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Cheapest computer for running FCP 5.1 smoothly???

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I'm looking to buy a machine solely for editing. Will probably use FCP, Maya, Shake, After Effects, etc. I need cheap, but relatively fast. Any Suggestions?
 
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To be able to run all of those professional level apps smoothly, you are going to require a machine with as much RAM as you can afford and a higher-end graphics card (for Maya). Cheap is not the way to go if you want to run all of those. You will need a professional level machine.
That being said, I would suggest a Mac Pro with at least 2 to 3 GB of RAM and at least the base 256 MB graphics for a desktop.
For a notebook, I would suggest the MacBook Pro 15" with the 256 MB graphics and 3 GB of RAM.
 
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Hmmm... Would probably lean towards a desktop because I currently own an ibook. Do you think the 17" 2ghz IMac w/upgraded ram would cut it? I'm a student, so I'm not technically professionally publishing anything (yet). However, my ibook obviously isn't gonna work.
 
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Just because you aren't a "professional" yet doesn't really make much difference. :black:
I am a student myself and I have a PowerBook. I chose it over an iBook because I knew I was going to be using the entire Adobe CS2 suite, the Macromedia Studio 8 suite, After Effects, Final Cut Pro, DVD Pro and other high-end professional apps. The iBook would crumble under the weight of those programs so I opted for the professional machine to go with the professional apps. Since you too, will be using professional level apps, you will require some more substance from a machine.
The iMac would be fine if it weren't for Maya. Would the iMac handle Maya?... sure it would. Would it handle it well is another story.
3D apps really need a higher-end graphics card to run at their peak performance. There is no option to upgrade the iMac's graphics and the 128 MB might strain under Maya (depending on what you do with it). For that reason, I suggested getting the Mac Pro since it has better graphics and the ability to upgrade later on, should you so desire.
 
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The on-the-cheap option would seem to be the iMac 17" 2.0GHz model. It has a graphics card with dedicated memory and can have the main RAM upgraded to 3GB, although price wise I would think 2GB is realistic from your description. The price starts at USD$1199. If I was on a budget, this would be the mimimum system I would invest in for what you describe. The lowest iMac simply won't handle those apps with any grace.

By the way, the 20" iMac model has the option to upgrade the graphics memory to 256MB, for only $75 above the base price.

Realisticly you should price your bottom of the line system that makes sense for you with the minimum add on options, and compare it to a low end Mac Pro. Of course that Mac Pro does not come with a monitor.
 
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I wouldn't get a 17" becuz its hard to work on the small screen expecially for a desktop, I have a 15" powerbook 1gig ram 1.33ghz with a 64mb graphic card, I need to upgrade that but for editing its pretty good and when I hook it up to my 23" hd screen it works just like a desktop. I do some HD work on it to. But it really depends on what kind of video and how professional you want to get with it.
 
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You could always go for a used quad G5 powermac. That way you could get a better graphics card, and RAM is much cheaper than a mac pro.

The problem with budget is you allways have to make compromises, which will allways hurt you for programs like this, especialy if you are going to be editing HD or doing complex scenes in Maya ect. If it wasn't for Maya I would say a 20" iMac would be absolutely fine for what you want, especially with 3GB of RAM. However, if you want to have a speedy machine for 3D work, the Mac Pro is the way to go.
 

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