new iMac [AMD Radeon HD 6770M with 512MB] Enough for HDSLR footages edit ?

[LVEB]

Hi

I'm new in Mac and HDSLR editing, but very interest to work with HD edit.
So decided to purchase a PC or iMac/MacBookPro for mainly HDSLR (h.246) and Lightroom/PS/Apetuare photo editing.

My question is will the NEW iMac
-2.7GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i5
-AMD Radeon HD 6770M with 512MB

Fast enought for the above mention work ?
Kinda budget, so MacBookPro is my 2nd option.

or MacBookPro
2.0GHz quad-core Intel Core i7
Intel HD Graphics 3000
AMD Radeon HD 6490M with 256MB GDDR5

Which to go ?
Btw HD 6770M with 512MB / HD 6490M with 256MB GDDR5
or last (AMD Radeon HD 6970M with 1GB )

 

[ststephen]

That iMac model is perfect for your needs. Its specs out of the box will fulfill all of your needs using aperture, lightroom and similar apps. When you evolve to advanced photo editing at the photoshop level, with large RAW FILES, and bulk processing, you and your mac will apprecite a ram upgrade to 8-16 gigs. My 2009 27" i5 just literally dropped dead after 14 months if 10/4 use in my office, so I'm replacing it with that exact model. Most bang for the buck. Excellent resale.
Get apple care or use your Amex for an extra year of warantee to guard against possible design flaws that take time to evolve. My model was the 1st with the i5 dual core in 2009, and I suspect a design flaw caused overheating, power supply failure, then logic board failure! This just does not happen. Good lick and enjoy it.

 

[harcosparky]

I'd venture to say that people have done more work with less computer then that, so you should be fine with what you want to do.

System RAM is important as previously stated.

 

[Chupa Chupa]

Any of the new iMacs are more than enough. If you look at the top end card they put in the MBP its the same 6750M in the low end iMac. The only difference is the low end iMac has 1/2 the VRAM.

And that is not to put the MBPs down. The 15"ers will serve you well too. The major factors in my mind are, portability vs. extra speed, and ease of repairs. The iMacs are faster and offer more bang for the buck but if the internal HD dies its a PITA to replace yourself. OTOH the MBPs provide less value but replacing an internal drive is just a screwdriver and torxdriver away.

 

[lohon]

I just purchased the base model 27" last night and had the same query. A friend confirmed that if only using for photo/video editing, 512mb is enough, RAM upgrade is more important which you can do in future.

 

[LVEB]

I just purchased the base model 27" last night and had the same query. A friend confirmed that if only using for photo/video editing, 512mb is enough, RAM upgrade is more important which you can do in future.

So the GPU btw 512mb/1GB doesnt make alot different ?
I think to get MarBookPro add RAM to 8GB (more portable usage for travel)
13-inch: 2.7 GHz or 15-inch: 2.0 GHz ? (main for H.264 & Photo edit) AdobeCS5/FCP/LR/AP3
pls advice.

 

[ststephen]

Being able to place the original and edited 8x10 next to each other on a 27" screen and have enough unused screen to locate your tools whether photoshop, elements, aperture, lightroom will make you quickly loose interest the MBP 17 or 15. Besides, or what advantage is portability in your main photo crunching Mac? Your mac should be color calibrated, and your printer should match the screen output. The ambiant lighting in your studio and your seating position should be a fixed constant, so you will "see" every before & after the same way. This is especially important when editing on i glossy screen, which adds its own "coloration" to the image. A matte screen would transform this into a very serious image workstation. Maybe this option will be added to the list?

 

[ststephen]

PS: check out the mac processor power/ speed/ core #'s, buss speeds, RAM speed and Amt, when cs3,4, AP, & LR were introduced. It will put what you think will work in perspective with what will work just fine. The base 27 will suffice for years into the future. Add a matte screen when you get more serious. When you evolve the point when you are editing batch photos, or doing multiple poster sized layouts, add a few SSD's. When that time comes, their sizes & prices will be more in tune with reality.