FCP X and OpenCL Video Cards

I have a 2008 Mac Pro with a Nvidia 8800GT video card and a AMD 4870 video card. Both cards have 512MB of VRAM and both are supported in FCPX but I don't know which one is best of FCPX. I know the 4870 is slightly faster for gaming but I hear the Nvidia has full OpenCL support while the 4870 only has partial support for OpenCL which could make FCPX run faster. And I know there are other cards available but I'm not looking to buy a new video card. I can't find any documentation on this. Anyone have experience with these cards.

Last year I have done some FCPX performance tests on a 2008 MacPro (8-core, 32 GB RAM, SL) with a 8800 GT card. The system ran very smoothly, so yes the 8800 works quite well with FCPX.

Although I have no hands-on experience with the 4870 and FCPX I can certify that the card fully supports OpenCL, so that's not an issue here. Only reflashed PC cards seem to have problems with OpenCl on a Mac system.

As both cards fully support OpenCL, the 4870 is indeed slightly faster and the 8800 has a lower performance with handling Core Image Effects (used by most of the Apple pro apps) I think the 4870 would be a better choice for you. But every system and every workflow is different, so you might want to do some testing yourself before making your final choice.

Thanks for the feedback. 4870 is it until those promised Mac Pro replacements arrive. Crossing fingers for WWDC.

WWDC might be a bit too soon, but with Apple you never know ((-:

It was insinuated to me during an Apple presentation and feedback event at NAB Show that the Mac Pro replacements won't be until "late in the year".

In the mean time, I'm following this review , with will publish Motion 5 and FCP X specific tests soon. If it goes as I hope, it will be THE card to squeeze more life out of my early 2008 Mac Pro before the new replacements come out.