Michael Hadley
Forum Replies Created
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FWIW, Apple said they would announce the new Mac Pro in 2018. My guess is that they will do so very late in the year and not actually deliver boxes until 2019–just like with the 2013 Mac Pro.
I’ll be interested to see what the specs are with the next version of FCPX does once they come out with the new iMac Pro, which will support eGPU on the AMD Vega cards (once High Sierra is updated) and if it makes sense at that point to get an eGPU with the new AMD Vega card and try to prolong the lifespan of my 2013 Mac Pro.
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You make a good point. But I’m on a nMP so that’s the issue. Performance hits.
Although I have to imagine on your iMac if you start adding a lot of filters and plug ins to your non-Pro Res files and timeline, things would really start to bog down, yes?
FCPX wants you to transcode to Pro Res (that’s why it’s the default selection no import) to maintain better performance. At least that’s my understanding of it.
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Yes, have used those occasionally in the past and they work great. We primarily hire shooters on our projects, so it depends on their kit, and they often charge an additional rental fee for Atomos and similar. Not that big a deal to transcode at the start of editing…at least so far.
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Maybe. Gonna wait and see pricing on iMac Pro 10 and 18 Core.
That said, egpu.io reports a performance boost on Bruce X of 16 vs 24 secs—33% increase. That’s not nothing. And likely much better with the AMD Pro Vega cards once Apple releases drivers.
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Mostly shoot with C300 Mark 2, Sony F7 or F5. Generally use Edit Ready to do the transcoding.
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In our workflow, we transcode everything to Pro Res before the edit. It’s a pain upfront, but I think it pays dividends, especially once we begin adding filters, Color Finale, Core Melt, Vignettes, etc.
Only deal with H264 or MP4 on export so not an issue during editing.
FWIW, after a little more digging on the FANTASTIC egpu.io site, it seems like the optimum eGPU and card set up for FCPX on a 2013 Mac Pro trashcan is:
Sonnet eGFX 550W Thunderbolt 3 enclosure
AMD Vega 56 Graphics card
Apple Thunderbolt 3 to Thunderbolt 2 adapterApprox $800 all in.
This is the same card series that will be in the new iMac Pro. The caveat is that you will need to wait for the new iMac Pro to launch and they update High Sierra to work with this card.
The bummer is the performance loss from TB3 to TB2. The upside is that you can use the Sonnet on other more recent TB3 macs in the future.
Or just wait and buy a new iMac Pro for $5-$10K. Or the 2018 Mac Pro for who knows how much and when…
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Sage advice…. except…
It looks like I would spend about $700 for eGPU box and card and the performance gains seem like they might be worth it. (Although that’s something I’m still investigating).
I will be definitely getting a new iMac Pro or Mac Pro in the future–but the eGPU might enable me to delay for another year or 18 months.
New iMac Pro will probably set me back $7K, assuming I get mid-tier. And who knows with 2018 Mac Pro. I would have to imagine at least that much?
So you see the dilemma…
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With further digging, I found this post from the terrific egpu.io website…
https://egpu.io/forums/news/rx-580-review-amd-xconnect-freesync/#post-23631
With an AMD 580 card, Bruce x goes from 24 secs to 16 secs. That seems like a pretty robust improvement.
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Well, call me jaded but 10.4 seems pretty meh.
While the 360/VR is cool for what I imagine to be a tiny niche market, it reminds me of the 3D titles update. Cool, but–way, way down on the list.
The more sophisticated/standardized color controls are welcome but again, with Color Finale and Chromatic out there, not high on the list. Moreover, those two plug-in developers are among the most ardent proponents of FCPX, and now Apple has just punched them in the gut.
So: kinda disappointing. And I’m sure most folks would agree that enhanced audio mixing or send to Logic are at the top of the list. Nowhere to be seen.
I’ve been an X supporter since day one but 10.4 seems unimpressive at first glance.
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Great idea!
I would def pay $$ for a robust audio mixing solution, a more powerful color correction system, and possibly other add-ons I don’t even know I’d like.
Would pay $150-$300 per module, no problem, given how inexpensive FCPX is.
In fact, I’m going to call Tim Cook right after I post this.