Upgrade MacPro 3.1 for FCP X

Hi everybody,

I have a 3.1 MacPro with 2 X Quad CPU of 2,8 Ghz, 16 Go of RAM. I changed the default graphic card for 2 NVIDIA GEFORCE GT 610 2GB PASSIVE, i put a Samsung SSD EVO 250 Go for Yosemite and a Seagate Desktop SSHD 1 To as second internal stockage. I finally put a Inateck KT4004 to benefit USB 3.0's speed.

I don't have the boot logo but everything run smooth without that. It's the performances i don't understand.

For having the same SSD on a MacBook Pro early 2011, i noticed it's half slower on the MacPro. I guessed it is a SATA 2 limit on the MacPro, compared to the SATA 3 on the laptop.

- First of all, i was wondering if putting a LSI MegaRAID SAS 9240-4i card controller would really make the Mac Pro a SATA 3 machine ?

The problem with the two graphic cards is the space. To put the RAID controller card, i will need to remove one of the graphic card. Thinking about it, better i remove the both GT - 610 and put a strong graphic card.

- Second question : what will be the best GPU to have FCP X's rendering almost as fast as the latest Mac Pro (based on the idea that putting the RAID controller card will make my old Mac Pro a SATA 3 so it can take SATA 3 GPU) ?

Any suggestion about how to upgrade a 3.1 Mac Pro or any return of experience is welcome. I'm certainly not the only one that would like to give his computer a second life and after days searching on all kind of forum, i didn't get real answers or a real guide to this process.

Last point, the GPU i can afford have to be 500$ maximum.

Thanks in advance for your answers guys.

Hi Gino
Have you looked at BareFeats?
Have some great comparisons of various set-ups and they do a great job. They also test/compare non-Apple blessed GPU.
www.barefeats.com
Llloyd Chambers at Mac Performance Guide also does some great testing, less likely to use non-blessed cards.
macperformanceguide.com/topics/topic-MacPro.html
And I also go to AnandTech for testing and comparisons
www.anandtech.com

I had a MP1.1 running Mavericks and FCPX10.1.2 until I had a USB3 card blow a power component.

Hope this helps, Greg

Thanks a lot for the links Greg.

I will take my time to read reviews, benchmarks and everything said on what is the best tu upgrade the Mac Pro 3.1.

When i'll find out, i'll let everybody know about my choices.

Thanks again Greg.

Your Welcome
Good luck and happy editing!
Greg

Alex4D's thread on his BruceX test is also a good place to look. That test is specific to FCP X performance with the GPU.

If you need the space, the R9 7970 with 6GB of RAM is essentially a single D700 in the new Mac Pro. It has native support (no boot screen) in Yosemite and has impressive scores for being a single card.

VidGreg, how were you able to determine it was the USB card that blew the power supply? I'm curious because I have read this in other places as well. I have a card I recommend to clients that hasn't caused any problems (yet anyway *knocks wood) so I'd love to know how you knew that was the culprit.

Hi Darren,
Well I had everything working fine on a MP1.1. Ssd OS drive with Maverichks (a hack), 6870 GPU (non flashed PC card), basically everything working fine until I installed an Orico USB3 PCI card that uses a SATA port for power.(Mac specific card) Immediately after installing the card, I had power problems. No boot. Even heard a Pssst short.
I have diagnosed it to the power supply or perhaps the PCIe power circuit on the Mother board. When I get a chance I will attempt to go component to component to find the problem. I am slightly hampered by no longer having an oscilloscope, so I haven't spent a lot of time tracking down the problem. If I can find it and it is a replaceable component like a capacitor, then I will repair the old girl and go on. Not worth replacing the MoBo tho.
I think the Orico card was just plain defective, unfortunately, there is no way to interact with the company. While I may have received a 1 in a Million bad card, lack of consumer ability to contact company and accountability means I really will never buy any Orico products again.

Currently I edit on a 2012 rMBP and it is ok. Roughly the same as my old upgraded MP1.1.

Personally I do not like the current new MacPro. It is hampered/compromised by older Xeon processor and non native USB3 and many other 1st generation issues. I think older towers can be modded to be as fast as the nMP.
I have to decide if I will wait it out, repair my old MP, build a Hackintosh, (you can build a faster more powerful i7 based Hack for less money) or just stay where I am for awhile. For the type of video work I do, I really am fine for now.

As far as USB3, Macs are somewhat problematic/finicky and there are differences in USB3 implementation, chipset really matters. I urge you to also read up on USB3 with USAP enabled vs standard BOT. Totally different animals. I always recommend USAP capable devices.

What USB3 cards are you recommending?

USB3.1 looks really interesting. Should see in 2015.

Thanks for pointing out Bruce X threads.

Hope this helps, Greg

I'm having the same issue but with overall performance when FCPX is open. Even working in proxy my system is running slow. Mouse skips and when rendering happens I have to go back to the old school days and minimize FCPX and leave for a while.

For Both Gino and Ted,
Check out this thread.
www.fcp.co/forum/4-final-cut-pro-x-fcpx/...n-early-2008-mac-pro
Ronnie's advise for trouble shooting may help you both.
There is no real reason that your computers shouldn't run fine unless you are doing some Red multi-cam work. So I suspect software issue.
You can also hide audio waveforms, waveforms can really slowdown your system.
Turn-off background rendering. Haven't had this issue, but some say it helps. Rendering is supposed to happen when computer is idle.
Make sure you do not have other programs running, these will all tie up ram/processing power.
Open Activity Monitor and look at page-ins/outs and see if there are lots of swaps (this relates to ram usage)
Download Onyx for Mac from Titanium Software, run fix permissions and the maintenance scripts and see if this helps at all.
If using any plug-ins, make sure they are up to date. Search for any problems for the ones you have installed. You can also remove 1/2 of them, see if problem goes away, then do the other half, then add back till a problem shows up.
Do all basic editing before doing Titles/text, adding effects, audio sweetening, extra. All of these use processor power.
Hope this helps, Greg