Premiere Pro CC 2015 running SLOW on iMac 2015 5K Retina

[jwoll81]

Here are the specs on the desktop:

10.10.4

iMac Retina 5K, Mid 2015

Processor: 3.3 GHz Intel Core i5

Memory: 32 GB 1600 MHz DDR3

Graphics: AMD Radeon R9 M290 2048 MB

Hard Drive: 3TB Fusion Drive

Latest update of Adobe CC 2015

Here are the specs on the laptop:

10.10.4

MacBook Pro (Retina 15inch, Mid 2014)

Processor: 2.5 GHz Intel Core i7

Memory: 16 GB 1600 MHz DDR3

Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GT 750M 2048 MB

Same version of Adobe CC 2015

The playback performance is incredibly different. On the iMac there is a lag if the clips need to render. Rendering takes double if not triple the amount of time versus the laptop. Exporting a 1:00 sequence takes 1 minute on the laptop versus 10 minutes on iMac. Did I pay $3K to have a pretty screen? My assumptions and based off what I have read is that the CPU is not being used to its max because it's compensating for the large screen. In addition, the graphics card is not rated to perform with accelerated performance. Are these both the issues that are causing the program to run so slow?

If so, what is an alternative? I saw this - 5K Retina iMac VS 6 Core New Mac Pro ~ 4K Video Editing Comparison - Final Cut / Premiere Pro - YouT... - and in this video, he makes it out to be the iMac is faster? Then a Mac Pro?

I suppose I could invest in a quality monitor and thunderbolt it through the laptop - use that?

Any thoughts and feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!

[Shane_P]

I bought a new iMac 5k Retina in early June (so just about 2 mos old) and it flies.

What I do not see mentioned in either spec is your hard disks. I do see the internal Fusion Drive on the iMac.

Are you rendering and doing all of your in/out on the fusion Drive? Or do you have external drives?

Are you using external drives on your Macbook?

Your drive(s) on the 2 different macs could be making the difference.

My iMac has the I7, 4 Gig AMD, 32GB and 500GB Flash. All my media however is going through Thunderbolt to a 6 GB external Lacie Drive. I only use my internal Flash drive to run the apps and store the media cache. Mine still isn't ideal as you should have a Drive just for in and one for out (exports).

[jwoll81]

I've tried both - everything on the fusion drive - software and media / also running the media on a USB 3.0 G-Drive - B&H Photo Video / Both with poor performance

I could see the thunderbolt drive making a huge difference with the speed.

With the AMD card are you using the CUDA setting for boosted performance?

I've decided to go ahead and purchase this monitor - B&H Photo Video - seems to be a more cost effective solution - under $500 - computer that runs efficient enough with the laptop instead of $3K.

[Shane_P]

Running everything on the Fusion drive might be your bottle neck.

When you are getting better times on your Macbook how is your media handled? All from internal HD or do you have externals?

With the AMD card I'm using the OpenCL option. I thought Cuda was strictly Nvidia? Maybe not remembering correctly...

I don't know what kind of footage you're using. I edit mostly 1080p. With color grading, watermarks with alphas, etc. My iMac seems very fast.

[jwoll81]

I went back over to the laptop and the settings where you select the playback and render was set to software only - what was on the iMac. I switched to CUDA since the graphics card on here is NVIDIA and it flies. When checking out this link here - System requirements | Adobe Premiere Pro - the graphics card option for the 5K version I purchased - there isn't a different option - and it's not compatible with OpenCL. There maybe in the future with an update. I edit about the same - I'm sure it's because of the graphics card not being compatible with Adobe's software yet.

[jwoll81]

What thunderbolt drive are you using? I'm curious to what performance is effected by using a LaCie Rugged RAID 4TB Thunderbolt & USB 3.0 2.5" Portable External Hard Drive 9000601 … - versus an AC powered drive.

[Kevin-Monahan]

Hi JWoll,

When checking out this link here - System requirements | Adobe Premiere Pro - the graphics card option for the 5K version I purchased - there isn't a different option - and it's not compatible with OpenCL. There maybe in the future with an update. I edit about the same - I'm sure it's because of the graphics card not being compatible with Adobe's software yet.

If Your AMD GPU has over 1 GB VRAM, it should work for GPU acceleration for the Mercury Playback Engine automatically. If it is grayed out and disabled, that is a bug, even if it is not listed in system requirements.

Please check your project settings and verify this, could you?

Thanks,

Kevin

[jwoll81]

Hi Kevin,

Originally I had contacted Adobe because the OpenCL option was selected and the system was running poorly. Playback would stutter in full or 1/4 resolution. The staff member basically did a complete reset of the software and chose the software option in the playback/render setting. Exporting on either settings is much slower than the laptop. For a one minute clip - the time difference is about 2 minutes versus 10 minutes on the desktop.

I appreciate the quick response. I decided to purchase a separate monitor and save costs for the time being.

Cheers!

[joelh46001805]

Yep Adobe Premiere and iMac 5k are not compatible! I have had the same issue and have many times been promised a manager would call me back from Adobe or that one will get in contact with me in one way or another.. and nothing happens. Very disappointed.