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D300 Vs D700 for FCPX

MacPro61

MacPro61

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Original poster
Feb 22, 2024
15
1
Hello!!

I'm the owner of a basic Mac Pro 6,1 with 4 Core and D300 graphic card. Editing 1080 videos works nice but I'm interested to work with 4K videos right now and I'm on serious problems with the timeline and the kind of files...

Thinking about upgrade the Mac Pro to 12 Core 2.7GH, and I have the choice to get very very cheap the 'high end' Mac Pro with the D700 series.

I'm looking for an advice if it will be enough with the 12 Core and D300 for 4K edition or It is much better choose a D700 based system.
 
I'd recommend saving your money and get an Apple Silicon Mac. The D700s were not terribly reliable and the 2013 Pros are all dramatically outperformed in Final Cut by Apple Silicon Macs. None of the 2013 Mac Pros support hardware encoding or decoding of H.264 or H.265.
 
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chrfr said:
I'd recommend saving your money and get an Apple Silicon Mac. The D700s were not terribly reliable and the 2013 Pros are all dramatically outperformed in Final Cut by Apple Silicon Macs. None of the 2013 Mac Pros support hardware encoding or decoding of H.264 or H.265.
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HI!
I really apreciate your post. Yeah, I know there are better options but I'm not asking in this way. But I repeat, thank you very much for your help.

I didn't found any comparison on the net about my question: D300 vs D700 on FCPX.
 
I'm not using Final Cut.
But as you already own a 4-core D300 machine, I'd check CPU and GPU usage with Activity Monitor during times you see the Mac Pro struggeling.
I would say you'd only benefit of the D700s if one of the two GPUs hit close to 100% usage.
 

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arw said:
I'm not using Final Cut.
But as you already own a 4-core D300 machine, I'd check CPU and GPU usage with Activity Monitor during times you see the Mac Pro struggeling.
I would say you'd only benefit of the D700s if one of the two GPUs hit close to 100% usage.
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Oh, I just tried and yes, the D300 it is only used max at 37%. Definitely that's the answer that I need it.
Thx!!


The lack of Mac mini M1 is the storage capacity. In the Mac Pro I have 4TB internal SSD + 16TB external via USB 3.
 
By wasting your money on such ancient technology, you are simply postponing the inevitable. Even the most basic Mac Mini for a measly $600 will exponentially outperform the 6,1. I have no idea why anyone would want to still invest in such an archaic machine. Never mind that 'upgrading' (in the loosest sense of the word) to a D700 won't even move the needle anyway. And if you want the 4TB, why not take it out of the 6,1 and use it externally? 🤨 Which, as I said, you should be doing anyway when editing with FC, just for redundancy reasons alone.
 
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R S K said:
By wasting your money on such ancient technology, you are simply postponing the inevitable. Even the most basic Mac Mini for a measly $600 will exponentially outperform the 6,1. I have no idea why anyone would want to still invest in such an archaic machine. Never mind that 'upgrading' (in the loosest sense of the word) to a D700 won't even move the needle anyway. And if you want the 4TB, why not take it out of the 6,1 and use it externally? 🤨 Which, as I said, you should be doing anyway when editing with FC, just for redundancy reasons alone.
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Man... I know and your advice is logical :)
I'm not rational choosing that choice because the design of Mac Pro :D I really love this machine, the last one with the Jobs and Ive signature, I think so... :)
I am aware that it is not positive to be romantic with technology :D :D
 
MacPro61 said:
Man... I know and your advice is logical :)
I'm not rational choosing that choice because the design of Mac Pro :D I really love this machine, the last one with the Jobs and Ive signature, I think so... :)
I am aware that it is not positive to be romantic with technology :D :D
Click to expand...
But again even if you do stay with this old Mac Pro, the D700 is quite prone to failure due to overheating so really, just save your money and stick with what you have.
 
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chrfr said:
But again even if you do stay with this old Mac Pro, the D700 is quite prone to failure due to overheating so really, just save your money and stick with what you have.
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Ok, thx for the advice!
 
rx7dude said:
What version of Mac OS and FCPX are you using? 4K was not usable on my 5,1 until I upgraded to OS 12 and FC 10.6.8
I realize you have a 6,1 but worth mentioning.
Also Greg has a ton of information regarding upgrades for your MP:
blog.greggant.com

The Definitive Trashcan Mac Pro 6.1 (Late 2013) Upgrade Guide

A guide with every conceivable Mac Pro 2013 upgrade, from SSD hacks, CPU upgrades, to eGPUs.
blog.greggant.com blog.greggant.com
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I use FCPX 10.6.5 under macOS Monterey 12.7.3. And yes, I have the 6,1 'trashcan'. Can I notice a better performance with for 4K edition using the 10.6.8 version of FCPX?

I didn't know the website you mention, thank you very much, I will check it for sure!!
 
What format are your 4k videos? If it's h264 then you gonna have a big problem as the mac lacks hardware acceleration for these formats. It's not about horsepower but efficiency. Convert to Prores, place them in an SSD and probably you will be good to go. I have a mid12 MacBook pro that could handle 4k with a fast drive so i bet you will be fine.
 
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e1me5 said:
What format are your 4k videos? If it's h264 then you gonna have a big problem as the mac lacks hardware acceleration for these formats. It's not about horsepower but efficiency. Convert to Prores, place them in an SSD and probably you will be good to go. I have a mid12 MacBook pro that could handle 4k with a fast drive so i bet you will be fine.
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I am recording in iPhone 8/13/15 in HVEC and converting to ProRes with Final Cut. But there are many types of ProRes (4444XQ, 4444, 422 HQ, 422 LT, 422...) Which one?
 
MacPro61 said:
I am recording in iPhone 8/13/15 in HVEC and converting to ProRes with Final Cut. But there are many types of ProRes (4444XQ, 4444, 422 HQ, 422 LT, 422...) Which one?
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I guess even LT is fine considering the low quality source material you have. Do a test between LT and plain 422 and decide.
 
e1me5 said:
I guess even LT is fine considering the low quality source material you have. Do a test between LT and plain 422 and decide.
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Low quality? What is using people around there more powerful than an iPhone 15 Pro Max?
Thx for ur advice, I will get it!!
 
If you can get a good price and are willing to buy the 12-Core with D700's GPU in 2024, YES you will see a difference with performance coming from the 4-Core D300.

YES, the new Apple Silicone Macs with encoders is the better option, BUT for various reasons, if you want a Mac Pro 2013 12-Core D700 GPU, it can still handle video work today. Just because something new comes out doesn't make what was old "not work".

I used a Mac Pro 2013 12-Core 64 GB with D500's (wanted D700's) for video work for years before getting a 16" M1 MacBook Pro and the Mac Pro 2013 did what I wanted. I liked the form factor too and have thunderbolt 2 gear that worked well with it. Put a OWC 1TB SSD in it at it ran faster. The M1 MacBook Pro blows away the Mac Pro of course..but you pay premium pricing for the M-Series. If you are willing to wait for encoding, Mac Pro still does "ok" today.
 
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loby said:
Just because something new comes out doesn't make what was old "not work".
Click to expand...

Funny how I don't see anyone here saying that it will "not work". 🤔

It's about common sense.


loby said:
you pay premium pricing for the M-Series
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😂​

WTH are you talking about? What exactly is "premium" about e.g. a measly $599 for a Mac Mini that will absolutely smoke his Mac Pro from here till Tuesday? How much less could the proposed "upgrade" (lol) possibly cost?
 
MacPro61 said:
Man... I know and your advice is logical :)
I'm not rational choosing that choice because the design of Mac Pro :D I really love this machine, the last one with the Jobs and Ive signature, I think so... :)
I am aware that it is not positive to be romantic with technology :D :D
Click to expand...
Slightly off-topic, but if you love the look of the old macs, you can always do a swap. I have a defunct G4 Cube that I paid $100 for and transplanted M1 guts into it. Now I get to enjoy the look of the cube but with the performance of an M1 and as an added bonus, I get a working DVD Drive. I'd love to do that with the MacPro, but it's still alive and kicking and I really don't need another computer.
 
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MacPro61 said:
Hello!!

I'm the owner of a basic Mac Pro 6,1 with 4 Core and D300 graphic card. Editing 1080 videos works nice but I'm interested to work with 4K videos right now and I'm on serious problems with the timeline and the kind of files...

Thinking about upgrade the Mac Pro to 12 Core 2.7GH, and I have the choice to get very very cheap the 'high end' Mac Pro with the D700 series.

I'm looking for an advice if it will be enough with the 12 Core and D300 for 4K edition or It is much better choose a D700 based system.
Click to expand...
If you didn't want to do a full system change you could try an eGPU with a newer GPU in it, but remembering the restrictions on GPUs: nothing newer than RX6900 Radeon (which should be cheap now). It should be possible to run that with the 6,1.

You could build a PC that would be very fast for not much money and have a lot of possibility to upgrade further if you were happy to ditch Apple totally. I dislike locked down Apple silicon desktop machines so I won't recommend them.

Additionally a well specced Mac Mini at USD$2199 is quite expensive.

The big problem with the 6,1 is the bespoke components like GPU - if they fail then it's a problem. It's a lovely machine however but getting old.
 
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gt1373a said:
Slightly off-topic, but if you love the look of the old macs, you can always do a swap. I have a defunct G4 Cube that I paid $100 for and transplanted M1 guts into it. Now I get to enjoy the look of the cube but with the performance of an M1 and as an added bonus, I get a working DVD Drive. I'd love to do that with the MacPro, but it's still alive and kicking and I really don't need another computer.
Click to expand...
I was thinking the same thing, but it’s kind of a big job compared to sliding off the outer cover and popping in a new GPU. But seriously, an m1 would run circles around the 6,1.
 
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What do you think about the iMac M3 base model compared to the Mac Pro 2013 for 4k editing?
I am thinking in this option because my monitor is dead.
 
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