DRAM or New Powerbook

DRAM or New Powerbook

by Richard Walton

on May 13, 2013 at 8:56:20 pm

I am using FCP 6.0.6 for basic (cuts, titles, and dissolves) video editing. Although I don't regularly
do multi-layered projects I do use Motion from time to time.

I am running Mt. Lion on:

MacPro (early 2009)
2.66GHz Quad-Core Intel Xe
NVIDIA GeForce GT 120 512MB
8 GB DRAM

My goal is to decrease rendering time as it slows down my workflow and is just plain annoying.
I understand I could upgrade DRAM on my present system to 16 GB.

Alternately, I am considering a new computer - one of the 15" MPB (I am aware of some of the issues of running FCP 6-7 with Mt. Lion).

I have 3 questions:

Will rendering speed be increased significantly by upgrading DRAM to 16GB on my MacPro (early, 2009)?

Would going to the Intel Core i7 be the most effective way to decrease rendering times.

Would a switch to FCPX be an effective way to decrease rendering time?

Thanks,

Dick

Dick Walton
Natural History Services
http://www.rkwalton.com

Re: DRAM or New Powerbook

by Shane Ross

on May 13, 2013 at 9:14:57 pm

[Richard Walton] "Will rendering speed be increased significantly by upgrading DRAM to 16GB on my MacPro (early, 2009)?"

No...sorry. Render speeds in FCP are really only affected by processor speed and power. Somewhat by Graphics Cards if the filters used are FXPlug. But really...no.

[Richard Walton] "
Would going to the Intel Core i7 be the most effective way to decrease rendering times."

Pretty much the only way.

[Richard Walton] "I am considering a new computer - one of the 15" MPB (I am aware of some of the issues of running FCP 6-7 with Mt. Lion)."

So you are aware that FCP 6 won't install then, without a bit of hacking, right?

[Richard Walton] "Would a switch to FCPX be an effective way to decrease rendering time?"

It is a faster app...64 bit vs FCP 6 32 bit....uses more RAM, and better. But it is completely different from FCP 6 in many many areas. Be aware of that.

Shane
Little Frog Post
Read my blog, Little Frog in High Def

Re: DRAM or New Powerbook

by Richard Walton

on May 14, 2013 at 1:35:56 am

Shane:

Many thanks for your responses - which largely confirmed my hunches. It seems the MPB solution (as described on your blog) is the answer. When I price out the comparison of Retina / Non-Retina there seems to be some argument for the Retina. Both machines below retail at $2499.00.

You loose the SuperDrive and Firewire port with the Retina but gain a second Thunderbold port and a 2.7Hz vs 2.6Hz processor. Am I missing
other parameters?

Your input is very helpful!!

2.6GHz Quad-core Intel Core i7, NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M with 1GB GDDR5 memory
4GB 1600MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 2x2GB
256GB Solid State Drive
SuperDrive 8x (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
MacBook Pro 15-inch Hi-Res Antiglare Widescreen Display
Backlit Keyboard (English) & User's Guide

2.7GHz Quad-core Intel Core i7, Turbo Boost up to 3.7GHz
16GB 1600MHz DDR3L SDRAM
256GB Flash Storage
Backlit Keyboard (English) & User's Guide

Dick Walton
Natural History Services
http://www.rkwalton.com

Re: DRAM or New Powerbook

by John Chen

on May 14, 2013 at 3:55:39 am

I made a similar switch last August. I was running FCP 6 on a MacBook Pro 2007 Intel Core 2 Duo with 8GB RAM. I'm now running FCP X on a Macbook Pro 2.6 Ghz Intel Core i7 Retina and it's much faster. Running off the Flash hard drive is a significant improvement over my old laptop. I usually run my media from a 2TB Western Digital 3.0 5400 RPM external drive, it's still pretty fast (but not as fast as running from the flash HD). Though really, it's not a huge difference.

Switching from FCP 6 to FCPX has been a huge change there. There were a lot of options and controls removed, so depending on how much control you are use to having you may find it a bit frustrating.