Hey everyone, so I am finally getting my first mac. (I've always wanted one, but could never afford it, been stuck with Dells all my life). I just bought a used Mac Mini G4 1.42 1GB Ram off ebay, and am very excited for its arrival. I plan on using the mini to do some video editing in my dorm room, so I don't have to go over to the edit lab every time I want to edit. My question is, which version of Final cut would you suggest I use. I have access to both through my school so cost is not an issue. I know it will fit both requirements, but I want to know how well it will run express and pro. Any input would be helpful, thanks.
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Mac Mini and Final Cut
- Thread starter ramlax13
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I really don't think that a G4 will be able to come anywhere close to handling Final Cut Pro......I could be wrong but I recall a thread debating about whether a new MACBOOK could handle it.
I seriously doubt you want to do this. You'd be best to install Tiger and iMovie 06 and call it good.
Well I know that a new macbook handles final cut studio well because all of my friends use it on their macbooks, and those are even before the SR update.
Santa Rosa has nothing to do with it. You're talking about an antiquated cpu (G4) vs. a dual-core Yonah or Merom.
I run FCP 5 on a five-year-old powerbook g4 867.
You get ridiculous render times on 3rd party plugins but otherwise it's fine. I've even edited hdv on it. It wasn't a particularly pleasant experience though.
I assume the mini will be faster. If you're used to FCP on a very fast machine it might be a bit painful at first, but not as painful as switching to a much more limited program like imovie IMHO.
Also note that although Apple doesn't want you using pro apps on cheap hardware, ironically pro software tends to be more flexible with the snappiness vs job time trade-off than consumer apps like imovie. In FCP you can edit in low-res and then render overnight in hi-res for example. Note: Don't even think about Aperture.
I was going to replace my old dodderer with a new macbook pro but I'm seriously considering a mini and a cinema display instead. I get a proper pro screen, a happier credit card and an excuse to go to the pub while it's rendering.
You get ridiculous render times on 3rd party plugins but otherwise it's fine. I've even edited hdv on it. It wasn't a particularly pleasant experience though.
I assume the mini will be faster. If you're used to FCP on a very fast machine it might be a bit painful at first, but not as painful as switching to a much more limited program like imovie IMHO.
Also note that although Apple doesn't want you using pro apps on cheap hardware, ironically pro software tends to be more flexible with the snappiness vs job time trade-off than consumer apps like imovie. In FCP you can edit in low-res and then render overnight in hi-res for example. Note: Don't even think about Aperture.
I was going to replace my old dodderer with a new macbook pro but I'm seriously considering a mini and a cinema display instead. I get a proper pro screen, a happier credit card and an excuse to go to the pub while it's rendering.