Imac 21.5 or Imac 27 i5 for editing HD Video

[Jack07]

Hi there.
I have a Windows notebook and I´ll buy a Mac soon. But i have a doubt.
I want to buy a Imac and the principal reason is for editing HD movies of weddings and other events using the Final Cut Pro. My doubt is the imac 27 i5 it compensates the more cost for the imac 21.5. core 2 duo with ATI Radeon HD 4670 com 256 MB.

Thanks!

[trademark]

one of the lynnfields version, easily.

[Heavy_D]

Hi there,
I was in the same situation as you.
I just went to an Apple store to see what were the possibilities and performance of HD video editing on an iMac. I'm not a pro, so I'll be most happy with iMovie.
I took the memory card out of my Sony CX11 and imported it in the 27" iMac (Core2 Duo) in the shop. After the files were imported all went very smoothly in iMovie, even on the basic Core2 Duo processor. Only when exporting your movie I think you will see the difference between the Core2 Duo and the Core i5. I went for this last one, just to be a bit more future-proof. The graphics card is also higher spec. The screen and the Magic Mouse are a bliss to work with.
I don't know if Final Cut has higher system requirements than iMovie.
I'd say, if your budget allows it, go for the i5.
Regards!

[Jack07]

Thanks man.
I thing that i´ll buy a 21.5 version whit core 2 duo 3.03, 1 tb and the ATI Radeon HD 4670. It´s because in Portugal the difference to the 27 core i5 is that approximately 500 €uros and it´s to much for me now, and i don´t now if the difference compensate.
And edit hd video in my notebook in Adobe premiere pro cs3 it´s a hard job! I need mac very soon.
But, tomorrow i´ll go to the shop to see the two imac and compare at live.