iMac or Macbook Pro

[mtngoat]

I have been using an 07 Macbook pro 17inch 500Gb HD for video editing and it is time to upgrade. I am trying to decide between an iMac 27 inch, 3.4 Ghz, quad i7, AMD Radeon HD 6970M 2GB GDDR5, ( will add my own RAM) or new 17inch macbook pro i7. Video editing is my main choice of poison here.
Yes, I travel to our cabin often and like to hunker down and edit up there- but I am at a place where I would like to get better at my craft, not worry about hard space, and want it to be quick enough so I can articulate my thoughts better. When I wait around for rendering, I lose my ideas, so something that is quicker will allow me to articulate ideas on the cuff easier. (or so I am hoping)
So Portability is cool, but if the iMac will allow me much more horsepower I am willing to forego the portability aspect, as I really would like performance. and no I can not afford a Mac Pro right now.
- If the new Macbook Pro i7 core would suffice and hold it's own up to the iMac as then great! portability and peformance all in one, I will go for it. Or am I limiting myself to what and where the imac will take an amateur like myself to the next level of video editing. I shoot with a Canon 7D and I am aiming for a film festival entry. That is my goal. I am currently using an older version of FCE. Any suggestions would be much appreciated. Basically, I am willing to forego portability and do the imac if it will help me reach my goal. If there is not too big of difference, then Macbook pro it is..

 

[robbie12345]

i would go mbp only if you really need it though the 17 inch is really a rip off though but the iMac is only about 10% faster then th mbp

the iMacs display is gorgeous but it seems like you really need portable machine as you take frequent trips

the mbp will be such a huge improvement over your current mbp that it seems like you reallydont need top spec

they will both be about 4x faster

photo editing doesn't need a great graphics card as much as video editing

so maybe if i were u the thunderbolt display and base 15 inch highres

the base 15 vs the top 15 (same as 17) is only 5% weaker then it it with processor intensive tasks so that is what i would so

 

[Vantage Point]

Since you do travel, and since the latest MBP's have quad cores in them I would incline towards the MBP. A 15" with an external monitor might be a good option, else the 17" MBP. Consider the base model and upgrade the hard drive to a 7200 rpm drive, preferably a 750GB drive. Then upgrade the RAM to 8Gb, about $40. The latest models can handle 16gb so you have some wiggle room to upgrade.

 

[plumosa]

what about the imac for home and keeping your mbp for the cabin?

Alternatively, you could go for the smaller imac and just put it in the car when you go out there, its really quite easy. If you had said, oh I travel a lot and want to work while on a plane I would never suggest this. However, since its just one location and you're likely to spend several days there in a row, it is a viable option for you.

 

[mtngoat]

imac or mac book pro

Thank you all so much for the very thoughtful and useful responses. After thinking about it, my 17 " is really not very portable. It's a heavy computer, that I tend to refrain from flying with, taking to coffee shops, I really treat it as a desk top. A 15 inch MBP seems to be the way to go, later down the road when i get some cash. Until then - since the only location I do travel to with computer, is the cabin, the 21"inch imac makes perfectly good sense. That way I can get all the bells and whistles, be able to take it with me the few chunks of time that I go, and yet have something where i can stack up data in that is internal, and a quicker processor.

This really helped, after 3 days of querying google and the web but to no avail. Thanks!!

 

[Consultant]

I carry 17" MBP, iPad, external 2.5" raid harddrive every day. Not heavy if you are in shape.

17" MBP is the same weight as many 15" PC laptops anyway.

But 13" or 15" MBP would work fine for most people considering an iMac.