Need some spec help putting together my new iMac, Please.

[Appleguy11]

Ok, so my current devices are my 4s and my iPad 3rd gen and I will be adding the new iMac when it released, whenever that is.

So the biggest task will be the video editing for the iMac. My main project will be several videos and maybe even a movie will be shot about me getting in shape. Going from fat to fit, having a lot of action shots in the gym, out of the gym etc. kind of a inspiring documentary about what it takes to get lean and muscular. Will have a lot of action scenes with music so I will want to adjust music volumes for dynamic and take out any audion on certain scenes, just my random ideas here.

So I will be filming all the video with my iPhone 4s and the new iPad, but this really is my first stab at video editing so I will be using iMovie.

So my spec questions.

1. Do I need to upgrade the i7, or will the i5 be plenty for me?
2. Same with the ram, stock 4gb or upgrade to the 8gb?

Assuming the 1tb sata will suffice here. I also do prefer the 27" screen, not a necessity, but I figure since I'm making the investment to get what I want.

Any opinions are appreciated.

 

[talmy]

Frankly any Mac would do. For nearly two years I was processing 1-3 hours of finished video a week on a 3 year old MacBook, and it worked fine. I've got a quad core MacBook Pro now as well as my 27" iMac -- iMovie doesn't take advantage of (seemingly) more than two cores, and most of the time it seems limited to a single core. No reason to spend the money on the top end processors.

8GB of RAM is always a good idea since it is so inexpensive when you buy and install it yourself (don't buy from Apple). The 27" monitor is a real joy for editing.

Regarding audio, you can post process iMovie through Garageband without sacrificing video quality. I've found that the best way to handle sound tracks. iMovie is pretty crude for that.

 

[Chrisg2014]

If your running iMovie, any iMac will do. I use Final Cut Pro and now Final Cut Pro X. iMovie is a simple editing software. I'm not saying it's bad. It's a hell of a lot better then Windows movie maker. But the only reason why people (like me) need fast computers is because of the heavy editing we do, not necessarily long projects but stuff, that requires thinks like masking, keying, Motion tracking, ect. and to make this stuff we need to render or background render now with FCPX . And what rendering is, is basically if I tell the computer that I want to put text in the video I put it in the timeline and for it to be in my video the computer has to figure out how to do that. And what your making out your project to be and you said your self, you will be fine with iMovie. I started out on iMovie and if you have to do something complicated there are a lot of work arounds, just look them up on youtube.


ALSO WHEN YOUR SHOOTING WITH YOUR iPHONE NEVER EVER HOLD YOUR PHONE VERTICAL ALWAYS HOLD IT HORIZONTAL!

Example why not to hold it vertical
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cdwUSjV-Qtk&feature=plcp

It looks more professional if you hold the phone horizontal.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GtWiSqcrTL4&list=UU7tSDgN8IL1MCEf4b49wo3A&index=4&feature=plcp

Both videos where shot on an iPhone

----------



Edit:
I forgot

If you already have an iMac, my suggestion, try to make the video on that, if it doesn't handle it very well, then step up and get a new computer. The only reason I say that is because if this is your first project and you don't like making videos, you didn't just waste all your money on a new computer. But if money is not an option for you go for it.

Also if you don't already have a Mac I will say get one.

 

[Appleguy11]

If your running iMovie, any iMac will do. I use Final Cut Pro and now Final Cut Pro X. iMovie is a simple editing software. I'm not saying it's bad. It's a hell of a lot better then Windows movie maker. But the only reason why people (like me) need fast computers is because of the heavy editing we do, not necessarily long projects but stuff, that requires thinks like masking, keying, Motion tracking, ect. and to make this stuff we need to render or background render now with FCPX . And what rendering is, is basically if I tell the computer that I want to put text in the video I put it in the timeline and for it to be in my video the computer has to figure out how to do that. And what your making out your project to be and you said your self, you will be fine with iMovie. I started out on iMovie and if you have to do something complicated there are a lot of work arounds, just look them up on youtube.


ALSO WHEN YOUR SHOOTING WITH YOUR iPHONE NEVER EVER HOLD YOUR PHONE VERTICAL ALWAYS HOLD IT HORIZONTAL!

Example why not to hold it vertical
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cdwUSjV-Qtk&feature=plcp

It looks more professional if you hold the phone horizontal.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GtWiSqcrTL4&list=UU7tSDgN8IL1MCEf4b49wo3A&index=4&feature=plcp

Both videos where shot on an iPhone

----------



Edit:
I forgot

If you already have an iMac, my suggestion, try to make the video on that, if it doesn't handle it very well, then step up and get a new computer. The only reason I say that is because if this is your first project and you don't like making videos, you didn't just waste all your money on a new computer. But if money is not an option for you go for it.

Also if you don't already have a Mac I will say get one.

Well I was going to buy a Mac anyway. Then I bought this iPad partly because I really wanted one and it does everyday tasks that I need as well. Web, mail, photos, music. And I must say I am really enjoying the experience of the new iPad.

But from talking with several people about iMovie on iOS vs OS, I was told definitely get a Mac. So, I figured the iMac would be more ideal and cheaper than a MacBook pro.

----------

And if I was just taking video and running it n a program like iMovie, the iOS would be fine, but I am wanting to do effects like fast forward, slow motion etc that I was told you cannot do on the iOS version of iMovie.

 

[Chrisg2014]

Well I was going to buy a Mac anyway. Then I bought this iPad partly because I really wanted one and it does everyday tasks that I need as well. Web, mail, photos, music. And I must say I am really enjoying the experience of the new iPad.

But from talking with several people about iMovie on iOS vs OS, I was told definitely get a Mac. So, I figured the iMac would be more ideal and cheaper than a MacBook pro.

----------

And if I was just taking video and running it n a program like iMovie, the iOS would be fine, but I am wanting to do effects like fast forward, slow motion etc that I was told you cannot do on the iOS version of iMovie.

Yeah as a general Rule, OS apps are a lot more complex and go more into detail then there iOS counter parts.

I never quite understood why the iMacs where less expensive then the Mac Book Pros. You get less processing and the screen sizes don't add up with the prices. But What ever.

Well I guess I gave you more information that you needed. If you have any other questions let me know.

 

[Appleguy11]

Yeah as a general Rule, OS apps are a lot more complex and go more into detail then there iOS counter parts.

I never quite understood why the iMacs where less expensive then the Mac Book Pros. You get less processing and the screen sizes don't add up with the prices. But What ever.

Well I guess I gave you more information that you needed. If you have any other questions let me know.

Well let me ask you this, is the iMac more than what I need? Would a MacBook air be more ideal device? Or is that a bad idea for video editing?

 

[Chrisg2014]

Well let me ask you this, is the iMac more than what I need? Would a MacBook air be more ideal device? Or is that a bad idea for video editing?

]

The Mac Book Air can work. I have used mine out of pure desperation with FCPX when my Mac Pro crapped out on me. I have the 13in 4Gb RAM. But that's one is the same price as the 13in MacBook Pro which would work. But if your talking about the 11in MBA It should also work. But with the 13in MBP you'll get 500GB compared to the tiny 64-256Gb of storage you get on the MBA. Also you'll get more of a CPU.


Another thing, if you want to put your project on a CD, the Mac Air does not have a CD-Rom drive. You'll have to buy one after market, like one from apple or somewhere else, where you can get it for cheaper. MBP has it come standard.

----------

You'll be fine MBP 13in or a iMac. I can't tell you what you need. I can only just give you a good idea of what it will be like. Go to an apple store or best buy test one out. Talk to one of the people there. And do more research.

 

[yezza]

Hello Appleguy - my advice would be to look closely at an i7 iMac, and disregard the MacBook Air's and MacBook Pro's unless you really need to be mobile with your editing.

i7's support hyperthreading, which the i5's do not. The i7 will effectively give you 8 virtual cores and if your applications can take advantage of that, you will have significantly greater performance (note that Final Cut will do so, not sure about iMovie).

See this geekbench link for iMac benchmarks to give you an idea on performance differences.

Also, another reason to rule out any of the laptops is screen real estate - the more the better!

Just make sure you do your own research and don't take any one person's advice without confirming with other sources first. Hope this helps.

 

[Nandifix]

MacBook pro would work fine for video editing however you get more power for the same price in an iMac. Also the base model would do fine for basic video editing

 

[Chrisg2014]

Hello Appleguy - my advice would be to look closely at an i7 iMac, and disregard the MacBook Air's and MacBook Pro's unless you really need to be mobile with your editing.

i7's support hyperthreading, which the i5's do not. The i7 will effectively give you 8 virtual cores and if your applications can take advantage of that, you will have significantly greater performance (note that Final Cut will do so, not sure about iMovie).

See this geekbench link for iMac benchmarks to give you an idea on performance differences.

Also, another reason to rule out any of the laptops is screen real estate - the more the better!

Just make sure you do your own research and don't take any one person's advice without confirming with other sources first. Hope this helps.

Yeah but he could always go and by an after market monitor with an even bigger size for less then apple secondary monitor and if you where to buy an 27'' iMac.

----------

Hello Appleguy - my advice would be to look closely at an i7 iMac, and disregard the MacBook Air's and MacBook Pro's unless you really need to be mobile with your editing.

i7's support hyperthreading, which the i5's do not. The i7 will effectively give you 8 virtual cores and if your applications can take advantage of that, you will have significantly greater performance (note that Final Cut will do so, not sure about iMovie).

See this geekbench link for iMac benchmarks to give you an idea on performance differences.

Also, another reason to rule out any of the laptops is screen real estate - the more the better!

Just make sure you do your own research and don't take any one person's advice without confirming with other sources first. Hope this helps.

He shouldn't role out the laptop just because of screen real-estate. He could always just go and by a secondary monitor and hook it up to his computer. Another possibility is he could hook it up to his TV.

 

[chevalier433]

Ok, so my current devices are my 4s and my iPad 3rd gen and I will be adding the new iMac when it released, whenever that is.

So the biggest task will be the video editing for the iMac. My main project will be several videos and maybe even a movie will be shot about me getting in shape. Going from fat to fit, having a lot of action shots in the gym, out of the gym etc. kind of a inspiring documentary about what it takes to get lean and muscular. Will have a lot of action scenes with music so I will want to adjust music volumes for dynamic and take out any audion on certain scenes, just my random ideas here.

So I will be filming all the video with my iPhone 4s and the new iPad, but this really is my first stab at video editing so I will be using iMovie.



So my spec questions.

1. Do I need to upgrade the i7, or will the i5 be plenty for me?
2. Same with the ram, stock 4gb or upgrade to the 8gb?

Assuming the 1tb sata will suffice here. I also do prefer the 27" screen, not a necessity, but I figure since I'm making the investment to get what I want.

Any opinions are appreciated.

An i3 will do the job

 

[Appleguy11]

If your running iMovie, any iMac will do. I use Final Cut Pro and now Final Cut Pro X. iMovie is a simple editing software. I'm not saying it's bad. It's a hell of a lot better then Windows movie maker. But the only reason why people (like me) need fast computers is because of the heavy editing we do, not necessarily long projects but stuff, that requires thinks like masking, keying, Motion tracking, ect. and to make this stuff we need to render or background render now with FCPX . And what rendering is, is basically if I tell the computer that I want to put text in the video I put it in the timeline and for it to be in my video the computer has to figure out how to do that. And what your making out your project to be and you said your self, you will be fine with iMovie. I started out on iMovie and if you have to do something complicated there are a lot of work arounds, just look them up on youtube.


ALSO WHEN YOUR SHOOTING WITH YOUR iPHONE NEVER EVER HOLD YOUR PHONE VERTICAL ALWAYS HOLD IT HORIZONTAL!

Example why not to hold it vertical
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cdwUSjV-Qtk&feature=plcp

It looks more professional if you hold the phone horizontal.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GtWiSqcrTL4&list=UU7tSDgN8IL1MCEf4b49wo3A&index=4&feature=plcp

Both videos where shot on an iPhone

----------



Edit:
I forgot

If you already have an iMac, my suggestion, try to make the video on that, if it doesn't handle it very well, then step up and get a new computer. The only reason I say that is because if this is your first project and you don't like making videos, you didn't just waste all your money on a new computer. But if money is not an option for you go for it.

Also if you don't already have a Mac I will say get one.

I don't have a computer at the moment so my thought was that I was going to buy a Mac and I would just use the iMovie that comes with it for editing. So I'm just trying to figure out wha I need in a Mac.

Also, does it matter for editing MacBook pro vs iMac? I initially looked at iMac because I always hear how the iMac is best for editing.

Looking for recommendations.

Thanks.

 

[Nandifix]

iMac will be slightly faster due to the desktop CPU. Also they have dedicated graphics whereas MacBooks don't. iMac is better value but you can't move it Around

 

[Appleguy11]

Thanks

 

[Slow Programmer]

I have never heard anyone say, "My computer is just to powerful." Get the best you can afford and you will not regret it.

 

[leman]

I never quite understood why the iMacs where less expensive then the Mac Book Pros. You get less processing and the screen sizes don't add up with the prices. But What ever.

The laptop components (CPU etc.) are much more expensive, the battery is expensive
etc.