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27" i7 iMac advice please!

S

skullwithbeard

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Aug 3, 2011
2
0
Hey guys, I'm new on here and it looks like you're all clued-up on Mac related stuff so here goes:

I'm looking to by a new iMac, specs:

  • 27"
  • 3.4Ghz Quad Core i7
  • 16Gb Ram
  • AMD Radeon HD 6970M 2Gb
  • 1Tb Hard Drive

But...I've been offered this from a private seller:

  • 27"
  • 2.8 Ghz Quad Core i7
  • 8Gb Ram
  • ATI Radeon HD 4850
  • 1Tb Hard Drive

I've bolded the differences above. Does anyone with experience editing 1080p video in FCP and using After Effects have any advice on buying? The second machine is just about a grand cheaper and I can upgrade the RAM to the full 16Gb, just worried about the graphics card and the slight processor difference.

How big a difference in terms of speed/editing/rendering is this?

Thanks in advance!
 
Go with the brand new one. Think about the time you would save in encoding, rendering and all other work flows you would do. Granted on 1 project it would probably be wouldn't be worth it, but if you look at it over a year, how much time do you think it would save by getting a faster computer? To me, I would spend the extra money.

http://www.barefeats.com/imac11f.html

Take a look at that, it isn't using the 2.8, but using the older 2.93. Still you will see where your time will be saved.
 
I would probably get the fastest processor money allows for FCP and After Effects work. I use FCP 7 (have X, but still coming to terms with it!) and I have the best computer I could buy and it definately makes the difference. (Specs below - 2011 MBP)
 
Get the brand new iMac in consideration that (1) it is a new machine directly from Apple and (2) it has a faster CPU.
 
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