What would you recommend...

thetvirus513

thetvirus513

Well-known member
Looking to buy a new computer in the next month. Currently working with my macbook pro and although its convenient, it is just too slow at this point. It's an older model with:

2.4 Ghz dual core intel
3GB ram
256mb nvidia graphics card

Since starting to work more with DSLR's I find it slower and slower and as I am getting more continuous work I now want something else.

As stated before I do mostly weddings and corporate videos shot mainly with a 5d and or t2i. I don't do too much graphic work. What would you recommend for a good setup hopefully under $2k that will be quick and will keep up for a few years

I was thinking about the 27" imac quadcore, but then someone mentioned that you can get a mac pro on ebay now for cheaper. So, I ask you guys, what would I want to have MINIMUM as far as processors, ram, graphics card, etc. If I went the mac pro route I would want to run 2 monitors. Obviously I can buy hard drives and more ram if necessary too.

Thanks!
 
iMacs are a good route nowadays for media oriented work, including HD video editing. To be honest, I think a Mac Pro is overkill unless you're regularly dealing with heavy footage and workflow, say from RED shoots or something. If you purchase an iMac online you can actually do quite a bit of customization. I'd recommend the quad core processor, 1TB HDD, and at least 4GB of RAM. More the better in terms of RAM, but any more than 8gb is overkill (again, unless you're dealing with RED footage).
 
True. But here's the dilemma....for quad core you have to go 27" so you are looking at $2k I believe....would I be better off buying a used Mac pro for cheaper that way I can connect eSATA and more options for upgrading I'n the future? Then I could grab two monitors and come I'n around the same price range. If that is the case then what would I want minimum for the Mac pro. I've seen some
2x 2.26 quad cores go fo relatively cheap with 8th ram and a 512 mb graphics card. Would that've good enough for now and to stay quick for a few years to come or would I need something different? How would something like that compare to what I am currenty editing on (the mpb mentioned above)?
 
About 3 months ago, I upgraded my old powermac G5 to a year old model of Mac Pro and upgraded it myself (video card, 12 GB RAM, 2x24" 1920x1080 Acer P243waid monitors, snow leopard, etc)

The original tower that I bought off eBay was:
8-core, 2.8 GHz, 4 GB RAM, low end video card, 300 GB 10,000 rpm system drive, 1 TB secondary drive
$1840 shipped

Spent about another grand to upgrade it to its current state. If you can do it, I highly recommend it, it's a joy to work on.
 
I'm looking to spend around $1800 now....doesn't mean I can't upgrade later, but it would need to be able to handle dslr footage with ease now, and down the road I could keep adding
 
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