You have quite the nice set up.
For video editing, I would consider a second screen. It gets all cluttered with the palettes and screens. You can add nearly any brand to the second connection, so you do not need another Apple branded monitor for this purpose. In my experience, even with a 23 inch it gets cluttered with lots of stuff open.
RAM: I myself have never had an issue with OWC (Other World Computing), Kingston, or Crucial.I also buy generic and I have had FEW problems. That said, buy from somewhere that will allow returns, and will be in business a few weeks down the road. (all of the above have been around for years).
Learning Macs: The Missing Manual series by David Pogue is excellent. It will cover anything from iLife to specific apps to the OS and Macs in general. Take a peek at the series
http://www.missingmanual.com
For video editing, I would also suggest more drive space. It gets eaten up quickly. For backup and storage purposes, any external firewire drive should do. Even FW 400 for backup will work fine, so no need to bust the cash out for FW800 drives unless you need them for scratch space, etc.
The 1 gig will get you going. You can do a lot with 1 gig in FCP or DVDSP. With both open, it gets a bit dicier. I just started using Motion, but in my projects it hogs RAM and is kinda slow (Your Machine is faster than the one I use motion on). We have 4 gigs of ram and that seems to allow a few apps with large projects to work just fine.
Other software to consider:
DiskWarrior. Its a great utility that you will be grateful you have when and if you need it.
A USB jog dial. I find it much easier than the keyboard or mouse for zipping through footage. They are cheap and work well.
You have a great system, go out there and enjoy it!
photo-video said:
Hey all ... I just got my first Mac ... after weeks of waiting my order arrived today. This is the first Apple that I've owned so are there any pointers that you all don't mind sharing.
Sorry I don't know what to ask.
I spent about at $6300 on this system and it's the most money I've ever spent on a computer. Here are the specs:
- Dual 2.5Ghz
- 1 GB RAM
- 9800XT
- Blue Tooth Keyboard & Mouse
- 23" Cinema HD Display
I have 1GB of RAM installed ... where should I buy RAM from? I need more for Video Editing with Final Cut Pro, DVD Studio Pro 3 and Motion!!
Thanks!