Apple Mac Upgrades - RAM, SSD Flash, External Drives and More

Export a 502MB DV File to MPEG-2 W/ FCP	L2 Cache	L3 Cache	Time, Sec.

Reference Apple Systems

PM G4/350 AGP Graphics (Sawtooth)	1MB SPB SRAM	0MB	359
PM G4/400 Gigabit Ethernet	1MB SPB SRAM	0MB	344
PM G4/450 Gigabit Ethernet	1MB SPB SRAM	0MB	314
PM G4/500 AGP Graphics (Sawtooth)	1MB SPB SRAM	0MB	287
PM 2x G4/450 Gigabit Ethernet	1MB SPB SRAM x2	0MB	255
eMac G4/700MHz	256k On Chip	0MB	236

Acceleration Cards

GigaDesigns G4/800MHz	256k On Chip	2MB SPB SRAM	207
OWC Mercury Extreme G4/800MHz	256k On Chip	2MB SPB SRAM	212
PowerLogix PowerForce S233 G4/800MHz	256k On Chip	2MB SPB SRAM	211
Sonnet Encore/ST G4/800MHz	256k On Chip	2MB DDR SRAM	209
GigaDesigns G4/1GHz	256k On Chip	2MB SPB SRAM	179
PowerLogix PowerForce S233 G4/1.0GHz	256k On Chip	2MB SPB SRAM	184
Sonnet Encore/ST G4/1GHz	256k On Chip	2MB DDR SRAM	177
PowerLogix PowerForce S233 G4/1.2GHz	256k On Chip	2MB SPB SRAM	162
Sonnet Encore/ST G4/1.2GHz	256k On Chip	2MB DDR SRAM	162
GigaDesigns G4/1.25GHz	256k On Chip	2MB DDR SRAM	159
OWC Mercury Extreme G4/1.25GHz	256k On Chip	2MB DDR SRAM	159
OWC Mercury Extreme G4/1.3GHz	256k On Chip	2MB DDR SRAM	153
GigaDesigns G4/1.4GHz	256k On Chip	2MB DDR SRAM	153
OWC Mercury Extreme G4/1.4GHz	256k On Chip	2MB DDR SRAM	153
PowerLogix PowerForce 2x900MHz	256k On Chip x2	2MB SPB SRAM x2	157
PowerLogix PowerForce 2x1.0GHz	256k On Chip x2	2MB SPB SRAM x2	148
PowerLogix PowerForce 2x1.2GHz (@ 1.3GHz)	256k On Chip x2	2MB SPB SRAM x2	129

Final Cut Pro MPEG-2 Export. Shorter bars are better, all times in seconds. The test file was created using iMovie's included tutorial movies. Load all of the included clips and duplicate them 2x to have 3 movies in a row in the timeline. Save the file as raw DV footage and open the file using Final Cut Pro. In Final Cut Pro, then export the file to MPEG-2 format, with the following specifications set: 720x480 Resolution 6.5Mbps Bitrate Include Audio Write Report File The exported MPEG-2 file ends up being 140.1MB. This test is fantastic for a benchmark as I ran the export multiple times and the test scores were exactly the same every time. This removes any stopwatch variables (the export writes a text file with vital statistics when it runs, no stopwatch needed) and I was amazed that there was no variation - ever. Perfect for testing!