Can the new 2010 MacPro Hex w/ 5870 handle the task of editing AVCHD files natively (meaning I wouldn't have to convert them to ProRes) in Premiere CS5?
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Editing AVCHD files natively in Adobe Premiere CS5 - can 5870 do this?
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MPE uses CUDA for GPU-accelerated rendering and playback. CUDA is Nvidia only GPGPU so while it should be able to edit fine, the GPU will have nothing to do with it. You will also not get the nice realtime rendering.
To expand on this a bit...
The Mercury Playback Engine (MPE) only works in hardware acceleration mode with a supported NVIDIA CUDA GPU. Presently, only 3 are supported on the Mac platform: GTX 285 (discontinued), Quadro 4000 and Quadro FX 4800.
Without one of the above cards present, MPE operates in software rendering mode - in which case, it really doesn't matter whether you're running an ATI or (unsupported) NVIDIA card because neither card would be used for that purpose.
While there are documented ways to hack other CUDA capable cards to work (as long as the card has at least 768MB of VRAM) with MPE, it isn't officially supported by Adobe.
The Mercury Playback Engine (MPE) only works in hardware acceleration mode with a supported NVIDIA CUDA GPU. Presently, only 3 are supported on the Mac platform: GTX 285 (discontinued), Quadro 4000 and Quadro FX 4800.
Without one of the above cards present, MPE operates in software rendering mode - in which case, it really doesn't matter whether you're running an ATI or (unsupported) NVIDIA card because neither card would be used for that purpose.
While there are documented ways to hack other CUDA capable cards to work (as long as the card has at least 768MB of VRAM) with MPE, it isn't officially supported by Adobe.
and still nobody has answered the original question. Same with my 2 page long thread. Its like people on this forum just can't answer the original question.
The answer is "Unless you have an NVidia card, the GPU has nothing to do with how well Premiere runs." (Excluding third party add on software that might have it's own GPU optimizations.)
The answer also is "If you have an NVidia card, it would improve your experience."
Here's my observation of this thread:
Question:
Can my MP edit AVCHD files natively in CS5 or do the files need to be converted to a different file format first?
Expected answers:
Yes, it can handle it natively.
No, you need to convert the file first.
Actual answer:
A video card you don't own is compatible with the Mercury Playback Engine and provides video acceleration.
Question:
Can my MP edit AVCHD files natively in CS5 or do the files need to be converted to a different file format first?
Expected answers:
Yes, it can handle it natively.
No, you need to convert the file first.
Actual answer:
A video card you don't own is compatible with the Mercury Playback Engine and provides video acceleration.
Premiere is going to be able to handle editing it no matter what. What metric are we working with here? Do we want real time playback? We don't even know what resolution the footage is.
OP asked an extremely broad question, he's getting extremely broad answers. He asked if the 5870 could handle Premiere, and the answer was Premiere won't use the 5870.
This was the original question:
Can the new 2010 MacPro Hex w/ 5870 handle the task of editing AVCHD files natively
That is a yes or no question.
Where is your problem? It has been answered very clearly and more than once in this thread!
Any computer with Premiere installed can add an AVCHD file to a project and edit it. Does that answer the question to your liking?
Yes, it handles it natively... No conversion required.
You'll be happier with an officially supported nVidia card, but it will work with the 5870.
It's been very amusing for me to read this thread.
Yes. Say it a million times! Say it a million more times, and the word you will have said two million times is... YES!
As it has been said the answer to this question the way posed is yes, however if you are asking if the 5870 supports the new Mercury Playback Engine used in Premiere then the answer is no. You need either a GeForce GTX 285, Quadro 4000, or Quadro FX 4800 on the Mac.
More info: http://www.adobe.com/products/premiere/systemreqs/
With a Quadro card in addition to the ATI (monitors get plugged into the ATI, the Quadro is used for CUDA only) maybe with performance you like. It also depends on the bitrate of the stream, the speed of your storage subsystem, how much RAM you have, etc.
No it's not - that's why the OP is frustrated as well as those trying to answer
"Editing" is relative. Technically you can run Aperture on a Mini. You won't like it, but it will run - similar scenario to the OP's question.