Upgrading to Mountain Lion

sojourner · 02-25-2013, 12:34 AM

Someone I know wants to upgrade their iMac6,1 computer to Mountain Lion. This is not a Mac which is supposed to be able to run Mountain Lion. From the research I've done, it seems as if the biggest reason is the graphics card. I found a guide to installing Mountain Lion on unsupported Mac's. I'm hesitant to attempt an upgrade, as the person wants to be able to run Final Cut Pro on their Mac, and it seems as if upgrading would mean problems with Quartz Extreme and Core Image. I'm no Final Cut Pro expert, but it seems to me as if the app would rely on both Quartz Extreme and Core Image.

Does anyone have any knowledge on this and any advice?

mclbruce · 02-25-2013, 01:14 AM

Here is more info about the requirements for Final Cut Pro X:

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4664

Perhaps an older version of Final Cut Pro would work better.

agentx · 02-25-2013, 09:30 AM

Just do not bother trying keep it on 10.6.8 ;-) and DO NOT INSTALL 10.7.5 (Lion)

As they are using video editing software they should consider a new computer now anyway.
Those max out with 3.0 GB (4.0 GB can be installed, only 3.0 GB will be addressed)
Disks are slow.
GFX will not cut it with modern software.
Slow Bus speed
the list goes on.........

Do they want to run FCP 7 or FCP X they are different products and system requirements are not the same.

anthlover · 02-25-2013, 08:34 PM

Agreed.... Though you can go to Lion. I would stick with Snow though I think. As others mentioned you put in 4GB of ram but it is not fully addressable, can not bee seen by all parts of the system and Apps. Ram is cheap so if the machine is good working order $50 buck will get you a better performing machine but not a Final Cut Champ, unless its an older version from the same time frame.

Note too when you switch to Lion you loose your Rosetta apps if you have any.

Here is the full 411. You could also look up the BTO model with the higher freq CPU. The system is about 7 years old.

http://www.everymac.com/systems/appl...nch-specs.html

sojourner · 02-26-2013, 02:18 AM

The person wants to increase skills in tight job market, and so wants to increase skills by getting cuddly with Final Cut Pro. When you say that FCP 7 and FCP X are different products, I'm imagining that there's a huge difference between the two. Ideally, the latest and greatest version of FCP would be great.

The person is also on a somewhat limited budget, and doesn't want to outlay a chunk of cash for a new computer system that can run the latest FCP. Although... from what you're sharing, it sounds as if getting a new system might be the best route in the long run.

Why would sticking with Snow Leopard be better than upgrading to Lion?

agentx · 02-26-2013, 03:29 AM

Yes they are very different products.

Here is spec requirements for FCP X
http://www.apple.com/finalcutpro/specs/

I personally would stick with 10.6.8 on an older machine with that amount of RAM as it stable and will give OK performance.

Lion was and is not a very good release IMHO and overall they will not be making any improvements to it just security patches.

anthlover · 02-26-2013, 10:24 PM

Lion started out rough and did not get Polished until 10.7.5. Mountain Lion is actually more polished still and a little more sprightly, just like Snow was faster and more polished then Leopard.

Snow is very stable and offers Maximum Compatibility including with Rosetta based Apps. Aps written for Power PC versus Intel Generally Applications written for the same time frame as the machine 2006 and earlier [though many Adobe and other products took a long time to be updated to Intel]. You loose that with Lion and Mountain Lion.

Snow will run a little Happier on the smaller Ram footprint also.

The real issue if the mission is FCP 7 vs. X which both support snow. Discussing both FCPs is a long conversation you can read up on. FCPX is ground up re-write that is slowly becoming what it should be but with the ground up re-write left a lot of people angry and it was not complete and introduction.

Much has changed between the two, the workflows are fairly different. Depending on the work your friend is doing they might be better of with FCP 7. Basically what ever the places he would work are using. Note the two are not interoperable project wise.

Since Money is an issue. Get the $50 Ram to make sure the system has 4GB of ram. Note see the Video Card requirements for FCP X http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4664 The iMac 6,1 geforce 7300 video card does not support FCP X for the same reason it does not support ML, not even counting the Ram addressing issue. Note here the lower requirements for FCP 7 http://support.apple.com/kb/sp635

Yes new machines even a low end Imac or mini iMac blows the doors off the old by a factor of at least a minimum of around 300 percent and the Video Cards support FCP X.

02-25-2013, 12:34 AM	#1
sojourner Major Leaguer Join Date: Apr 2010 Posts: 324	Upgrading to Mountain Lion Someone I know wants to upgrade their iMac6,1 computer to Mountain Lion. This is not a Mac which is supposed to be able to run Mountain Lion. From the research I've done, it seems as if the biggest reason is the graphics card. I found a guide to installing Mountain Lion on unsupported Mac's. I'm hesitant to attempt an upgrade, as the person wants to be able to run Final Cut Pro on their Mac, and it seems as if upgrading would mean problems with Quartz Extreme and Core Image. I'm no Final Cut Pro expert, but it seems to me as if the app would rely on both Quartz Extreme and Core Image. Does anyone have any knowledge on this and any advice? __________________ see a problem; solve a problem.

02-25-2013, 09:30 AM	#3
agentx Hall of Famer Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Brighton, UK Posts: 3,807	Just do not bother trying keep it on 10.6.8 ;-) and DO NOT INSTALL 10.7.5 (Lion) As they are using video editing software they should consider a new computer now anyway. Those max out with 3.0 GB (4.0 GB can be installed, only 3.0 GB will be addressed) Disks are slow. GFX will not cut it with modern software. Slow Bus speed the list goes on......... Do they want to run FCP 7 or FCP X they are different products and system requirements are not the same. Last edited by agentx; 02-25-2013 at 09:34 AM.

02-26-2013, 02:18 AM	#5
sojourner Major Leaguer Join Date: Apr 2010 Posts: 324	The person wants to increase skills in tight job market, and so wants to increase skills by getting cuddly with Final Cut Pro. When you say that FCP 7 and FCP X are different products, I'm imagining that there's a huge difference between the two. Ideally, the latest and greatest version of FCP would be great. The person is also on a somewhat limited budget, and doesn't want to outlay a chunk of cash for a new computer system that can run the latest FCP. Although... from what you're sharing, it sounds as if getting a new system might be the best route in the long run. Why would sticking with Snow Leopard be better than upgrading to Lion? __________________ see a problem; solve a problem.

02-26-2013, 10:24 PM	#7
anthlover Hall of Famer Join Date: Apr 2003 Posts: 2,667	Lion started out rough and did not get Polished until 10.7.5. Mountain Lion is actually more polished still and a little more sprightly, just like Snow was faster and more polished then Leopard. Snow is very stable and offers Maximum Compatibility including with Rosetta based Apps. Aps written for Power PC versus Intel Generally Applications written for the same time frame as the machine 2006 and earlier [though many Adobe and other products took a long time to be updated to Intel]. You loose that with Lion and Mountain Lion. Snow will run a little Happier on the smaller Ram footprint also. The real issue if the mission is FCP 7 vs. X which both support snow. Discussing both FCPs is a long conversation you can read up on. FCPX is ground up re-write that is slowly becoming what it should be but with the ground up re-write left a lot of people angry and it was not complete and introduction. Much has changed between the two, the workflows are fairly different. Depending on the work your friend is doing they might be better of with FCP 7. Basically what ever the places he would work are using. Note the two are not interoperable project wise. Since Money is an issue. Get the $50 Ram to make sure the system has 4GB of ram. Note see the Video Card requirements for FCP X http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4664 The iMac 6,1 geforce 7300 video card does not support FCP X for the same reason it does not support ML, not even counting the Ram addressing issue. Note here the lower requirements for FCP 7 http://support.apple.com/kb/sp635 Yes new machines even a low end Imac or mini iMac blows the doors off the old by a factor of at least a minimum of around 300 percent and the Video Cards support FCP X. Last edited by anthlover; 02-26-2013 at 10:34 PM.

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02-25-2013, 01:14 AM	#2
mclbruce Hall of Famer Join Date: Mar 2002 Posts: 3,870	Here is more info about the requirements for Final Cut Pro X: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4664 Perhaps an older version of Final Cut Pro would work better.

02-25-2013, 08:34 PM	#4
anthlover Hall of Famer Join Date: Apr 2003 Posts: 2,667	Agreed.... Though you can go to Lion. I would stick with Snow though I think. As others mentioned you put in 4GB of ram but it is not fully addressable, can not bee seen by all parts of the system and Apps. Ram is cheap so if the machine is good working order $50 buck will get you a better performing machine but not a Final Cut Champ, unless its an older version from the same time frame. Note too when you switch to Lion you loose your Rosetta apps if you have any. Here is the full 411. You could also look up the BTO model with the higher freq CPU. The system is about 7 years old. http://www.everymac.com/systems/appl...nch-specs.html

02-26-2013, 03:29 AM	#6
agentx Hall of Famer Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Brighton, UK Posts: 3,807	Yes they are very different products. Here is spec requirements for FCP X http://www.apple.com/finalcutpro/specs/ I personally would stick with 10.6.8 on an older machine with that amount of RAM as it stable and will give OK performance. Lion was and is not a very good release IMHO and overall they will not be making any improvements to it just security patches.