TOPIC:

I'm wondering how well Final Cut Pro X will run on a 2012 non-retina baseline Macbook Pro? I plan on using it as my home PC as well as video editing for youtube videos and somewhat light graphic work in Motion 5. I plan on upgrading the ram to 12gb.

I'm on a budget so I'm hoping this isn't going to to be too slow.

Originally released June 2012
13.3-inch (diagonal) LED-backlit glossy widescreen display, 1280-by-800 resolution
4GB (2 x 2GB) of 1600MHz DDR3 SDRAM
500GB Serial ATA @ 5400 rpm1
8x double-layer SuperDrive (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
Intel HD Graphics 4000

I think you're talking about an iMac. Mac Pros do not have built-in screens.

Only thing I'd do, if possible, upgrade the internal drive to a 7200 rpm drive. And be sure you get an external drive for media and Libraries. And if you could, upgrade to 16 GB RAM. 12 will be fine, though.

Ben,
OP is talking about the Mac BOOK Pro, just posted in wrong forum. Should be in the laptop section.
Zeppoe3,
Lots of disadvantages with this set-up. The 13" version is normally a dual core CPU i3/i5, the integrated 4000GPU, and the 5400rpm drive will all work against FCPX/Motion. If there is any way to swing the $$$ for the 15" quad core with the i7 and discrete GPU you will be much happier.
If you can't spend the extra $$, then consider using proxy media for editing and expect long export times for final rendering. Spinning beach ball, WooHoo!
Also what type of video you shoot, the codec, the number of cameras/angles and the number and type of effects will all play a part in how well this will work for you.
You will definitely want to get an external drive for your media, USB3 with USAP enabled is OK, and a 7200rpm hdd inside. Don't forget a spare back-up drive or two. This is true no matter what computer you buy, you'll want external media drive and back-ups.
Hope this helps, Greg

I agree with the other responses. For reference, I have a 2011 MBP 2.4 GHZ i7, 16GB ram, SSD (120GB).

I do a fair amount of video editing with it. We shoot h.264 on Canon DSLRs. For the most part it does a fine job, but obviously, the more you throw at it, the more painful it gets. I've almost never even bothered to transcode too Prores because for 90% of our work, h.264 doesn't slow us down. Having said that, if you have the time and space, it's always nice to have Prores and proxy files available, especially for stuff like GoPro camera footage, which is a real dog. Auditions slow things down a bit, which kind of surprised me. Surround sound is awful, avoid it all costs unless you have a really good system. Multi-cam is pretty demanding, though with Proxy you can get by.

To be brutally honest, I would consider saving up for a better machine for video editing unless you truly have light demands.

13" MBP is a very poor choice for FCPX/Motion only because of its GPU. A 15" MBP is fine, but do to GPU, only to a point. T'bolt RAID helps more than anything with these, but isn't really portable. If you don't need to be portable to make your money, get an iMac, 16 GB RAM, best CPU/GPU combo you can afford, and a RAID. Simple as that.