imac or macpro?

raindog

raindog

As a beginner in the film process and having some cash but not the amount required to do everything all at once, I have purchased a camera (XH a1)and am looking to build whatever is necessary to get the shots I would like ( Lights, dolly etc) but one very important area is still unclear to me....( Film editing). Based on what I have read and through conversations with friends who have some experience, I have chosen to use Final Cut Pro software...and hence my question....Would I be able to use this software with a juiced up IMAC or should I invest in an APPLE PRO? Is there any special graphics card that I should use? (NVIDIA Geoforce 8800 GT or ATI RADION 2600 XT)? What would be the amount of RAM required to run this program? Thanks for any input.

raindog
 
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Do you think you're ever going to want an HD capture card, or any other special interface cards? If so, your only option is a MacPro.

I am editing on an iMac 2.4Ghz Intel Core Duo 2 with 4GB of RAM and a 20" screen. It performs very well, for my purposes, and I am using the same camera you have.

You really must consider how many SATA drives you want to have. The MacPro will let you install 4 SATA drives internally, which are much faster than Firewire 400 or 800 drives.

So, your considerations should be;
1) do you need more internal/fast storage
2) do you need more than 4GB of RAM
3) do you anticipate needing an expansion card (e.g. a Kona Card)

The iMac supports 2 simultaneous displays, has plenty of processing power for editing, has a video card that works fine with Motion, and supports enough RAM for doing any editing task I've ever needed to do.

Doug
 
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