Dwaine Maggart wrote:Resolve performance is limited on Mac 3,1 systems due to Mac system architecture designs. Using faster GPU cards is not going to help Resolve performance. That said, assuming you are running OS X 10.8.2, you can install a GTX680 card. That would be the fastest card. But it probably won't make Resolve performance any better than a Quadro 4000 card would.
I have the same problem as the OP. I just bought a Mac Pro 3,1 in order to get better performance than what I get with my old iMac that doesn't even have CUDA. Boy was I surprised to see how much WORSE it is.
I have read the entire Resolve for Mac config guide and nowhere does it talk about this extremely crippling problem with the 3,1; in fact it is one of the recommended systems. I have a GTX 570 - which is mentioned as a "good benchmark" card for a single GPU system in the guide - and the performance in Resolve is absolutely abysmal compared to my old iMac.
Note that my Mac Pro has more memory, faster RAID, CUDA, more graphics memory and roughly similar processing power (they transcode R3Ds to Prores at about the same rate in practice which makes sense since the iMac is quad core i7 with faster memory and architecture but the Mac Pro has twice the number of cores).
If the performance I'm seeing is considered normal then the 3,1 should be mentioned as something to avoid at all costs. And an old iMac should be mentioned as a "good benchmark".