How many cores can imovie use

Multiple threads doesn't necessarily mean that there are multiple threads that actually do anything. Most of them just sit there waiting for something to happen, not taking up any CPU time. Get the core duo. If you ever used a dual processor Mac, you know the difference it makes. While some, or many consumer application may not be multi-threaded, the OS is, and that will make a difference.

It'll be using a bunch of threads to do it, but all of them will be sleeping waiting until it's time to play the next part of the song or until the CD drive can read another sector, and the CPU will still have idle time. It is quite difficult to increase the number of threads doing something useful in a CPU-bound workload without slowing things down overall, due to communications overhead.

Some codecs can do it, some don't. Most other stuff doesn't. Something else like a javascript heavy page can easily give a modern computer trouble, yet this is essentially impossible to make multi-threaded. A dual-core CPU helps a great deal with this, even though the workload is single-threaded. Mac OS X already makes good use of multi-threading which in turn means it makes good use of dual core machines.

Many frame works use multiple threads and any application that uses those frame works gains multi-threading. If you run more than one application at a time you will benefit from a dual core machine. Open up Activity Monitor and you'll see how many of you applications use multiple threads.

You'll also see how many process are running behind the scenes. A dual core machine can better handle running all of these processes at the same time. If you plan on using Parallels to virtualize another OS, absolutely get the core duo. It means that you can run the virtualized OS at almost no penalty to your native OS. It's also nice to be able to run something in the background like an iTunes rip, video conversion in iMovie, etc.

I've had one of every flavor of dual CPU Mac that's ever been offered and the implication that having a second CPU is useless is a really silly statement. That said, even Core Solo Minis are very competent computers! I just bought a Core Solo mini with the same thought. If it's really too slow then I'll upgrade to a Merom when they're more widely available. This is basically the same price I'd pay for a similar PC so it's a win-win. I will be initially using this Mini for a media player hooked to a 32" LCD, but that could change.

Using Parallels is a good point though. OSX has been better on duals since the day it came out. I've been running OSX since the public beta for that specific reason. I had one of the dual s. Spring for the dual.

Are you planning on any HD playback? If so, here is a thread about the Mac Mini's Core Duo 1. Some p stuff should work on a Core Solo maybe not all of it perfectly. Anyway, upgrade to Merom is an option once there's more HD content.

Jade, I've been on MP machines now since I'm sure you have plenty of experience with this but I really do notice a tremendous boost in perceived performance and responsiveness with a MP machine. My Mac Pro is amazing when it comes to this. Using Activity Monitor, no matter what I throw at the beast, the workload amongst the processors is almost always equalized. Dual core is the minimum for me and soon to be the only option on a Mac.

Jade, we've had dual cores on separate dies for 6 years now. Most of the functionality in iApps that involves heavy processing is already split between multiple threads so it uses both cores. There's no need for them to rewrite anything. While optimizing your Mac manually can seem daunting and repetitive, you can achieve even better results faster by using smart optimization software.

A tool such as CleanMyMac X could be a perfect and quick solution. Among other things, CleanMyMac X deals with storage, speed, and malware issues. In addition, it magically turns junk into free space. Now your Mac and iMovie are ready for you to create your video masterpieces.

Of course, you will want to repeat this cleaning process from time to time at least once a month to avoid any lags or disruptions, whether you do this manually or using a tool such as CleanMyMac X.

How To. Hit Return or Enter to search. How to speed up iMovie and make your Mac run faster. Igor Degtiarenko. Writer and blogger at MacPaw, curious just about everything. Did you enjoy this post? Subscribe Now. Nov 30, PM. For what it's worth I can confirm that the new iMovie 10 in Mavericks can use the 2 cores in my MacMini and also does many slow tasks such as shake stabilisation in the background.

This is a big advance over iMovie version 9 aka iMovie '11 since one can continue working rather than having to wait for these tasks to complete. I'm pretty sure iMovie 10 can use all cores that are available. Dec 1, AM. I was surprised that this render would take this long as I upgraded my old MacPro 1st generation but with 4 cores precisely for the additional rendering power. My impression is like some others, that if I'Movie is using multi-threading, it is not using it very efficiently.

Apple needs to address this on all of its products. It is ironic that Adobe Photoshop 6 and CC which rip appear to use the new MacPro's power more effectively than Apple software products. May 25, AM.

May 25, PM in response to abacae In response to abacae. May 25, PM. Thank you for taking the time to provide this confirmation. It helps me understand what I am seeing and gauge performance. May 26, AM. Jan 14, AM. Question: Q: Can iMovie 11 use quad core?

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