Resolve crashing with Mac Pro w/ATI 4870

Trying the new Resolve Lite Beta 9.0.3 and having serious issues. As soon as I try to load footage (pointing Resolve at my FCP X Events media) it crashes hard, either looking at H.264 or BMCC RAW DNG files. I've had kernel panics in 9.0.0, and the crash I just had with 9.0.3 was an instant restart followed by a KP-like screen just before it rebooted.

Is anyone else having any luck with Resolve 9 beta on an ATI 4870? Planning on using ProRes and FCP X mostly, so I don't care if it's slow, but I'd like to use RAW on a BMCC from time to time, and don't want to completely rejig my GPU setup just for Resolve.

I did have Resolve Lite 8 installed previously — could that be a problem?

[Peter Chamberlain]

Hi, Resolve v9 is now a 64 bit app so you need to be in 64 bit mode and also will need 8GB RAM. That said, your GPU is quite limited in processing power too. Please refer to the configuration guide for details of what you need to build a Resolve system.
Peter

Hi, Resolve v9 is now a 64 bit app so you need to be in 64 bit mode and also will need 8GB RAM. That said, your GPU is quite limited in processing power too. Please refer to the configuration guide for details of what you need to build a Resolve system.
Peter

On Mountain Lion, so definitely in 64-bit mode, and with 16GB RAM. I've looked through the configuration guide, but I'd need to purchase and install two additional NVIDIA GPUs to satisfy those requirements. I just want to correct/process the occasional RAW shot from my on-order BMCC, and I'm happy with the performance of my ATI card in FCP X/Motion.

Should Resolve *work* with just an ATI card? It installs and launches. Even if it's not going to work, it shouldn't be causing a kernel panic.

[Peter Chamberlain]

Hi, actually you are correct. I just checked and the ATI card you have is not on the certified list. The engineers confirm that card does not support the OpenCL extensions needed for Resolve. You should consider adding a GTX 470 or 570 as these are CUDA GPUs and have considerable more power.

Peter

Hi, actually you are correct. I just checked and the ATI card you have is not on the certified list. The engineers confirm that card does not support the OpenCL extensions needed for Resolve. You should consider adding a GTX 470 or 570 as these are CUDA GPUs and have considerable more power.

Peter

Fair enough. I understand that Resolve was designed for CUDA, but I'd really rather not throw away my existing (working!) setup just to install Resolve. It's a shame that current iMacs can run Resolve, but a Mac Pro needs $500+ of GPUs to even get started.

It would be great if the ATI 4870 was supported — it did briefly display one of the CinemaDNG thumbnails before the kernel panic. This was the card of choice for the 2009 Mac Pro and it still does well in FCP X and Motion.

If it simply can't be supported, it's probably worth introducing some sanity checks, as Resolve really shouldn't cause a kernel panic no matter what.

Thanks for your help.

I just checked and the ATI card you have is not on the certified list. The engineers confirm that card does not support the OpenCL extensions needed for Resolve. You should consider adding a GTX 470 or 570 as these are CUDA GPUs and have considerable more power.

Peter

This is likely the same reason my iMac (late 2009) with a lowly ATI 4750 card no longer works with Resolve 9.0.3. I have some very limited functionality with Resolve 8.2.2 and but running with the version 9 betas has been mostly kernel panics. If only the 2+ year old iMac could accept updated GPUs but of course this is likely going to mean an upgrade. It's fine until the imminent release of the BMCC requires Resolve 9 for full grading functionality.

I thought this fully tricked-out iMac would last me 5 years, how naïve! How many months will the next iMac last?

I just checked and the ATI card you have is not on the certified list. The engineers confirm that card does not support the OpenCL extensions needed for Resolve. You should consider adding a GTX 470 or 570 as these are CUDA GPUs and have considerable more power.

Peter

This is likely the same reason my iMac (late 2009) with a lowly ATI 4750 card no longer works with Resolve 9.0.3. I have some very limited functionality with Resolve 8.2.2 and but running with the version 9 betas has been mostly kernel panics. If only the 2+ year old iMac could accept updated GPUs but of course this is likely going to mean an upgrade. It's fine until the imminent release of the BMCC requires Resolve 9 for full grading functionality.

I thought this fully tricked-out iMac would last me 5 years, how naïve! How many months will the next iMac last?

Given that Resolve 8 worked, it's possible that the kernel panics are a real bug that should be fixed. We'll see, I guess.

[CaptainHook]

I thought this fully tricked-out iMac would last me 5 years, how naïve! How many months will the next iMac last?

I have a late 2009 iMac 27" i7 that i'm currently selling as i built a hackintosh (have a gtx 580 and 550 ti in it). I think the iMacs are GREAT, but now that i have a system that i can simply replace parts as i need to upgrade, i don't think i could go back to that kind of 'locked down' system.

I thought this fully tricked-out iMac would last me 5 years, how naïve! How many months will the next iMac last?

I have a late 2009 iMac 27" i7 that i'm currently selling as i built a hackintosh (have a gtx 580 and 550 ti in it). I think the iMacs are GREAT, but now that i have a system that i can simply replace parts as i need to upgrade, i don't think i could go back to that kind of 'locked down' system.

Well, I have a Mac Pro, and the built-in support in 10.8 for PC Nvidia cards makes upgrading a lot easier than it's been in the past. Still, it's about $350 for an EVGA GTX570, or $200ish for an older GTX285 Mac Edition on eBay. Not bad, but for a program I wasn't planning on using much (mostly ProRes shooting and FCP X editing) it's an unpleasant surprise.

I thought this fully tricked-out iMac would last me 5 years, how naïve! How many months will the next iMac last?

I have a late 2009 iMac 27" i7 that i'm currently selling as i built a hackintosh (have a gtx 580 and 550 ti in it). I think the iMacs are GREAT, but now that i have a system that i can simply replace parts as i need to upgrade, i don't think i could go back to that kind of 'locked down' system.

CaptainHook, I'm seriously considering the Mac Pro option when Apple releases their next upgrade but I don't expect it until 2013. I still have a Power Mac (functioning as a piece of furniture after the motherboard died) and think the extra expense of the Mac Pro may be offset by its longer life due to the upgrade ability. I'm sure BMD and Apple and Promise will appreciate when I upgrade my video workstation. I'll likely keep the iMac for use by the family since I do like everything about it except the lack of graphics expandability and lack of Thunderbolt. But it would be nice if Resolve 9 didn't crash the old girl until I can upgrade next year (when I hope to acquire the BMCC as well--except that it's very hard to wait a year for the BMCC after seeing how it performs and I could be happy learning to use it with ProRes and FCPX in the meantime). Apologies for the tangent.

Well, I have a Mac Pro, and the built-in support in 10.8 for PC Nvidia cards makes upgrading a lot easier than it's been in the past. Still, it's about $350 for an EVGA GTX570, or $200ish for an older GTX285 Mac Edition on eBay. Not bad, but for a program I wasn't planning on using much (mostly ProRes shooting and FCP X editing) it's an unpleasant surprise.

If you go that route, I suspect you'll be happy you installed the GTX570! Enjoy.

[CaptainHook]

Well, I have a Mac Pro, and the built-in support in 10.8 for PC Nvidia cards makes upgrading a lot easier than it's been in the past. Still, it's about $350 for an EVGA GTX570, or $200ish for an older GTX285 Mac Edition on eBay. Not bad, but for a program I wasn't planning on using much (mostly ProRes shooting and FCP X editing) it's an unpleasant surprise.

I hear you. I've been using resolve for less than a year now but i've come to rely on it so much i ended up building a computer based around the needs of it (and other apps i use while i was at it). Wasn't planning on that but here i am. Haha. 10.8 is gonna be great for hackintosh for that reason too although i wont upgrade until every app i use is very stable on it.

A couple of advantages to the hackintosh path is not just being able to upgrade graphics, but any component i choose. Motherboard, CPU, etc. That, and i spent about the same as the cost of my spec'd out iMac but with the performance of a MUCH more expensive Mac Pro. One downside is the 'support' is really just yourself. That one downside can be THE deciding factor for a business or someone not comfortable with that.

So much thread derailing but i guess that's the nature of forums.

A couple of advantages to the hackintosh path is not just being able to upgrade graphics, but any component i choose. Motherboard, CPU, etc. That, and i spent about the same as the cost of my spec'd out iMac but with the performance of a MUCH more expensive Mac Pro. One downside is the 'support' is really just yourself. That one downside can be THE deciding factor for a business or someone not comfortable with that.

So much thread derailing but i guess that's the nature of forums.

As an Apple Certified Trainer and member of the Apple Consultant Network, I can't really dabble in the black arts of hackintoshery. Nor would I really want to. Installing a PC GTX 570 that won't show an EFI boot screen but which is otherwise fine is just about the limit for me — but FCP X would have to be rock solid. I also do much more than just video or colour work on my Mac and I can't risk the rest to make one app (Resolve) work.

After 20+ years of Macs, I expect it should "just work".

[CaptainHook]

I know what you're saying. But the native support in OSX for "off-the-shelf" parts is really quite good now. Especially with new mobo's like mine being UEFI.

Apart from installing the boot loader, i didn't have to do much of anything since basically all of my components are supported by OSX natively! It really did "just work" and has been rock solid. Last year or so has been massive progress in this area which is why i've taken the leap now. It's even better with ML (which i haven't upgraded to yet). Photoshop opens in roughly 1-2 seconds. The OS loads in about 6-7 seconds. It's crazy. It's not for everyone though. Not at all.

It is a shame resolve is so limited by hardware tho. But hey, i've been using Pro Tools since the 90's and the hardware reliance on that was way worse. I used to own/use an HD system ($20k work) on a mac tower that my late 2009 iMac can destroy in processing power. Haha.

I just checked and the ATI card you have is not on the certified list. The engineers confirm that card does not support the OpenCL extensions needed for Resolve. You should consider adding a GTX 470 or 570 as these are CUDA GPUs and have considerable more power.

Peter

This is likely the same reason my iMac (late 2009) with a lowly ATI 4750 card no longer works with Resolve 9.0.3. I have some very limited functionality with Resolve 8.2.2 and but running with the version 9 betas has been mostly kernel panics. If only the 2+ year old iMac could accept updated GPUs but of course this is likely going to mean an upgrade. It's fine until the imminent release of the BMCC requires Resolve 9 for full grading functionality.

I thought this fully tricked-out iMac would last me 5 years, how naïve! How many months will the next iMac last?

Rick, I'm in the exact same boat as you. I hope the thunderbolt port on the new iMacs make them more upgradeable. Maybe in the future we'll be able to plug in more advanced graphics cards in module boxes and stuff like that? Isn't there a red rocket that works that way? At least we'll be able to work in ProRes until the new computers come out and decisions can be made.