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Video editing - iMac vs. MPB vs. mini

M

mattxi

macrumors member
Original poster
Nov 25, 2012
42
0
Novosibirsk, RU and Minnesota, US
Hey all--
I do heavy video editing using premiere and after effects. At the moment I'm barely pushing through any actual editing on a late 2008 MacBook Pro. I'm able to do some editing on it, but usually have to bring it to my late 2009 iMac to actually render it.

In a battle of pros and cons, I've come to a halting decision that I'm sure many of you have experienced. Do I sacrifice portability for power? I'm not terribly crazy about portability, and in the case I go for the iMac or mini, I would be toting it around 2-3 times a week in a pelican case.

I've always been a fan of the iMac and mbp, and have no experience with the mini. Is there anything in it that gives me an advantage over an iMac, after I've upgraded everything and included the 27" TB display?

I feel that the new mpb, despite its infinite power over my mpb and iMac combined, won't give me as much as I'm looking for, which would be satisfied with the soon-to-come (hopefully) iMac.

Can anyone give me some insight?
 
P

Pie Chips Salad

macrumors member
Sep 28, 2012
96
0
mattxi said:
Hey all--
I do heavy video editing using premiere and after effects. At the moment I'm barely pushing through any actual editing on a late 2008 MacBook Pro. I'm able to do some editing on it, but usually have to bring it to my late 2009 iMac to actually render it.

In a battle of pros and cons, I've come to a halting decision that I'm sure many of you have experienced. Do I sacrifice portability for power? I'm not terribly crazy about portability, and in the case I go for the iMac or mini, I would be toting it around 2-3 times a week in a pelican case.

I've always been a fan of the iMac and mbp, and have no experience with the mini. Is there anything in it that gives me an advantage over an iMac, after I've upgraded everything and included the 27" TB display?

I feel that the new mpb, despite its infinite power over my mpb and iMac combined, won't give me as much as I'm looking for, which would be satisfied with the soon-to-come (hopefully) iMac.

Can anyone give me some insight?
Click to expand...

For your purposes the mini is a no go. It doesn't have a dedicated graphics card and so it won't handle your video editing well at all. Otherwise is quite a capable machine. I just bought one for music production.

You said that you would be moving around 2-3 times per week. I'd go for the MBP or MBPR for sure. Its like essentially a mac mini with a better mobile graphics card and a nice screen. It would do every thing you need and you could get it now.
 
M

mattxi

macrumors member
Original poster
Nov 25, 2012
42
0
Novosibirsk, RU and Minnesota, US
Thanks -- but portability put aside, do you think the new iMac will provide a significant difference as far as power compared to the mbp?

I mean the obvious answer is yes, but will the difference be significant enough to give up portability?
 
M

mattxi

macrumors member
Original poster
Nov 25, 2012
42
0
Novosibirsk, RU and Minnesota, US
On the portability front, I'm not concerned. I can deal with it. But it does need to be somewhat portable, and the Mac Pro won't be at all, at least compared to the iMac.

Not to mention, Mac Pro is a little far for my budget...
 
A

Apple Corps

macrumors 68030
Apr 26, 2003
2,575
542
California
A refurb Quad Core Mac Pro can be had for around $1800 from Apple.

If you have ever touched the top of an iMac doing "heavy" rendering you will have doubts about its longevity. The expandability of the Mac Pro is impressive and the cooling is unsurpassed.

I'd give it some more thought if you can get past the portability issue.
 
J

jfriedman8

macrumors 6502
Feb 8, 2008
259
3
I agree with the Mac Pro suggestion. When I did a lot of heavy video editing, my Mac Pro was king. When I had a 27 iMac doing the same tasks, it was way more time consuming. My iMac also ran REALLY hot during some of this which led to some of that greying / ghosting on the screen long term.
 
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