What is the Best Mac for Pro Video edting with Final Cut Pro

[Merrily2006]

Let's face it - I want a Mac cos they look real cute BUT...........I will look a dodo if I buy something that will not do what I want at about the time that the novelty starts to wear off. (Especially as I live in a professionally PC household! OOOPS!)
I want to edit videos with a fair bit of rendering and stuff going on - using Final Cut Pro (although I have been using the Windows Adobe software till now)
The Mini Mac suits my lifestyle and space limitations - but I am worried that this will not perform as well as maybe some G5 model might? Is this correct?
What are your thoughts please.

 

[SheriffParker]

I went to film school and have used final cut extensively for the past 5 years.

The best mac for final cut is going to be this desktop:

Quad G5 2.5 Ghz Powermac tower.

The thing is, now that most of apple's other computers have the core duo, they are all about the same when it comes to final cut. You won't see a huge speed bump due to the dedicated graphics card in the imac or the macbook pro. Both the mac mini and the macbook will offer very comparable performance. Just make sure you max out the RAM (or have 1GB minimum) to do your work. That will make a difference.

Right now the quad G5 powermac will blow anything away when it comes to rendering quickly. However, the core duos are hot on it's heels, and aren't too far behind. The core duos are already faster than a single G5, and very close to the speed of a dual G5. The only thing is that a quad G5 desktop will run your wallet into the ground. And when you think about the slight hit in performance in exchange a fraction of the price, intel may be the better of the two.

Basically, editing on a core-duo is pretty sweet, and it will render stuff quickly. So it doesn't matter which core duo you get (just don't get the mini core solo). I would recommend a 17" imac or a mini with at least a 17" screen. Having a lot of screen space is necessary. I would say the macbook, but your going to want to hook it up to an external monitor to get a really workable environment.

I did a lot of editing on my 12 inch iBook, so it can be done, but you spend a lot of time moving windows around and behind each other to see what's going on at a 100% or actual pixel level.

So now it's just up to you to decide what you can afford and what your space will let you have.

 

[odedia]

The Intel Macs are faster, end of story. Any core duo mac will be excellent for what you want. I'd recommend the 20" iMac - excellent value. Or the 17" MBP if you need portability. but the fact is that even the Macbook will do you just fine. Just pick the intel flavour you want and you'll be happy.

BTW, the new laptops are pretty problematic to many users, myself included (see my sig). If you want peace and quite, get the 20" iMac, I had it and it was close to perfect. PLus you have lots of storage area for all the editing files.

 

[Josias]

One of these:
13" White MacBook w. 2 GB RAM. (If you wana edit video, get the SD model)
Core Duo Mac Mini w. 2 GB RAM. Get an ACD or a big screen for this one.
17" or 20" iMac w. 2 GB RAM. Depends if you want the extra screen space.

MBP is total overkill, and when you have 2 gigs, you won't feel much differnece. Don't get a PM G5, since all software soon won't work on it.
If you get the MacBook, bacuse of portability needs, you should also get an external screen.

 

[SheriffParker]

Don't get a PM G5, since all software soon won't work on it.

That's not true at all. Universal binary means it will work for both PPC chips and intel chips. Apps are being made universal binary, not intel only. PPC will be around for a while.

 

[Josias]

That's not true at all. Universal binary means it will work for both PPC chips and intel chips. Apps are being made universal binary, not intel only. PPC will be around for a while.

Yes, but when you buy a $3k machine, you will want it to last longer than most companies will keep making universal. Soon most stuff will only be Intel native. iLife '07 and Leopard may be universal, but no further.

 

[iGary]

Yes, but when you buy a $3k machine, you will want it to last longer than most companies will keep making universal. Soon most stuff will only be Intel native. iLife '07 and Leopard may be universal, but no further.

Wrong wrong wrong wrong.

Sorry.

You have to remember that about 85%-90% of all macs out there are still PPC, and support for them is not going away anytime soon. Just to give you an idea there was dual-boot support for OS 9 for along time...

 

[Merrily2006]

Thanks Guys for Your replies

You are awesome with the speed of your replies - I think that I'll most likely go for the Mini Mac - upgrade to 2Gb Ram and add the wide LCD screen that I already own. If it does not work out - then it will still make a great media centre for the home.
Will stick around a bit longer on this forum - very impressed! Have a great week!

 

[RndmAxess]

deleted

 

[Josias]

You are awesome with the speed of your replies - I think that I'll most likely go for the Mini Mac - upgrade to 2Gb Ram and add the wide LCD screen that I already own. If it does not work out - then it will still make a great media centre for the home.
Will stick around a bit longer on this forum - very impressed! Have a great week!

Cool. If I had to get a desktop, I'd go for Mini too. BTW, have you considered an external HDD?

 

[Merrily2006]

External Hard Drive - Yes but whats that about the video card issue???

...Yes I had considered that - In fact I rarely use internal for storage at all - 15Gb for 1 hour of video tape to edit - I chew up internal storgae - So Usually I use a Lacie Drive or similar and work off that.

Now about the post re video card issue - I only quickly eyeballed it - but are you saying that I will have a problem if I try to use Final Cut Pro with the Mini Mac (duo model)???

 

[SheriffParker]

Now about the post re video card issue - I only quickly eyeballed it - but are you saying that I will have a problem if I try to use Final Cut Pro with the Mini Mac (duo model)???

I don't know about the FCS system requirements, but here are some benchmarks that prove the MacBook is every bit as capable at FCS as the MBP and even a dual 2.0 ghz G5.

http://www.creativemac.com/articles/viewarticle.jsp?id=43717

Also, the mini will run it even better, given that the GMA is clocked at 400 mhz instead of 250 mhz

 

[ChrisA]

Wait until August

...
The Mini Mac suits my lifestyle and space limitations - but I am worried that this will not perform as well as maybe some G5 model might? Is this correct?
What are your thoughts please.

Can you wait untill August? "everything" will change then. Apple will release their
Intel-powered Power Mac replacement. I suspect this new machine will run circles around the Mac Mini. Currently, today any Intel Mac is about as fast as a high-end G5. But the G5 Power macs have the ability to connect to faster storage and if you have LOT of video storage is what's needed

 

[The Senator]

I don't know about the FCS system requirements, but here are some benchmarks that prove the MacBook is every bit as capable at FCS as the MBP and even a dual 2.0 ghz G5.

http://www.creativemac.com/articles/viewarticle.jsp?id=43717

Also, the mini will run it even better, given that the GMA is clocked at 400 mhz instead of 250 mhz

weird, the Final Cut website says it wont work with the integrated graphics but those tests say it does, but also graphics cards dont really have a big effect on video editing its manily processer

 

[Merrily2006]

weird, the Final Cut website says it wont work with the integrated graphics but those tests say it does, but also graphics cards dont really have a big effect on video editing its manily processer

I am tempted enough to give the Mini a try - if it does not work then Roll on August by some accounts! and the Mini will be a VERY nice entertainment system base methinks!