MacBook Pro or iMac for film editing

[macman7002]

Hey!

I need help deciding what Mac to get as my iBook G3 is not keeping up.

I am going into 9th grade next year and I plan to do a lot with a new Mac. I plan on using Safari, Mail, iLife, iWork, iTunes, Final Cut Studio, and Adobe CS3 (the one with After Effects and such.)

The two Macs I am considering are:

MacBook Pro
2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
2GB memory
200GB hard drive
Double-layer SuperDrive
NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT with 256MB

or

iMac
2.66GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
2GB memory
320GB hard drive1
8x double-layer SuperDrive
ATI Radeon HD 2600 PRO with 256MB memory

My question is: with what Mac would I get the best performance for what I want to do? Price isn't an issue between these two models, nor is screen size. The only issue is performance of Final Cut Studio and Adobe CS3.
Thanks for your help!

 

[squeeks]

i have a better question, as a 14 year old where the heck did you get that kinda money?

and either machine is fine, the imac will be a little faster, but if you want a laptop go with the MBP you wont notice much difference

 

[macman7002]

i have a better question, as a 14 year old where the heck did you get that kinda money?

and either machine is fine, the imac will be a little faster, but if you want a laptop go with the MBP you wont notice much difference

Okay, money- birthdays, and such.

And how much master will the iMac be? And if I do go MacBook Pro, where will I notice the speed difference the most? And will the MBP keep up with what I want to do?
Thanks again!

 

[MacGeek7]

The iMac would be your safest bet for speed but if portability matters than go with the MacBook Pro - either way you'll get a great machine

 

[surferfromuk]

Performance differences won't be a big issue - the MBP is plenty fast enough for editing - the massive screen on the iMac might be a bigger issue..

That said you can't ever take your iMac to school or to your friends house...though that may not always be a bad thing...

MBP is handy to move around the house too, use in bed etc...

 

[nick9191]

The iMac is faster, and the graphics card is better for this type of work.

 

[alphaod]

The processor on the iMac is faster for video editing, but getting a Macbook Pro is advantageous because it's portable and it's not that much slower. I'd go for the MBP.

 

[bushbaby]

I've done a little video editing (although not lately). I'd go for the MBP because of the portability. I also think they're more desirable for video editing than the IMac (editors prefer the MPro) as they can work in the field, so resale opportunities are better when you're ready to move up.

 

[Twohothardware]

The MBP will be portable and not much difference in speed between it and the iMac but the selling point for me would be whether or not you want a 24" iMac screen to do your film editing on instead of doing it on a 15.4" laptop screen. I do mostly photo editing on my MBP and i always do the work on a larger external LCD. For me the 15.4" is too small and not accurate enough with colors to do good work.

 

[Fenir]

I would as well go with the MBP for the mobility

 

[rockthecasbah]

I say go with the iMac, it will give you more power, and bigger screen which will be better for film edits in particular, at a significantly cheaper machine. That's assuming portability is a nonissue. As a high schooler, i saw little use for a notebook, so pouring money into one doesn't seem that valuable. College is of course a different story, but you've got 4 years for that.

 

[tocyk]

If you plan to buy another computer when you go to college, I suggest the iMac. The MBP is less in probably every spec to the iMac.

 

[Eddyisgreat]

There may be a point (there was for me) where you will Wish you had a Macbook Pro so you can film on location straight to a hard drive without spending rediculous amounts on a fire store. I know a few Avid apps support this, as well as Adobes "OnLocation", in bootcamp of course.

Just something to think about. It is rather lucrative if your clients are looking for somehthing simple and you have a bit of spare time.

 

[6mt15]

It is rather lucrative if your clients are looking for somehthing simple

I know when I was in grade nine, all my clients were looking for that little bit extra! haha

Anyway, I would say go with the MBP. The iMac will be a bit faster, but at the cost of your portability, and lets be honest, you're in grade 9, you are going to want to show off your shiny new MBP to all your friends at school, and the portability lets you go and game at a friends house...or video edit, if thats what floats your boat. Just my 2 cents.