27" C2D for video editing - advice please

Hello all,
This is my first post here and I hope i can get some sound advise. My 2005 imac died just before christmas and originally i was gonna buy a base level 21.5 i3. My budget was 1280euro. But i desided to order a 27" C2D 3.06ghz imac refurb for 1270euro today.That big sexy screen is very appealing and i read that 27 C2D 3.06 is'nt that much slower then the i3.

I want to do all the usual stuff email, surf etc and edit hour+ dv movie projects in FCE4. also an hour+ movie done with a digital stills camera, not sure what picture rez but noting major and also photoshop, I'm assuming the 27" can handle this.

I'm pretty unsure if this machine could handle HD video if in the future i wanted to have a go with HD and maybe FCP??

Would this machine be adequte? i expect it just takes a little longer, But would do the job. Now i'm having second thoughts and thinking i should maybe send the 27" C2D back when it arrives and get another 200euro together and buy a 27" i3 3.02ghz refurb. Or Would the 27" C2D serve me well? I really want to get the imac purcahse out of the way so the real fun can begin. Thanks a lot for any help.

I'd just get a better spec'd 21" iMac from the refurb store, if it was me. Unless you're gonna be sitting a good 2 feet away from that monitor, the 27" will prob be too much for your eyes. Besides, the 21" is more than adequate screen real estate. Have you played with one at the Apple Store or Best Buy? They're awesome.

hi, thanks for the reply, no i haven't played with one, i saw one today in the flesh and thought it was fine and was planning on getting the 21.5" but then changed my mind at the last minute. The 27" is prob just lust, but i also heard a lot of folk saying the 27" is top notch for video editing. Thats what kinda swayed me. Maybe i'll call the applestore and see if i can do a switch before they process my order. Anyone else have any ideas? Agree? Thanks.

Thanks MyMacRox, i switched for a 21.5 3.02ghz refurb.

3.2?

i3 or i5?

hi, yeah i3, 3.2ghz, refurb, with applecare, that was the max i could afford.

The 27'" is absolutely incredible. Now I am not into intense video editing (I use iMovie just to have a little fun making small movies) so I can't really talk about that, but I know that every time I turn on my iMac, I am very happy I chose the bigger screen. For everyday use it is so awesome, you can have two webpages plus mail, Itunes, and any other application all open in different areas on your screen. Great for multitasking