Which Mac should we buy?

Hi,
We are in the market for a new Mac and don't live near an Apple store. Trying to decide between a new Mac Mini or iMac.
Here is the main use,
Short videos in High Definition. We record using a Sony HDR-FX7 in 1080i and edit down to about 1 minute to 1 minute 20 seconds. This short video is then sent to iDVD and burned, as well we then transcode to mp4 and flash for web.
We have been using iMovie 6 HD on a dual G4 and while it wasn't the fastest in the world, because the videos are relatively small, it works, mostly. I say mostly because the system crashes often, iMovie 6 crashes often etc.
Time for a new system! iMovie 9 isn't really what we are after so we have decided to go for FCE 4. Now we just have to decide on the new hardware.
The new Mac Mini is intriguing, but is it really powerful enough to handle FCE4? I would think it is because apparently we can run FCE 4 on our G4... Should we look at an iMac? We already have two very nice monitors and external firewire drives. Would the entry level iMac be a better solution?
Anyone out there have any experiences they would like to share with either the mini or iMac and FCE4?
Cheers!
Chris

Hello, and welcome to the Apple Discussion forums!
Regarding the Mac mini vs. iMac if you intend to use FCE, there's hardly any question in my mind ... go with an iMac!
• The integrated video processor in the Mac mini is not ideal for FCE.
• If you configure a Mac mini as closely as possible to a basic iMac (4GB RAM, 2.6GHz processor, 500GB hard drive, keyboard & mouse), they are +within $52 of each other+ ... and you +still need a display!+
• The iMac has features no mini can match in any configuration - 3.06GHz i3 processor, discrete ATI Radeo 4670 video processor, LED display
• The iMac is more powerful and will yield better performance over a longer life than a mini will.
Or you might consider a refurbed 21" Core i3 iMac ... which you can purchase for +even less+ than an upgraded Mac mini! I have a number of refurbed Macs and they are all flawless.

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Spoiler (Highlight to read)
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