Upgrade quandary

I'm finding myself in kind of a time-sensitive bind, and am turning to the trusty Forum for some on- and off-topic advice.

I am still using FCP 3, happily enough, it's stable and does what I need but I'd really like to move on into the present one of these days. I'm on OS 10.3.4 and QT 6.5.2 on an 800 MHz Powerbook with 1 GB RAM. Not a screamer, but it does the job. I don't make my living with video as yet, but I use it seriously, and I have a serious project coming up. My present FCP/OS/QT combination works great, just like everyone says it should. But it is limiting.

I am planning to buy the universal crossgrade before the price goes up, but that's in the neighborhood of $600 because of where I'm starting, so I'm not just jumping on it. I would like to buy a nice hot G5 but it's just not in the budget yet.

My quandary is that I may be forced (by present work situation) to upgrade my OS to Tiger to handle certain other software requirements (more on that later). I'm afraid that will break my stable FCP 3 life, and this is the only computer I have to run it on.

I could go ahead and buy the upgrade so that FCP/OS/QT are again compatible, but the specs for Final Cut 5 say it requires an 867 MHz processor or faster - I'm not quite there. I'm happy to forego Motion and LiveType and any other components that require better hardware than I have, but I need my FCP. Does anyone here run FCP 5 on 800 MHz successfully? I know it won't scream, but will it even install?

The reason for the forced OS upgrade is that I need to run an "Aircard" on this machine. That is a PCMCIA card that makes an Internet connection over cell circuits. Need to use it intensively for a trade show just a few weeks from now. The one I have in my hands runs only on Windows (so it says) but I have seen on apparently knowledgable sites that there is a deep Unix hack to make it work with OS 10.3.5+, but "never mind, you don't need to do this, it works natively on Tiger". Well, that's something I need to know for sure: does it? Anyone with experience with one of these cards (Novatel Merlin S620 or V620 or similar) on a Mac I'd love to hear from you. I have all the database and connectivity and VPN pieces working great, and now I'm facing a brick wall over the part I thought was the simplest (my Telco provider assured me it would work on a Mac).

Back in the day, there was lots of discussion about what worked with what in the FCP world during the transition from FCP 3, and I seem to remember that the advice was to stay lower than OS 10.3.9 for FCP 3, which is why I remain at 10.3.4. Anyone able to confirm or deny this? Upgrading to 10.3.9 would help in a few other areas (like possibly this card), but I don't want to break my happy FCP!

I know it's been a long time since anyone thought about FCP 3 and all that, but does anyone know anything useful to my situation? I am most grateful for anything.

Scott

Tough Spot to be in! You are about 25 technology years behind in Computer, FCP and MacOs. They are really tightly integrated and NO you can't run the latest FCP 5 (non-intel) on an 800 Mhz computer.

10.3.x is the last version of MacOs X that is compatible with FCP 3, as I faintly understand?
10.3.9 with QT 7.0 was a debacle to be avoided.

Motion absolutely will no even load up on a machine slower than 876 Mhz and it needs a capable video card.

Sorry to say that you are hardware limited!

Thanks for all the encouragement, John! You're telling me what I feared was true.

While I have your attention, I emailed you (John Foley) offline to the address provided here at LAFCPUG, and also through thefinalcutstore.com, and haven't heard anything from you. I had questions concerning wireless communications in Nashville. Did you get either one?

I'd love to hear from someone who innocently installed FCP 5 on an 800 MHz machine and it worked. Anyone? I realize that Motion is out of the question.

Scott

I am sorry! I didn't respond to that because I have no clue about what you are asking.(That being about wifi in the Gaylord arena areas)

I do know that FCP 5 will not run on an 800 Mhz Powerbook. As a matter of fact, I doubt it will even allow you to load on that platform. Apple has taken to stop loading if the system doesn't meet the minimum standards.

If it does work, I haven't heard anyone telling about this. FWIW- I am using FCP 5.1.2 on a MacBook Pro 2.33 Ghz and it works wonderfully.

>>I am sorry! I didn't respond to that because I have no clue about what you are asking.

I guess I would have replied asking for clarification if it was me. Anyway, it's moot because Sprint PCS turns out to be unavailable to me for hardware reasons (alluded to in original post), and I'm pretty sure my alternative will work.

Not so lucky with the FCP issue though. I am busy pricing better hardware and trying to convince myself I can afford it. Got a good deal on Quad G5s?

Thanks for the info.

Scott

Scott, I sent you a private message.

Hello to you both,

John, I have to disagree with you there. I previously owned a 800mhz Powerbook with 640 mb of RAM, and I installed and ran FCP 5 fine. I didn't install ANYTHING else from Final Cut Studio though - no Motion etc etc, so maybe that's how I got around the minimum install requirements?

John is also correct in stating that generally if products don't meet the minimum system requirements, the installer will, well, stall. Having said that, wasn't this a concern for MacBook buyers/users, and I haven't read anything regarding installation on those machines, which techincally don't meet the minimum specs do they? (video card?)

Anyway, I can heartily endorse the use of a MBP - my 9 month old 1.83 is going damn fine.

Good luck with it all Scott.