Rick Urbanowski

Q: Is my MacPro upgradeable to handle Final Cut Pro X?

Screen Shot 2012-09-12 at 11.08.54 PM.png

Thanks in advance!

MacPro,MacBook, Mac OS X (10.6.1), 1920 x 1200 & 1680 x 1050 Cinema & Cinema HD/ NVIDIA GeForce 730

Posted on Sep 12, 2012 8:18 PM

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Q: Is my MacPro upgradeable to handle Final Cut Pro X?

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  • by Ian R. Brown,

    Ian R. Brown Ian R. Brown Sep 13, 2012 12:27 AM in response to Rick Urbanowski
    Level 6 (18,660 points)
    Mac OS X
    Sep 13, 2012 12:27 AM in response to Rick Urbanowski

    I have no idea whether it can be upgraded but you can download a free 30 day trial of FCP X to see whether it will work on the MP as it is.

     

    http://www.apple.com/finalcutpro/trial/

  • by andynick,

    andynick andynick Sep 13, 2012 1:33 AM in response to Rick Urbanowski
    Level 5 (4,943 points)
    Video
    Sep 13, 2012 1:33 AM in response to Rick Urbanowski

    Check the spec of your Mac against the system requirements:

    http://www.apple.com/finalcutpro/specs/

     

    Check the spec of your graphics card. If it's listed here, it's not suitable:

    http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4664

    Andy

  • by Rick Urbanowski,

    Rick Urbanowski Rick Urbanowski Sep 13, 2012 2:01 AM in response to Ian R. Brown
    Level 1 (5 points)
    Sep 13, 2012 2:01 AM in response to Ian R. Brown

    Ian,

    Thanks. I already own FCP X. I use it on my Mac Book Pro. I am trying to upgrade my Mac Pro to use FCP X.

  • by Rick Urbanowski,

    Rick Urbanowski Rick Urbanowski Sep 13, 2012 2:06 AM in response to andynick
    Level 1 (5 points)
    Sep 13, 2012 2:06 AM in response to andynick

    AndyNick,

    Thank you. My question is whether or not it is possible, through upgrading, to use Final Cut pro X on my MacPro. I don't want to just purchase the appropriate video card, only to find the Mac is too old to handle FCP X.

  • by andynick,

    andynick andynick Sep 13, 2012 2:07 AM in response to Rick Urbanowski
    Level 5 (4,943 points)
    Video
    Sep 13, 2012 2:07 AM in response to Rick Urbanowski

    Rick Urbanowski wrote:

    I already own FCP X. I use it on my Mac Book Pro. I am trying to upgrade my Mac Pro to use FCP X.

    Not sure what this means - do you mean you want to upgrade the Mac Pro to use FCP X more efficiently? If you're sure the Video Card is correct, you might be surprised how well it will work without spending more money.

     

    This is my pet checklist for questions regarding FCP X performance - you may have already addressed some of the items but it's worth checking.

     

    Make sure you're using the latest version of the application - FCP X 10.0.5 runs very well on my 2009 MacPro 2 x 2.26 GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon with 16 GB RAM and ATI Radeon HD 5870 1024 MB. I run it with Lion 10.7.5.

     

    First, check that you have at least 20% free space on your system drive.

     

    For smooth playback without dropping frames, make sure 'Better Performance' is selected in the FCP X Preferences - Playback Tab.

     

    If you have not already done so, move your Projects and Events to a fast (Firewire 800 or faster) external HD. Make sure the drive's formatted OS Extended (journalling's not required for video). You should always keep at least 20% free space on the Hard Drives that your Media, Projects and Events are on.

     

    If you are getting crashes, there is some conflict on the OS. Create a new (admin) user account on your system and use FCP X from there - if it runs a lot better, there's a conflict and a clean install would be recommended.

     

    Keep projects to 20 mins or less. If you have a long project, work on 20 min sections then paste these into a final project for export.

     

    If you ever experience dropped frames, I strongly recommend you use ProRes 422 Proxy - it edits and plays back like silk because the files are small but lightly compressed (not much packing and unpacking to do) - but remember to select 'Original or Optimised Media' (FCP X Preferences > Playback) just before you export your movie, otherwise it will be exported at low resolution.

     

    If you have plenty of processor power, for the ultimate editing experience, create Optimised Media - most camera native files are highly compressed and need a great deal of processor power to play back - particularly if you add titles, filters or effects. ProRes 422 takes up much more hard drive space but is very lightly compressed. It edits and plays back superbly.

     

    Hide Audio Waveforms at all times when you don't need them (both in Browser and Storyline / Timeline). They take up a lot of processor power. (Use the switch icon at the bottom-right of your timeline to select a format without waveforms if you don't need them at the moment, then switch back when you do).

     

    Create folders in the Project and Events libraries and put any projects you are not working on currently, in those folders. This will help a lot. There's a great application for this, called Event Manager X - for the tiny cost it's an invaluable application.

    http://assistedediting.intelligentassistance.com/EventManagerX/

     

    Unless you cannot edit and playback without it, turn off Background Rendering in Preferences (under Playback) - this will help general performance and you can always render when you need to by selecting the clip (or clips) and pressing Ctrl+R.

     

    The biggest single improvement I saw in performance was when I upgraded the RAM from 8 GB to 16.

    Andy

  • by Rick Urbanowski,

    Rick Urbanowski Rick Urbanowski Sep 13, 2012 2:15 AM in response to andynick
    Level 1 (5 points)
    Sep 13, 2012 2:15 AM in response to andynick

    AndyNick

    Once again thank you.

    FCPro X will literally not install on my Mac Pro due to hardware incompatibility. I need advise on if I can upgrade my hardware to install and use it. Or do I need to buy a new machine.

  • by Rick Urbanowski,

    Rick Urbanowski Rick Urbanowski Sep 13, 2012 2:24 AM in response to andynick
    Level 1 (5 points)
    Sep 13, 2012 2:24 AM in response to andynick

    AndyNick

    I hope I can get up and running. You gave me a lot of good advice, thank you!

  • by innocentius,

    innocentius innocentius Sep 13, 2012 4:31 AM in response to Rick Urbanowski
    Level 4 (1,885 points)
    Sep 13, 2012 4:31 AM in response to Rick Urbanowski

    Your graphic card does not work with FCPX. I bought this one on eBay:

    NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT 512 MB

    And FCPX runs smoothly.