Hi Everyone,
I want to buy a Refurbished Mac Pro Quad 2.66GHz Intel Xeon from:
It comes bundled with iMovie via iLife '06, which I hope will be sufficient to edit my rough-and-ready documentary I shot on a 3CCD camcorder. My intention is to distribute my film on DVDs. Not broadcast standard or anything.
Final Cut Pro seems totally out of my reach financially, so I'm hoping that iLife '06 will be able to fulfil my needs.
So far I'm thinking the RAM will need upgraded to 2GB. Is this essential for editing on this computer, because it seems really fast as it is with all its talk of blistering processor speeds etc.
Also, I will need a screen/monitor. I am willing to tolerate the cheapest possible monitor. However, would two monitors be required for editing? Would I need a 'widescreen' monitor instead?
Lastly, what size and type of external hard drive would be recommended? I have approximately 8 hours of footage that I want to edit down to 1 hour. Once I log my footage I'll probably import 4 hours-worth of footage into iLife '06.
Here are the specs of the (above-linked-to) computer I'm giving serious thought to getting, despite the debt and danger it will inevitably get me into! ?:)?
Refurbished Mac Pro Quad 2.66GHz Intel Xeon
"Two 2.66GHz Dual-Core Intel Xeon processors
Memory 1GB (2 x 512MB) of 667MHz DDR2 Fully-buffered DIMM ECC
PCI Express Graphics Nvidia GeForce 7300GT 256MB single-link DVI/Dual-link DVI
Hard disk drive 250GB Serial ATA (3Gb/s); 7200 rpm; 8Mb cache
Optical Drive 16x SuperDrive with double-layer support (DVD+R DL/DVD?RW/CD-RW)"
Any suggestions would be really appreciated as I'm a little confused but determined to buy my first Mac and edit my film. ?:)?
Look into Final Cut Express. It's very, very similar to Final Cut Pro at a much nicer price-point.
RJSchwarz
San Diego, CA
RJSchwarz
Final Cut Express ?122.99 on Amazon.co.uk
Not bad at all!
Thanks for the tip ?:)?
I think Final Cut Express is like a drug pusher giving out cheap samples to get people hooked. They want you hooked so when you have money you'll buy the expensive Pro version. Problem is Express is so good some people don't upgrade.
It's not as easy to learn, however, as iMovie but I don't think very many decent video editing programs are.
Any intel Mac will be more than sufficient for editing. Two things to remember. External Harddrive, and Ram.
RJSchwarz
San Diego, CA
RJSchwarz
quote:
Originally posted by rjschwarz
Any intel Mac will be more than sufficient for editing. Two things to remember. External Harddrive, and Ram.RJSchwarz
San Diego, CA
Thanks ?:)? How much RAM though would you suggest for me (minimum possible so as to keep expense down), and how big an external hard drive (again, minimum possible so as to keep expense down)?
Also, is a widescreen monitor a must or would it be possible to plug in two separate (presumably much less expensive) monitors?
Any further suggestions really appreciated ?:)?
I would guess that the minimum RAM that ships with the system is greater than or equal to what I have in my 2005 system and I've had no problems. So you could just go what ships if you really can't afford more.
The monitor, well I've heard of people editing on laptops. You adapt and then double-check your output on a tv when the time comes.
Harddrive. Depends upon the size of your movie. Someone on this board once posted roughly harddrive size per minute. Hopefully they'll chime in or someone will link to that because I don't know.
RJSchwarz
San Diego, CA
RJSchwarz
I cut several feature length movies using an iMac with 256MB RAM
and an 800MHz G4 processor. I'm currently using a 1.8GHz G5
processor iMac with 2GB RAM. There is a difference, but the
bottom line is I did just fine with the less powerful machine.
I buy Neptune drives and have never had a problem with them. One
250GB drive is plenty for a typical feature length movie.
A widescreen monitor is fine and yes, you can use two or three if
that's your preference. But my 12 inch iMac got the job done -
for me anyway. It's really up to you and how much you can spend.
In my experience you can do just fine without top of the line
machines, but top of the line makes things more convenient.
=============================================
The aim of an argument or discussion should not be victory, but progress.
Joseph Joubert, essayist (1754-1824)
=============================================
The aim of an argument or discussion should not be victory, but progress.
Joseph Joubert, essayist (1754-1824)
Terrific advice guys thanks ?:)?
There's a Mac Expo from Jan 15th - 18th. I'm thinking that the currently available stock will be out of date once the new enhanced stuff is revealed. I'm kinda hoping that some of the official Apple store refurbished stock will go down in price.
Or is that wishful thinking?
A new Mac Tower is being announced (or so I read) so it'll probably be a good time to get last years model after that is announced.
RJSchwarz
San Diego, CA
RJSchwarz
Each year the models drop a little in price, but not by much. I
have purchased refurbished from PowerMax several times. I highly
recommend them.
=============================================
The aim of an argument or discussion should not be victory, but progress.
Joseph Joubert, essayist (1754-1824)
Excellent thanks rjschwarz and certified instigator ?:D?
quote:
Originally posted by certified instigator
I'm currently using a 1.8GHz G5
processor iMac with 2GB RAM.
Do you think you could provide a link to the iMac you use so I can see the complete specs for it? If you can't find the exact-same iMac could you provide a link to a similar one please?
I'm now thinking an iMac would be much more affordable than a PowerMac! ?:)?
Mine is an older model - before the Intel chip - so Apple doesn't list
them. Check the "Pre-owned" section over on Powermax.com for
iMac G5 20 inch. If they have any used the specs will be listed.
=============================================
The aim of an argument or discussion should not be victory, but progress.
Joseph Joubert, essayist (1754-1824)
My tower is also before the intel chip. Any system shipping with an intel chip should be fast enough with a bit to spare. The monitor size/harddrive size and ram allotment have all increased. A basemodel probably comes pretty close to being better than the one I bought top of the line a few years ago.
You shouldn't worry about buying the wrong computer. There is no wrong. Not really. There is only adapting your needs vs your price.
RJSchwarz
San Diego, CA
RJSchwarz
i like apple whooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Rob - UK
