Hi forum!

I just wondered how well the MacBook Pro 15" early 2011 (Core i7, Radeon HD 6490M) would perform in FCPX when hooked up to the Dell 27" Ultrasharp U2711 display. Laggy playback etc...

Any answers would be appreciated!

Well, you're taking a GPU that is barely up to spec for FCP X and Motion, and cutting it's power in half by connecting an external monitor. When you connect a second display to any GPU, it will automatically divide itself in half, giving have of it's resources to each monitor independently. Apps only access the half dedicated to the main monitor (your built in screen). Thus, you're not getting the full power of the GPU.

Where are you storing your Events and Projects?
Do you have background rendering turned off?
How much RAM is installed?

This has me curious, does anyone know how the GPU is dealt with using a MacBook and an external monitor/keyboard if the lid is shut?

BenB wrote:
Thanks for the help! I´m currently using my 19" LG194WT monitor with my MBP, and it has no problems running both displays, so I´m not sure how much it will affect my overall performance.

I´m currently storing all my project files locally on my 500GB 5400rpm HDD, my background rendering is always turned on, and I have 8GB of RAM.

Turn off background rendering, you don't really need it. Render manually when you must. Delete all your Project and Event render files (File menu).

Put your Projects and Events on a FW800 7200rpm drive, which will help.

If you can bump up to 16GB RAM, that'd help, too.

Hi again everybody! So, I got my new display today, and I must say that I haven´t noticed a decrease in performance at all. The computer never freezes or anything!