Should I go back to FCP 7.

[gdeusthewhizkid]

help,

I just bought a used mac pro 1st generation to use as my video editing only computer. Ive mainly been using FCPX for video editing on my macbook pro and it's a great machine but it fills up pretty quickly. Ive run into a dilemma since getting this machine though. and it's the video card with this machine cannot run fcpx well. Im on a budget and cannot afford to get the latest video card with this machine. So I've went back to FCP7 on my mac pro but i really don't like it. It looks nice but the work flow is so complicated. FCPx is so simple. Does anyone have any suggestions on what else i could do to make fcpx work on this machine well or should i stick it out with FCP7…

 

[nateo200]

help,

I just bought a used mac pro 1st generation to use as my video editing only computer. Ive mainly been using FCPX for video editing on my macbook pro and it's a great machine but it fills up pretty quickly. Ive run into a dilemma since getting this machine though. and it's the video card with this machine cannot run fcpx well. Im on a budget and cannot afford to get the latest video card with this machine. So I've went back to FCP7 on my mac pro but i really don't like it. It looks nice but the work flow is so complicated. FCPx is so simple. Does anyone have any suggestions on what else i could do to make fcpx work on this machine well or should i stick it out with FCP7…

Buy a new video card? I know your on a budget but look at Nvidia cards, you can really make a computer fly with a good GPU, see the Mac Pro section of this forum, numerous Mac Pro users have installed cards like the GTX 580 or GTX 680 and cut render times down from hours to minutes. NLE choice is completely personal if you aren't working for a post house or something so if you like FCP X invest in a new GPU, actually just invest in a new GPU anyways.

 

[josh.b]

I agree with above. I don't have to ram preview ever in AE now that i have the 680mx. Either that or boost ram but 1st choice by far. Sorry about the budget

 

[rei101]

If you are a video editor and have no money to get a video card, change careers or re consider your business plan because there is something very wrong you are doing.

 

[MIDI_EVIL]

No!

It really is a dinosaur.

What you should have done instead of buying a first gen Mac Pro (!?!?!?!) is just purchased a fast external, using either FireWire or Thunderbolt (if you're using a later gen MacBook Pro).

The reason you are filling up your MacBook Pro is probably because you're using the internal drive as your scratch disk???

 

[nateo200]

To the above poster....its doesn't matter if its a dinosaur, pretty sure any Mac Pro will mop the floor with a 13" MacBook Pro anything but OP should post his Mac Pro's specs. Buy "1st gen" he could just mean not the new trash can model.

If you are a video editor and have no money to get a video card, change careers or re consider your business plan because there is something very wrong you are doing.

Some people don't understand that hardware is VERY important to the job, I wouldn't say he should give up rather educate himself...but yes its like saying you want to start a photo business but you don't have money for a camera, paper, printer, etc. lol. I think he just needs to change his business plan which is simple enough by educating yourself..not everyone runs into this work full of knowledge. I'd like to think this small but productive section of the forum is here to help a bit.

@OP, your going to need allot of hard drive space, that is the name of the game regardless of how small a camera video file starts off as buy the time your ready to render out you will need all the space you can afford (and then some...) try and throw another hard drive in your Mac Pro's hard drive bays, you should have 4 hard drive bays of space if they aren't already full. Externals with the older Mac Pro's work to but with no Thunderbolt or USB 3.0 your stuck with FireWire 800 which isn't bad but its becoming less common, LaCie drives are what I use and the tripple threat rugged is great, you should have at least 4 FW ports to use on your Mac Pro plus the ability to daisy chain FW drives off the tripple threat.

 

[rei101]

Well, is better to be a video editor than be a musician... God! that field is 5 times as expensive and 100 times less productive.

 

[ChrisA]

help,

I just bought a used mac pro 1st generation to use as my video editing only computer. Ive mainly been using FCPX for video editing on my macbook pro and it's a great machine but it fills up pretty quickly....

So you bought a new computer because the disk drive in the notebook is filled up? It seems like maybe a cheaper solution would be to get a bigger external disk.

Ifthis really is a gen 1 mac pro then it might be slow. What are the specs on the computer?

 

[gdeusthewhizkid]

processor 2 x 2.66 GHz Dual-Core Intel Xeon with 4 GB of ram...

 

[koban4max]

Well, is better to be a video editor than be a musician... God! that field is 5 times as expensive and 100 times less productive.

excuse me? That was offensive...i happen to be a musician...and video editor....are you judging people like me?

 

[miscend]

You should have got the latest gen i7 Mac Mini to run FCPX. They are little beats!

 

[nateo200]

You should have got the latest gen i7 Mac Mini to run FCPX. They are little beats!

With no PCIe slot or built in discrete graphics card its sort of a pain...of course it might be more powerful that an original Mac Pro but its definitely not as upgradable. Of course you could throw a discrete Graphics Card in a Thunderbolt expansion bay but still.

processor 2 x 2.66 GHz Dual-Core Intel Xeon with 4 GB of ram...

Wow...I had no idea they made dual-core Xeon's...if you can upgrade those processors to dual quad-core xeons with 12GB~'s of RAM and say an Nvidia GeForce GTX 680 you could really bump that thing up...I don't have much experience with Mac Pro's but I do know that the processors in Mac Pro's are upgradable and many people still use very old Mac Pro's that they just keep upgraded well. I'd check into the Mac Pro section of this forum because there are some REALLY helpful posts and users that can assist you. Here is some technical info on your Mac Pro:
http://support.apple.com/kb/sp30
As you can see it had a BTO option for 8-cores so its definitely upgradable, whether it will out perform modern options is a question I can't answer but I suspect that the best option would be a new computer.

 

[miscend]

With no PCIe slot or built in discrete graphics card its sort of a pain...of course it might be more powerful that an original Mac Pro but its definitely not as upgradable. Of course you could throw a discrete Graphics Card in a Thunderbolt expansion bay but still.

It's more powerful than older generations of the Mac Pro. Whiles its not as expandable as the Mac Pro it is cheap and will get the job done. Unless you want to be editing 4K video across three big 4K monitors.

Besides I'm not too sure how expandable the new Mac Pro is going to be. I've heard there is no room for internal expansion and Apple expect you to use thunderbolt expansion.

 

[nateo200]

It's more powerful than older generations of the Mac Pro. Whiles its not as expandable as the Mac Pro it is cheap and will get the job done. Unless you want to be editing 4K video across three big 4K monitors.

Besides I'm not too sure how expandable the new Mac Pro is going to be. I've heard there is no room for internal expansion and Apple expect you to use thunderbolt expansion.

Video editing is going to be and to a certain extent is very GPU dependent and the Mac Mini has integrated graphics which when you start to render even basic effects it slows down. Now like I said an external thunderbolt GPU could solve this but many programs don't recognize multiple GPU's or external GPU's, for example FCP X wouldn't recognize an external GPU and there is no way to select GPU's in app like you can with DaVinci resolve (and even MORE heavy GPU app!).

As for the new Mac Pro, it has dual discrete GPU's that aren't Nvidia with CUDA support but none the less they will rip an HD4000 iGPU in half. The new Mac Pro is actually decently expandable its just smaller components...other than that I can't say much else as it isn't sitting in front of me yet. I could see the Mac Mini as a good "hold over machine" but as a long term editing rig a Mac Pro or even a 15" MBP would be better.

 

[Chad3eleven]

wow..

why you dumped into a 1st gen mac pro is beyond me..

Check the geekbench scores to compare.. Yes it is still a nice rig to have, but I would have read further into how to make that macbook more powerful, while saving for an iMac perhaps.

remember.. FCP7 is 32 bit.. so even if you dumped cash into ram and a processor, it cant use it all..

Use what ever you are comfortable with, and stop buying 8 year old gear!

 

[miscend]

Video editing is going to be and to a certain extent is very GPU dependent and the Mac Mini has integrated graphics which when you start to render even basic effects it slows down. Now like I said an external thunderbolt GPU could solve this but many programs don't recognize multiple GPU's or external GPU's, for example FCP X wouldn't recognize an external GPU and there is no way to select GPU's in app like you can with DaVinci resolve (and even MORE heavy GPU app!).

As for the new Mac Pro, it has dual discrete GPU's that aren't Nvidia with CUDA support but none the less they will rip an HD4000 iGPU in half. The new Mac Pro is actually decently expandable its just smaller components...other than that I can't say much else as it isn't sitting in front of me yet. I could see the Mac Mini as a good "hold over machine" but as a long term editing rig a Mac Pro or even a 15" MBP would be better.

Video requires a decent GPU but in many cases you wont be GPU limited editing videos on the Mini. There's many people who work their NLE's just fine on older rigs. I've just seen a fantastic music video that was edited on a 2010 MacBook Pro. Now the Intel HD 4000 GPU in the latest Mac Mini is no slouch - its faster than many of the older discrete GPUs including stuff like the Geforce GT520/GT120 and Radeon 5450/4870. Read the benchmarks on sites like Anandtech - its a decent IGPU in particular for 2D performance. And depending on your requirements you might not need an external GPU - I've never seen anyone running an external thunderbolt GPU. Most modern Macs are fairly powerful. You seem to think its "black and white" and nothing but the very latest and fastest GPUs will run a NLE - fortunately that is not the case.



It's quite clear that if the OP could get the new Mac Pro he would have got one on order instead of a first generation Mac Pro. My suggestion was that for roughly the same amount of money they could have got a faster computer in the Mac Mini. But if budget was of no concern he/she should get the most powerful machine they could realistically afford and max out all the components.

 

[rei101]

excuse me? That was offensive...i happen to be a musician...and video editor....are you judging people like me?

Stop the inferiority complex, I was a musician too and I know the field. I am talking by experience, period.

 

[koban4max]

Stop the inferiority complex, I was a musician too and I know the field. I am talking by experience, period.

So u say... Don't generalize as a whole

 

[nateo200]

Video requires a decent GPU but in many cases you wont be GPU limited editing videos on the Mini. There's many people who work their NLE's just fine on older rigs. I've just seen a fantastic music video that was edited on a 2010 MacBook Pro. Now the Intel HD 4000 GPU in the latest Mac Mini is no slouch - its faster than many of the older discrete GPUs including stuff like the Geforce GT520/GT120 and Radeon 5450/4870. Read the benchmarks on sites like Anandtech - its a decent IGPU in particular for 2D performance. And depending on your requirements you might not need an external GPU - I've never seen anyone running an external thunderbolt GPU. Most modern Macs are fairly powerful. You seem to think its "black and white" and nothing but the very latest and fastest GPUs will run a NLE - fortunately that is not the case.



It's quite clear that if the OP could get the new Mac Pro he would have got one on order instead of a first generation Mac Pro. My suggestion was that for roughly the same amount of money they could have got a faster computer in the Mac Mini. But if budget was of no concern he/she should get the most powerful machine they could realistically afford and max out all the components.

No I don't think the latest and greatest is needed what I'm saying is Nvidia GPU's offer CUDA cores which offer substantial performance increases in apps that support it, now if the OP never leaves FCP 7 then he probably won't need CUDA cores like crazy but as of now CUDA is a force that is VERY helpful. Nothing but the latest and greatest will run an NLE? Don't put that sticker on me because I edited on a Core 2 Duo that was WAYYYY older than "latest and greatest" for a long time and if I needed "latest and greatest" I would have gone with a maxed out iMac over a rMBP or better yet a custom built PC. I see editors with 07 and 08 MBP's doing amazing stuff but it doesn't make sense to buy old tech that can't easily be upgraded when you can get something more powerful for not that much more. Its not "quite clear" that the OP can't afford a new Mac Pro or another type of machine, some people make mistakes and buy the wrong computer, my dad bought a Powerbook thinking it was a deal until he realized he couldn't do anything on it..it happens, I've done it myself but if you research you won't have to worry about it. I didn't suggest he needed maxed out components, when I buy stuff I usually don't go for "the latest and greatest" I usually go for something that is tested and reasonably priced.

 

[josh.b]

as far as I can tell, FCPX is using my 2gb 680mx very well, I can playback raw gopro footage without frame dropping or transcoding.

Biggest thing would be workflow. I have read tonnes about this and it comes down to, are you game enough to learn the new way (which most people really like after learning it and claim it is a lot faster) or are you just happy to stick with the old way. You will be stuck in 32bit mode, you're only other option is to jump ship to avid, smoke or premiere pro.

I'm a newbie video editor and I love final cut pro x so take these words with a grain of salt.

 

[gdeusthewhizkid]

wow..

why you dumped into a 1st gen mac pro is beyond me..

Check the geekbench scores to compare.. Yes it is still a nice rig to have, but I would have read further into how to make that macbook more powerful, while saving for an iMac perhaps.

remember.. FCP7 is 32 bit.. so even if you dumped cash into ram and a processor, it cant use it all..

Use what ever you are comfortable with, and stop buying 8 year old gear!

update it's a great . I upgraded hard drive with 2 tb of 7200 rpm satas and upgraded the os and video card. I can now use FCPx with no problems. edits and renders are done with no problem and my cpu barely moves when doing video editing. I don't know what is going to happen with the new mac pro but maybe when I get some more money Ill invest in a 2009 mac pro and totally update it. I have a mac mini and I hated. I don't like machines that I can't upgrade myself. Any body doing video editing or music production should invest in a mac pro. Great investment...

 

[koban4max]

help,

I just bought a used mac pro 1st generation to use as my video editing only computer. Ive mainly been using FCPX for video editing on my macbook pro and it's a great machine but it fills up pretty quickly. Ive run into a dilemma since getting this machine though. and it's the video card with this machine cannot run fcpx well. Im on a budget and cannot afford to get the latest video card with this machine. So I've went back to FCP7 on my mac pro but i really don't like it. It looks nice but the work flow is so complicated. FCPx is so simple. Does anyone have any suggestions on what else i could do to make fcpx work on this machine well or should i stick it out with FCP7…

IMO FCP 7 is for people who are loves doing skilled work... FCP X is for someone who wants the program to do it for them...sorry it's my opinion...(even though i just started recently on editing..i still find it fun).

 

[MacOG728893]

IMO FCP 7 is for people who are loves doing skilled work... FCP X is for someone who wants the program to do it for them...sorry it's my opinion...(even though i just started recently on editing..i still find it fun).

Neither do anything automated for you. FCX just has a simpler interface and easy to read buttons. The editor is the creator of the project who controls the masterpiece ultimately.

There were many features missing in FCX over FCP7 on it's initial release, but it's come a long way from then. Furthermore, with the newest release set for December, we will finally have a well polished product that many believe should've been released from day one regardless of its practically.

 

[koban4max]

Neither do anything automated for you. FCX just has a simpler interface and easy to read buttons. The editor is the creator of the project who controls the masterpiece ultimately.

There were many features missing in FCX over FCP7 on it's initial release, but it's come a long way from then. Furthermore, with the newest release set for December, we will finally have a well polished product that many believe should've been released from day one regardless of its practically.

are you talking about fcp 10.1?

 

[MacOG728893]

are you talking about fcp 10.1?

Yes sir. It should be a well-deserved update.