As it stands now, video production requires very little of a video card. Open GL is in a bad place right now and even the most demanding programs, such as After Effects CS3, can run great on the most basic video card offered. Our big issue is processor power and RAM, which are both headed in the right direction. With some exceptions, you would be hard-pressed to walk into a video or audio post production facility and not find a room full of MacPros.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Intel's Penryn Xeon Processors Due in November
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Motion 3 Needs A Strong Video Card To Do Its Job Efficiently
Based on a Motion 3 class I had at the Palo Alto Apple Store last night, the video card is crucial for that work. The instructor, author of several Motion books, said the ATI 1900 512MB card is almost a must have item. Anybody got one laying around they want to let go cheap?
Yes! That is one of the major exceptions. That being said, Motion is still an unaccepted app by most of the post world. It's just so clunky compared to their other products. I use it mainly for its particle systems but in general, it just feels so immature. I'm not saying great things can't be done with it, just that VERY VERY few use it. Easily the crashiest Apple program I've ever used, also.
In southern california i have to shell out $10.50 to see a movie...does that mean they play back at 31.5 fps? I would hope so, it costs 30% more than a movie wherever you are, so performance should scale appropriately no?
Motion 3 Is A Lot Improved Over Previous Versions - Includes A Lot Of Shake Inside
That may have been in the past versions, but version 3 looks really stable an easy to use. It's full of Shake features too that weren't in versions 1 or 2. YOu might want to give it another go.
The thing is that Apple does "slightly" cater to the gamers. I know you really meant "actually" catered. I want Apple to do so... I know every gamer out there would dump their pre-made Dells and maybe even the Alienwares for a rig that ran every game ever created and Mac OS X. I hope Apple listens to the whisperers and whiners and make that machine that everyone wants... but as we all know Apple only moves in two directions... Either they will make a tower like all the gamers want and it will be a tad bit over the price point most want it at, or Apple won't do it at all because they see something that we all can't.
As my video editing colleague multimedia mentioned before... the previous versions of Motion were very limiting. LiveType did most of what you need without all of the flashiness. Now it seems to be much improved... haven't gotten my hands on it yet. The one thing that will drive it's use in the professional world up is media convergence and compatibility. If the Apple engineers know what they could have on the media market, they will make every pro app they have sync in some why with each other. Aperture, Final Cut Pro, iLife Apps, iWork Apps, and the OS of course already sync very well with each other. If Apple brings in DVD Studio Pro, Soundtrack, Logic, Motion, Any Server based App (FCP Server too), and maybe some kinda juiced up version of iWeb that works with flash and other Adobe web programs Apple will always be on the bleeding edge of multimedia/media convergence production. The only people wanting the other apps would be the ones that want to be left behind with big deficits.
I don't know why anyone would want to wait a full year for a new processor when the new ones haven't even come out yet. The new ones will kick butt because they are still a year off from full production. We'd be waiting forever for any kind of mature process or style of manufacturing.
This is really good news. If the Penryn Xeon chips were released any later, then Apple, or any other computer vendor, would miss the Holiday season. I really thought the earliest we would see a Mac Pro update would be Jan 08. Now that it looks fairly certain for we will see the release in Nov 07, then my 5 year-old Dell will be retired now just a couple months earlier....and that makes be happier.
I expect the "entry level" Mac Pro to contain 8-cores at 2.0Ghz with 2GB RAM. Say bye-bye to a 4-core machine. I also expect a new enclosure, but not radically different than what exists now. The current enclosure is a massive heat sink and will probably remain that way.
Oh yeah, and maybe at the same time we'll *finally* see updated iSight-savvy ACD's too.
I expect the "entry level" Mac Pro to contain 8-cores at 2.0Ghz with 2GB RAM. Say bye-bye to a 4-core machine. I also expect a new enclosure, but not radically different than what exists now. The current enclosure is a massive heat sink and will probably remain that way.
Oh yeah, and maybe at the same time we'll *finally* see updated iSight-savvy ACD's too.
Problem with 3 ghz clovertowns early on was that it had a TDP of 150W. Most servers/workstations designed (for woodcrest/clovertown) for TDP 120W.
With G0 revision Intel reduced TDP of x5365 to 120W and we see all OEM's adding it to their servers and workstations.
With one comment, you've told me you are utterly CLUELESS about gaming and probably computer hardware and maybe even computers in general.
24fps might work fine for film, but it's CONSISTENTLY 24 fps whereas 3D computers games are NEVER EVER consistent in their frame rates unless forced to a given frame rate (and that assumes that internally it's always running at a rate that will not drop below that rate). A given 3D game that averages 80fps will probably drop below 30 fps in very busy areas of the game. This is an indisputable fact. So now you tell me what's going to happen on that same game if you're getting 28 fps and you go into that busy area? It's going to drop to less than 8 fps and become UNPLAYABLE in that area! Gamer or not, that is unacceptable performance and I was talking about CURRENT games (i.e. the ones that numbers were posted for in the reviews). What's going to happen with the games of tomorrow? Next year's games? Etc.? Your 28fps average on that iMac is going to be 8fps average and it will be unplayable without decreasing your rendered resolution, which of course will look like crap on an LCD since it will no longer be in its native resolution. Given you are forced to use a given size LCD with iMacs, you can't even go buy a used CRT if you want to (I'm using one on this PowerMac here and it cost me $30 for a 19" multi-sync used. It works great. Unfortunately, this G4 is not a gaming machine in ANY sense of the word in 2007. At best I can play retro/old games on it or emulated old systems like Mame or C64 or Amiga games).
Now you've painted yourself not only as computer illiterate, but as a games hater to boot. I find it ironic that Mac fanboys are rabid about the things they like, but are totally dismissive about the faults of the Mac lineup when it comes to things they just don't care about. And yet even so, they remain incredibly argumentative, this time arguing about how USELESS their machines are for gaming, yet it's OK because gamers are idiots, morons, waste of skin, etc. apparently in their eyes. But using Garage Band to pretend you're a rock star is FUN! (rolls eyes).
The Mac Pro is nothing special. You can recreate similar hardware in the PC realm. It will cost you something similar, no doubt. It's just hardware. "Need" for it is no doubt subjective to the person in question. If I need to run games on a Mac, then I 'need' a Mac Pro because Apple's other offerings are inadequate for above said reasons.
But don't fanboys want everyone to buy Macs? Then why are they so eager to push people back to the world of Windows if they hint they like to game once in awhile? If Apple suddenly supported gaming in a big way, I'd imagine they'd change their tune instantly because ultimately, I believe fanboys are about whatever they believe Apple to be pushing at a given time. If gaming is off Apple's list, it's off the fanboy list as well.
Amazing how you speak for the entire site here as if everyone agrees with your dim view of life and what it means to be a professional. I'm an electronic engineer by trade in my 30's. Does that mean I have to become a jaded old sourpuss?
Like it or not, Cider means that gaming is coming back to the Mac sooner or later and you will probably have a mental breakdown because suddenly these forums will be filled with gamers that you apparently hate so much.
Who is this "our" you are talking about? I assume you mean "we the Mac fanboys" or something. Honestly, I wish all Mac fanboys would create their own message board site and then they can all sit around and talk about nothing. Ever see the movie Clueless? That's what fanboys remind me of. Like OMG did you see the sexy new case on the new iMac! I could just die!
BTW: What's up with all these gamers invading this Pro space? Really pathetic having to wade through their dribble. Don't forget to wipe up after yourselves on your way out the door children.
I dunno. What's up with all these Mac fanboys being such arrogant condescending intolerable pricks?
Just because I want to game doesn't mean I want to skimp on the power to work with video. That and actually be able to upgrade my machine...BTW: What's up with all these gamers invading this Pro space? Really pathetic having to wade through their dribble. Don't forget to wipe up after yourselves on your way out the door children.
Some here apparently find it hard to believe that so-called 'gamers' do anything else but game. Ironically, I've made 33 games for Windows, some of which are being distributed commercially. I'm sure that's not a "pro" use of a computer, though
Imagine that, though, someone who makes games likes to also play games. I do all kinds of things with my computers, though, not just gaming. I truly feel sorry for people that have lost their inner child and don't enjoy having fun anymore. I still go to amusement parks at 32 and have no plans to stop going. Being an adult doesn't mean you can't have fun.
Imagine that, though, someone who makes games likes to also play games. I do all kinds of things with my computers, though, not just gaming. I truly feel sorry for people that have lost their inner child and don't enjoy having fun anymore. I still go to amusement parks at 32 and have no plans to stop going. Being an adult doesn't mean you can't have fun.
I like the thick sturdiness of the brushed aluminum chassis... feels substantial and bullet proof...ish.
Maybe they could rework the design a little but it's very functional. Looking back on the old plastic G3/G4s, they were somewhat awkward and kind of lame compared to the G5 and Mac Pro.
Basically I hope they don't go back to a plastic design.
I doubt they will move back to a plastic design for their pro machine. I cannot imagine what direction they will take when the day comes to revise the MacPro...
Lots of alum and glass. I love how Leopard's alum and glass UI now match the iMac's look. My bet is the updated MacPro will be essentially a smaller version of what exsits now. Nothing too radical. Maybe it will me the mid-tower everyone is wants.
They are catering "slightly" to gamers with the Mac Pro right now, but the underlying hardware architecture of the Mac Pro is really not optimized for gamers.
I have an HP xw6400 workstation here at work. It's essentially the same hardware as is in the Mac Pro with two dual-core Xeon processors (for a total of four cores). I can probably put an nVidia 8800 into it, but do I really want to spend $2000 for the underlying hardware to do that, when an i965-based Core2 Extreme Q6600 four-core desktop can be had for about half that?
I have a $2400 xw6400 instead of a $600 dc7700 like my colleagues because I do GIS and imaging work and I need something that can really shovel data inside the machine and out over the network. But I bet with an 8800 in each of our machines, our fps would probably be relatively close - certainly the dc7700 should be "plenty good". And the base machine would be one-fourth the price.
So even if Apple released an 8800 card for the Mac Pro, I am not sure how many people would pay $1000 or more just to be able to use it. I bought a 24" iMac instead of a Mac Pro and a 23" LCD because the Mac Pro was $4000 and the iMac was $2000. I don't need the Mac Pro's power at home, and I wasn't willing to pay twice as much just to get a better video card then the one integrated in the iMac.
I play mostly PC games, anyway, so I can put together a mighty fine PC gaming system for $2000. But since I don't need that kind of gaming power, I don't even need to spend $1000 to get the gaming performance I desire.
Nehalem? What When Would That Be? I Can't Imagine Waiting Beyond Harpertown SS.
Wait beyond Harpertown in SS? I can't imagine that will be very soon after this first big change to the MP platform could it?
I'm looking to replace my PowerMac G5 with a Mac Pro (looks like now is a bad time though with all but the top model being not updated for 12 months) and I'm really think the internal design of the Mac Pro is a huge improvement over the G5. 4 hard drives (it was nuts only fitting 2 in the G5) and I'm sure the extra optical drive bay will come in very handy when Blueray gets going. I've just been looking at the external ports - looks like more firewire/USB. The only thing that's lacking are eSATA ports - but with 4 internal drive bays it's not important for me.
Oh, and by the way, I play games on my Mac. I don't choose my Mac for playing games, but I like to be able to use it for both work and play. I really don't want two separate machines.