PC user buying a Mac for first time and I need advice!

[barrett311]

So I've only used PC's my entire life and my girlfriend wants to buy a Mac so she can use Final Cut Pro 7 (we're going to get Final Cut Studio 3). From what I understand there are 4 different iMacs (the Mac Pros are out of our price range). There are two 21.5 inch models and two 27 inch. We'd like to get the cheapest one, but I was wondering about the graphics card. Would the cheap one (with the NVIDIA GeForce 9400M) be able to run Final Cut Pro 7 with out a problem? Or would spending the extra $350 for the ATI Radeon HD 4670 be worth it? And if that is the case, we might as well spend another $200 and get the cheaper 27inch, which has the same card. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Everyone has been telling me to switch to Apple, and now that I finally am, I hope I'm not disappointed! Thanks in advance for the help!

Also, she plans on making short films with her Canon VIXIA HF20 High Def Video camera:

http://www.amazon.com/Canon-VIXIA-Memory-Internal-Optical/dp/B001OI2YTC

 

[juanster]

yes it will be fine

Also, she plans on making short films with her Canon VIXIA HF20 High Def Video camera:

hey I 've worked with the hf200 i don't think it will be that different. Short answer. YES it will be able to run it.


Doing video editing and compositing in a laptop, even the on top end MBP is IMO a pain. This laptops are not really that powerful for this kind of work even though they are "pros". They can do it you ll just have to wait some extra time for rendering and such. Which to me is not a big deal. But for all my heavy processing or gpu heavy rendering, 3D modeling, After Effects compositing and such I built a PC desktop for a 1000 bucks with waaaaaay more processing and gpu power than any under 2000 Mac.

 

[barrett311]

Thanks for the reply. By Mac Pro I meant the Towers. We are steering clear of lap tops altogether.

So would there be any noticeable difference between the NVIDIA GeForce 9400M and the ATI Radeon HD 4670? Or is that mostly a gaming thing?

Yeah I agree with you about building a much more powerful PC for much cheaper than a lesser quality Mac, but unfortunately my girlfriend has pretty much mastered Final Cut Pro and when she tried Avid she had no idea what was going on. So we're getting a Mac. (and it will be nice to have one of each!)

 

[MisterMe]

Thanks for the reply. By Mac Pro I meant the Towers. We are steering clear of lap tops altogether.

So would there be any noticeable difference between the NVIDIA GeForce 9400M and the ATI Radeon HD 4670? Or is that mostly a gaming thing?

...

The Mac Pro is much more than a box that a graphics card snaps into. These are awesome towers. Go to the Apple Store and spec-out the machine that your girlfriend wants. She will do fine. You will have peace in the family.

 

[matteusclement]

your GPU only comes into serious problems in COLOR and MOTION.

if you are doing color correction and "effects" the GPU is maxed.

If you are making short films, then COLOR is a must and when i did it on my old 21" imac, I had to leave it overnight.

The mac pro is nice because you can get a 4870 or something that will be really beefy.

 

[xStep]

Color and Motion are more demanding of all the apps in the FCS package. Check the specs, but I'm sure others will pipe up and say you'll need a discrete GPU that comes in the more expensive box.

 

[danimal99]

I've run Studio 3 for my Advanced TV Production class all semester on my 13" MacBook Pro, which has the 9400M in it. You'll be fine if you go that route. I have not used Color at all.