Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

The Mini, and is it right for ME?

R

RWCantel

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Aug 6, 2008
23
0
I have a windows based laptop and PC (neither are Vista.. hooray). I am wanting to get a Mac to do some video/sound editing using Final Cut Pro, and after scouring forums etc. am unable to find a definitive yes/no as to whether it will work adequately or not. Buying a MacBook Pro is a lot more expensive considering I already have the portability of my laptop, and would want to plug the Mini into my 42inch Samsung LCD HDTV..

With the Mini's specs upgraded to the 2gig Duo Core processor and the 2 gigs of ram, and with the addition of an external HDD unit for storage, is this system functional for the purposes I want it for (uploading video with audio, editing it, and doing so in possibly large/feature length chunks)???

Thanks.
 
Are you doing this professionally or just for home stuff? I ask because the throughput is where it's at in this case. Does the mini work for what you ask? Yes, but so does a 1.4 Ghz Pentium 4 machine. It boils down on how fast you want it. If you go the mini route the 2Ghz C2D is a very good option, especially when paired with a FIREWIRE external hard drive. Do not get USB for this.

If you gotta have it faster, then you need to step up to the iMacs with the faster processors.
 
I'd say, if you can, go with the iMac. But a maxed out Mini should be a good choice if you can't afford to go with the iMac.
 
it's not professional, but I'm looking to do some semi-professional work.... basically, will the grafix card and GPU/RAM at the max from the Apple Store be able to keep up with me and help me add some if any effects?

I can probably afford to get an iMac, but what it boils down to mostly is just pimping it out on my huge TV and being able to work off of that....

I guess what I'm asking is... is it a cost-effective way to do it, really? or will I get far superior bang for my buck by just getting an iMac for 1500?


What is so great about MacBook Pros anyway?... People make it sound like they're the only and best option for doing video editing..?
 
The MacBook Pro is a great machine, don't get me wrong, I use one as my main computer. But I don't understand why it's considered the end-all-be-all of video editing. It's great for video editing on the go, but to me it sounds like that's not what you need.

I think if you go with an iMac you will not regret it.
 
Alright.... well it's a consideration... but I AM interested, as I said, in using my TV as a monitor for the mini, combined with its media-centre uses..... is the $500 jump to an iMac, and losing that TV functionality, really going to give me the boost in performance to make it worthwhile? I realize it's a bit of a subjective question but.... your opinion, i suppose?
 
RWCantel said:
I am wanting to get a Mac to do some video/sound editing using Final Cut Pro.

With the Mini's specs upgraded to the 2gig Duo Core processor and the 2 gigs of ram, and with the addition of an external HDD unit for storage, is this system functional for the purposes I want it for (uploading video with audio, editing it, and doing so in possibly large/feature length chunks)???
Click to expand...

As long as you don't intend to use Color or Motion that come in the Final Cut Studio package, a Mini will be fine. Just remember, cpu speed is what determines your computing power, so a 2.5 gHz MBP would be about 25% faster.
 
I just read this part on the Final Cut Studio 2.0 requirements:

An AGP or PCI Express Quartz Extreme graphics card (Final Cut Studio is not compatible with integrated Intel graphics processors)


So, it will not work on a mini or a macbook. You will need an iMac if you want to run this apps with all features installed. It is no specific as to what features are excluded if you don't have a dedicated video card solution.
 
richardhunt said:
I just read this part on the Final Cut Studio 2.0 requirements:

An AGP or PCI Express Quartz Extreme graphics card (Final Cut Studio is not compatible with integrated Intel graphics processors)


So, it will not work on a mini or a macbook. You will need an iMac if you want to run this apps with all features installed. It is no specific as to what features are excluded if you don't have a dedicated video card solution.
Click to expand...

Yes, it will, so long as you don't use Color or Motion (which is why the gpu is needed as noted in my post above). FCP will run just fine on a Mini (or MacBook).
 
Yes it's right for you, but I'd get a base model MacBook, upgrade RAM to 2GB+. At least you will have a portable and you can still use it as a desktop.

Also I know Final Cut Pro works on a Mini.
 
that said, I've watched some of the videos that were provided in a link above and I'm more interested in Final Cut Studio 2....... which a mac mini won't run...?
 
RWCantel said:
that said, I've watched some of the videos that were provided in a link above and I'm more interested in Final Cut Studio 2....... which a mac mini won't run...?
Click to expand...

FCS2 is a suite of apps, two of which (Color and Motion) require a discrete gpu (i.e., not integrated). You can run Final Cut Pro from FCS2 on a Mini, but you won't be able to run Motion or Color.
 
Cave Man said:
FCS2 is a suite of apps, two of which (Color and Motion) require a discrete gpu (i.e., not integrated). You can run Final Cut Pro from FCS2 on a Mini, but you won't be able to run Motion or Color.
Click to expand...

yeah.... which is leaving me slightly torn between a mini and an iMac.... basically it's going to come down to pricing... but as FCS2 is 1200 dollars, that is a huge factor as wellllllll hahah....
 
so I MAY just bite the bullet and get a macbook pro...... you said that FCS2 requires a non-integrated processor to run colour and motion... so does that mean a macbook pro 2.5 ghz core duo can run it?

thanks
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back