NASDAQSUPERSTAR
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Does the processor speed of a IMAC make a difference when it comes to editing on Final Cut Pro?
24-inch : 2.66GHz vs 24-inch : 3.06GHz
24-inch : 2.66GHz vs 24-inch : 3.06GHz
imac processing speed for FCP newbie question.
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Jim Carswell
Well-known member
How much ram plays a part as well.
Jim
Jim
CPU speed and GPU specs are the two critical factors.
NASDAQSUPERSTAR
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4 gb
in FCP its mostly about CPU and GPU. i dont see an over abundance of ram doing any extra benefit in this program. must have the minimum ram required for FCP though. in Motion though...ram becomes very important, right up there with CPU & GPU...especially if you like to do ram rendering. watch it go bye bye.
the biggest problem i see with the iMac (for it to be workable for many years to come) is the graphics cards. although "now" they would work but i would expect the 256mb one would be prone to leave you on the outside looking in for future Final Cut Studio updates. if you got the iMac with the 512mb graphics card then i would guess that you would buy yourself at least another big upgrade of FCS. lack of upgrading on graphics cards on an iMac is playing a very dangerous game IMO...especially if you expect to be using this computer for 2-3 or heaven for bid... 4 years.
i can see where the iMac is tempting with a great display and a decent computer as far as power goes but if i were you i would look at the cheapest One 2.66GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon. it can be had for $2,298.99 @ clubmac.com with no tax and shipping is around $32. here you get 512 graphics but you could always upgrade aftermarket to the 4870 (less than $200) for cheaper than apple will sell it to you for. if money is tight i would just go with the 3 gigs of ram (included) and then if you see (via your Activity Monitor) that your depleting all available ram...then upgrade. its not overly expensive to do it and cheaper to do it with 3rd party instead of apple.
if apple ever decides to engage the mutlicore processing then the quad would quickly outperform the iMac. there are already areas where 4 cores will easily win over 2 cores but not as much as it should be. there are fewer times that the 8 core will beat out a 4 core though (so far). dont believe all of **apple's** hype either. most of the time these multicore systems are no where near being utilized...yet. SL showed virutally no improvement and the new FCS3 doesnt give much of a boost either at least working in the "timeline" of FCP...where i have seen...*none*. an iMac right now would probably appear to be decent for general FCP work but if the multi processing ever really starts to work then they will be left in the dust.
spend the few extra bucks and get at least the Quad. you'll buy yourself an additional year or two of computer life while editing FCP and associated apps over what the iMac would give you.
good luck
david
www.davidprobst.com
the biggest problem i see with the iMac (for it to be workable for many years to come) is the graphics cards. although "now" they would work but i would expect the 256mb one would be prone to leave you on the outside looking in for future Final Cut Studio updates. if you got the iMac with the 512mb graphics card then i would guess that you would buy yourself at least another big upgrade of FCS. lack of upgrading on graphics cards on an iMac is playing a very dangerous game IMO...especially if you expect to be using this computer for 2-3 or heaven for bid... 4 years.
i can see where the iMac is tempting with a great display and a decent computer as far as power goes but if i were you i would look at the cheapest One 2.66GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon. it can be had for $2,298.99 @ clubmac.com with no tax and shipping is around $32. here you get 512 graphics but you could always upgrade aftermarket to the 4870 (less than $200) for cheaper than apple will sell it to you for. if money is tight i would just go with the 3 gigs of ram (included) and then if you see (via your Activity Monitor) that your depleting all available ram...then upgrade. its not overly expensive to do it and cheaper to do it with 3rd party instead of apple.
if apple ever decides to engage the mutlicore processing then the quad would quickly outperform the iMac. there are already areas where 4 cores will easily win over 2 cores but not as much as it should be. there are fewer times that the 8 core will beat out a 4 core though (so far). dont believe all of **apple's** hype either. most of the time these multicore systems are no where near being utilized...yet. SL showed virutally no improvement and the new FCS3 doesnt give much of a boost either at least working in the "timeline" of FCP...where i have seen...*none*. an iMac right now would probably appear to be decent for general FCP work but if the multi processing ever really starts to work then they will be left in the dust.
spend the few extra bucks and get at least the Quad. you'll buy yourself an additional year or two of computer life while editing FCP and associated apps over what the iMac would give you.
good luck
david
www.davidprobst.com
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