Computer for editing HD

[BrettR.]

Not sure if this is the right sub-forum but A computer is hardware so...

Ok, I don't know the most about computers. My current compter is a powerpc based mac so i cant get the new FCS upgrades and my computer would need some serious help handling HD footage (which ill be able to shoot starting monday) so I'm looking into a replacement.

First choice was: 24inch Imac $1,799
2.93GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
4GB 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 2x2GB
640GB Serial ATA Drive
NVIDIA GeForce GT 120 256MB

The people at the mac store said it's not worth the $400 to go up to the
3.06GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
4GB 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 2x2GB
1.0TB Serial ATA Drive
NVIDIA GeForce GT 130 512MB

Agreed? Also said upgrading from 4 to 8g ram would help the most... but that's $1000. Would it really make that big of a difference?


Well today I stumbled upon the refurbished section and that has complicated things a bit more. Is it safe to trust a refurbished apple?
If so...
For $1,849.00 I could get...
3.06GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
24-inch glossy widescreen display
4GB memory
1TB hard drive
NVIDIA GeForce GT 130 with 512MB memory


Seems like a better choice....


And yeah, probably shouldnt drop this much but it seems like a deal, besides the weak ram:
$3,299.00 G5
Two 3.2GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon processors
2GB (two 1GB) of 800MHz DDR2 ECC fully buffered DIMM
NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT 512MB
500GB Serial ATA 3Gb/s; 7200 rpm; 16MB cache




How do those graphics cards compare? is it a big enough jump overall (processors, card, memory) to be worth it?


Please give me your 2 cents.

 

[Cassius]

Holy crap, Apples are expensive. I built a PC similar to the first one you listed for $300. A year ago.

For the last one, processing power is what makes it expensive. Graphics cards are the least of it. Quad core would really improve your experience, but there's no way I'd spend that much on the system. It's up to you, and how much you think you need it. The $400 jump would not be worth it for a very slight clock adjustment in your second option. You can sometimes trust refurbished, but it depends exactly on what that means. Most likely it's fine. If so, that one is the best value.

What kind of HD will you be shooting?

 

[BrettR.]

Holy crap, Apples are expensive. I built a PC similar to the first one you listed for $300. A year ago.

For the last one, processing power is what makes it expensive. Graphics cards are the least of it. Quad core would really improve your experience, but there's no way I'd spend that much on the system. It's up to you, and how much you think you need it. The $400 jump would not be worth it for a very slight clock adjustment in your second option. You can sometimes trust refurbished, but it depends exactly on what that means. Most likely it's fine. If so, that one is the best value.

What kind of HD will you be shooting?

Word. Right now money is a bit tight but I figured if it was a good score i could swing it.

Someone says the imac's might be getting a facelift around Christmas, anyone else heard this?

And I'll be shooting mostly 30p 720 and some 60p 720 at this time but I can shoot 1080p and chances are some people will request it so some 1080 as well. No Red or anything over the top though.

 

[Nick Walters]

What camera will you be filming with, and will you be doing editing for anyone else? If so what cameras do you expect top edit footage from?

 

[BrettR.]

What camera will you be filming with, and will you be doing editing for anyone else? If so what cameras do you expect top edit footage from?

I will be using a hpx170 and I have had to edit for others before, things have been slow lately but hopefully it goes back to how it was a year or so back for me in the not too distant future. Anything I'd be editing wouldn't be higher quality than the hpx though, at least base don my past work, but you never know what the future may bring...