FCPX 10.0.3 and OS10.7 full screen apps VRAM conflicts at DVinfo.net

William Hohauser · April 30th, 2012, 11:00 AM

While the newest update to FCPX has improved the program and eliminated several bugs, at least for me, it has introduced a new issue that was not there before. This is on my 2009 8-core MacPro with an ATI Radeon HD 5870 1024 MB video card and 16gb of system RAM.

Since the introduction of Lion I have had Mail and Safari enabled to be full screen apps where I can use a four finger swipe to access. Since the new update I noticed that FCPX would slow down especially during exports when I would swipe to the Mail program or Safari. In fact the whole computer would visually freeze up at times although the export was still going. Switching between applications was slow and could take a while before the next program actually appeared on the screen.

Activity Monitor did not show anything out of the ordinary so I downloaded the program atMonitor since Activity Monitor doesn't monitor the video card. What I saw was that full-screen apps can absorb up to 70% of the VRAM even though you are not on the particular program. This was clearly conflicting with FCPX and slowing things down. Once I stopped using full-screen app function on the program, FCPX exports are back to normal and I still have both Mail and Safari open. In fact I just was exporting with FCPX and writing part of this while keeping an eye on the VRAM stats. With FCPX open and exporting the VRAM hovered around 70% used. With the export finished I quit FCPX and the VRAM dropped to 10% with Mail and Safari open. Before, with full screen apps activated, the VRAM stayed at 70% regardless of whether FCPX was open or not.

Geoff Holland · May 1st, 2012, 07:57 PM

Thanks for posting that... it's really interesting. Would you mind if I posted a link to this post over at the Apple FCPX Support Forum? Or, if you post there, it might really help a lot of people running Lion as they are at a loss as to what is slowing them down... this could be it!

It doesn't affect me because I stuck with Snow Leopard.... if it aint broke don't fix it!

William Hohauser · May 2nd, 2012, 08:59 PM

I'll post it with Apple.

Geoff Holland · May 2nd, 2012, 09:00 PM

Thanks William.... I think it will help solve a lot of people's problems!

April 30th, 2012, 11:00 AM	#1
William Hohauser Inner Circle Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: New York City Posts: 2,650	FCPX 10.0.3 and OS10.7 full screen apps VRAM conflicts While the newest update to FCPX has improved the program and eliminated several bugs, at least for me, it has introduced a new issue that was not there before. This is on my 2009 8-core MacPro with an ATI Radeon HD 5870 1024 MB video card and 16gb of system RAM. Since the introduction of Lion I have had Mail and Safari enabled to be full screen apps where I can use a four finger swipe to access. Since the new update I noticed that FCPX would slow down especially during exports when I would swipe to the Mail program or Safari. In fact the whole computer would visually freeze up at times although the export was still going. Switching between applications was slow and could take a while before the next program actually appeared on the screen. Activity Monitor did not show anything out of the ordinary so I downloaded the program atMonitor since Activity Monitor doesn't monitor the video card. What I saw was that full-screen apps can absorb up to 70% of the VRAM even though you are not on the particular program. This was clearly conflicting with FCPX and slowing things down. Once I stopped using full-screen app function on the program, FCPX exports are back to normal and I still have both Mail and Safari open. In fact I just was exporting with FCPX and writing part of this while keeping an eye on the VRAM stats. With FCPX open and exporting the VRAM hovered around 70% used. With the export finished I quit FCPX and the VRAM dropped to 10% with Mail and Safari open. Before, with full screen apps activated, the VRAM stayed at 70% regardless of whether FCPX was open or not. __________________ William Hohauser - New York City Producer/Edit/Camera/Animation

May 1st, 2012, 07:57 PM	#2
Geoff Holland Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Montreal, QC Posts: 60	Re: FCPX 10.0.3 and OS10.7 full screen apps VRAM conflicts Thanks for posting that... it's really interesting. Would you mind if I posted a link to this post over at the Apple FCPX Support Forum? Or, if you post there, it might really help a lot of people running Lion as they are at a loss as to what is slowing them down... this could be it! It doesn't affect me because I stuck with Snow Leopard.... if it aint broke don't fix it!

May 2nd, 2012, 08:59 PM	#3
William Hohauser Inner Circle Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: New York City Posts: 2,650	Re: FCPX 10.0.3 and OS10.7 full screen apps VRAM conflicts I'll post it with Apple. __________________ William Hohauser - New York City Producer/Edit/Camera/Animation

May 2nd, 2012, 09:00 PM	#4
Geoff Holland Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Montreal, QC Posts: 60	Re: FCPX 10.0.3 and OS10.7 full screen apps VRAM conflicts Thanks William.... I think it will help solve a lot of people's problems!