For David Knaggs or anyone else, how is the iMac with CS5.5? at DVinfo.net

Chris Hurd · August 12th, 2011, 09:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by David Knaggs

My new custom-order iMac finally arrived last night...

...I installed Adobe Production Premium CS5.5 on the new iMac today.

How has that been going for you, David? Do you feel as though the iMac has sufficient horsepower for CS5.5?

David Knaggs · October 4th, 2011, 03:47 PM

Hi Chris.

Apologies for not really visiting the site between August 12th and yesterday (a combination of a really heavy deadline - only just completed - and my extreme disappointment with PPro's FCP Import function). The project I just finished would have been the perfect test for PPro CS5.5 on the iMac (multiple layers and animations) but unfortunately it was not to be.

However, I did find that the iMac did a superb job, speed-wise, during the creation of 3D Titles in Photoshop CS5.5, especially with the rendering of the ray tracing at full quality. My tutorial warned me that it could take a very long time to render, but the iMac handled it like a hot knife through butter. Very impressive! I got the 3.4 GHz i7 processor with mine, plus the 2 GB graphics card (AMD 6970M) and 16 GB RAM.

I realize that by now you've already made your purchase (or not), but thought I'd answer anyway because there was no snub intended on my part. I literally didn't know about your post until yesterday.

Chris Hurd · October 4th, 2011, 04:15 PM

No worries -- many thanks for the report, David. I have not pulled the trigger yet, but the 3.4GHz i7 with 2GB card is indeed the model I'm looking at.

Kevin Monahan · October 5th, 2011, 12:43 PM

Only problem with the iMac: no CUDA hardware acceleration is available. Good idea packing it full of RAM though.

David Knaggs · October 5th, 2011, 01:20 PM

I wonder if it's possible to put a NVIDIA (CUDA) card in an external enclosure and connect it to the iMac through a Thunderbolt port?

If someone could work that out ...

Chris Hurd · October 5th, 2011, 01:52 PM

Like this one? I wonder...

Sonnet - Thunderbolt Storage, Adapters & Expansion Boxes

David Knaggs · October 6th, 2011, 08:27 AM

Yes, putting a GTX 285 NVIDIA card into a Sonnet Thunderbolt enclosure might do the trick. I'm just not knowledgeable enough about computer architecture or the inner workings of the Mac OS to know if:

1) The iMac will recognise and work with an additional (external) graphics card when it already has one installed internally, or

2) Whether it's simply a matter of the PPro software being able to detect the 2 graphics cards and then be set to the NVIDIA one to leverage the CUDA capabilities.

I'm very tempted, though, just to snap up one of these GTX 285 cards while they are still floating around eBay (the 285 is great bang for the buck) even if these Thunderbolt enclosures aren't yet broadly released.

One thing firing my enthusiasm for this concept is the demonstration by Ted S. of RED showing a RED Rocket card in a Sonnet Thunderbolt enclosure connected to a MacBook Pro (laptop). The MacBook Pro gave full-screen, full-quality playback of 5K material with no hitches or problems.

Smoke & Dagger Episode 1 - YouTube!

(Go to 1:10 and watch from there.)

So, if it works with a RED Rocket, I'm hoping that a NVIDIA (CUDA) card can be made to follow suit for working with Premiere Pro.

This could be a real boom area for using PPro with iMacs and MacBook Pros. If this idea can be made to work.

David Knaggs · October 6th, 2011, 09:08 AM

I just found this link about an upcoming Thunderbolt enclosure specifically for connecting external graphics cards to the Mac:

External Thunderbolt graphics card for Macs to be developed soon, thanks to Facebook poll -- Engadget

David Knaggs · October 7th, 2011, 01:35 AM

I just bought a GTX 285 NVIDIA card this afternoon. They've been discontinued, so I thought I'd better snap one up before they completely disappear. Now I just have to wait until someone brings out an external Thunderbolt PCI Express graphics card enclosure. (Whether that's Village Instruments or someone else.) I'm quite happy to be the "guinea pig" for this because I was briefed earlier today on a couple of upcoming jobs in the New Year where CUDA hardware acceleration is going to be really helpful.

October 4th, 2011, 03:47 PM	#2
David Knaggs Major Player Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Melbourne, Australia Posts: 826	Re: For David Knaggs or anyone else, how is the iMac with CS5.5? Hi Chris. Apologies for not really visiting the site between August 12th and yesterday (a combination of a really heavy deadline - only just completed - and my extreme disappointment with PPro's FCP Import function). The project I just finished would have been the perfect test for PPro CS5.5 on the iMac (multiple layers and animations) but unfortunately it was not to be. However, I did find that the iMac did a superb job, speed-wise, during the creation of 3D Titles in Photoshop CS5.5, especially with the rendering of the ray tracing at full quality. My tutorial warned me that it could take a very long time to render, but the iMac handled it like a hot knife through butter. Very impressive! I got the 3.4 GHz i7 processor with mine, plus the 2 GB graphics card (AMD 6970M) and 16 GB RAM. I realize that by now you've already made your purchase (or not), but thought I'd answer anyway because there was no snub intended on my part. I literally didn't know about your post until yesterday.

October 4th, 2011, 04:15 PM	#3
Chris Hurd Obstreperous Rex Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: San Marcos, TX Posts: 27,368 Images: 513	Re: For David Knaggs or anyone else, how is the iMac with CS5.5? No worries -- many thanks for the report, David. I have not pulled the trigger yet, but the 3.4GHz i7 with 2GB card is indeed the model I'm looking at. __________________ CH Search DV Info Net \| 20 years of DVi \| ...Tuesday is Soylent Green Day!

October 5th, 2011, 12:43 PM	#4
Kevin Monahan Adobe Systems Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: San Francisco, CA Posts: 191	Re: For David Knaggs or anyone else, how is the iMac with CS5.5? Only problem with the iMac: no CUDA hardware acceleration is available. Good idea packing it full of RAM though. __________________ Kevin Monahan - Support Product Manager—DVA After Effects - Premiere Pro - Media Encoder - Prelude - SpeedGrade - Encore

October 5th, 2011, 01:20 PM	#5
David Knaggs Major Player Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Melbourne, Australia Posts: 826	Re: For David Knaggs or anyone else, how is the iMac with CS5.5? I wonder if it's possible to put a NVIDIA (CUDA) card in an external enclosure and connect it to the iMac through a Thunderbolt port? If someone could work that out ...

October 5th, 2011, 01:52 PM	#6
Chris Hurd Obstreperous Rex Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: San Marcos, TX Posts: 27,368 Images: 513	Re: For David Knaggs or anyone else, how is the iMac with CS5.5? Like this one? I wonder... Sonnet - Thunderbolt Storage, Adapters & Expansion Boxes __________________ CH Search DV Info Net \| 20 years of DVi \| ...Tuesday is Soylent Green Day!

October 6th, 2011, 08:27 AM	#7
David Knaggs Major Player Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Melbourne, Australia Posts: 826	Re: For David Knaggs or anyone else, how is the iMac with CS5.5? Yes, putting a GTX 285 NVIDIA card into a Sonnet Thunderbolt enclosure might do the trick. I'm just not knowledgeable enough about computer architecture or the inner workings of the Mac OS to know if: 1) The iMac will recognise and work with an additional (external) graphics card when it already has one installed internally, or 2) Whether it's simply a matter of the PPro software being able to detect the 2 graphics cards and then be set to the NVIDIA one to leverage the CUDA capabilities. I'm very tempted, though, just to snap up one of these GTX 285 cards while they are still floating around eBay (the 285 is great bang for the buck) even if these Thunderbolt enclosures aren't yet broadly released. One thing firing my enthusiasm for this concept is the demonstration by Ted S. of RED showing a RED Rocket card in a Sonnet Thunderbolt enclosure connected to a MacBook Pro (laptop). The MacBook Pro gave full-screen, full-quality playback of 5K material with no hitches or problems. Smoke & Dagger Episode 1 - YouTube! (Go to 1:10 and watch from there.) So, if it works with a RED Rocket, I'm hoping that a NVIDIA (CUDA) card can be made to follow suit for working with Premiere Pro. This could be a real boom area for using PPro with iMacs and MacBook Pros. If this idea can be made to work.

October 6th, 2011, 09:08 AM	#8
David Knaggs Major Player Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Melbourne, Australia Posts: 826	Re: For David Knaggs or anyone else, how is the iMac with CS5.5? I just found this link about an upcoming Thunderbolt enclosure specifically for connecting external graphics cards to the Mac: External Thunderbolt graphics card for Macs to be developed soon, thanks to Facebook poll -- Engadget

October 7th, 2011, 01:35 AM	#9
David Knaggs Major Player Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Melbourne, Australia Posts: 826	Re: For David Knaggs or anyone else, how is the iMac with CS5.5? I just bought a GTX 285 NVIDIA card this afternoon. They've been discontinued, so I thought I'd better snap one up before they completely disappear. Now I just have to wait until someone brings out an external Thunderbolt PCI Express graphics card enclosure. (Whether that's Village Instruments or someone else.) I'm quite happy to be the "guinea pig" for this because I was briefed earlier today on a couple of upcoming jobs in the New Year where CUDA hardware acceleration is going to be really helpful.