24" iMac vs. Mac Pro for AVCHD editing

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As I expected, my 2.4GHz iMac is a little slow at editing AVCHD in Final Cut Pro 6. Also, the encoding times for exporting the video is horrbile. (it took about 50 minutes to export a five minute video). I was planning on upgrading anyways this fall. Budget is not an issue, but I really do not want to go over $2,500.

So, would the high end 24" 3.06GHz iMac with 4 gigs of RAM (with a 4850 in it) compete on the level of the base 2.66GHz quad core Mac Pro (with a 4870 in it)?

Would the quad core, clocked at a slower speed, be better for editing and encoding AVCHD video content?

I am torn, because I love the beaut of my iMac and I love the expandability that the Mac Pro can bring me. However, if I do get the mac Pro I am going to sell my iMac to a friend. This will let me have the money to buy a nice 24" LG monitor (I love LG), and a blu ray burner.

If the Mac Pro is better than the high end iMac, I will probably be buying it. How about the 8core? Is the extra money worth it in performance?

In the End I will roughly be paying $2,500 for a mac pro with the 4870 included (due to student discount), or $2,144 for a 24" high end iMac with 4850 included in that price.
 
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Your Mac's Specs
imac24 3.06 ghz 1TB HD 4 gigs ram
the 24" 3.06 4 gig ram will do very nicely! i have it and love it...and may be selling it. only had it for 3 months. i want the quad core imac now for what i do, plus i'm getting into animation, which a quad will benefit from.
 
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Jeffbookpro

just curious what you ended up doing. I am in the same boat now refurb 08 mac pro or new imac quad core.........
 

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