Final Cut Pro on PCI-X

neuromancerzero · February 25, 2006 4:43PM

So i have a copy of final cut pro 5 and was wondering to what extent would it work on pci express. The website says that it will work, but the read me says i need an agp card. Its on a brand new machine with a nvidia 7800 card. Can anyone confirm the status of pci-X with fcp

Marvin · February 25, 2006 8:33PM

There is a file inside FCP that is set to AGP. You can open that up and change it to PCI and it might run:

http://www.xlr8yourmac.com/feedback/..._old_macs.html

It sounds so simple but I've seen it work for some people. I'm not even sure you have to do that though. I run Final Cut Studio (with FCP 5) on a Quad G5 and it has PCI-X with a GeForce 6600.

messiah · February 26, 2006 5:59AM

PCI-X and PCI Express are two entirely different standards, which aren't compatible, and you're getting them mixed up here.

PCI-X is an extended variation of a the standard PCI slot ? it can accommodate both PCI and PCI-X cards.

PCIe (PCI Express) is the new expansion slot that can found in the current Power Mac G5s. It works entirely dfferently to PCI/PCI-X, and PCIe cards won't fit in a PCI/PCI-X slot (and vice versa).

Marvin · February 26, 2006 8:17AM

Ah, I wasn't aware that PCI-X and express were different, I thought PCI-X was an abbreviation. The Quad G5 actually has PCI Express then so I'm not sure about the PCI-X status. But still that link might suffice. As I say, I've seen someone load FCP for it to give an error about AGP. After changing the file to say PCI, it worked fine.

neuromancerzero · February 26, 2006 11:05AM

I've got the PCI express nvidia 7800. I just want to know if this will work with FCP or do i need to edit the file first?

Marvin · February 26, 2006 2:53PM

Quote:

Originally posted by neuromancerzero

I've got the PCI express nvidia 7800. I just want to know if this will work with FCP or do i need to edit the file first?

The apple website says the requirement for FCP is:

AGP Quartz Extreme or PCI Express graphics card

so it should work without modifying any file. Since you have confirmed you have a PCI express card and I know it works on a Quad G5 with PCI Express without modification, I'd say it will work fine.

Out of interest, are you absolutely sure you want FCP? I have to say I was a little disappointed with it. I was expecting it to be a compositing application too. For a cheaper price, you could get a real compositor and cutting app all inside Combustion, which I think is still cheaper than FCP. I guess FCP does NLE better than Combustion and I'm sure it's the industry standard but I was underwhelmed by it for the price. I also found it a bit unstable but I'd really have to use it more. The only software I actually like in the Final Cut Studio is DVD Studio Pro.

neuromancerzero · February 26, 2006 3:07PM

I know what you mean. I was able to get a copy of FCP for less than 200 dollars so i want to try it. I do a lot of work with maya on my computer and I have a lot of friends who use it so learning FCP will be easy. Plus even if i get Combustion i would like to have FCP on it because some frinds and I are starting a movie house and they pretty much only know how to use FCP. Most importantly, i got it almost dirt cheap (one of those fell off a truck deals) so i might as well take a risk, its just a huge install, so i wanted to check that before i did the install. I'm new to Mac OS X, the last apple compuer i owned was the first powerpc and if someone could tell me how to properly uninstall software that would be great. I just drag it to trash, but i know from all my linux work that that can't be right.

Marvin · February 26, 2006 5:30PM

Quote:

Originally posted by neuromancerzero

I'm new to Mac OS X, the last apple compuer i owned was the first powerpc and if someone could tell me how to properly uninstall software that would be great. I just drag it to trash, but i know from all my linux work that that can't be right.

Actually in most cases it is - I've seen Windows and Linux users surprised by that. Mac applications are bundles/packages and most of the resources and things are just stored inside the application package. Right-click and do show package contents to see them. The actual executable is in Contents/MacOS. That's normally what you run in Linux.

This is why a lot of Mac apps come on a dmg file and you just drag them into place.

Of course, not every application is like that and the ones that use the installer are most likely to put stuff elsewhere. For the most part, you don't need to worry as the apps that put stuff in different places usually have an uninstaller.

If they don't, you can use an app called pacifist to see what an installer is putting where and then you can remove those files manually. I've never personally felt the need to do that though and I have always just dragged to trash or used some uninstall option.

neuromancerzero · February 26, 2006 6:47PM

thanks very much

neuromancerzero · March 1, 2006 2:41PM

So i installed FCP 4.5 and it doesn't work because i don't have an agp card. So i need to uninstall it as its taking up so much damn space. there is no uninstaller and i have a feeling just dragging it to the trash won't work. Any advice?

neuromancerzero · March 1, 2006 3:26PM

I actually used some more of my knowledge of config files and fixed it. and here is a solution for all of you, just delete anything in the config file that gives you problems. Easy solution. Works, and doesn't mean you have to look up your processor speed if you are new at editing configs.

Marvin · March 1, 2006 4:54PM

That's unfortunate that you had a bit of trouble to start with but good to hear you got it sorted. It's hard to say what will work on various configurations. Like I say, it worked fine on a Quad G5 with PCI-express but then that was FCP 5. Maybe FCP 4.5 was less compatible with PCI Express or something.

Also when you say it uses up a lot of space, how much is it using? My FCP installs don't take up much space. Maybe you just need to delete some template files or something. If you use an application called Whatsize, it tells you what space is being used where on your drive. You may be shocked to find that Garageband uses 3GB or so.

neuromancerzero · March 1, 2006 6:17PM

I used the program and it turns out that the huge stuff is really just my music collection. Sort of dissappointed.

aquamac · March 2, 2006 5:31PM

Does Virtual PC run on a Core Dual ?

neuromancerzero · March 2, 2006 5:46PM

It probably does, (slowly), but i think wine should work. Just google "wine api" and compile it from source. its better than virtual pc, its free, and its not an emulator. And wouldn't this not be the right place for that comment?

xool · March 2, 2006 6:38PM

Quote:

Originally posted by AquaMac

Does Virtual PC run on a Core Dual ?

Not yet.

4fx · March 4, 2006 12:36AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Marvin

Out of interest, are you absolutely sure you want FCP? I have to say I was a little disappointed with it. I was expecting it to be a compositing application too. For a cheaper price, you could get a real compositor and cutting app all inside Combustion, which I think is still cheaper than FCP. I guess FCP does NLE better than Combustion and I'm sure it's the industry standard but I was underwhelmed by it for the price. I also found it a bit unstable but I'd really have to use it more. The only software I actually like in the Final Cut Studio is DVD Studio Pro.

FCP's primary function quite obviously is not compositing. I dont know why you thought it would be, Apple has never advertised it as such. Its compositing functions are very limited compared to Combustion, Shake, etc. and thats ok, because it's an NLE. I couldnt imagine editing entirely in Combustion, the tools just arent there to work efficiently. You should really give FCP another chance. If you learn its tools and workflow I think you will be better off using it as your NLE and letting Combustion do your compositing work. Of course, if your projects are entirely made up of composited scenes perhaps the way you are currently working would be the most efficient.

Final Cut Pro on PCI-X

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