I May Be Switching To FCPX From Premiere Pro CS6. Here Is Why....

Faymus Media

Faymus Media

Well-known member
Well I am very comfortable with PPcs6. I was a heavy FCP7 user. Switched because FCPX kinda scared me with such a big change. However, Just watched the training on FCPX and decided to try it out. After a few days of using FCPX I realize a few things.

Comparing PPcs6 to FCPX on a "editor" basis ONLY. That means, no dynamic link, and no encore or after effects. Editor for Editor, the ONLY thing that PPCS6 has the advantage with is "CUDA" support. Thats it!

Granted PPcs6 is an amazing step forward for adobe, I love it. What is so much better about FCPX is the fact that i can use the event browser, use keyboard shortcuts to make "cuts" of what i want and then again keyboard shortcut them into keyword groups. I can take as many cuts that i choose from any movie file. The ability to do this allows me to prepare everything before i start compiling the story. Its a big time saver!

It even syncs audio that is recorded seperately! I always had to manually line up audio in PPcs6! Plural eyes just stinks! So here is what it comes down to:

PPcs6 PROS:

- Cuda support
- Adobe media encoder little better than compressor

FCPX Pros:

- Event library
- keywords
- auto audio sync
- organization
- better GUI (looks cleaner)

The only downfall to FCPX up until today WAS no dual monitor view. Apple literally just fixed it.



So my conclusion. I just purchased FCPX, as i would rather do WITHOUT CUDA support, in order to make my life easier with audio syncing and organization!
 
You should think about the GTX 680, that is going to be the fastest GPU for it! I'm not sure if apple officially supports it, but I am running a hackintosh (had a Mac Pro but sold it to build my own setup since Apple is taking forever to update).

Even with a genuine Mac Pro you can get the GTX 680 running easily without official Apple support. Just buy the EVGA GTX 670 or 680 there is native OSX out of box support because it's the same thing the laptops use (Kepler 6xxx series GPUs).

If that makes you nervous, buy it from Fry's. They have 14 day return policy even if opened, and match prices with online stores like amazon and newegg. But don't worry, it will work, since i'm writing this and editing in FCP X 10.0.6 on one right now... you can PM me for more info ;)

You may also find this thread helpful: http://aquamac.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=macpro&action=display&thread=1395

And regarding the "mod" from netkas there is an automated installed. It basically adds a .kext (kernel extension, AKA a "driver" in Windows language).
 
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filmguy123 said:
You should think about the GTX 680, that is going to be the fastest GPU for it! I'm not sure if apple officially supports it, but I am running a hackintosh (had a Mac Pro but sold it to build my own setup since Apple is taking forever to update).

Even with a genuine Mac Pro you can get the GTX 680 running easily without official Apple support. Just buy the EVGA GTX 670 or 680 there is native OSX out of box support because it's the same thing the laptops use (Kepler 6xxx series GPUs).

If that makes you nervous, buy it from Fry's. They have 14 day return policy even if opened, and match prices with online stores like amazon and newegg. But don't worry, it will work, since i'm writing this and editing in FCP X 10.0.6 on one right now... you can PM me for more info ;)

You may also find this thread helpful: http://aquamac.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=macpro&action=display&thread=1395

And regarding the "mod" from netkas there is an automated installed. It basically adds a .kext (kernel extension, AKA a "driver" in Windows language).
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Thats badass! I bleieve nvidia makes offical drivers and cuda drivers for it to run on mountain lion anyway right?
 
Yeah NVIDIA does in fact have official Mac 6xxx drivers out now, you're right! It's the way to go, you can run a free benchmark in LuxMark 2.0 to compare - I'm getting over 2000 points with the GTX 670, fully openCL supported. The 680 would be even faster. Good luck :)
 
filmguy123 said:
Yeah NVIDIA does in fact have official Mac 6xxx drivers out now, you're right! It's the way to go, you can run a free benchmark in LuxMark 2.0 to compare - I'm getting over 2000 points with the GTX 670, fully openCL supported. The 680 would be even faster. Good luck :)
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The only problem that I found is that on the website for Final Cut Pro X, The Nvidia five and six series cards are not listed as open Ciel support. Will they still work?
 
After reading your post on why you want to switch from Premiere to FCP X, I respect your choice to change but are you saying you don't know how to do an add edit keyboard shortcut in Premiere Pro to so that you can make selects and such? The reason why Prelude was created was to do accommodate the task of logging and picking selects before you bring them into Premiere. Now, I know that using another program to do that seems like more steps than necessary but I've found it very useful in my workflow. Also, have you tried Plural Eyes 3 from Red Giant yet? The stand alone application integrates well with all major NLEs. Also, I've been using Premiere Pro for 4 years now and have never used it when with a graphics card that would allow me CUDA support and I've edited just fine without it.
 
Faymus Media said:
The only problem that I found is that on the website for Final Cut Pro X, The Nvidia five and six series cards are not listed as open Ciel support. Will they still work?
Click to expand...

FCP X doesn't have an indicator that shows if it works or not, but my performance is better than it was on my older GPU once getting the 6xxx series, and Apple's latest laptops use the 6xx series in the Retina Macbooks which run FCP X very fast. Highly doubt their own hardware isn't supporting it. I think the document unfortunately just hasn't had the TLC to list all the cards. Also mentioned in this thread: https://discussions.apple.com/thread/4232354?tstart=0

I believe OpenCL runs at an OS system level, so it if it's working with OSX it's working with FCPX - that is my understanding. I can confirm OpenCL is working on my system via benchmarks, and I can confirm that 10.0.6, which utilizes GPU use much greater than 10.0.5, also renders effects much quicker. I loaded up a clip with 10 heavy look/light effects stacked and it render in about 3 seconds.

Also, that support document with GPU support doesn't even mention Mountain Lion, just SL & Lion!
 
mmka1985 said:
After reading your post on why you want to switch from Premiere to FCP X, I respect your choice to change but are you saying you don't know how to do an add edit keyboard shortcut in Premiere Pro to so that you can make selects and such? The reason why Prelude was created was to do accommodate the task of logging and picking selects before you bring them into Premiere. Now, I know that using another program to do that seems like more steps than necessary but I've found it very useful in my workflow. Also, have you tried Plural Eyes 3 from Red Giant yet? The stand alone application integrates well with all major NLEs. Also, I've been using Premiere Pro for 4 years now and have never used it when with a graphics card that would allow me CUDA support and I've edited just fine without it.
Click to expand...



I do know how to use shortcuts in premiere pro however even with prelude the workflow isn't as fast. I love premiere pro but there is just too many pluses of FCPX.





filmguy123 said:
FCP X doesn't have an indicator that shows if it works or not, but my performance is better than it was on my older GPU once getting the 6xxx series, and Apple's latest laptops use the 6xx series in the Retina Macbooks which run FCP X very fast. Highly doubt their own hardware isn't supporting it. I think the document unfortunately just hasn't had the TLC to list all the cards. Also mentioned in this thread: https://discussions.apple.com/thread/4232354?tstart=0

I believe OpenCL runs at an OS system level, so it if it's working with OSX it's working with FCPX - that is my understanding. I can confirm OpenCL is working on my system via benchmarks, and I can confirm that 10.0.6, which utilizes GPU use much greater than 10.0.5, also renders effects much quicker. I loaded up a clip with 10 heavy look/light effects stacked and it render in about 3 seconds.

Also, that support document with GPU support doesn't even mention Mountain Lion, just SL & Lion!
Click to expand...


So do you think I would be better off with a 680gtx or a 285gtx considering I found a 285 gtx I am going to pickup tomorrow for 80 bucks?

i just want to make sure I am stepping up from my 8800gt with a big step not a minor one.


I just ran the benchmark galaxy and my 3.8 ghz i7 920 gives me 80 gigflops and my 8800gt gives me 170 gigaflops.
 
Faymus Media said:
So do you think I would be better off with a 680gtx or a 285gtx considering I found a 285 gtx I am going to pickup tomorrow for 80 bucks?

i just want to make sure I am stepping up from my 8800gt with a big step not a minor one.
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Sorry for the long delay! busy weekend. May be irrelevant by now, but yes the GTX 285 is a great card and a good step up from the 8800gt. That said, it did come out in 2008 and the 670/680 is brand new and much faster... then again the 670/680 costs way more... so... it's up to you! Either way you're going to see a performance jump
 
filmguy123 said:
Sorry for the long delay! busy weekend. May be irrelevant by now, but yes the GTX 285 is a great card and a good step up from the 8800gt. That said, it did come out in 2008 and the 670/680 is brand new and much faster... then again the 670/680 costs way more... so... it's up to you! Either way you're going to see a performance jump
Click to expand...


I ended up snaggin a GTX480 for 160! How does that sound? its the EVGA version.
 
Faymus Media said:
I ended up snaggin a GTX480 for 160! How does that sound? its the EVGA version.
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Sounds like it might good! If you can't decide, split the difference :) How's it running for you?

I know Apple never had a laptop running 4000 or 5000 series NVIDIA. Even though the 6xx isn't listed on their website, their Macbook Pros and iMacs run 6xx GPUs.

However, during the NVIDIA 4xx/5xx time Apple was using ATI... not sure how that will play out for you.
 
The card benchmarks like a champ and runs premiere pro like a monster and Final Cut Pro X runs pretty well.

I am thinking about a ATI 5870 since that's the top Mac card from 2011. Only problem is what do I have to do in order to install it on my setup driver wise? ATI had no drivers for Mac on their website.
 
FWIW my render times in FCPX and Premiere CS6 have been pretty comparable using a GTX card and Ive spent a few days testing.

Both make FCP7 seem like an overloaded steam train thats about to die.
 
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