Student Help advice! what is best iMac model for Final Cut Pro and logic pro

Hi
I am currently looking into getting a iMac, but is toggling to device if I need a 27inch or a 21inch(top model),which will be used for Final Cut Pro and logic
There is a lot of money being invested iMac, and I really not want to be stu k with a computer that not going to keep up with the amount of work load in the future.
The specs that I have on mine are..
21inch 
Upgrades include
Sdd drive 512gb
Intel core i7
16gb of ram
Or
27 inch
Upgrades
Fusion drive or sdd 250gb
Intel core i7
(Possible graphic card) NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680MX 2GB GDDR5 [+ £105.60]
(Ram is way to expensive so will buy from second party)
Anyone who has brought a iMac for final cut or logic what would you likely buy?..Am really stuck on the hard drives between the 27inch fusion and 512gb on the 21inch
My budget is £1900
My fear is that the 21inch top model's graphic card may not be good enough for advance editing on Final Cut Pro In the future when I start to get more deep into editing..logic really only needs 8gb to run smoothly..buts its the final cut specs that am having problems deciding. I know iMacs are not future proof or technology lasts for that matter, but I do expect to have it run good for a number of years before I upgrade again.
If anyone can give me some advice, or even tell me about there set up they have for media work please let me know.

All kinds of things affect system & HD performance, I can't tell you why your 4 year old Mac is slow.  Just because your old Mac is slow doesn't mean that a new iMac will be equally slow.
You are correct about the issue with the smaller fusion drives.  It's one of the reasons I am not high on recommending them.  Everyone thinks they want power & performance but don't understand the gap between marketing and real life performance.  The 1TB fusion drive however should give you a good combination of rapid access and sizeable storage capacity.
I have used external FW800 / 7200rpm drives for years and have never had a problem with any of them.  I consider them very reliable but admittedly I DO NOT use consumer drives like the WD MyBook that the big-box stores sell.   For the most part I assemble my own with OWC Mercury Elite enclosures.  In the past few years I have centered on WD Caviar Black and WD Scorpio Black drives.  I also have some Seagate Barracuda 7200.xx drives.  They all perform excellently and reliably.
Pls. refer to my earlier post for what i recommended to you.

Similar Messages

  • Question: best Hardware set-up for final cut univ. and mac pro

    Hi, I was wondering if anyone has used final cut universal with their mac pro and can recommend a hardware set-up (Processors, memory... ) they found best adapted for it.
    my mac pro:
    Processor Name: Dual-Core Intel Xeon
    Processor Speed: 2.66 GHz
    Number Of Processors: 2
    Total Number Of Cores: 4
    L2 Cache (per processor): 4 MB
    Memory: 2 GB
    Bus Speed: 1.33 GHz
    thank you
    MAC PRO   Mac OS X (10.4.8)  

    Final Cut Studio/video editing requires all four parts of a system…
    1) Processor performance
    2) GPU performance
    3) RAM
    4) Hard drive performance
    … to be working in tandem. If any one of these areas a caught short then the system as a whole is disproportionately affected. It's one of the downsides to video is that everything needs to be working as well as it can.
    So, what I would recommend for you is the following setup as your goal is something like…
    Mac Pro 2.66GHz
    6GB RAM (4 x 1GB + 4 x 512MB - I'm presumng you already have the 4 x 512MB)
    ATi X1900 XT graphics card (or better - depneds on what's available at the time)
    2 x Western Digital Raptor 150GB RAID 0 for boot and scratch
    2 x Maxtor MaXLine Pro 500GB RAID 0 for data
    Any further eSATA storage requirements for cloning, backup and data
    Not cheap but should scream.

  • Best Graphics backgrounds for final cut pro and g-5's

    I am not sure if this is the best place to post this but I was wondering if anyone could tell me what are some of the best graphics to use with final cut pro that work real well with a dual g5, this would be like quicktimes for backgrounds. I have had alot of people tell me after effects but then I am looking more for software that you dont have to build, I have been looking at Digital Juice and was wondering how well that works with final cut pro, are there any other High Quality graphics already put together, thanks for your help and if this is not posted in the right spot let me know where would be the place to post something like this. thanks

    New Discussions ReponsesThe new system for discussions asks that after you mark your question as Answered, you take the time to mark any posts that have aided you with the tag and the post that provided your answer with the tag. This not only gives points to the posters, but points anyone searching for answers to similar problems to the proper posts.
    If we use the forums properly they will work well...
    Patrick

  • What's the right mac for Final Cut Studio?

    Hi, I am a cameraman who wants to start learning final cut pro 5 to at first get a dvd together of my work (about 10 mins)and then maybe do some professional editing down the line. I am a bit lost with what mac I need to run studio on as I'm hearing conflicting voices. I can afford to buy an iMac G5 with 1.5 gig of ram. Will all the applications in studio run on this machine? should i bump up the hardrive to 250? Worst comes to worst should i wait and buy a power mac? Thanks for any help.
    Imac g5   Mac OS X (10.4.3)  

    Let's get serious. You are trying to put together a short reel, not edit Cold Mountain.
    If you believe you will make your living from this machine, get a professional grade box and all the bells and whistles to go with it.(max ram, multiple internal SATA drives, big monitors, etc)
    If you want to get your feet wet, develop an understanding of the program and its basic operational structure, most anything that meets the minimum configuration will do. (Heck, you can edit on a powerbook...)
    In the first case, (the professional box) if you spend 5 minutes rather than 15 minutes waiting for a render, it makes a differnece, time IS money. In the second case (learning curve), it doesn't matter. It's your time.
    Cheers,
    x
    Do your part in supporting your fellow users. If a response has been Helpful to you or Solved your question, please mark it as such as an aid to other lost souls on the forum.
    Also, don't forget to mark the thread Answered when you get enough information to close the thread.

  • Audio upsampling in Quicktime Pro: Best export settings for Final Cut?

    I'm using Quicktime Pro to convert audio from 32 kHz to 48 kHz, for use in FCE/FCP. Quicktime gives me several options for export settings. I want to make the conversion lossless, without increasing the size of the audio file too much.
    These are the settings I'm using so far:
    Format: Linear PCM
    Channels: Stereo (L R)
    Rate: 48 kHz
    Sample Rate Converter Settings: Quality: Best
    Linear PCM Settings: Sample size: 16 bits
    Are these settings the best choices? Does anyone have experience doing this kind of upsampling?
    Here are the other options in Quicktime:
    Format: Linear PCM, A-Law 2:1, IMA 4:1, MACE 3:1, MACE 6:1, QDesign Music 2, Qualcomm PureVoice, and mu-Law 2:1
    Channels: 2 Discrete Channels, Mono, Stereo (L R)
    Rate: there are other choices, but I know 48 kHz is what I want
    Advanced Settings:
    Sample Rate Converter Settings: Faster, Fast, Normal, Better, Best
    Linear PCM Settings (when Linear PCM is the format): 8 bit, 16 bit, 24 bit, 32 bit (floating point checked), 32 bit (floating point unchecked).
    The file size grows quickly as you increase the Linear PCM bit settings.

    You can't create something that is not in the file.
    Moving from 32kHz to 48 will only make the file size
    larger and can't improve the audio.
    Doesn't FCP or FCE import your file at 32. Or does it
    change it to 48 after import?
    I am aware that increasing the audio from 32 kHz to 48 kHz will not improve the quality of the audio. And yes, Final Cut Pro and Express will both capture and allow you to work witih 32 kHz audio.
    I have several hours of video shot with 32 kHz audio settings that I'd prefer to have stored on disk with 48 kHz audio, because (a) some applications like iMovie have demonstrated problems with 32 kHz audio in the past, and (b) the majority of my video is shot with 48 kHz audio, so my 32 kHz video will eventually end up in a 48 kHz project, leaving the upsampling to Final Cut. Yes, I do eventually plan to burn my projects to DVD as well, but this isn't an immediate concern.
    The problem with doing the conversion in Final Cut is this: Some of the people knowledgeable about Final Cut Pro and Express recommend doing the upsampling using Quicktime or another application, instead of using Final Cut, because Final Cut may not do as good a job as Quicktime. So my intention is to upsample the audio now in preparation for later projects. I don't completely understand why Final Cut wouldn't do as good of a job at upsampling, but a couple of experienced users in the FCP and FCE forums have independently corroborrated this.
    Thanks to everyone for their helpful posts and responsiveness.
    PowerMac G5 Quad 2.5 GHz 3GB RAM   Mac OS X (10.4.5)   NVIDIA GeForce 7800GT
    Message was edited by: Anthony M Kassir MD

  • What upgrade do I buy for final cut studio

    I have older final cut studio, it included final cut pro 5 and DVD pro 4, motion, soundtrack pro etc. What upgrade should be purchased for the final cut studio. I presume it was studio 1 since it just says final cut studio......

    Jezzum, use some initiative.
    Let me google that for you  ...
    http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3979?viewlocale=en_US&locale=en_US
    x

  • I need help. How to export split track for Final Cut Pro 7 Thanks

    I need help. I have edited a film and now the company I have made the film for want a split track of it. I have no idea how to export a split track off Final Cut Pro 7 and I need simple language to explain it to me as I am a beginner. Thanks

    I assume you have multiple tracks of audio? And the audio is distributed discretely over these tracks (sync sound on tracks 1 and 2, sound effects on tracks 3 and 4, music on tracks 5 and 6 for example)?
    Then duplicate your sequence by clicking on the icon for your sequence in the FCP browser and control-clicking on it. From the drop-down menu choose Duplicate. Double click on the duplicate sequence you just created to load it to the timeline and canvas.
    Now, working on the copy you just made of your finished sequence, click anywhere on the timeline, and type Command + 0 {zero} to bring up your sequence settings. Click on the Audio Outputs Tab.
    Once the Audio Output Tab opens, set the Outputs to the desired number of discrete tracks you want to export - in this case I will set it to 8, as I have sync sound on tracks 1 & 2, Voice Over on tracks 3 & 4, Sound Effects on tracks 5 & 6 and Music on tracks 7 & 8.
    Once I do that the 8 tracks appear. I set them all to Dual Mono as I want them to be discrete tracks:
    Once I am done, I click OK and return to the far left side of the timeline where the audio selectors are, and carefully control - clicking in the empty space above the lock symbol,
    From the drop down menu I assign the output of each track - track 1 to to output track 1, track 2 to output track 2, doing so to each track:
    You need to set the output for each track. Once all my track assignments are done, I go to the menu File > Export . . . > QuickTime Movie and export my sequence, but now it is exporting with 8 discrete tracks of audio.
    To do a quick check that everything is OK, re-import the movie you just exported back into FCP, and open it in the Viewer and you will see that it does indeed have the multi-tracks, as 8 mono track tabs appear at the top of the viewer.
    Now give that QuickTime a name that includes "Split Tracks" in the title and copy it to your delivery drive.
    MtD
    Message was edited by: Meg The Dog to fix typo

  • WHAT IS THE BEST VIDEO CARD FOR FINAL CUT PRO and MOTION?

    Hello folks,
    I have found a lot of posts regarding all kinds of troubles with ATI READEON X1900 video card.
    When I talked to people from Apple, trying to decide which videocard to install in new MAC PRO, Ati Radeon X1900 was the one they did recommand for FCP and Motion. So are there any other cards which would actually suite better for Final Cut Studio2, or is Ati Radeon X1900 really the one to go with?
    Thanks for any suggestions,
    Kootenay

    Techreport has some more information on the new 55nm Radeon (X3000) which should be another "mid November" releases, as well as an updated 8800 GT that still is under wraps.
    So seems Intel and everyone else is trying to get new products out before the end of the year, if possible.
    Drivers for graphics controllers may or may not need the work that sometimes seems to plague companies.

  • What are the system requirements for Final Cut Pro 7?

    I can't find the system requirements for Final Cut Pro 7, I can find the system requirements for X, but like I said not 7.
    I need to know the system requirements for Final Cut Pro 7, so I can buy the correct Macbook.
    Is there anyway I can find out the system requirements.

    Thanks
    I'm somewhat inept about things like this, so I just want to make sure once more: This is in regards to Final Cut Pro 7?

  • What is the creator code for final cut pro x?

    Final Cut Pro 7 has creator code "KeyG" but the trial for FCP X has creator code "????" (according to the .plist).  Does the full version use "KeyG" like previous ones, or a new code?
    Thanks
    Marc

    My first question would be how well 5.1 would work with SL. People have reported problems.
    As far as cameras are concerned, I would guess most any tape-based camera would work and so much depends on the kind of projects you work on that I wouldn't want to start guessing at your needs.
    If you want broad access to tapeless and advanced formats try to locate and purchase an upgrade disk to 6 or 7.
    Good luck.
    Russ

  • Which is the best video converter for Final Cut Pro 7?

    Hi, I am using Fincal Cut Pro 7.0.3 and I am looking to find the most compatible, most efficient video converter to work with my FCP 7, I need import vidoe file formats such as AVI, MPEG, MTS to edtiting in FCP 7, and I am having hard time to converting them, even I managed to convert them and imported them into FCP they need rendering again and again in FCP and that wasted me tons to precisous time.
    Any suggestions?  Thank you so very much!
    Kevin

    Compressor.  Second, I would choose Episode.  But then MPEG Streamclip is very usefull when convert from many of the MPEG formats.  Keep in mind that formats such as those you listed are merely wrappers; the codec contained within could be one of dozens of codec, some of which may not convert well.
    -DH

  • The best video converter for Final Cut Express format?

    I used to have a registration code for Visual Hub so I could convert files from my video camera so they would work with final cut express. My computer crashed awhile back so I lost my registration information (they are no longer selling these codes). Does anyone know a really good (fairly easy to use) video converter? Or maybe like to share a registration code :-)!

    I would like one that can do many different formats like Visual Hub did, but the file I am converting is a MPEG file. Also, I have some stuff that I made into a DVD using a Sony DVD burner and I needed to get those files converted.

  • Whats the best virus checker for a MAC

    whats the best virus checker for a MAC

    rkaufmann87 wrote:
    And I'm of the school that says no virus checker is needed. This assumes the user has a minor amount of common sense and does download illegal software, visits *********** sites and keeps OS X up-to-date by using Software Update regularly.
    I'm in almost full agreement with everything you've said except for the ************** sites part. Most current Mac malware comes from very ordinary and even top level sites these days. Flashback came from hundreds of main stream WordPress blog sites. The New York Times primary web site was spreading malware for 24 hours before it was discovered. Users can no longer feel confident of not being infected just because they avoid sketchy sites.

  • Do any imacs come with a touch screen if not whats the best touch  screen for a 2012 13inch macbook air

    Do any imacs come with a touch screen if not whats the best touch  screen for a 2012 13inch macbook air?
    Thx

    No they don't.
    Apple's position is that touchscreens are for tablets and phones (in Apple's case the iPad and iPhone) and that OSX does not need a touchscreen - the trackpad and/or mouse is more flexible.
    That may change in future but no one here knows.
    In answer to your second question, there is NO touch screen available for the MacBook Air (2012 or any other vintage), nor for the MacBook Pro.  If you must have a touchscreen, consider an iPad with a stand and a wireless keyboard.  Alternatively, a Windows 8.1 laptop or desktop???

  • HT3211 What is best track pad for laptop pro

    What is best track pad for Mac Pro laptop with mountain lion

    Honestly, the one right in front of your keyboard. It's hard to do better than that one, and the Magic Trackpad is just an external duplicate of that. In fact, my dad has one for his iMac, and I seem to recall that there are one or two things I can do with my built-in trackpad that he can't do with his Magic Trackpad... though my faulty memory means I couldn't tell you what those things are at this point.

Maybe you are looking for