Video editing (Mac) rig

[Daniel from Montréal]

Ok, I'm thinking about getting a Mac this summer and need it to do some quasi-serious video editing.

Forgetting the software for a sec, what specs should I get. Right now I was looking at beefing up an iMac G5 with some RAM and extra HD space.

My budget is around 2,000$US.

What do you guys suggest?

[kerpow]

Just buy as much memory as you can possible afford - I would recommend around 1.5gb. Do not buy it directly from Apple as it is outrageously expensive. http://www.crucial.com is quite reliable.

So, an 1.8ghz, 17" iMac is $1500, add $200 for a 250gb disk, have the 512mb option for $75 and then buy a further 1gb from crucial for a further $200.

[skipshady]

You can also compare prices at www.dealram.com. My advice with RAM is, save money by going 3rd party but don't get too cheap - get those that are tested for use on OS X and have lifetime warranty. Nothing like bad memory to ruin your day.

Daniel, do you already have display, keyboard etc, or are you including peripherals in your $2,000 budget?

[Achtung]

Daniel, do you already have display, keyboard etc, or are you including peripherals in your $2,000 budget?

If he's looking at an iMac, I'll assume he doesn't have a monitor, though I could be wrong.

Here's how I'd spec it out:
iMac 17-inch 1.8 GHz
256MB RAM
160GB HD
Final Cut Express HD preinstalled - generally considered a much better alternative to iMovie
SuperDrive (DVD-R/CD-RW)
NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200 Ultra w/64MB
Cost: $1,898.00

Then make the RAM upgrade:
1GB DDR PC3200 RAM from Crucial
Cost: $184.29

Total cost: $2082.29

[skipshady]

If he's looking at an iMac, I'll assume he doesn't have a monitor, though I could be wrong.Oh, I'm stupid. I thought he was looking at PowerMac G5 for some reason.

[kerpow]

It might be worth mentioning that there may be updates to the iMac range quite soon. You would also probably want the new OS - Tiger, preinstalled rather than paying for it later.

Its all rumors but they're usually quite accurate:

http://www.thinksecret.com/news/0503imacemac.html

[skipshady]

It might be worth mentioning that there may be updates to the iMac range quite soon. You would also probably want the new OS - Tiger, preinstalled rather than paying for it later.

Its all rumors but they're usually quite accurate:

http://www.thinksecret.com/news/0503imacemac.html
Yeah, MacRumors is listing iMac as "Buy only if you need it": http://buyersguide.macrumors.com/

Since we're talking about video editing, do you know if anything will happen with Apple backing Bluray technology for DVDs, i.e. Bluray burners on Macs?

[kerpow]

Yeah, MacRumors is listing iMac as "Buy only if you need it": http://buyersguide.macrumors.com/

Since we're talking about video editing, do you know if anything will happen with Apple backing Bluray technology for DVDs, i.e. Bluray burners on Macs?

I expect they'll introduce them into the PowerMac range first then let them trickle down. From what little I know about this technology, size is an issue so don't expect them in laptops anytime soon.

[Achtung]

Since we're talking about video editing, do you know if anything will happen with Apple backing Bluray technology for DVDs, i.e. Bluray burners on Macs?

Sonic just announced what I believe is the first Blu-Ray recorder, which should be out late this year. IIRC, with DVD it took a few months after players went on sale in the US (early 1997) before they appeared as DVD-ROM drives for PCs, and even then they were only upgrade kits. I think that if we're lucky, we'll see Blu-Ray drives on Macs (as well as many PC manufacturers who support the standard) by late 2006.

[Daniel from Montréal]

Yeah, I'm starting from scratch, but I've got access to FCP and some other software, so that's not included.

[skipshady]

If you're serious about video editing, I would get the 20" iMac instead of the 17". The extra real estate on the display helps, especially with video or image editing where panels end up taking space.

For $1,899.00 (US), you get:
20-inch widescreen LCD
1.8GHz PowerPC G5
600MHz frontside bus
256MB DDR400 SDRAM
NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200 Ultra/64MB DDR video memory
160GB Serial ATA hard drive

Then you can add as much RAM as you can afford. I would also strongly suggest getting the Apple Care warranty. Makes your life a lot easier.

[Daniel from Montréal]

Yeah, but the difference is like 800$ and puts me way over budget.

Also, with video editing, I can always hook up a TV when wanting to see full-screen sequences.

[phats_away]

if you're going from one comp to another, get a removable hard drive. files get big in a hurry

[Daniel from Montréal]

With the newest update, I'm thinking I'll just buy as-is with an option to buy a 1GB RAM stick if need be. I'll be using it at first mainly as a personal comp, though.

I've been reading up (because I might do a semester abroad in the fall) about adapting the power source and came across this: http://forums.macrumors.com/showpost.php?p=1430796&postcount=243
Anyone care to explain?

Also, how important is Applecare?

iMac G5
http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore.woa/70108/wo/vk3yTrf91bdx2O431SF28vc4oWK/0.0.11.1.0.6.23.1.3.1.2.0.0.1.0
$1,799.00 USD
20-inch widescreen LCD
2GHz PowerPC G5
667MHz frontside bus
512K L2 cache
512MB DDR400 SDRAM
250GB Serial ATA hard drive
Slot-load 8x SuperDrive (double-layer)
ATI Radeon 9600
128MB DDR video memory
56k internal modem

[mateo319]

With the newest update, I'm thinking I'll just buy as-is with an option to buy a 1GB RAM stick if need be. I'll be using it at first mainly as a personal comp, though.

I've been reading up (because I might do a semester abroad in the fall) about adapting the power source and came across this: http://forums.macrumors.com/showpost.php?p=1430796&postcount=243
Anyone care to explain?

Also, how important is Applecare?


Some people swear by Applecare. I have never purchased it and have never had a problem. Personal preferenance, I think. If it was a Rev. A product, then I would think harder about getting it, but given that the imacs have just been refreshed, it will probably not be as much of an issue.

Also, if you're a student, then by all means buy from the Apple Education store. It will knock $100 off the spec you just quoted.

I'm not sure about the power supply.