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Mac mini can’t cope with external FCPX Plugins

B

batfink

macrumors member
Original poster
Jul 15, 2008
64
18
Hi guys. I have a 2020 (2018) Mac-mini (3ghz, 6 core i5, 16gb with a intel UHD Graphics 630 1536 MB)

I’ve been happily editing videos on Final Cut Pro X using the Included titles, generators, Lower thirds etc)

However, I decided to try and jazz up some new videos by purchasing a pack of themed plugins from pixelstudio. However to my (inexperienced) surprise, the animations on the generators are really laggy and unusable. I contacted the vendor and was told that they require 2GB of graphics power which It appears I fall short on.

As I say, I’m pretty much a learning novice in these things so was surprised some simple animation wouldn’t work on a 2k machine. What I’m trying to get to is , Are external plugins really a no no then on the Mac mini. Do I just need to stick to those built into FCPX? - If so, is there any way to boast my graphics at all as I’m not aware that you can upgrade the graphics on the machine itself.
 
The Mini only allocates 1.5gb to the graphics chip, so if the specs for the plug-in call for 2gb then you will likely have problems. But that doesn't mean all plug-ins won't work. Maybe the company will give you a refund, since you didn't realize it wouldn't be compatible?

I have done a lot of video in the past, but not so much recently. Just setup a new Mini about a month ago and only did some quick tests of Final Cut Pro, but everything seemed to work fine. I was previously using a 2012 quad Mini for FCPX and it also only had 1.5gb of graphics memory, so all my existing plug-ins (and I have quite a few) should work.

If you really need this plugin, you can connect an external GPU to your Mini. I am waiting to see how all my software works with the internal GPU, and so far, so good. But I may add an eGPU later on.

Use an external graphics processor with your Mac - Apple Support

Learn how to access additional graphics performance by connecting to an external graphics processor.
support.apple.com support.apple.com
 
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Thanks Boyd01 for your response. I’m
learning all the time in this video editing game so I appreciate the response and tips.

To be fair pixelstudio.com did provide me with a refund after contacting them on the online chat and running through some checks and system capacity checks.
I think I was more surprised that a 2k machine couldn’t undertake what I thought was a simple annotation yet can edit 4K video.

I wasn’t particularly attached to the plug in but it got me thinking if I need to add some more power if all External plugins need 2GB of Graphics power.

If you know of any good themed plugins that would work I would be interested to know. Pixelstuidos did say that most of theirs require the 2GB to work.
 
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batfink said:
Hi guys. I have a 2020 (2018) Mac-mini (3ghz, 6 core i5, 16gb with a intel UHD Graphics 630 1536 MB)

I’ve been happily editing videos on Final Cut Pro X using the Included titles, generators, Lower thirds etc)

However, I decided to try and jazz up some new videos by purchasing a pack of themed plugins from pixelstudio. However to my (inexperienced) surprise, the animations on the generators are really laggy and unusable. I contacted the vendor and was told that they require 2GB of graphics power which It appears I fall short on.

As I say, I’m pretty much a learning novice in these things so was surprised some simple animation wouldn’t work on a 2k machine. What I’m trying to get to is , Are external plugins really a no no then on the Mac mini. Do I just need to stick to those built into FCPX? - If so, is there any way to boast my graphics at all as I’m not aware that you can upgrade the graphics on the machine itself.
Click to expand...

I edit my videos using Davinci Resolve and that was the reason I bought a used Mac Pro rather than the Mac Mini 2018, because I can add in a GPU to help rendering the fancy titles, animations and color grading. This is something that a powerful GPU with a lot of video ram can do. For example, for 1080p for editing, 2Gb of video ram is a good start, but 4K, you need at least 4Gb. I have 8Gb of video ram on my RX580 so that would future proof me for awhile.

Those video animations aren't really simple; they require enough video ram and without them, you're not going to get them going. External plug-ins are fine on the Mac Mini with an external GPU. The cheapest eGPU you can buy for the Mini is the Sonnet Breakaway Puck, which is essentially a RX560 or RX570 with 4Gb of video ram. It's similar in size with the Mini, albeit a bit taller and is small and discrete. With the RX560, you can use any external plug-ins to your hearts content with FCPX. With my Mac Pro and my RX580 GPU, it opens up so much possibilities with plug-ins that I couldn't do with my older Mini using Davinci Resolve.
 
Last edited:
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iluvmacs99 said:
I edit my videos using Davinci Resolve and that was the reason I bought a used Mac Pro rather than the Mac Mini 2018, because I can add in a GPU to help rendering the fancy titles, animations and color grading. This is something that a powerful GPU with a lot of video ram can do. For example, for 1080p for editing, 2Gb of video ram is a good start, but 4K, you need at least 4Gb. I have 8Gb of video ram on my RX580 so that would future proof me for awhile.

Those video animations aren't really simple; they require enough video ram and without them, you're not going to get them going. External plug-ins are fine on the Mac Mini with an external GPU. The cheapest eGPU you can buy for the Mini is the Sonnet Breakaway Puck, which is essentially a RX560 or RX570 with 4Gb of video ram. It's similar in size with the Mini, albeit a bit taller and is small and discrete. With the RX560, you can use any external plug-ins to your hearts content with FCPX. With my Mac Pro and my RX580 GPU, it opens up so much possibilities with plug-ins that I couldn't do with my older Mini using Davinci Resolve.
Click to expand...

Really helpful - thank you. Looks like I’m definitely going to go down the route of an external GPU so will check out the Sonnet. I was looking earlier at the Blackmagic all-in-one for simplicity of plug and play.
 
batfink said:
Really helpful - thank you. Looks like I’m definitely going to go down the route of an external GPU so will check out the Sonnet. I was looking earlier at the Blackmagic all-in-one for simplicity of plug and play.
Click to expand...
Glad to help. The Sonnet eGPU is also plug and play as well as the Blackmagic or you can build your own which isn't difficult. These days, 4Gb VRAM GPU cards are the bare minimum for 1080p and 4K and then you go up from there.
 
batfink said:
Thanks Boyd01 for your response. I’m
learning all the time in this video editing game so I appreciate the response and tips.

To be fair pixelstudio.com did provide me with a refund after contacting them on the online chat and running through some checks and system capacity checks.
I think I was more surprised that a 2k machine couldn’t undertake what I thought was a simple annotation yet can edit 4K video.

I wasn’t particularly attached to the plug in but it got me thinking if I need to add some more power if all External plugins need 2GB of Graphics power.

If you know of any good themed plugins that would work I would be interested to know. Pixelstuidos did say that most of theirs require the 2GB to work.
Click to expand...

Are you talking about PixelFilmStudio? I have a number of their plugins that I run on my 2018 Mini ... no issues here.
 
Yeah - the generators. I was told by the studio I would need 2GB of graphics which is why they are so laggy and unusable
 
batfink said:
Yeah - the generators. I was told by the studio I would need 2GB of graphics which is why they are so laggy and unusable
Click to expand...

Curious if it's just laggy during editing playback or if that is evident in the rendered video... I do see a fair amount of dropped frames while editing not-so-complex videos from time to time, but the resulting output is fine...
 
dwfaust said:
Curious if it's just laggy during editing playback or if that is evident in the rendered video... I do see a fair amount of dropped frames while editing not-so-complex videos from time to time, but the resulting output is fine...
Click to expand...

Yeah it’s laggy and drops loads of frames, then once the generator title is passed the playback resumes as normal. That’s interesting- So you are saying that when the video is exported it may be ok. I hadn’t even thought that would be the case. Guess I need to do a test run.
 
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