I really need help with this decision...

P

Palace Films

Active member
I'm about to place an order for a Mac G5 Dual 2GHz, but am struggling with what version of Final Cut I should get. I'm leaning toward Final Cut Express HD because of the price. With the extra cash I will buy 4 GB of RAM instead of 2.

BUT Final Cut Studio has more features and a ton of stuff that I want. If I purchase this I will end up with 2 GB of RAM.

So what I'm saying is that money is a factor and I really want to get the most out of my money. (About $4000.00)

Should I bite the bullet and go with Express? or should I go full force and get Final Cut Studio???

I will be using this to edit for a local TV production company and to edit independent features.

What to do!!! HELP!
 
Go with Final Cut Studio, it has a lot more features that you may use down the line. Final Cut Pro only uses a max of 2.4GB of RAM anyway - plus if you are buying RAM off of Apple, who traditionally overcharges, you could save a lot by going to a 3rd party like crucial.com and buying from them instead.

Garrett
 
I agree - go with Studio. For the long haul, you're going to want Soundtrack and Motion and DVD Studio. It's a pretty powerful package of software.
 
OK I think I will be going with Final Cut Studio. But in order to compensate my budget I'd have go with a 250GB Hard drive instead of 500GB. I will be purchasing an external drive sometime in the very near future.

Will 250 GB be a problem for me right off the bat???
 
Thanks for the advice! It's really helping me out.

I was actually going to go with an external LaCie but I definately like Granite.

I'll let you guys know what my final decision is as soon as I place the order.

Thanks again.
 
The Intel Macs out now are low end Macs. Either go with the G5 tower (better graphics cards, etc), or wait until the high end Intel Macs come out. Personal choice. I opted for the Quad Core G5 rather than wait. But then, I pay my house note with this computer.
 
Intel macs are new/bleeding edge, but are the future. G5s are established, solid, but are at the end of their life cycle. If you want to be future/forward compatible, and don't mind living on the leading/bleeding edge, go for the Intel.

If, as BenB says, you need it to pay the bills and you need absolute reliability and stability right now, the G5 makes a lot of sense. Macs have long lifespans, so as long as it does what you need right now, and does it better than you need it done (so you have room to grow), the G5 Quad would make a lot of sense.
 
I will be doing most of my work on this so I definately need this to pay my bills.

I'm trying to fit the G5 Quad Core in my budget but don't think I can. I'm leaning toward the G5 Dual 2.0 Ghz.

Do you think this will still be as reliable as the Quad??
 
17" MacBook Pro, with a larger external monitor, external 500GB hard drive, very sweet set up! But then, the new Intel towers are going to blow people away. Hard decision to make. And it's YOUR desicion, so, think about it.

Either way is a good path, just what fits your situation. It is a new eara in the desktop computer field. As one very prominant IT writter recently published, "we could possably see a drastic change in the IT market over the next 18 months", in reference to new Intel Macs and the long overdue Windows Vista.

It's just a werid time in the IT world right now. Technology is making some big changes. And we, the end users, have some tough choices to make.

Funny how Bill Gates is stepping back at the same time Intel Macs and BootCamp (the software, not the event) are moving like hot cakes...

Sorry, couldn't resist the comment...
 
if i could afford to wait for the new towers i would.. that said, i never by the first wave of product out from mac. i have allways found that the second wave is much stronger.
 
Agreed, I would wait for the new towers if I were you- they will certainly be announced in July.

I suggested the Intel iMac because I bought one for the office. It is running FCP just as fast as my Dual 2.5 GHz G5 at home, and it's 100 times as quiet, not to mention, much less expensive. Now admittedly, the quad G5's may be faster when rendering. However, the Intel iMac is no slouch in this category and renders about as quickly as my G5 Dual 2.5.

A lot of people will give you advice on hearsay- but I have been making suggestions through real world experience. Trust me, you will be a lot happier with the Intel iMac 20".

Ted
 
No one knows when Apple will announce the Intel towers. Apple, to date, says not until early 2007. I doubt you'll hear or see anything before Aug or Sept, just based on my dealings with Apple.
 
G5 over IMac

G5 over IMac

I would go with a G5. An Intel IMac is a great machine, but if you are going to be editing features, you'll want the ability to use either dual monitors or one huge monitor. Plus both dual and quad G5's are pretty fast at rendering. You could go with an Intel IMac, it just depends on how much work you will be doing. I use FCP, Soundtrack, Livetype, and DVD Studio Pro on a 1.25 G4 Mac Mini. yes, it's not ideal, but i'm a cheapskate and i'll put price over speed any day. If I had the money to spend though, I would go with a G5. You can also wait until the G5 is turned into an Intel.
 
If you need it, you need it. There's a lot of speculation of when Apple will come out with their Intel towers, but only Apple knows for sure. Even when they come out, it may be months before many are available to buy. Besides, they will be Rev.1 and sometimes there are problems.

As for the Intel iMac vs the G5s, go with the G5 as it expandibility options will be beneficial in the long run. The Intel iMacs have no FW800 ports nor do they have PCIe slots for say, capture cards, SATA/eSATA cards, additional FW ports, etc. Personally, the lack of FW800 for fast external hard-drives would be a deal-breaker for me, plus I like using the monitors/LCDs that I want.

If you go with the G5, upgrade the graphics card if you can swing it, but don't upgrade the hard-drive space. Just buy a 2nd internal drive from somewhere else, it's pretty easy to install them in the 2nd bay in the G5. (750GB SATA drives are currently around $410)

Good luck with your new system.
Garrett
 
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