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UnixMac · Oct 21, 2004, 11:34 AM

I am running FCP3.0.2 on my G5 and am wondering if by spending the money on FCP4 or for that matter the latest FCP Express, will I get a speed/performance boost?

I'm not so much in need of any new features as I hardly use all of the features in 3 now, but I do like the extra speed.

Is there a plan for a G5 plug-in for FCP3? Does FCP 4 use the G5 processor any better than 3?

Thanks

brianb · Oct 21, 2004, 01:11 PM

Final Cut 3 will never see any further Development, it was EOL'ed when FCP 4 came out. Yess you will see a lot of nice upgrades using a G5 and FCP4. FCP4 scales what it can do in realtime depending on the machine. So the bigger badder faster machines get more. You will like the Realtime Transitions that FCP4 offers and all of that. You do not want to get Final Cut Express as it is more limited and the functions it can do are a lot closer to FCP3 than FCP4. Plus the upgrade price for FCP4 is probally the same or less than FCE.

UnixMac · Oct 21, 2004, 04:19 PM

Thanks, my problem is that I'm using an edu version of FCP 3 and I don't think there is an upgrade program. I believe I'll have to pay the $400 for the FCP4 edu price. This is why I was thinking of just getting FC Express if it had the same speed advantages of FCP4, as I don't really need all of the professional features of FCP.

Anyway..I'm in no big hurry, I'll just use my FCP3 for now till a solution presents itself.

UnixMac · Oct 21, 2004, 11:11 PM

One other question..

Does FCP3 or for that matter does any encoded video get automatically processes by your graphics card if your card is capable of such encoding? Or does the software have to be programmed to take advantage of this feature?

thanks

wedgie! · Oct 22, 2004, 07:20 PM

G5 Dual 2.5Ghz, 4.0GB Crucial RAM, WD Raptor 10000RPM 74GB System Drive, Maxtor MaXline II user 250GB HD
LaCie 90GB firewire drive, (takes a breath, ahh) GeForce6800, 23" aluminum display, Sonnet Tango 2.0, iSight, Bluetooth keyboard & mouse
Sound Sticks, 10GB iPod, HP 7760 printer bla..bla.. [/B]

You can afford all that but you can't spring $400 for an acadamic version of FCP4?!?!

I think you've not properly thought your purchases through.

UnixMac · Oct 22, 2004, 07:38 PM

Originally posted by wedgie!:
You can afford all that but you can't spring $400 for an acadamic version of FCP4?!?!

I think you've not properly thought your purchases through.

that's not very fair.... at some point even someone with tons of money has to decide what is important and what isn't. Since I use FCP basically as an overglorified iMovie, to edit home video it's not a good "investment" to spend $400 over and above the $300 I already spent on FCP3... just for that purpose is it?

I spent that about $400 on MS Office, Techtool Pro 4, 4 edu/game packages for my kids just in the past 3 months.... at some point I have to say.. is it worth it? or is the $400 better spent on other software? Like maybe Adobe Photoshop 8 or other "pro" level tool I can "tool around" with; and that is basically what I am asking here, is this a "night and day" speed difference? Or is it just a boost of 10-15%, in which case FCP 3 is all I need.

But thanks anyway.

wedgie! · Oct 22, 2004, 09:47 PM

it is a big difference. FCP 4.5 on a G5 has way more stability and realtime functionality than anything you'll get in FCP3. If all you're doing is editing home movies then it's not something you'll ever use. But then again, 4GB of RAM, a 10,000RPM system drive and a Geforce 6800 graphics card is not really something you sound like you need. Sorry to keep harping on about it, but for someone who seems to use their comp mainly for home use, all that hardware seems way over the top.

Originally posted by UnixMac:
that's not very fair.... at some point even someone with tons of money has to decide what is important and what isn't. Since I use FCP basically as an overglorified iMovie, to edit home video it's not a good "investment" to spend $400 over and above the $300 I already spent on FCP3... just for that purpose is it?

I spent that about $400 on MS Office, Techtool Pro 4, 4 edu/game packages for my kids just in the past 3 months.... at some point I have to say.. is it worth it? or is the $400 better spent on other software? Like maybe Adobe Photoshop 8 or other "pro" level tool I can "tool around" with; and that is basically what I am asking here, is this a "night and day" speed difference? Or is it just a boost of 10-15%, in which case FCP 3 is all I need.

But thanks anyway.

ReggieX · Oct 22, 2004, 09:59 PM

Originally posted by UnixMac:
Does FCP3 or for that matter does any encoded video get automatically processes by your graphics card if your card is capable of such encoding? Or does the software have to be programmed to take advantage of this feature?

Playing different video formats has nothing to do with your graphics card, it's all in the software. For instance, nothing in OSX will play Indeo compressed video, but OS 9 and Classic will on the same machine.

UnixMac · Oct 22, 2004, 10:32 PM

Originally posted by wedgie!:
it is a big difference. FCP 4.5 on a G5 has way more stability and realtime functionality than anything you'll get in FCP3. If all you're doing is editing home movies then it's not something you'll ever use. But then again, 4GB of RAM, a 10,000RPM system drive and a Geforce 6800 graphics card is not really something you sound like you need. Sorry to keep harping on about it, but for someone who seems to use their comp mainly for home use, all that hardware seems way over the top.

Thanks for the info on 4.5.. as for the speed / specs.. it's just a matter of keeping up with technology for me. I usually hold onto a machine 5 years minimum and at the same time, I don't want to find myself too slow with the latest apps. By getting the fastest possible machine when I make my purchase, I insure this to my best ability. Had I gone with a normal speed Mac, lower GPU and such, the time would have come a lot sooner when my machine was in need of replacement. My last PM G4 dual 500 MHz was the "cats meow" when I got it in early 2000, with it's ATI Radeon 32MB, and dual 500 MHz G4's, and 1 Gig of RAM it was a "pro" machine in every way, and cost me close to $5500 with the Apple 17" CRT.... however, by the time I sold it (for an amazing $800, I might add), it was hardly fast enough to run FCP3 and Photoshop 7 (my only "real apps")... the spinning beach ball from hell appeared too often, and OS X 10.3 was the final straw as it really slowed the thing down. That was 5.5 years of life out of a top of the line Mac... I also could have purchased a single 400mhz or a G3 at that time... but then I wouldn't have been able to keep it as long...

And keep in mind... home use doesn't mean I don't play Q3, RTCW, Halo, Doom3 ( very soon), and STEFV in my spare time... and we all know 3D graphics games need power, a lot of power.

Finally, thanks be to God.. I am blessed with a good job, my wife doesn't have to work and can stay home with our kids, my cars are paid for, and my house is in a decent neighborhood.. so I'm not robbing from Peter to pay Paul in order to have my nice Mac.

make sense, I hope?

Mafia · Oct 24, 2004, 12:52 AM

Originally posted by UnixMac:
Thanks for the info on 4.5.. as for the speed / specs.. it's just a matter of keeping up with technology for me. I usually hold onto a machine 5 years minimum and at the same time, I don't want to find myself too slow with the latest apps. By getting the fastest possible machine when I make my purchase, I insure this to my best ability. Had I gone with a normal speed Mac, lower GPU and such, the time would have come a lot sooner when my machine was in need of replacement. My last PM G4 dual 500 MHz was the "cats meow" when I got it in early 2000, with it's ATI Radeon 32MB, and dual 500 MHz G4's, and 1 Gig of RAM it was a "pro" machine in every way, and cost me close to $5500 with the Apple 17" CRT.... however, by the time I sold it (for an amazing $800, I might add), it was hardly fast enough to run FCP3 and Photoshop 7 (my only "real apps")... the spinning beach ball from hell appeared too often, and OS X 10.3 was the final straw as it really slowed the thing down. That was 5.5 years of life out of a top of the line Mac... I also could have purchased a single 400mhz or a G3 at that time... but then I wouldn't have been able to keep it as long...

And keep in mind... home use doesn't mean I don't play Q3, RTCW, Halo, Doom3 ( very soon), and STEFV in my spare time... and we all know 3D graphics games need power, a lot of power.

Finally, thanks be to God.. I am blessed with a good job, my wife doesn't have to work and can stay home with our kids, my cars are paid for, and my house is in a decent neighborhood.. so I'm not robbing from Peter to pay Paul in order to have my nice Mac.

make sense, I hope?

i've used both fce 2 and fcp 4.5 on my g5 and first let me tell you that fcp 4.5 runs awesome and is an incredible upgrade from 3. yet if you are just editing some home movies and small things of the same degree. i would definitely go for fce 2 because it offers the same speed boosts and some great features. i used fce to edit and produce a 30 minute film i made in tribute to a friend i know. worked great. fcp 4.5 is worth the money but not if all its functions aren't going to be used. just get fce 2 if you want to upgrade.
just my 2 cents