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Digital Video on iMac G5 - Can it cut it??
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Fresh-Faced Recruit
Join Date: Nov 2004
Status:
Offline
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I own a videography company that proudly uses all Macintosh computers. I am currently looking at purchasing a new Mac to replace my PowerMac G4 (I use this Mac as my personal computer as well as to edit full-length projects on it) The plan is to use my current G4 elsewhere and get a nice new G5 for myself. I am interested in the new iMac G5 because of it's beautiful design and space-saving features, as I am shopping for the Mac that will sit on my desk. I want to get an apple display anyway, and I think it would be nice to get it all in one shot and at a better bargain! My concern is, of course, in the performace area - is the iMac G5 capable of performing the tasks I currently use my PowerMac G4 to do? Let me give you a rundown of my current G4:
PowerMac g4 - dual 1.0 Ghz
1GB RAM
When editing with my Mac I use Final Cut Pro HD and I work on projects that are sometimes over 1.5 hours, and my G4 is capable of exporting these projects skip-free through firewire to tape if necessary. I would need this same performance level from the iMac G5.
Anyone who can help me in my search for knowledge, I look forward to hearing from you. If you think it's a bad idea to look at the iMac, let me know!
Anthony
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Forum Regular
Join Date: Feb 2002
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Hard drive performance is the only real bottleneck for your type of work on an iMac G5. I wouldn't trust running a system and editing video off of one internal drive and expect 1.5 non-drop frame playback... but I could be wrong. You never know, the new bigger data paths and power of the G5 and speed of memory in the new iMac might "get r done" just fine. Too bad the iMac doesn't have FireWire800 then you have a robust external storage path... but I think editing video projects that size over FireWire 400 might be fine...
Hard to say without doing experimenting but that'd be my concern.
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Dedicated MacNNer
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: Los Angeles, CA
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My experience has been that DV25 is a very light load for the newest Macs.
I'd be more concerned about screen real estate and rendering speed...but rendering speed would be better on the G5 and the screen would be better too if you got the 20"
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Fresh-Faced Recruit
Join Date: Nov 2004
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I was planning on getting the 20" model if I go this route because screen real estate is key as well.
Do you think the power of the iMac G5 could/does match that of my current Mirror Drive Door Power Mac G4 w/ dual 1.0 ghz and 1GB of RAM?
If my projects get to be an hour - 1.5 hours as they sometimes can, do you think the iMac G5 will start choking on it and dropping frames?
Anthony
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Mac Elite
Join Date: May 2000
Location: Where my body is
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I do a lot of complex multi-layers 15 to 25 minutes FCP DV projects on my 1.5Ghz Powerbook. It works just fine, but to get better results, I use an external Firewire drive. The drive is faster than the powerbook's internal drive. Since the iMac G5 use a SATA drive it should be no problems, but an external drive is a great idea for video editing. I can start a project on the road on my Powerbook and I finish it on my G4 tower without copying or transfering a single file.
If you do research on benchmark tests, you will see th iMac G5 is probably faster than your G4. The only problem I find with the iMac G5 is the poor graphic card.
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