mountainbike2001

Q: Is my iMac capable of running FCPx?

Hello -

 

I am trying to use my imac to create video in FCPX, but find it is really slow and laggy - not just during rendering, but for import, editing, etc.

 

My workflow consists of primarily GoPro 3 clips.

 

My iMac specs are as follows:

 

24-inch, Early 2008

Processor  2.8 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo

Memory  4 GB 800 MHz DDR2 SDRAM

Graphics  ATI Radeon HD 2600 Pro 256 MB

Software  OS X 10.8.2 (12C60)

1tb drive with 902 gb Free

 

Should this Mac be able to run error and lag free?

 

Do I need to upgrade?

 

Thanks for your advice.

 

Jeff

Mac OS X (10.7.4)

Posted on Feb 6, 2013 6:15 AM

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Q: Is my iMac capable of running FCPx?

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  • by David Fahnestock1,

    David Fahnestock1 David Fahnestock1 Feb 7, 2013 10:52 AM in response to David Fahnestock1
    Level 2 (475 points)
    Feb 7, 2013 10:52 AM in response to David Fahnestock1

    I must admit, I don't tax my 2008 iMac too much with my videos.

    This is basically what I do.

     

    My intros consist of appropriate music and titles over  a moving background with fade-in and fade-outs between text. I use cross dissolve between still and videos.

    The outros consist appropriate music with credits, short nature videos (some stabilized) and stills.

    The ending is a key-framed zoomed text over still or video.

    The actual subject is either a seminar or sermon using Sony’s remote tripod so I can push in when the speaker is using the white board and pull back when he/she goes to the podium. This is all done with the panning handle.

    I use a cheap “Radio Shack” $49.00 wireless microphone. Works Great!

  • by digibudII,

    digibudII digibudII Feb 7, 2013 11:10 AM in response to mountainbike2001
    Level 2 (415 points)
    Feb 7, 2013 11:10 AM in response to mountainbike2001

      Apple's printed spec concerning how much RAM any particular computer can use should never be trusted. It is very common to be able to add more RAM than Apple says and to do so with no problem at all. The best thing to do is check around for real world experiences like this.

       While the OP's video card and current computer may work fine for him by using it on very limited projects I would entirely understand Apple not listing it as supported.  Many or most people would find very quickly that iMac was insufficient for a lot of video work. BTW...it doesn't matter much what you shoot with..GoPro or whatever...because ultimately people with a marginal machine will choose to transcode to ProRes or use Proxy.

  • by David Fahnestock1,

    David Fahnestock1 David Fahnestock1 Feb 7, 2013 7:59 PM in response to David Fahnestock1
    Level 2 (475 points)
    Feb 7, 2013 7:59 PM in response to David Fahnestock1

    I forgot to mention, many of my videos have as much as 67 bible text or quotes, overlaid with a moving back ground, with cross dissolve, while the speaker quotes the text.

    I produce about 300 DVDs a year for distribution.

  • by garbanzo_chickpea,

    garbanzo_chickpea garbanzo_chickpea Feb 20, 2014 3:38 PM in response to mountainbike2001
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Feb 20, 2014 3:38 PM in response to mountainbike2001

    I agree with those who say it will run on your iMac. I have the same model with 6 gigs of RAM. I would recommend updating your OS to Mavericks. Since the 10.9.1 update, my iMac has gained a new lease on life. I tried the free trial of FCP X (I still use FCP 7, which is more analagous to the physical film editing I learned years ago) and found it ran well (since the still-useful ATI GPU isn't Open CL compliant, the CPU has to do all of the work, which slows things down a bit—it's funny, Apple offered a build-to-order Early 2008, with an NVIDIA card with 512MB VRAM—wish I'd bought that one, as it's compliant). My problem is having to relearn video editing, with what amounts to a completely new NLE. I like many of the new features: background rendering is a great improvement, e.g. I am now going over Apple's white paper, which explains the similarities and differences between 7 and X. In addition, I am reading the FCP X manual and taking copious notes. Once I feel I know enough about FCP X, I plan to drop the $300. Will probably buy new version of Compressor as well. Perhaps you can enlighten all of us users of "antiquated" Macs, how well that works on an early 2008 iMac. Meanwhile, I'm saving up my shekels for a new Mac. BTW—I upload much of my work to YouTube. If, like me, you've noticed that full-screen playback of their HD Flash versions looks choppy, try switching to their HTML5 player. Gives you full framerate. Thanks for bringing up this issue.

  • by Ian R. Brown,

    Ian R. Brown Ian R. Brown Feb 21, 2014 3:10 AM in response to garbanzo_chickpea
    Level 6 (18,660 points)
    Mac OS X
    Feb 21, 2014 3:10 AM in response to garbanzo_chickpea

    Sorry!

     

    By the time I'd got to the end of your reply I'd forgotten you had tried the trial.

     

    Message was edited by: Ian R. Brown

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