21.5 iMac config for HD editing.

[motherly]

Mac Guys out there using their macs for video editing. i need advice on which 21.5 iMac to get and what config's the best to go. i basically use my mac for video editing. can say that i'm enthusiast in it. apps i use such as fcs, adobe after effects, premiere. my max budget would be ATI 1TB 21.5 imac. i want a smoother editing process, plus faster rendering. besides maxing out the ram. i wonder if the 3.33Ghz processor is much more efficient wise than the ATI graphics card in terms of editing and rendering speed? In my case, it's either i grab the Graphics or the base iMac opted for 3.33ghz.

any HD editors out there to give me some advice? thanks in advance.

 

[peskaa]

You need as much as you can throw at it. I would go for the GPU upgrade over the CPU first.

 

[cmcbridejr]

You need as much as you can throw at it. I would go for the GPU upgrade over the CPU first.

I agree. Get the best video card you can afford, and if you have any budget leftover, then get the fastest processor you can afford.

These two components are nearly impossible to upgrade in the iMac, whereas the RAM and HDD can easily be upgraded later when you have more money.

 

[motherly]

But i've seen benchmarks on both iMacs. it shows not much of a difference with a graphics card besides gaming. i rarely play games on my mac. and in forums, people say that rendering takes cpu to crunch the data instead of gpu. and the open GL isnt really much of help. hard decision still.. for me.

 

[cmcbridejr]

But i've seen benchmarks on both iMacs. it shows not much of a difference with a graphics card besides gaming. i rarely play games on my mac. and in forums, people say that rendering takes cpu to crunch the data instead of gpu. and the open GL isnt really much of help. hard decision still.. for me.

What benchmarks have shown that a dedicated GPU is not that much better than an integrated GPU?

 

[peskaa]

You're looking at the obvious.

The bottom end iMac uses the 9400M, which as an integrated solution takes memory from the system to use as VRAM. This means there is less memory available for the system and applications.

The ATi card however has its own dedicated VRAM, and doesn't take any from the system. It's also faster - which in the era of GPGPU is going to become increasingly important. Right now, benchmarks won't show much difference, but things are being offloaded to the GPU for processing - especially if you're working on movies etc.

If you went for the CPU (3.06 to 3.33) you'd be getting a mere 300Mhz increase, which is just under 10%. Benchmark wise, you wouldn't quite see that full 10% rise either. That'd help rendering times by a tiny tiny amount.