Forums | MacLife

jmc_sa · 2005-01-21 12:36 pm

Alright ladies and gentlemen, I got a situation for you:

I'm looking to buy (another) new Mac to use for DV work with FCP HD, Motion, and DVD Studio. I looked at the 17" PowerBook 1.5GHz G4 and the dual processor PowerMacs. I need it for both school work and semi-professional editing and graphics. I really don't want to spend too much money, $4,000 max (to include the monitor). I'd like to go mobile with the powerbook, but is it worth it for the kind of video work I need to do?

Which one should I choose??? Also should I get the 20" or the 23" HD?

Thanx.

stoned · 2005-01-21 12:46 pm

heavy video work = dual processor power mac

MrEddy · 2005-01-21 12:54 pm

Yea there is really no question hear.. If you plan on editing video.. ocationally.. Like family stuff or the ocational personnal project.. Then the powerbook is great for that. Or if you just gone all the time and MUST have portability then the powerbook is also great.
If you need something for school but dont need the school one to do video then I would recommend getting an older powerbook or Ibook strictly for use at school and use the powermac for your video.;

And I dont know what planet your on where spending 4000 isn't spending too much money.. 4 grand will get you one hell of a computer. I'd say you can get yoruself a dual 1.8 tower. 20" display and a used labtop for 4 grand. Especially since your a student.

Although if you plan on editing HD then you might wanna consider spending a little more ont eh display and going for the 23" HD cinema display.

jaxbrokenheart · 2005-01-21 4:23 pm

For $4k, you could get a DP1.8GHz G5, 1GB RAM (2 512MB sticks from Crucial), a 23" Apple display, and the Production Suite (all at educational prices). I'd go with that unless you must have something portable.

brchan · 2005-01-21 6:06 pm

For what it's worth, my wife and I run a wedding videography business and we both edit at the same time so we need to use two computers. I use an older dual 1 GHz MDD G4 and she uses the latest 17" PowerBook with a portable external HD. Both of us do the same work using FCP, DVD studio pro, etc. with no problems, so I think you'll be fine either way.

Brchan

Digital Droo · 2005-01-21 6:17 pm

Make sure you save a couple hundred on an external FireWire drive, or second internal hard drive.

-droo

jmc_sa · 2005-01-22 9:43 am

Thanx for the replies guys I really enjoyed the real world opinions on what I should get. I still get to debate the whole issue for another 2 weeks till I make my descision.

daviddennis · 2005-01-22 5:35 pm

If you're using Motion, you definitely need the PowerMac G5 and probably want to get the Nvidia 6800 Ultra DDL video card or similar. The video card allows you to run Motion faster, because it offloads a lot of its work to the card. The video card is about $400 extra on the top of the G5 price. Get that + the 23" Cinema Display and you're in great shape and have spent around $4k.

A PowerBook just won't have the graphics oomph needed to do the job. It will work fine for video editing, but not Motion.

I'd start with the PowerMac and buy a PowerBook later when the money starts coming in. It's definitely useful to have both.

D

destalk · 2005-01-27 5:46 am

Powerbook = portability

PowerMac G5 = More grunt and expandability for your money.

As for monitors, just a suggestion, but you may want to think about two 17" monitors over one 21" monitor. I put pallets and working elements on one screen (which can be a cheapo option) and the 'action' goes full-screen on the other. Works for me.

Pariah · 2005-01-27 7:11 am

If money is an issue you really owe it to yourself to not feel locked into going with an LCD.
I have been doing some research towards my next system and the prices on excellent CRTs have gone down incredibly.
I have been seeing some excellent, high quality 21inch CRTs going for under $200 lately and personally I would rather have the versitility that CRTs offer. Given a choice between a 23 inch Apple screen for $1,800 and a dual Sony Diamondtron 21inch set-up for @$500 the CRTs clearly offer the advantage both display quality and price wise. Particularly if you are someone who changes the resolution on their monitor depending on the task you will want to look at CRTs, LCDs look like ass at anything but their native resolution.
The mony you would save by going with duel CRTs would easily buy you a brand new iBook for that school work.
Just my 2 cents.

Forums | MacLife

#1 2005-01-21 12:36 pm

Powerbook VS. Powermac for digital video

#2 2005-01-21 12:46 pm

Re: Powerbook VS. Powermac for digital video

#3 2005-01-21 12:54 pm

Re: Powerbook VS. Powermac for digital video

#4 2005-01-21 4:23 pm

Re: Powerbook VS. Powermac for digital video

#5 2005-01-21 6:06 pm

Re: Powerbook VS. Powermac for digital video

#6 2005-01-21 6:17 pm

Re: Powerbook VS. Powermac for digital video

#7 2005-01-22 9:43 am

Re: Powerbook VS. Powermac for digital video

#8 2005-01-22 5:35 pm

Re: Powerbook VS. Powermac for digital video

#9 2005-01-27 5:46 am

Re: Powerbook VS. Powermac for digital video

#10 2005-01-27 7:11 am

Re: Powerbook VS. Powermac for digital video

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