I'm going to buy an iMac i7, either the 2010 model, or the 2011 with thunderbolt, it'll become my primary editing system as my Macbook Pro has taken a beating with what I can do to it.... I used to edit on a G4 tower, but a Mac Pro is not only out of date... it's out of date AND too expensive for me. Money is a concern as I'm getting married next month... 
I edit on FCP 7 and I am learning Media Composer 5.5 (seperate partitions).
I would run Photoshop, After Effects etc.. on the iMac but keep my Macbook Pro for Word, Internet, iTunes, etc.
2010
If I buy the 2010 model, I'll buy it refurbished, have OWC add an eSata port, an SSD and 16 Gig of ram. This eSata config can't be done to the 2011 iMac yet from OWC, and apparently the SSD is an issue still too.
In this solution I will be able to continue to run my current drives: An eSata Raid 0 Scratch disk for video, one Firewire Drive for Audio, and backup drives for all these discs. I'm also thinking of buying a 4TB raid 5 system, run eSata which is still reasonable in price. I own an ACD (24") with a miniDisplay Port for either solution as well.
2011
If I buy a 2011 Machine, I need to buy a thunderbolt drive I suppose - there's not much else to say.... unless I use firewire for all my drives. I'd still get 16 gig ram, but the SSD (from Apple) and eSata don't seem to be possible??....
My thoughts
I know there's a better processor, thunderbolt, but price is an issue.... I'm leaning towards the first solution. Anyone want to weigh in on what kind of speed I'm going to get out of each? Do any of you have one and can weigh in?
I'm running those drives (under the 2010 config) on a late 2008 Macbook Pro. I can do a multicam HD edit (with two feeds) but compressor and rendering take much longer than I'd like. Would rather the machine work faster. I'd even thought of moving to a PC for the extra processors and all, but then I lose Final Cut and the Mac Experience, so I'm reluctant.
**Edit: What should I expect in regards to # of audio and video tracks, render times compared to my late 2008 macbook pro with 4 gig (excited to find out), for both of these, and possibly a comparison between the two? I don't know where to find that info...
What do you think?
I edit on FCP 7 and I am learning Media Composer 5.5 (seperate partitions).
I would run Photoshop, After Effects etc.. on the iMac but keep my Macbook Pro for Word, Internet, iTunes, etc.
2010
If I buy the 2010 model, I'll buy it refurbished, have OWC add an eSata port, an SSD and 16 Gig of ram. This eSata config can't be done to the 2011 iMac yet from OWC, and apparently the SSD is an issue still too.
In this solution I will be able to continue to run my current drives: An eSata Raid 0 Scratch disk for video, one Firewire Drive for Audio, and backup drives for all these discs. I'm also thinking of buying a 4TB raid 5 system, run eSata which is still reasonable in price. I own an ACD (24") with a miniDisplay Port for either solution as well.
2011
If I buy a 2011 Machine, I need to buy a thunderbolt drive I suppose - there's not much else to say.... unless I use firewire for all my drives. I'd still get 16 gig ram, but the SSD (from Apple) and eSata don't seem to be possible??....
My thoughts
I know there's a better processor, thunderbolt, but price is an issue.... I'm leaning towards the first solution. Anyone want to weigh in on what kind of speed I'm going to get out of each? Do any of you have one and can weigh in?
I'm running those drives (under the 2010 config) on a late 2008 Macbook Pro. I can do a multicam HD edit (with two feeds) but compressor and rendering take much longer than I'd like. Would rather the machine work faster. I'd even thought of moving to a PC for the extra processors and all, but then I lose Final Cut and the Mac Experience, so I'm reluctant.
**Edit: What should I expect in regards to # of audio and video tracks, render times compared to my late 2008 macbook pro with 4 gig (excited to find out
), for both of these, and possibly a comparison between the two? I don't know where to find that info... What do you think?
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