Mac Mini for Final Cut 7?

W

wluprocks

Member
Hi,
I am going to buy a new Mac and I was looking at both the iMac and the Mac Mini. These two are the ones I can realistically afford. The Mac Mini is $600 cheaper and I already have monitors, keyboard, mouse, so that is not an issue. I will mostly be running the Final Cut Studio on whichever computer I get and also a bit of Premiere/After Effects. Will the Mac Mini be able to handle editing HD or should I go with the iMac? Are the differences worth the price? Or even better does anyone have experience using a Mini for editing? Here are the basic specs:

Mac Mini
2.7GHz Dual-Core Intel Core i7
8GB Ram
7200 rpm Hard disk
AMD Radeon HD 6630M


iMac
2.8GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i7
8GB Ram (with ability to upgrade without costing arm and leg)
7200 RPM Hard Disk
AMD Radeon HD 6770M with 512MB

Thanks
 
Although, I have a Mac Mini Server (4,1 Intel Core 2 Duo 2.66 GHz with 4GB and two 500GB drives) I have not load FCP (Studio or X) on it yet.

However, at work I have a 5-year-old iMac (Intel Core 2 Duo 2.8 GHz with 4GB and a 750GB drive). I run (separately) both FCS and FCP X on it with no problems. Occasionally, I'll see some minor slow-downs, especially when I'm concurrently running Word, Excel, PowerPoint, email, and some browser windows. But, when I run the editors by themselves, they run fine.

Given how much more horsepower the machines you list offer (twice the RAM, more sophisticated CPU, etc.) if you need it now, I'd save the money and spend the money on Thunderbolt and/or network devices so you have backup capabilities. Editing HD requires a GREAT DEAL of hard drive space.

Good luck.
 
The Mini is fine for most basic editing and Motion Graphics. I use a 2 year old iMac 3.06 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo (4 Gigs RAM) at work and it runs everything fine. I'll be it a tad slow on the renders, but heck...its work, i shouldn't be in overdrive :P
At home I have an i5 iMac, 12Gigs of RAM, and its a beast... but frankly, I could get by with the duo for a few more years.
Basically, what Im saying, is the Mac Mini i7 should be perfectly fine for most ANYONE's needs.
With that said, here are some numbers: http://www.barefeats.com/mini11_04.html
 
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