Best video card for Video Encoding using 2007 Mac Pro & FCPX?

Question

Level 1

0 points

Best video card for Video Encoding using 2007 Mac Pro & FCPX?

I have a Early 2007 Mac Pro with 16GB of RAM 6.2TB Across 4 Hard Drives running MAC OS Z Lion 10.7.5 I already purchased Final Cut Pro X, Compressor & Motion for my Macbook Air. When I tried to install, it mentioned I don't have an compatible video card. So I purchased a ATI Radeon 5770 and will be using this card for encoding in Final Cut Pro X and Compressor. Is there any recommendation for the best video card that will produce the fastest encoding experience on my 2007 Mac Pro?

Mac Pro, Mac OS X (10.7.5)

Posted on Jun 16, 2015 9:55 AM

Reply

Answer 1

Jun 16, 2015 11:03 AM in response to akajboss

You can get PC cards that are dedicated hardware encoders.
Realtime.

PC. Yuk.

Encoding on the Mac is CPU function, AFAIK, and not a GPU function. I do not think the 5770 will do anything to enhance encoding, it is a display card, but what do the specs for the Mac version tell you?

http://www.amazon.com/forum/-/Tx2PH9K29AEUHZ3/ref=ask_ql_ql_al_hza?asin=B003Z6QH 6M

Mac Pro: Using ATI Radeon HD 5770 graphics card with Mac Pro released before 2010 - Apple Support

http://www.amazon.com/Apple-ATI-Radeon-5770-MC742ZM/dp/B003Z6QH6M#Ask

Reply

Answer 2

Tom Wolsky

Level 10

152,825 points

Jun 16, 2015 11:20 AM in response to akajboss

Which versions of the software are you using with Lion? Which MBA? Which OS is it running? Recent versions of the pro apps won't run on Lion regardless of the graphics card.

Reply

Answer 3

akajboss Author

Level 1

0 points

Jun 16, 2015 1:07 PM in response to David Bogie Chq-1

This is good to know. I recently ordered my ATI Radeon 5770 from Amazon. The current video card that came with the mac pro didn't support the Resolution of 2560x1080 on my ASUS LED 29inch Monitor. I thought the ATI Radeon 5770 card would also give me fast encoding times. But seeing that you said that encoding is processor specific, then My Mac Pro CPU will be doing all the work. The CPU in my Mac Pro is 2.66Mhz Xeon Dual Core. Before I ordered the card I double checked the Final Cut X Pro list for compatible cards Graphics card compatibility for Final Cut Pro X, Motion 5, and Compressor 4 - Apple Support - and this card was on that list. The whole Reason why I purchased this older mac was for the price and the processing power in hopes of encoding video faster then my 2014 Mac Book Air which I know has an SSD as well. Which encodes a 720x1080 40 min video in 1 hour and 20 mins. So are you saying in conclusion that I will probably need one of those new Mac Pros 2013 and newer to get super fast encode times using a Mac?

Reply

Answer 4

Tom Wolsky

Level 10

152,825 points

Jun 16, 2015 1:16 PM in response to akajboss

DDepends what you're encoding to, from where, using what. Encoding in FCP with effects, GPU is doing a lot of the work; encoding to H.264 on a newer Mac, the codec's on the motherboard, much quicker than software running through the CPU; and if you're encoding a project with lots of big stills, lots of RAM makes a big difference. Basically there are a lot of factors, the grunt of the CPU is only one.

Reply

Answer 5

akajboss Author

Level 1

0 points

Jun 16, 2015 1:22 PM in response to Tom Wolsky

I haven't installed Final Cut X on my Mac Pro 2007 yet because I am waiting on the video card ATI Radeon 5770 to be delivered. But before I ordered the card I made sure it was compatible with my Mac and Final Cut Pro X from this list: Graphics card compatibility for Final Cut Pro X, Motion 5, and Compressor 4 - Apple Support As it stands now, when I go into my purchased apps in the app store to download and install, it states the current card video card is not compatible. I know the OS that I am running is compatible, which is Lion OS 10.7.5 which is stated in the Apple KB Response: Final Cut Pro: Compatible versions for OS X Lion - Apple Support

============================

My Mac Specs:
Early 2007 Mac Pro Tower
Processor: Dual Xeon 2.667

RAM: 16GB

Hard Drives: 4, 2.2GB = Total 6 TB
OS: Lion 10.7.5
============================

Reply

Answer 6

Tom Wolsky

Level 10

152,825 points

Jun 16, 2015 1:30 PM in response to akajboss

WWhich version of FCP are you installing from the Mac store?

Reply

Answer 7

akajboss Author

Level 1

0 points

Jun 16, 2015 1:34 PM in response to Tom Wolsky

I am assuming that the store is reverting back to Final Cut Pro 10.0.0 due to the OS I am running, but I didn't get that far because the error I received was incompatible video card, thus the reason for me purchasing the ATI Radeon 5770, which I am still waiting for in the mail. Will my current machine encode fast with the processor it has?

Reply

Answer 8

Jun 16, 2015 1:42 PM in response to akajboss

We got the 5770s for our olde 2008 Mac Pro aluminum towers mostly to add ports for our new displays. I cant remember the specifics but we did not notice anything tangible that implied increased performance within FCP. Please note we were using FCP7 at that time, not FCPX. Using COMpressor 3. we noticed no tangible improvements. Back then, everything we did was strictly CPU-based. I noticed some improvements with a few third party filters in After Effects but no improvements in Motion.

But that was 7 years ago.

Reply

Answer 9

Tom Wolsky

Level 10

152,825 points

Jun 16, 2015 1:47 PM in response to akajboss

IT won't encode particularly quickly compared to modern machines and newer versions of the software than use the GPU more extensively. The current version of Clmpressor for instance is many times quicker than earlier versions, and functions such as using Compressor settings and send to Compressor are much more efficient now. Encoding is going to be pretty slow I think.

Reply