Assessing my needs to help me choose my new Mac

[FrenchPB]

Guys, I'm thinking about getting a new Mac, but to choose the right one for me I need help to assess what my needs are.

Basically, the only time when I really push my computer to the limit is when I watch very high quality HD videos on my Sony Bravia 32D3000 HDTV via my MacBook (mini-DVI/VGA).

Videos are sometimes compressed like this :
Video Codec : 2-pass H.264 (.mp4)
Video Bitrate : 5065 kbps
Video Framerate : 59.94 fps
Resolution : 1280x720
Audio Codec : AC3; 48000 Hz; stereo; 448 kbps

I don't do the encoding, but I watch tons of sports videos like those. For that kind of things, what is the most important ?
- a fast processor
- more RAM memory
- or a great video memory ?

My MacBook cannot play videos of that quality, which is one reason why I am considering getting a new one (probably an iMac).

 

[neiltc13]

Well if your MacBook is struggling, it's probably the GPU which is at fault. I have to ask though, which model of MacBook do you have?

Late last year Apple introduced a major revision to the MacBook which saw it gaining a MUCH faster graphics chip.

Click ->About This Mac->More Info->Graphics and Displays

In there you should be greeted by something like "Intel GMA 950" or similar. Tell us what it says.

 

[FrenchPB]

Well if your MacBook is struggling, it's probably the GPU which is at fault. I have to ask though, which model of MacBook do you have?

Late last year Apple introduced a major revision to the MacBook which saw it gaining a MUCH faster graphics chip.

Click ->About This Mac->More Info->Graphics and Displays

In there you should be greeted by something like "Intel GMA 950" or similar. Tell us what it says.

I bought my MacBook in September 2006. It's 2Ghz 2Go RAM... I don't really know about the video card since I'm not at home right now.

I'm wondering whether I should go for the best CPU, GPU or RAM on my next Mac not to get that kind of problems in the future (video resolution and encoding will only keep getting better)