iMac and FCPX Considerations

[jcmguitar]

After much deliberation between the iMac and Mac mini I feel I am falling into the iMac camp. Seems that a decent graphics card is a necessity to get the best from FCPX. My problem of course is which one would best suit my needs.

I am a guitar tutor and need to upgrade from my 2007 white iMac 20 inch to a machine capable of running Logic Pro and FCPX. I want to create instructional videos for my students - nothing too flashy, but I would like to use some effects with graphical overlays and possibly use two cameras.

I realize that I will need external storage etc. but I have a budget of around £1600 (UK pounds) for the iMac itself. I would be able to get a basic educational discount.

The machines I have narrowed my search down to are:

21.5" with 3.1 GHz i7, 16GB RAM, 1 TB Fusion Drive, GT 650M graphics - £1,662.00

27" with 2.9 GHz i5, 8GB RAM, 1 TB Fusion Drive, GTX 660M graphics - £1,597.00 (I would upgrade the RAM with Crucial RAM) which would even the RAM stakes and also the price.

Unfortunately the 27 inch i7 is beyond my budget.

So, would it be better to go for the processing power of the 21.5 inch's i7 or the 27 inch with its weaker CPU but better graphics card and screen?

My other considerations would be reliability and quiet running as I do audio recording in a fairly small room.

Thanks for your thoughts.

 

[seble]

After much deliberation between the iMac and Mac mini I feel I am falling into the iMac camp. Seems that a decent graphics card is a necessity to get the best from FCPX. My problem of course is which one would best suit my needs.

I am a guitar tutor and need to upgrade from my 2007 white iMac 20 inch to a machine capable of running Logic Pro and FCPX. I want to create instructional videos for my students - nothing too flashy, but I would like to use some effects with graphical overlays and possibly use two cameras.

I realize that I will need external storage etc. but I have a budget of around £1600 (UK pounds) for the iMac itself. I would be able to get a basic educational discount.

The machines I have narrowed my search down to are:

21.5" with 3.1 GHz i7, 16GB RAM, 1 TB Fusion Drive, GT 650M graphics - £1,662.00

27" with 2.9 GHz i5, 8GB RAM, 1 TB Fusion Drive, GTX 660M graphics - £1,597.00 (I would upgrade the RAM with Crucial RAM) which would even the RAM stakes and also the price.

Unfortunately the 27 inch i7 is beyond my budget.

So, would it be better to go for the processing power of the 21.5 inch's i7 or the 27 inch with its weaker CPU but better graphics card and screen?

My other considerations would be reliability and quiet running as I do audio recording in a fairly small room.

Thanks for your thoughts.

From what I've read there is marginal performance between the two cards. However being able to upgrade the RAM in the 27inch is something to consider for the future. Could your budget not stretch very slightly to accommodate the extra RAM?

However because of what you're doing I till think the graphics card would be fine for what you're doing plus an o5 is still very capable, just means with something like final cut you'll be waiting around a little bit longer. But not much. So I would go for the 27icher

If it helps I went for the 21.5 minus the i7 and final cut and logic perform fine for me, much better then my old 2006 MBP!

 

[jcmguitar]

So if the graphics cards are close in performance that brings it down to screen size vs processor. Screen real estate is nice but I am wondering if the i7 edge would make for a better user experience ie less waiting for tasks to be completed. Also would the additional benefit be enough to justify the additional cost of the upgrade.

 

[jcmguitar]

If it helps I went for the 21.5 minus the i7 and final cut and logic perform fine for me, much better then my old 2006 MBP!

What intensity of video work do you do with FCPX and do you experience any delays / hesitations when using the software? Thanks.