apple salesman told me he uses it to edit HD (WTF). I am returning it. Bottom line is you need a big computer to work with HD. I am looking for advice on what to get.
Things to consider include hardware acceleration & raid drives, which require a desktop model with expansion slots.
good Luck!
Reply to this Discussion! Login or Sign Up