[nataleeeee]

hi all, i'm new.

i am thinking of buying a new imacG5 2.1ghz for editing only. I have a pbook 15" G4 but i can't seem to run my FCP 4.5 off of it, even with my lacie 250gig external drive. I keep hearing that older versions of FCP wont work on the new imac... is this true. am i making the right decision in purchasing the imac for over 1,000 less than PwrMac? will i be able to edit on the imac? should i get the fce preinstalled or should i try to run fcp 4.5?

thanks!

[ism]

I've replied to your other post about getting older versions of FCP running on newer macs. It is possible.

I'd stick with FCP 4.5 rather than going for FCE. Unless the new version of FCE (should come out in Jan) supports features you need and you don't need the full feature set of FCP.

As to whether the iMac is adequate, it depends what you are doing. You can only have one firewire bus, which is probably ok if you aren't working with firewire basic cameras (Canons). You can't add any capture cards etc so as long as you are working with DV you are ok.

[nataleeeee]

thanks for responding, ism

i'd rather use fcp 4.5 as all of my work has already been done on it. i like to use an external drive (firewire) and firewire/dv cable (from canon camcorders) at the same time...

i just want to make sure there are poeple that have confidence in the new G5 for editing. the pwr mac's are just so much more expensive and i don't think that expanding is too much of a priority for me. so i think i should be good. if you have anymore advice i'd appreciate it.

thanks

[ism]

nataleeeee,

You are likely to have problems trying to capture to an external firewire drive using the iMacG5 and a Canon camera. Canon's tend to use a slower firewire protocol (FW100 or 200) which drags down the speed of the whole Firewire bus on the iMac.

Normally with a tower you'd add another firewire bus via the PCI slots so the camera is on a separate bus.

You could capture to the iMacs internal drive and transfer the media to the external after capture.

Just something to be aware of.

What exact problems are you having with your powerbook? You could add another firewire bus to that via the PC Card slot. Perhaps use the Powerbook to capture, the iMac for editing.