Comparing render times

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Comparing render times

Hi all,

I have two machines available to me for video editing. I was running some tests today to see which one would be best to use. Both machines current with Yosemite and FCPX 10.2

#1- MacBook Pro with Retina Display (mid 2012). 2.7 Ghz intel core i7, 16 GB 1600 MHz DDRS, NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M 1024 MB

#2- MacPro (Mid2010), 2x 2.4 gHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon, 32 GB 1066 MHz DDR3 ECC, ATI Radeon HD 5770 1024 MB

So I ran some benchmark programs.

Geeks3d GPU Test, FurMark fulscreen: #1 score 620, #2 score 935

BlackMagic Disk Speed Test: #1 with thunderbolt 1 connected 1TB drive- write = 87.2, read= 87.6

#2 with 3 internal 1TB drives Raid striped to a single 3TB drive, Write= 513.5 Read= 532.7

SO- it seems the oder MacPro (#2) is kiciking the MBP's butt. Bt hten I render teh same video on both machines. 5:30 of 1080p video to h.264

#1 does it in 1:19, #2 in 5:55 (longer than the clip!)

Can anyone help me figure out why this is-it seems machine #2 beat #1 in benchmarks but in actual use in rendered 5 times slower!

Thanks!

Posted on Apr 27, 2015 3:35 PM

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Answer 1

Best reply

Tom Wolsky

Level 10

151,089 points

Apr 28, 2015 9:46 AM in response to tamaman

BM is testing drive speed which isn't really relevant to processing. TThe GPU processing will impact effects process, but if you don't have any may not effect your output. The MBP might have hardware accelerated H.264 processing. Try the Bruce X test at FCP.co.

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Answer 2

tamaman Author

Level 1

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Apr 28, 2015 10:03 AM in response to Tom Wolsky

Thanks Tom. So I think you are correct that the MBP has h264 acceleration, I didn't even know that was a thing. I ran Bruce X benchmarks and my Mac Pro beat the MBP. when I ran my own test again I ran H264 and ProRes422. The MBP won by a significant margin in H264 but was much slower on ProRes422. So I guess now I start looking for a graphics card for my MacPro that has H264 acceleration?

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