mac for hdv (xh a1) at DVinfo.net

Kimball Larsen · October 24th, 2007, 10:04 PM

is it better when buying the new mac pro's to get the 2.6 gHz processor or the 3.0 Ghz processor (is it really needed), or is more ram better than a faster processor?

thanks

David W. Jones · October 24th, 2007, 10:29 PM

Get the fastest computer you can afford,
with the most RAM you can afford!

Paul Joy · October 25th, 2007, 06:17 AM

For editing in FCP, I doubt you'd notice any difference between the two cpu's. I upgraded from 2Gb to 4Gb of RAM a couple of months ago and I didn't see any improvement in FCP, although Motion does run a lot better.

The only time the processor(s) will be pushed is during rendering, and even then FCP ignores most of the processing power of your machine. While rendering an HDV25P timeline in FCP my cpu's are 50% idle! I read somewhere on apples support pages that this is because the HDV codec doesn't make good use of the xeon multicore CPU's, although if you export as quicktime and then render with a cluster through compressor you will see the cpu's being maxed out. I have found clustering to be a tad buggy though if you try to render straight from FCP.

Personally, I'd go for the 2.6 and spend the extra on the built in RAID controller & drives. I didn't get it with my mac pro and wished I had as it's not available as a separate upgrade after purchase.

Paul.

October 24th, 2007, 10:04 PM	#1
Kimball Larsen New Boot Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Provo, Utah Posts: 8	mac for hdv (xh a1) is it better when buying the new mac pro's to get the 2.6 gHz processor or the 3.0 Ghz processor (is it really needed), or is more ram better than a faster processor? thanks

October 25th, 2007, 06:17 AM	#3
Paul Joy Major Player Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Norfolk, UK Posts: 627	For editing in FCP, I doubt you'd notice any difference between the two cpu's. I upgraded from 2Gb to 4Gb of RAM a couple of months ago and I didn't see any improvement in FCP, although Motion does run a lot better. The only time the processor(s) will be pushed is during rendering, and even then FCP ignores most of the processing power of your machine. While rendering an HDV25P timeline in FCP my cpu's are 50% idle! I read somewhere on apples support pages that this is because the HDV codec doesn't make good use of the xeon multicore CPU's, although if you export as quicktime and then render with a cluster through compressor you will see the cpu's being maxed out. I have found clustering to be a tad buggy though if you try to render straight from FCP. Personally, I'd go for the 2.6 and spend the extra on the built in RAID controller & drives. I didn't get it with my mac pro and wished I had as it's not available as a separate upgrade after purchase. Paul. __________________ Blog: www.pauljoy.com Company: www.videotrader.co.uk Last edited by Paul Joy; October 25th, 2007 at 06:53 AM.

October 24th, 2007, 10:29 PM	#2
David W. Jones Trustee Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Little Rock Posts: 1,383	Get the fastest computer you can afford, with the most RAM you can afford!