THX1139
Aug 21, 02:09 AM
I stopped by the Apple store tonight to play with a Macpro. I'm getting ready to buy and thought I'd get some hands on experience to see how it performed with Finalcut Pro. I was especially interested in how it handles playback of uncompressed footage.
The store had a 2.6 hooked up to a 30"ACD. Everything on the machine was stock. I launched FCP and it appeared with a project already loaded (about 5 seconds). The project was a simple 20-30 second 720x480 NTSC clip of hockey game footage. I selected the clip and copied it to a new layer and threw a blend mode on it AND changed the speed to 85%. Next I copied and made another layer and changed the speed and offset it and changed the transparency to 80%. 3 layers total with the top two manipulated. I hit the render and it finished in about 30 seconds. :)
I know, not very scientific, but I just wanted to get a feel for how fast the Macpro would render manipulated footage. Anyhow, next I changed the output in project settings to "uncompressed" and hit render again. Again, it took less than a minute to render and the CPU usage in console was maxing out at only 42% per core.
Once the render completed, I hit the play button to see how the stock Macpro would handle playback of the uncompressed footage. It played for about 4 seconds then threw an error saying that frames were being dropped during playback. Not good. I was hoping that the Macpro would be able to play uncompressed footage from the timeline without 3rd party acceleration or setting up a raid. The error message suggested turning off RT effects (of which I did, but still had dropped frames) or get a faster drive. There was a couple other things the error suggested, but I can't remember at the moment. I wonder if having the ATI card would have made a difference? Not sure if FCP uses the GPU for playback, but I would think that should make a difference. Ram would probably help too. Anyone know what might be going on? Am I expecting too much out of this machine?
Sorry for sort of getting off topic. I thought this might be an appropriate area to post this; I wasn't feeling up to starting a new thread.
The store had a 2.6 hooked up to a 30"ACD. Everything on the machine was stock. I launched FCP and it appeared with a project already loaded (about 5 seconds). The project was a simple 20-30 second 720x480 NTSC clip of hockey game footage. I selected the clip and copied it to a new layer and threw a blend mode on it AND changed the speed to 85%. Next I copied and made another layer and changed the speed and offset it and changed the transparency to 80%. 3 layers total with the top two manipulated. I hit the render and it finished in about 30 seconds. :)
I know, not very scientific, but I just wanted to get a feel for how fast the Macpro would render manipulated footage. Anyhow, next I changed the output in project settings to "uncompressed" and hit render again. Again, it took less than a minute to render and the CPU usage in console was maxing out at only 42% per core.
Once the render completed, I hit the play button to see how the stock Macpro would handle playback of the uncompressed footage. It played for about 4 seconds then threw an error saying that frames were being dropped during playback. Not good. I was hoping that the Macpro would be able to play uncompressed footage from the timeline without 3rd party acceleration or setting up a raid. The error message suggested turning off RT effects (of which I did, but still had dropped frames) or get a faster drive. There was a couple other things the error suggested, but I can't remember at the moment. I wonder if having the ATI card would have made a difference? Not sure if FCP uses the GPU for playback, but I would think that should make a difference. Ram would probably help too. Anyone know what might be going on? Am I expecting too much out of this machine?
Sorry for sort of getting off topic. I thought this might be an appropriate area to post this; I wasn't feeling up to starting a new thread.
macman312
Apr 11, 06:57 PM
My 3Gs contract ends in June and Apple will be pushing it's luck for me to go half a year without me being tempted to jump platforms instead of waiting for the iPhone 5.
Hopefully apple will announce the iphone 5 in june but say something like "due to the disasters in japan they won't be available till september" and I agree with you that there is a new desire hd 2 coming out tomorrow/today(tuesday).
I too end my contract in june and hope that as long as they announce it that my teleco company will have a list of people who want to wait for a few months for the iphone5 . These rumours may be incorrect also.
Hopefully apple will announce the iphone 5 in june but say something like "due to the disasters in japan they won't be available till september" and I agree with you that there is a new desire hd 2 coming out tomorrow/today(tuesday).
I too end my contract in june and hope that as long as they announce it that my teleco company will have a list of people who want to wait for a few months for the iphone5 . These rumours may be incorrect also.
samcraig
Apr 27, 08:41 AM
I looked at the map from a recent road trip. It showed cell towers 50 miles off the route I was on--probably next towers over in case I headed that direction. It's the apple bashing trolls who are blowing this way out of proportion.
No it's not.
And I think MOST people aren't blowing anything out of proportion. Being concerned about tracking information/privacy issues is important. Most people (stop generalizing just because some on this board are) are NOT over-reacting but were calling for deeper investigation into the issue.
No it's not.
And I think MOST people aren't blowing anything out of proportion. Being concerned about tracking information/privacy issues is important. Most people (stop generalizing just because some on this board are) are NOT over-reacting but were calling for deeper investigation into the issue.
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Nuck81
Nov 12, 02:36 PM
Gah!!
I have it preordered and will be at my moms when it is going to be delivered!!
I have it preordered and will be at my moms when it is going to be delivered!!
maclaptop
Apr 11, 04:58 PM
Apple can create Christmas any day of the year.
Only amongst those who's entirely sad life, waits in anticipation.
All the while, most of us have much richer, more well balanced lives.
Only amongst those who's entirely sad life, waits in anticipation.
All the while, most of us have much richer, more well balanced lives.
jne381
Aug 7, 05:27 PM
I think the improvements to OSX are all well and good, I do think Time Machine will be valued in my home, but it is hard to get excited because 10.4 still seems so new to me. I'm sure I don't even know a lot of the cool things it does.
I was hoping for more in the way of hardware. The MacPro seem fine, even though no new case. WHat is he deal with no new displays, but they did drop the prices a little. I think the iPod is long overdue at this point for a makeover. I guess I'm just a victim of my own unfulfilled expectations.
I was hoping for more in the way of hardware. The MacPro seem fine, even though no new case. WHat is he deal with no new displays, but they did drop the prices a little. I think the iPod is long overdue at this point for a makeover. I guess I'm just a victim of my own unfulfilled expectations.
amin
Aug 19, 09:42 AM
You make good points. I guess we'll learn more as more information becomes available.
Yes under some specific results the quad was a bit faster than the dual. Though with the combo of Rosetta+Photoshop its unclear what is causing the difference. However, if you compare the vast majority of the benchmarks, there's negligible difference.
Concerning Photoshop specifically, as can be experienced on a quad G5, the performance increase is 15-20%. A future jump to 8-core would theoretically be in the 8% increase mark. Photoshop (CS2) simply cannot scale adequately beyond 2 cores, maybe that'll change in Spring 2007. Fingers crossed it does.
I beg to differ. If an app or game is memory intensive, faster memory access does matter. Barefeats (http://barefeats.com/quad09.html) has some benchmarks on dual channel vs quad channel on the Mac Pro. I'd personally like to see that benchmark with an added Conroe system. If dual to quad channel gave 16-25% improvement, imagine what 75% increase in actual bandwidth will do. Besides, I was merely addressing your statements that Woodcrest is faster because of its higher speed FSB and higher memory bus bandwidth.
Anandtech, at the moment, is the only place with a quad xeon vs dual xeon benchmark. And yes, dual Woodcrest is fast enough, but is it cost effective compared to a single Woodcrest/Conroe? It seems that for the most part, Mac Pro users are paying for an extra chip but only really utilizing it when running several CPU intensive apps at the same time.
You're absolutely right about that, its only measuring the improvement over increased FSB. If you take into account FB-DIMM's appalling efficiency, there should be no increase at all (if not decrease) for memory intensive apps.
One question I'd like to put out there, if Apple has had a quad core mac shipping for the past 8 months, why would it wait til intel quads to optimize the code for FCP? Surely they must have known for some time before that that they would release a quad core G5 so either optimizing FCP for quads is a real bastard or they've been sitting on it for no reason.
Yes under some specific results the quad was a bit faster than the dual. Though with the combo of Rosetta+Photoshop its unclear what is causing the difference. However, if you compare the vast majority of the benchmarks, there's negligible difference.
Concerning Photoshop specifically, as can be experienced on a quad G5, the performance increase is 15-20%. A future jump to 8-core would theoretically be in the 8% increase mark. Photoshop (CS2) simply cannot scale adequately beyond 2 cores, maybe that'll change in Spring 2007. Fingers crossed it does.
I beg to differ. If an app or game is memory intensive, faster memory access does matter. Barefeats (http://barefeats.com/quad09.html) has some benchmarks on dual channel vs quad channel on the Mac Pro. I'd personally like to see that benchmark with an added Conroe system. If dual to quad channel gave 16-25% improvement, imagine what 75% increase in actual bandwidth will do. Besides, I was merely addressing your statements that Woodcrest is faster because of its higher speed FSB and higher memory bus bandwidth.
Anandtech, at the moment, is the only place with a quad xeon vs dual xeon benchmark. And yes, dual Woodcrest is fast enough, but is it cost effective compared to a single Woodcrest/Conroe? It seems that for the most part, Mac Pro users are paying for an extra chip but only really utilizing it when running several CPU intensive apps at the same time.
You're absolutely right about that, its only measuring the improvement over increased FSB. If you take into account FB-DIMM's appalling efficiency, there should be no increase at all (if not decrease) for memory intensive apps.
One question I'd like to put out there, if Apple has had a quad core mac shipping for the past 8 months, why would it wait til intel quads to optimize the code for FCP? Surely they must have known for some time before that that they would release a quad core G5 so either optimizing FCP for quads is a real bastard or they've been sitting on it for no reason.
ergle2
Aug 27, 07:41 PM
HI!
Anyone knows if jointly with this rumor is the rumor of the upgrade of graphic cards on MacBook (not Pro) to Intel GMA 965 (I think is this the reference...)?
Thanks!
From the benchmarks I've seen, the 3000/X3000 stuff (the 965 integrated graphics) is *slower* than the 945 integrated graphics. The only advantage it offers is SM 3.0 (pixel shaders), which are required for Vista compliance -- and that nice little sticker that all new PC systems will want for this holiday season. I wouldn't consider it an upgrade.
Anyone knows if jointly with this rumor is the rumor of the upgrade of graphic cards on MacBook (not Pro) to Intel GMA 965 (I think is this the reference...)?
Thanks!
From the benchmarks I've seen, the 3000/X3000 stuff (the 965 integrated graphics) is *slower* than the 945 integrated graphics. The only advantage it offers is SM 3.0 (pixel shaders), which are required for Vista compliance -- and that nice little sticker that all new PC systems will want for this holiday season. I wouldn't consider it an upgrade.
amin
Sep 14, 10:53 PM
I have noticed this emphasis as well; not being an expert on this issue myself though, would you care to shed light on how their coverage is an exaggeration and why we shouldn't be worried about it?
I am no expert, and I am not denying that this issue matters. However, I see no cause for concern unless someone provides some decent evidence that it matters. It strikes me as odd that they (at AnandTech) put so much emphasis on explaining the theory behind a "problem" without making any competent effort at illustrating an example of the problem. When you go to configure a Mac Pro, the Apple page says the following about memory: "Mac Pro uses 667MHz DDR2 fully buffered ECC memory, a new industry-standard memory technology that allows for more memory capacity, higher speeds, and better reliability. To take full advantage of the 256-bit wide memory architecture, four or more FB-DIMMs should be installed in Mac Pro." Yet AnandTech chose a 1GB x 2 RAM arrangement to compare the Core 2 Extreme and Xeon processors. Using this setup, which effectively cripples the Mac Pro memory system, they find it to be at worst 10% slower than the Conroe Extreme (in a single non real world usage benchmark). Meanwhile in any comparison that utilizes the four cores, the quad Xeon whoops ass by a large margin.
I am no expert, and I am not denying that this issue matters. However, I see no cause for concern unless someone provides some decent evidence that it matters. It strikes me as odd that they (at AnandTech) put so much emphasis on explaining the theory behind a "problem" without making any competent effort at illustrating an example of the problem. When you go to configure a Mac Pro, the Apple page says the following about memory: "Mac Pro uses 667MHz DDR2 fully buffered ECC memory, a new industry-standard memory technology that allows for more memory capacity, higher speeds, and better reliability. To take full advantage of the 256-bit wide memory architecture, four or more FB-DIMMs should be installed in Mac Pro." Yet AnandTech chose a 1GB x 2 RAM arrangement to compare the Core 2 Extreme and Xeon processors. Using this setup, which effectively cripples the Mac Pro memory system, they find it to be at worst 10% slower than the Conroe Extreme (in a single non real world usage benchmark). Meanwhile in any comparison that utilizes the four cores, the quad Xeon whoops ass by a large margin.
manu chao
Apr 27, 08:56 AM
No they won't. They're not going to delete the DB - they're only storing a week. Did you read the story?
And assume you go to a place you have been a month ago, wouldn't having the database speed things up when you return to that location a month later?
(Though I agree the effect will be very minor, as soon as you land with a plane, the iPhone will start populating that database, thus having the data from a month ago will only be relevant if you need location data right away after landing.)
And assume you go to a place you have been a month ago, wouldn't having the database speed things up when you return to that location a month later?
(Though I agree the effect will be very minor, as soon as you land with a plane, the iPhone will start populating that database, thus having the data from a month ago will only be relevant if you need location data right away after landing.)
ahuman7341
Aug 5, 05:57 PM
BitTorrent seems very NO!
The main reson I don't like the idea of it is the security issues. I Also think Apple will be aware of the security issues so I doubt that software update will use BitTorrent. Although Apple may have a client that comes with leopard or in iTunes.
The main reson I don't like the idea of it is the security issues. I Also think Apple will be aware of the security issues so I doubt that software update will use BitTorrent. Although Apple may have a client that comes with leopard or in iTunes.
bigmc6000
Jul 14, 03:17 PM
Some of this makes sense, some of it not.
I think AppleInsider is right about the case. With the exception of the MacBook, whose design has been rumoured for years and clearly was something Apple would have done even had this been the "iBook G5", Apple has made it a point with all of their Intelizations to use the same case as the predecessor, as if to say "It's business as usual, all we've changed is the processor." So from that point of view, the PowerMac G5 case being, more or less, the Mac Pro case, makes a lot of sense.
Two optical drives? No, sorry, not seeing the reasoning. The reasons given so far don't add up:
- copying DVDs - you can't legally copy 99% of DVDs anyway, if there was no need for twin CD drives, why would there suddenly be for DVDs?
- burning two at once - few people need this, and it's a great sales opportunity for a Firewire external burner anyway. Hell, why stop at TWO?
- Blu-ray - not unless they're really screwed up BR and drives with BR will be incompatible with existing media or something.
As per ownership rights listed by the US copyright office you're allowed to make backup copies of all personally owned material. Now DVD makers would like to make that impossible as it supports the subsequent illegal activity however, strictly legal speaking there is absolutely nothing illegal about making a copy of your DVD's (selling/distributing is where you cross the legal/illegal line)
I think AppleInsider is right about the case. With the exception of the MacBook, whose design has been rumoured for years and clearly was something Apple would have done even had this been the "iBook G5", Apple has made it a point with all of their Intelizations to use the same case as the predecessor, as if to say "It's business as usual, all we've changed is the processor." So from that point of view, the PowerMac G5 case being, more or less, the Mac Pro case, makes a lot of sense.
Two optical drives? No, sorry, not seeing the reasoning. The reasons given so far don't add up:
- copying DVDs - you can't legally copy 99% of DVDs anyway, if there was no need for twin CD drives, why would there suddenly be for DVDs?
- burning two at once - few people need this, and it's a great sales opportunity for a Firewire external burner anyway. Hell, why stop at TWO?
- Blu-ray - not unless they're really screwed up BR and drives with BR will be incompatible with existing media or something.
As per ownership rights listed by the US copyright office you're allowed to make backup copies of all personally owned material. Now DVD makers would like to make that impossible as it supports the subsequent illegal activity however, strictly legal speaking there is absolutely nothing illegal about making a copy of your DVD's (selling/distributing is where you cross the legal/illegal line)
Brandon4692
Jun 22, 07:03 PM
Yes Brandon they received them in store today. My buddy was able to grab two from the local store that did not generate any PINs so I will be getting mine Thursday morning now. Radio Shack is also giving $20 Gift Cards to use towards accessories at the time of purchase in this area.
Ugh! Lucky!! I think I'm going to just keep calling my local radioshacks and head to one at least an hour before they open on Thursday!
Ugh! Lucky!! I think I'm going to just keep calling my local radioshacks and head to one at least an hour before they open on Thursday!
Gelfin
Mar 4, 04:37 PM
She rephrased what he had said which implied similar meaning
If you are suggesting she edited her post, the version quoted in your reply matches what she posted, and neither one of them seem to imply any such thing. I didn't ask you to restate the claim. I asked you to explain it.
If you are suggesting she edited her post, the version quoted in your reply matches what she posted, and neither one of them seem to imply any such thing. I didn't ask you to restate the claim. I asked you to explain it.
mrsir2009
Apr 19, 02:47 PM
Hey leave Samsung alone! They're my favorite tech company after Apple :)
Burger King
Apr 27, 08:56 AM
Keeping a log of nearby locations I've been around, is by proxy, logging my location. If they keep a record of the towers my phone and iPad have linked to, and the locations of these towers are fixed and known, then Apple is in effect tracking my location in this linking.
I think it was not a bug, nut data waiting to be sent to Apple for profit generating purposes.
You really need to get a dumb phone............oh wait.....the NSA will still be able to log every conversation, text and yes your location..........
Either get rid of your phone or quit being such a whiner
I think it was not a bug, nut data waiting to be sent to Apple for profit generating purposes.
You really need to get a dumb phone............oh wait.....the NSA will still be able to log every conversation, text and yes your location..........
Either get rid of your phone or quit being such a whiner
satty
Jul 20, 09:10 AM
Is having more cores more energy efficient than having one big fat ass 24Ghz processor? Maybe thats a factor in the increasing core count.
But as some already pointed out, many applications can't use multiple cores, therefore you won't get any performance improvements with multi cores.
But as some already pointed out, many applications can't use multiple cores, therefore you won't get any performance improvements with multi cores.
Sydde
Mar 19, 06:22 PM
OMG. I guess I should not have deleted those White House E-mails as spam. :eek:
I imagine you got them because they thought the .ca stood for California
I imagine you got them because they thought the .ca stood for California
gorgeousninja
Apr 20, 10:35 AM
Feel free to discuss the same things I am next time so that we can actually have a meaningful debate about it.
Well let's just check we are 'on the same page then'..
You agree Samsung have copied Apple, but only on things that you think don't really matter, while on the other hand anything where they don't look the same is terribly important..
Okay, got it!
Well let's just check we are 'on the same page then'..
You agree Samsung have copied Apple, but only on things that you think don't really matter, while on the other hand anything where they don't look the same is terribly important..
Okay, got it!
skunk
Mar 1, 04:55 PM
The legal definition of marriage according to the government of the United States of America "...'marriage' means only a legal union between one man and one woman as husband and wife..."I can't help it if you live in a backward country. I was talking about civilised norms. And whatever your cockeyed definition, it is still not equality.
CaoCao
Feb 28, 07:42 PM
Do you not think that the priests should be jailed for raping children?
Crimes against children are usually seen badly in the public eye. The priests should not be an exception.
priests should be held to the same standard and jailed for raping children after there is conclusive proof.
Crimes against children are usually seen badly in the public eye. The priests should not be an exception.
priests should be held to the same standard and jailed for raping children after there is conclusive proof.
ryanx27
Aug 27, 11:05 AM
I happen to have a Yonah Macbook, and im a little concerned.
I wonder, if merom does make it into the Macbooks did i make a mistake by buying my computer before i had to (as in next friday is the cutoff)
I wonder if Merom is really that good. *it sucks that macbooks dont have PGA slots*
well im hoping to sell this one next year, and thatll get me most of the way to my santa rosa beast, cuz i KNOW santa rosa is that good.
This is the classic existential dilemma of the Mac user :D
I wonder, if merom does make it into the Macbooks did i make a mistake by buying my computer before i had to (as in next friday is the cutoff)
I wonder if Merom is really that good. *it sucks that macbooks dont have PGA slots*
well im hoping to sell this one next year, and thatll get me most of the way to my santa rosa beast, cuz i KNOW santa rosa is that good.
This is the classic existential dilemma of the Mac user :D
mactoday
Apr 6, 11:08 AM
eh, I don't see how it's significant for anything other than aesthetic purposes. If you're working in the dark the display itself is going to provide enough illumination as it is. Just seems like a waste.
Well, I work on my MacBook Pro now in bed and it's a pleasure to type on the back light keyboard. You reduce brightness of the display when you work in the dark conditions, I do. So, it's not enough to see the keys, but I don't much care about it, because I could type without looking on the keys, but most of the Apple customers who buys Air's can't type blind.
Well, I work on my MacBook Pro now in bed and it's a pleasure to type on the back light keyboard. You reduce brightness of the display when you work in the dark conditions, I do. So, it's not enough to see the keys, but I don't much care about it, because I could type without looking on the keys, but most of the Apple customers who buys Air's can't type blind.
SevenInchScrew
Nov 12, 08:01 PM
We've been given release dates for this game before, so until this game is in my PS3 and I'm actually playing it, I don't believe them. ;)
It will be nice to actually USE my PS3 again, though, so bring it on Sony.
It will be nice to actually USE my PS3 again, though, so bring it on Sony.
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