Q: Final Cut Pro X Spinning Beachball

Where can I get this patch? I have a brand new MB 17" PRO with  8 gigs ram. I just bought this 3 weeks ago. Final Cut X is super slow and choppy and all I get is the spinning beach ball before having to force quit each time.

Try Software Update from the Apple menu, from your affected machine, as it's a patch issued by Apple itself.

It is unbelievable, here are many people with high end machine which can not handle a little software such as FCPX. I think that nothing will be fixed in upcoming updates which really matters such as speed issues and crashes. Rewriting the software from the scratch might be the only solution or still better, FCP 8

Until I upgraded to 16G of memory FCP X was unusable except for very simple and short (10 minutes at most) projects.

How much can a MB Pro 17" from around Nov 2011 take? I have 8 GB now.

Go to Crucial.com  It has a tool that shows you what you have installed, what's your max RAM, and which one(s) are compatible on their site.  Decent prices too. 

And Final Cut 7 the whole studio is very happy with 4 GB. This all is beyond my understanding. Buying more RAM and big external Firewire drive (for those who have not Mac Pro), then this software becomes very expensive and still not working as it should be.

kevinfromspringfield wrote:

 

Until I upgraded to 16G of memory FCP X was unusable except for very simple and short (10 minutes at most) projects.

Perfect for the youtube videos FCPX was evidently designed for, otherwise why would Apple list 2GB RAM as a minimum requirement. Users with 4 gigs must at first think they've got it made... until they try and create a project.

I can't imagine snapple getting away with this...you'd think the bad press would hurt them. Until they feel financial pain I guess this is the way fcpx will be for some time to come.

Ya. I already upped the RAM from 4GB to 8GB the second week I had it. Here is my opinion. It's not the hardware (RAM).  I think it's Final Cut Pro X.  I can create movies with virtually 0 lag on my windows 7 with a similar setup. It's a Quad Core with 8GB ram.  I've tried both Windows Movie Maker and Sony Vegas. I've only needed to title HD clips and do voice overs. Nothing fancy at all.

On my new MB 17" pro (Nov 2011), similar hardware setup, I'm not doing anything fancy either. But once I get into about 5 to 10 minutes of editing, things start to get really choppy. Then some background task seems to cause the spinning beachball, which only goes away with a Force Quit.

I hope they take all the feedback in this thread seriously. I truely do love what they've done with Final Cut Pro X. Especially the integration with Motion. I'm not a pro, but consider myself a step above iMovie. The vids that can be produced in a relatively short period of time using FC Pro X is why I love it. But this spinning beachball and choppiness has got to go. 16 GIGS of ram to do a 6 minute YouTube video is an unacceptable ratio.

Not to many people mention that, but after reading all the threads over the months it doesn't seem to have much to do with hardward, ram etc. I have an older [2009] mac pro with 4 gig ram and it's been working for me. Here's my opinion: I load all clips before I begin editing. I use simple text and I don't edit faster then the machine can keep up with.

If the machine gets busy I stop until it finishes and gets caught up. That sounds stupid but I don't get spin-ball or crash.

I would bail on snapple but I don't feel like spending bucks on another edit program and I don't want to learn a new one either.

My videos are simple interviews with dissovles between clips 8/12 minutes long. Even with the bugs I still can edit very fast with this.

I'm just hoping fixes come before my thin ice cracks.

I just finished a 13 minute project at about 400 hours in FCPX.

The difference between FCP7 and FCPX in terms of smoothness and simplicity is night and day. While FCPX has some interesting features, and the interface is pleasant to look at, it is a nightmare when it comes to doing any serious work beyond the narcissistic YouTube video that it seems designed for. I am constantly waiting for the "beachball" to stop spinning; just clicking in the menu is a 5-10 second task, even though I'm working in Apple Pro Res. A simple video overwrite is not even available without having to drag from the Secondary storyline. Astonishing, really.

I think it's awful the way FCPX starts up, loading every single project you've worked on. It's just silly. Moving around the program feels like I'm dragging a 200lb weight behind me. You won't notice this, again, if you're working with a little clip shot on your iPhone rather than professional gear and professional application of color balance, effects, transitions, etc.

The integration of the music library is nice; there are some great built-in effects; and again, the interface is really nice to look at. But "Pro" is not a title deserving of this software by the fact that no "Pro" is going to get very far, in my experience, without starting to grind his teeth and watch the clock.

Nice try Apple. But until you work out the serious bugs (and I don't think you can; this seems to be an architectural issue in the foundational design), this is not a program I could recommend to anyone getting into serious editing.

(Working on a brand new i7 MacBook Pro with 8Gb ram., 2.2 Ghz)

I don't have near the problems most speak about, but I have had early spin-ball issues and a text that killed me. I now have about 15 projects completed with the longest 12.5 minutes.

It very much bothers me to see each project load during start up??? I just want the bathroom light to go on and instead each light in the house has to fire-up as I wait for the bathroom light to go on...it does make sence in an Apple sort of way.

My biggest concern and what I'm most interested in is Apple's indifference and just how did they let this out the door...are they now becoming the Kmart of this industry?

Working on an older mac pro, 4 gig of ram and whatever Ghz, don't feel like turning it on to look.

I've never cared much for apple and think the pc has stepped up rather nicely over the last decade. I wonder what the fall-out from this will be? My gut says the die-hard apple heads take it and continue to make apologies for their wonder computers...

Well dear folks, can only second motion all your pains. Now in the new year of 2012, FCPX is still radically slow, and unstable. I am on Macbook Pro i7, with 8GB ram. Just installed Final Cut Studio with FCP7 today to see if it was faster than FCPX and all rendering, and playback runs 30 times better. How come????

I use XDCAM 35/mbits 1920x1080p converted to PRORES 422.

When I set it to render in FCPX and nothing else and leave the machine on its own my machine renders apr 1 frame per 2 seconds.

Here lies FCPX

June 22. 2011 - January 2. 2012

The local San Diego Apple store said nothing was wrong with fcpx.

For principals sake I will let some more dust settle see which pro-edit system is most favored by the pros and buy it.

Oh it will be a pc!