FCP on mac mini

[asmith3006]

Hi.

I am an Avid editor and want to try out FCP as it looks quite fun. I don't have the money to buy anything other than a Mac Mini really, but I have spotted that FCP 5 doesn't run on it. Is this a "we really don't recommend it if you're editing full res HD" or is it a "we've completely disabled it so you'll be forced to spend more money"?

With the new release of OS X coming soon(??) should I wait, or do Apple do a nice promotion of giving you a free upgrade if you purchased in the last month or so?

Finally, if it's the graphics chipset that's the problem, is it likely that Apple will upgrade the chipset soon on the mini or is this a deliberate action to keep FCP off of the mini?

Thanks for all answers.

Andrew.

 

[tehybrid]

FCP should run on the new core2 minis, but dont expect motion or shake or anything pretty to work with the integrated gfx. And it isnt that Apple want more money from editors it is that the mini is a crossover/grandmother computer, aimed more towards grandparents or windows crossovers than FCP users. Apple usually lets people upgrade to the OSX upgrade if they bought slightly before, but I believe there may be a small fee (around $10). Dont expect any mini updates for a while, they already use core 2 chips what else do you want? A Core 2 Quad in a Mini?!

Kevin

 

[OldSkoolNJ]

Sooooo .. You don't have the money to spend on more than a Mac Mini but you do have the $1300 to spend on FCP??? Remember you will also have to up your Ram on that machine to be able to even load FCP on there also.

Kevin

 

[Iverieli]

FCP should run on the new core2 minis, but dont expect motion or shake or anything pretty to work with the integrated gfx. And it isnt that Apple want more money from editors it is that the mini is a crossover/grandmother computer, aimed more towards grandparents or windows crossovers than FCP users. Apple usually lets people upgrade to the OSX upgrade if they bought slightly before, but I believe there may be a small fee (around $10). Dont expect any mini updates for a while, they already use core 2 chips what else do you want? A Core 2 Quad in a Mini?!

Kevin

I'm so sorry to saying this, but what you said about Mac mini is very wrong.

I just installed Final Cut Pro 5.1 on my mac mini and do you want to know how long installations takes? less then one minute. After that FCP opened and works absolutelly fine, without any problem. Don't believe it? See screenshot. But remember, thats Mac mini Core 2 Duo 2.0GHz. I did that job myself and swaped intel processors.

 

[SMM]

I have used FCP on my G4 Powerbook - 1.5 with 1 GB of Ram. Motion 1 would not install on a G4, but it did when the FCS was released. I do not recall using it on the PB, so I cannot attest to the performance.

 

[tehybrid]

I'm so sorry to saying this, but what you said about Mac mini is very wrong.

I just installed Final Cut Pro 5.1 on my mac mini and do you want to know how long installations takes? less then one minute. After that FCP opened and works absolutelly fine, without any problem. Don't believe it? See screenshot. But remember, thats Mac mini Core 2 Duo 2.0GHz. I did that job myself and swaped intel processors.

i do believe i said it was possible, but shake anbd motion werent going to be usable, and i see you only have FCP up, i can run FCP on a macbook.... shake/motion wont run on a mini

 

[eXan]

FCP should run on the new core2 minis, but dont expect motion or shake or anything pretty to work with the integrated gfx. And it isnt that Apple want more money from editors it is that the mini is a crossover/grandmother computer, aimed more towards grandparents or windows crossovers than FCP users. Apple usually lets people upgrade to the OSX upgrade if they bought slightly before, but I believe there may be a small fee (around $10). Dont expect any mini updates for a while, they already use core 2 chips what else do you want? A Core 2 Quad in a Mini?!

Kevin

Err... Mac minis still run on Core Duo processors, not C2D, dont they ?

 

[-DH]

Hi,

I drive a dump truck carrying crushed gravel. I'd really like to try carrying river gravel as I like the color of it and it looks like fun. I don't have the money to buy anything but a Yugo. Since the Yugo and my dump truck both have wheels and an engine, shouldn't I be able to haul gravel in the Yugo?

With the new Yugo engine coming out soon, should I wait? Or does Yugo do a nice promotion of giving you a free upgrade if you purchased in the last month or so?

If it's the transmission that keeps it from hauling gravel, is it likely that Yugo will upgrade the transmission soon or is this a deliberate action to keep me from hauling gravel in a Yugo?

 

[Irish Dave]

Hi,

I drive a dump truck carrying crushed gravel. I'd really like to try carrying river gravel as I like the color of it and it looks like fun. I don't have the money to buy anything but a Yugo. Since the Yugo and my dump truck both have wheels and an engine, shouldn't I be able to haul gravel in the Yugo?

With the new Yugo engine coming out soon, should I wait? Or does Yugo do a nice promotion of giving you a free upgrade if you purchased in the last month or so?

If it's the transmission that keeps it from hauling gravel, is it likely that Yugo will upgrade the transmission soon or is this a deliberate action to keep me from hauling gravel in a Yugo?

WHAT? !!!!

 

[eXan]

Hi,

I drive a dump truck carrying crushed gravel. I'd really like to try carrying river gravel as I like the color of it and it looks like fun. I don't have the money to buy anything but a Yugo. Since the Yugo and my dump truck both have wheels and an engine, shouldn't I be able to haul gravel in the Yugo?

With the new Yugo engine coming out soon, should I wait? Or does Yugo do a nice promotion of giving you a free upgrade if you purchased in the last month or so?

If it's the transmission that keeps it from hauling gravel, is it likely that Yugo will upgrade the transmission soon or is this a deliberate action to keep me from hauling gravel in a Yugo?

lol Right

 

[Ninja_Turtle]

all i have to say about FCP on a mini is



"lmfaoroflol"






ps: haha

 

[bigandy]

I'm actually going to go against most of the crowd here and say it is possible to use FCS 5.1 on a Mini.

I actually tried it for a little while, and while nothing compared to a G5 or a MacPro, it is usable. However be prepared for relatively long render times - and if you want editing to work quicker, consider a fast (7,200 rpm +) FireWire drive, as the internal disc isn't quick.

Motion will load, but it'll be very slow. Oh, and SMM, Motion 1.0 would install on a G4 - here we had it on G4 PowerBooks and G5s.

 

[Dunepilot]

Hi.

I am an Avid editor and want to try out FCP as it looks quite fun. I don't have the money to buy anything other than a Mac Mini really, but I have spotted that FCP 5 doesn't run on it. Is this a "we really don't recommend it if you're editing full res HD" or is it a "we've completely disabled it so you'll be forced to spend more money"?

With the new release of OS X coming soon(??) should I wait, or do Apple do a nice promotion of giving you a free upgrade if you purchased in the last month or so?

Finally, if it's the graphics chipset that's the problem, is it likely that Apple will upgrade the chipset soon on the mini or is this a deliberate action to keep FCP off of the mini?

Thanks for all answers.

Andrew.

You could try looking for a refurbished PowerMac G5 or an iMac G5. That's what I'd do.

 

[Iverieli]

i do believe i said it was possible, but shake anbd motion werent going to be usable, and i see you only have FCP up, i can run FCP on a macbook.... shake/motion wont run on a mini

OK. I installed both. Shake 4.1 and Motion 2.1. Both runs cool and mostly shake. Motion took 3-5 minutes to install and then opened very quickly.

See screens:

 

[-DH]

I'm actually going to go against most of the crowd here and say it is possible to use FCS 5.1 on a Mini.

Of course it's possible. I can even haul gravel in my Yugo, but the point of my post above was/is; it really isn't the right tool for the job.

-DH

 

[Artofilm]

It is definately possible to run FCP on a Mac mini.
Not too long ago, I ran Final Cut Express HD on my old Mac mini.
My Mac mini was a G4 1.42 GHz, and it was awesome!
Along with FCE, I also ran LiveType, SoundTrack Pro & Photoshop at the same time.

Dont get me wrong, it did slow down, but for such a small, inexpensive computer, it sure is a work-horse!
I think it will fun FCP fine.

 

[asmith3006]

Hi,

I drive a dump truck carrying crushed gravel. I'd really like to try carrying river gravel as I like the color of it and it looks like fun. I don't have the money to buy anything but a Yugo. Since the Yugo and my dump truck both have wheels and an engine, shouldn't I be able to haul gravel in the Yugo?

With the new Yugo engine coming out soon, should I wait? Or does Yugo do a nice promotion of giving you a free upgrade if you purchased in the last month or so?

If it's the transmission that keeps it from hauling gravel, is it likely that Yugo will upgrade the transmission soon or is this a deliberate action to keep me from hauling gravel in a Yugo?

What on earth did you bother to post that for? It doesn't help anyone with anything other than to know that you're an unhelpful poster. Cheers.

Artofilm and others who answered my question, thank you.

Ninja_turtle, I believe I said that I'm not going to be doing serious editing on it, just exploring the system to see if it's worth investigating further. Everyone else seems to think a mini would be fine for that....

Thanks for the help.

 

[bigandy]

OK. I installed both. Shake 4.1 and Motion 2.1. Both runs cool and mostly shake. Motion took 3-5 minutes to install and then opened very quickly.

See screens:

i think this is a tiny bit misleading - you are using a custom upgraded machine with a processor that's not only faster than the ones available to the rest of us, but a generation ahead too.

Of course it's possible. I can even haul gravel in my Yugo, but the point of my post above was/is; it really isn't the right tool for the job.

-DH

you've missed my point. it is possible and it is usable. while it may not be the best tool for the job, it's not the worst.

 

[-DH]

What on earth did you bother to post that for? It doesn't help anyone with anything other than to know that you're an unhelpful poster. Cheers.

Because I felt like it. Sorry you didn't see or understand my analogy as helpful. By the way, are you running your AVID system on a Mac Mini?

-DH

 

[eXan]

I used FCP on my old 700 MHz eMac G4, when I didnt yet have my current iMac G5.

The current minis have 1.66 or 1.83 dual-core processors, which is pretty good (better than my single-core 2Ghz G5) for rendering/encoding. The only component in the mini that slows FCP down is slow (and small) HD. Get a fast FW800 drive and you'll be set.

Off Topic: Im on DSL now

 

[DeadSirius]

I installed Final Cut Studio (minus Motion) on my first gen Mini (non-Intel, single core)with 1 GB RAM. It wasn't without bumps (chaining Firewire devices is workable but dicey), however it managed to hold its own. I never did any pro work with it, but got through several of my own personal projects very capably.

That same Mini also runs Avid Xpress Pro, while, oddly, my Mac Pro won't... (yet).

 

[ChrisA]

Quote from the Apple FCP web site:

Final Cut Studio is not supported on systems using the Intel Extreme Graphics 950 GMA​

Many of the above posts say something like "FCP Works on my G4 based system so it should work on the Mini." No. The NEW mini, the one Apple sells today has the Intel Extreme Graphics 950 GMA in side. The OLD mini and other G4/G5 computers had a different graphic processor inside.

If you want to buy the least expensive machine that can run FCP go to the Apple web site, find the "refurb store" and buy a refurb 17" iMac there is one there now for $949.
Or if that is to much buy a used G4 Power Mac

See here for system requirements
http://www.apple.com/finalcutstudio/specs.html

I have another thread open about using FCE on a G4 Mini. This is of course different then using FCP on an Intel Mini. If cost is an issue look at FCE. It lacks some features but the full price of FCE can be applied to an FCP upgrade. So you loos nothing and your hardware requirements are reduced

 

[Artofilm]

Quote from the Apple FCP web site:
Final Cut Studio is not supported on systems using the Intel Extreme Graphics 950 GMA
Many of the above posts say something like "FCP Works on my G4 based system so it should work on the Mini." No. The NEW mini, the one Apple sells today has the Intel Extreme Graphics 950 GMA in side. The OLD mini and other G4/G5 computers had a different graphic processor inside.

Are we talking about Final Cut Studio or Final Cut Pro?
I do agree, Final Cut Studio will not run (entirely) on a Intel Mac mini.
The one program that wont run is Motion, it needs a more powerful graphics card than whats inside the intel Mac minis.

But Final Cut Pro, along with Soundtrack Pro, DVD Studio & Livetype, will run fine.

 

[eXan]

But Final Cut Pro, along with Soundtrack Pro, DVD Studio & Livetype, will run fine.

True

 

[bigandy]

Are we talking about Final Cut Studio or Final Cut Pro?
I do agree, Final Cut Studio will not run (entirely) on a Intel Mac mini.
The one program that wont run is Motion, it needs a more powerful graphics card than whats inside the intel Mac minis.

But Final Cut Pro, along with Soundtrack Pro, DVD Studio & Livetype, will run fine.

Final Cut Pro is not available any more as a standalone product. Final Cut Studio is comprised of the programmes above that you mentioned. And they all run on a Mac Mini, including Motion. I have done it, it works, it's quite slow, but it works.

Whereas Motion will not install on some machines because of graphics, it will install on the Mini.