Final Cut Pro X & Resolve

[oli.mathieu]

Hello
I mainly Use two softwares with are technically opposites
Final cut Pro wich is OpenCl and Use GPU where the monitor is plugged
Resolve wich is CUDA and best Use A GPU with no monitor pluged-in

My Rig :
CPU i7 à 4 Ghz
RAM 24 Go @ 2800 Mhz
Mobo Asus Z170-Pro
GPUs Intel HD 530 & GTX 780Ti
OSX - Version 10.11.6
Final Cut Pro X 10.2.3
Resolve - Version 12.5.1
Boot loader : Clover
SMBIOS : Imac 17,1

I try to optimized and I 've done several tests
If I plug the monitor in the Intel HD 530: Final Cut Pro X is slow and Resolve Fast
If I plug the monitor in the GTX 780Ti : Final Cut Pro X is Fast and Resolve is 90% Fast

I've tried to enable/disable the patch for "AppleGraphicsDevicePolicy.kext" but with no success !

Are the True iMacs 15 & 17 use their Intel GPU along the AMD GPU ?
Can't we manage to do the same ?
Any Idea would be appreciate
Olivier

 

[Chrom]

Hello
I mainly Use two softwares with are technically opposites
Final cut Pro wich is OpenCl and Use GPU where the monitor is plugged
Resolve wich is CUDA and best Use A GPU with no monitor pluged-in

My Rig :
CPU i7 à 4 Ghz
RAM 24 Go @ 2800 Mhz
Mobo Asus Z170-Pro
GPUs Intel HD 530 & GTX 780Ti
OSX - Version 10.11.6
Final Cut Pro X 10.2.3
Resolve - Version 12.5.1
Boot loader : Clover
SMBIOS : Imac 17,1

I try to optimized and I 've done several tests
If I plug the monitor in the Intel HD 530: Final Cut Pro X is slow and Resolve Fast
If I plug the monitor in the GTX 780Ti : Final Cut Pro X is Fast and Resolve is 90% Fast

I've tried to enable/disable the patch for "AppleGraphicsDevicePolicy.kext" but with no success !

Are the True iMacs 15 & 17 use their Intel GPU along the AMD GPU ?
Can't we manage to do the same ?
Any Idea would be appreciate
Olivier

Hi Oli
Resolve runs on both cuda and OpenCL since you are running FCPX and resolve I would switch to two AMD cards I have a 280x and have had no issues running resolve. Also you answered your question indirectly Resolve is a gpu hungry software, so the more vram available the better. which is why when you use the 530 for GUI it behaves. On the other hand FCPX wants the opposite. the best solution is to run 2 matching cards with 3gb and above for the best result.

 

[oli.mathieu]

Hi Oli
Resolve runs on both cuda and OpenCL since you are running FCPX and resolve I would switch to two AMD cards I have a 280x and have had no issues running resolve. Also you answered your question indirectly Resolve is a gpu hungry software, so the more vram available the better. which is why when you use the 530 for GUI it behaves. On the other hand FCPX wants the opposite. the best solution is to run 2 matching cards with 3gb and above for the best result.

Hi Chrom
Thanks for your reply
Yes Resolve is OpenCL and CUDA, but CUDA is almost 2x faster than OpenCL with the same NVIDIA GPU.
In fact for a 2 identical GPUs solution, 2 GTX 780ti or even 2GTX 980Ti is (I think) a better choice for the both software.
This leads to another question :
There is two versions of Resolve :
- Resolve Studio (1000$/€) with is Multi-GPU
- Resolve (Free) wich is Mono GPU except on Mac Pro 2013, It uses the 2 AMDs!!!
Do you know if Resolve (Free version) would run with 2 GPUs with the SMBIOS Mac 6,1 ?

But my first question Remains : How to improve my rig with only One GPU and Intel iGPU ?

 

[Chrom]

Hi Chrom
Thanks for your reply
Yes Resolve is OpenCL and CUDA, but CUDA is almost 2x faster than OpenCL with the same NVIDIA GPU.
In fact for a 2 identical GPUs solution, 2 GTX 780ti or even 2GTX 980Ti is (I think) a better choice for the both software.
This leads to another question :
There is two versions of Resolve :
- Resolve Studio (1000$/€) with is Multi-GPU
- Resolve (Free) wich is Mono GPU except on Mac Pro 2013, It uses the 2 AMDs!!!
Do you know if Resolve (Free version) would run with 2 GPUs with the SMBIOS Mac 6,1 ?

But my first question Remains : How to improve my rig with only One GPU and Intel iGPU ?

Hi Oli the
the free version should run both GPUS. FCPX uses both as you stated above however it runs faster on AMD, two 280xs are much faster than two 780tis. That said, what is important gets lost in benchmark scoring, that is, what is your work flow, do you spend more time editing on FCPx than resolve, where do you require the most power to process? Again you answered your own question the free version will use two AMD cards the difference is one will used for gui the other for processing. What the free version won't do is let you run three GPUs. Only you know your work flow priorities. I edit first and grade last so AMD works for me. If i was on premiere i would be on Nvidia.
Cheers

 

[oli.mathieu]

Hi Chrome
Thanks for your practical answer
The Resolve Studio has a checkbox to enable/diable GUI GPU for processing.

I think it's disable in the Free Version of Resolve .... Except on MacPro2013.
It's not that important ... I'll test that when i get a another 780ti
I'll plan to edit more and more in Resolve....
I use to have an R9 280X and it Rock with Final Cut Pro X indeed !
As a matter of fact, It's so cheap in second hand, that there is no better power/value ratio !!
it's the same with the 780Ti if you're CUDA oriented.
Thanks anyway

 

[Chrom]

I am waiting for sierra and rx 480 compatibility in resolve. In windows it matches the titan on resolve. Check out the Blackmagic forums. Price to power thats the direction i am heading.

 

[oli.mathieu]

You're completely right !! (Final Cut Pro X and Resolve point of view)

 

[Heinrich]

oh man, please keep this conversation going as it is exactly what I'm contending with - fcpx & resolve. looking to upgrade by system (mobo, cpu, ram, gfx) post Sierra.

 

[oli.mathieu]

Hello Heinrich
What I Know so far (That' what Chrom already said) :
1 - GPU's Brand/Model
If you only or mainly use Final Cut Pro X you should have AMD R9 280x (or more recent)
If you only or mainly use Resolve you should have NVIDIA GTX 780Ti (or more recent)
2 - GPU's Number
It works the 1 or 2 identical GPUs
Resolve Studio can use any number of identical GPUs.
What about Final Cut Pro X with 3 identical GPUs ?
3 - Screens Plug
The screen(s) must be plugged in discrete GPU, don't use (desactivate in the Bios) the Intel iGPU
If you only use Resolve screen(s) must be plugged in the Intel iGPU
Screens must all be plugged in the same GPU/iGPU
4 - Resolve
If you use the free version and 2 GPUs, it would be better to have MacPro 6,1 SMBIOS (Not tested/Not Confirmed)
If you use 2 AMD GPUs, Resolve Studio is 2x cheaper at the AppStore
5 - OSX & Mobo
Yosemite - 10.10.5 is required with Final Cut Pro X 10.2.3 & Resolve 12.5.1
Mobo with Z97 & X99 can run "Yosemite" and more recent macOS
Mobo with Z170 can run "El Capitan" and more recent macOS
Hope that helps

 

[Heinrich]

That is helpful, thanks!

I think at this time I'm waiting to see what happens with the Sierra release and potential Pascal support. Depending, I'm interested in a pair of RX 480s. Very helpful to know about the MacPro 6,1 designation for dual AMD GPU's and good practice for where to plug in monitors.

FCPX is primary but I am learning to use Resolve not just for color correction since most recent versions.