5k iMac for FCP X

[AFPoster]

I need some guidance.

I currently have a mid-2014 Retina MacBook Pro with 16gb ram, 2.5ghz i7 and NVIDIA GeForce GT 750M 2048 MB + Intel Iris Pro 1536 MB.

I do a lot of editing on my MBP and it's struggling to keep up. My dilemma is I can upgrade to the newest MBP available or I can get the 5k iMac with 32gb ram and 2tb ssd with the 4.2 i7. I am struggling to identify which would be faster and more reliable from a post-production perspective.

Right now a 12min 4k clip in FCP X takes around 90 minutes in Compressor and editing in FCP X is very laggy. If only the new MBP had 32gb of ram this would be a non-issue...

 

[driftless]

That configuration of the iMac would make a nice editing machine.

 

[BeechFlyer]

I'd go with the iMac. The large screen will be very helpful for video editing. And the new SSD is wicked fast!

 

[cynics]

Do you have quality set to better performance? Use a Proxy?

 

[AFPoster]

Do you have quality set to better performance? Use a Proxy?

I do on my MacBook Pro. and BeechFlyer I have 2 27" eternals =).

 

[joema2]

...I currently have a mid-2014 Retina MacBook Pro with 16gb ram, 2.5ghz i7 and NVIDIA GeForce GT 750M 2048 MB + Intel Iris Pro 1536 MB....I do a lot of editing on my MBP and it's struggling to keep up. My dilemma is I can upgrade to the newest MBP available or I can get the 5k iMac with 32gb ram and 2tb ssd with the 4.2 i7. I am struggling to identify which would be faster and more reliable from a post-production perspective.FCP X....

I have the 2015 and 2016 top-spec MBP, also a 2015 and 2017 top-spec iMac 27. In FCPX, the 2017 is *vastly* faster. Just from the 2015 to 2017 iMac, H264 rendering and exporting is 2x faster, which would generally be even more faster than a laptop. The degree and amount of performance difference will vary based on exact codec, effects, etc. However the 2017 iMac 27 is much more improved running FCPX than synthetic benchmarks would indicate.

 

[AFPoster]

I have the 2015 and 2016 top-spec MBP, also a 2015 and 2017 top-spec iMac 27. In FCPX, the 2017 is *vastly* faster. Just from the 2015 to 2017 iMac, H264 rendering and exporting is 2x faster, which would generally be even more faster than a laptop. The degree and amount of performance difference will vary based on exact codec, effects, etc. However the 2017 iMac 27 is much more improved running FCPX than synthetic benchmarks would indicate.

I appreciate this response! I just ordered the below. Right now, I'm filming using a Sony a6300 in 4k leveraging the Sony 28-135mm FE PZ F4 G OSS. I have been rendering my Events at Apple ProRes 422 at a 23.98p rate. No idea if that's appropriate settings or not, but that's what I am doing. Any advice?

Right now, my 2014 MBP takes about 30+ minutes in Compressor for a 12min video and FCP X is laggy. I have a fully stacked MBP as well, so the next one I buy will be spec'd out as well later this year.

27-inch iMac with Retina 5K display
• 4.2GHz quad-core 7th-generation Intel Core i7 processor, Turbo Boost up to 4.5GHz
• 32GB 2400MHz DDR4
• 1TB SSD
• Radeon Pro 580 with 8GB video memory
• Magic Mouse 2
• Magic Keyboard with Numeric Keypad - US English
• Accessory Kit

 

[joema2]

I appreciate this response! I just ordered the below. Right now, I'm filming using a Sony a6300 in 4k leveraging the Sony 28-135mm FE PZ F4 G OSS. I have been rendering my Events at Apple ProRes 422 at a 23.98p rate. No idea if that's appropriate settings or not, but that's what I am doing. Any advice?

We have several of those cameras, also the A6500 and A7RII, plus that lens. By "render my Events at Apple ProRes 422 at 23.9p", do you mean for export, or your project render format is set to that? Render format defaults to ProRes 422, and can be seen if you click on the project, then in Inspect click "Modify".

If you mean your export format is ProRes 422 at 23.98p, that is a personal decision based on your distribution requirements. For web distribution often just using 4k or even 1080p H264 is good enough and the export and upload can be much faster. You can try this and evaluate any visible differences in image quality. For fastest export:

(1) File>Share>Master File>Settings
(2) Format: Computer
(3) Video codec: H.264 Faster Encode
(4) Resolution: either 4k or 1080p

....Right now, my 2014 MBP takes about 30+ minutes in Compressor for a 12min video and FCP X is laggy. I have a fully stacked MBP as well, so the next one I buy will be spec'd out as well later this year...

If you export directly from FCPX using the above parameters it may be much faster. You'll have to evaluate the result quality, but I usually can't see much or any difference.

If you're editing camera-native 4k XAVC-S that will be sluggish on almost any computer. The 2017 iMac 27 i7 can do it more smoothly but even it can lag a little. On all other computers you'll need to transcode to proxy. This is built in to FCPX and easy to use. Just remember to flip the viewer to proxy, then flip it back to optimized/original for the final export, otherwise it will be at proxy resolution.