[Transport 998]

Buying the 24" and wondering what I should upgrade to make it faster for rendering High Definition Video? I will really only be using the computer for photography and HD video with the obvious surfing mail etc.... When I choose the best of everything it adds big$$$$. Storage isn't really an issue but the rest? Any advise? iBook G4 to waaaaay to slow. Thanks......

[Klipse]

jack up the ram and have some external storage (optional)

[TailsToo]

HD video takes a lot of space and needs a fast Hard Drive.... you might want to consider a MacPro, just because you can use FW800.

[centerchannel68]

24" iMac will run Final Cut HD fine. Just get at least 2 gigs of ram.

[Simon]

Originally Posted by TailsToo 

you might want to consider a MacPro, just because you can use FW800.

The 24" iMac the OP is considering already comes with FW800.

[Transport 998]

So the 2.16 processor and 7300/128 graphics will do so just put as much mem as possible?

And yes hd video takes up space pretty much a gig per min of video rendered!!

[Eug]

Originally Posted by Transport 998 

So the 2.16 processor and 7300/128 graphics will do so just put as much mem as possible?

And yes hd video takes up space pretty much a gig per min of video rendered!!

What photo apps are you going to use? What video apps are you going to use? If you are going to use any apps that leverage the GPU (Aperture, Motion), I'd get the 7600 GT. I the 7300 is much, much slower. Actually, I'd get the 7600 GT anyway, just because it has 256 MB RAM, which can be handy for dual screen goodness.

And yes, RAM is important. I use my machine sometimes for Aperture, and I find 2 GB rather limiting, if I have anything else loaded. I'm going to upgrade mine to 3 GB, which is the limit for current machines. The next machines will likely have a 4 GB RAM limit, and I suspect they will be released in May. They will also likely have a faster bus: 800 MHz instead of the current 667 MHz.

[mdc]

I just wanted to point out that the Macrumors' buyer's guide says that it has been 222 days (average 168) since an iMac update.
I don't know your feelings towards buying something and it getting updated in the next few months. If you think you'll be very upset if, say in June, Apple releases an update and you would have rather waited, then maybe you'd like to look at the buyer's guide.

[Transport 998]

thanks for your help....greatly appreciated

[Transport 998]

what kind of $$$ go with updates? have read up on the mac rumors and seems there is lots in-store for updates etc..is it going to cost more and just how much more performance am i going to see for running aperture/imovie/final cut? i can wait (end of summer) at the most but will it really be worth it? tailstoo posted i should go for the mac pro. will the stock mac pro out perform the possible updates on the imac with just 1gig of mem for my applications or would it have to be bumped up to 2g as well? if so now we're talking another 400 bucks....

[papadopolis]

usally updates wont cost more.... they will just get rid of the old.... the new iMac will Prob just have SR..... if you need it buy it... if not dont..... but I would say get a Mac Pro for what you are doing.

[Transport 998]

if buying the mac pro will i still need to upgrade the ram running those programs?

[bearcatrp]

I have the 24 inch iMac. 2gb ram and the higher graphics card. I use imovie to create home movies and burn to dvd. Works good. A little slow at times but definately doable. Only thing I did not like was only 3gb ram max. Its a beautiful machine and I use it to watch dvd's in bed so kind of dual purpose. Grabbed a refurbed 2ghz macpro last week. I was going between the two before ordering the iMac. Don't regret it at all. Tough decision though. I plan on moving up to FCP later so thats why I grabbed the macpro. Good luck.
Randy

[Transport 998]

so what you're saying is the mac pro is the better option? when using you're imac to render video does it do it in real time or 3/4, 1/2 the speed....? all i want is to plug in my sony hd video cam and have the video render seamlessly. use aperture with no hang-ups and not have to spend more money cause my first choice didn't quite work.

[Eug]

when using you're imac to render video does it do it in real time or 3/4, 1/2 the speed....?

Nobody can really answer this question, since nobody knows exactly what kind of video you will be rendering and with what settings.

It could take an hour to render a video, or it could take 40 hours to render the exact same video with different settings.

If you really want to be using your machine a lot with high quality HD video rendering, you might want to think hard about getting a 2.66 GHz Quad Mac Pro.

[::maroma::]

I would suggest that (if possible) go to an Apple Store and bring your video cam with some video on it and ask if you can test the iMac out, and then the Mac Pro. They are usually pretty good about that sort of stuff. At least then you'll be able to see the difference between the 2 machines.

[bearcatrp]

Its pretty much a speed issue and what applications you will be using. Imovie works good on my iMac. I use streamclip to convert my files from my sony SR100 to DV so I can edit. Have to do this as its a hard disk camcorder and to transfer is only through a usb connection. I use an external hard drive (fw800) to render to. The mac pro will reduce the time doing this compared to the iMac. Alot depends on how much your willing to spend. I am upgrading because I plan on getting FCP in the near future and need the extra horse power. If iMovie is all your going to use, the iMac should surfice. If you got the bucks, get a macpro. I got the 2ghz due to budget constraints but plan on upgrading processor, memory etc., as time and money permits. Thats the nice thing about the mac pro, upgrade ability.
Randy

[greatscot97]

Buy it. 2 gig RAM. I use a macpro dual dual xeon 4 gig RAM at the office and it flies (of course) in FCP. I have the 24" imac at home with 2 gig RAM and it works perfectly well. I grab my firewire (400) hard drive with my project on it, bring it home, work in HDV, DVCPro HD, and SD, all in realtime without any problems at all. Remember, the guts to the imac are about the same as the macbook pro, and that falls into the "pro" category.

Many people outside of the industry (we make docs for BBC, History, Discovery, PBS) have a misconception about drive speeds and data rates. HDV is barely 12mb/s a sec and the files are relatively small. DVCPro HD about 60mb/s, still very capable in firewire 400. I have stack of 8 Maxtor 300gig firewire 400 drives on my desk, use a Sony HDV VTR, as well as a panasonic DVCPro HD deck, all strung together with firewire.

[Voodoogmr]

Originally Posted by ::maroma:: 

I would suggest that (if possible) go to an Apple Store and bring your video cam with some video on it and ask if you can test the iMac out, and then the Mac Pro. They are usually pretty good about that sort of stuff. At least then you'll be able to see the difference between the 2 machines.

This is a very good suggestion. I just did this at my local Apple Store. Make sure you bring a Firewire cable too. They let me capture HDV from my Canon HV20 using both an iMac and Mac Pro.

My current iMac G5 2.1GHz w/ 1GB RAM usually runs about 30-45% behind when capturing HDV. On the 2.16GHz 24" iMac w/ 1GB RAM, it was in real-time about 95% of the time, with occasional brief dips to 1%. I then captured the same footage on a dual 3GHz Mac Pro w/ 4GB RAM. It dropped to 1% twice, but then the rest was in real-time. While editing and apply identical effects in Final Cut Express, I couldn't tell much, if any, difference between the two.

Granted, this was a basic test, but it was enough to convince myself I didn't need to spend the extra money for a Mac Pro. Of course, if money wasn't an issue, I would have easily bought one.

[ESavage]

I will wait till the week of WWDC if nothing comes out before then I am getting the:

iMac 24" - Intel Core 2 Duo 2.33 GHz
3GB RAM
NVIDIA GeForce 7300GT
750GB HARD DRIVE

Thats has to last me 3 to 3-1/2 years and at-least two OS updates (10.5 and the next one after that) then I am in trouble. The reason I say that is, 3 1/2 to 4 Years is my update cycle.

[Dazed]

Im wating for WWDC before I get my imac too

why not pay the extra for the Nvidia 7600 ? Also you could just get 1gb ram and then buy more ram from OWC (for a lot less) and install it yourself.

Good Luck

[ESavage]

Originally Posted by Dazed 

Im wating for WWDC before I get my imac too

why not pay the extra for the Nvidia 7600 ? Also you could just get 1gb ram and then buy more ram from OWC (for a lot less) and install it yourself.

Good Luck

Oh you are right. I was looking at the Macmall website and it had the wrong price. Now that the right price is up $3395, I could get a MacPro and be very happy.

[centerchannel68]

Dude, that's a waste of cash. Get a 24" with 7600GT and 1 gig ram. Install ram yourself, save a ton of money. Buy a firewire hard drive, and save even more. Or, if you like, crack it open and install a new HD.

[Simon]

Get the 7600GT. It's an inexpensive update and since you plan on using this iMac for up to 4 years I would get the best GPU I can. If you get less expensive RAM from a third-party you can have the 7600GT at no extra cost. I'd also take the 500 GB rather than the 750 GB HDD. That upgrade is simply to expensive IMHO.

[APPLEFAN08]

Get alot of ram the more the better!

[ESavage]

Originally Posted by APPLEFAN08 

Get alot of ram the more the better!

True but it can be added after market