Buying my first mac for FCP

Hey everyone. I'm buying my first mac, a used mac mini. Quickly, the specs are,

1.42 G4 Processor
1GB Ram factory installed
80GB Hard Drive
Super Drive cd drive.
Airport
Blue tooth
Modem
OS X 10.4
Ethernet

Now pretty much my only reason for buying a mac is for Final Cut Pro. I plan on buying a used copy of Final Cut Pro 5.1.4.

I've some research and I've read that the new mac mini's don't run FCP so well because they don't have a dedicated video card. The older ones do however, and with the 1 gig of ram and a large external hard drive, I should be able to run FCP 5.1.4 on the mac mini I plan on buying right? As of right now, I only know the basics of FCP so I won't be doing heavy duty editing any time soon.

I'd like to hear from people who actually own FCP on an older mini. Thanks in advance.

freakynipples69 said:

Now pretty much my only reason for buying a mac is for Final Cut Pro. I plan on buying a used copy of Final Cut Pro 5.1.4.

I've some research and I've read that the new mac mini's don't run FCP so well because they don't have a dedicated video card. The older ones do however, and with the 1 gig of ram and a large external hard drive, I should be able to run FCP 5.1.4 on the mac mini I plan on buying right? As of right now, I only know the basics of FCP so I won't be doing heavy duty.

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It isn't really an issue of the video card, it is the machine itself.
Will it run? Yes. Will it run well? Not particularly.

I have a PowerBook G4 1.67 Ghz with 2GB RAM. I run FCP on my machine and it is definitely usable.
The Mini has a slightly slower processor and less RAM. The HD is also slower. Heavy-duty use or not, the Mini is going to strain considerably under FCP.

If the only reason for getting a Mac is to run FCP, then I would strongly suggest looking into a Power Mac G4/G5 or a PowerBook G4 for that version of FCP. Otherwise, you will definitely not be utilizing the full potential of a high end professional app like FCP.
The Mini simply will not do that application justice, no matter what version you get or what release of the Mini you get. That machine was not built with professional apps like FCP in mind.

D3v1L80Y said:

It isn't really an issue of the video card, it is the machine itself.
Will it run? Yes. Will it run well? Not particularly.

I have a PowerBook G4 1.67 Ghz with 2GB RAM. I run FCP on my machine and it is definitely usable.
The Mini has a slightly slower processor and less RAM. The HD is also slower. Heavy-duty use or not, the Mini is going to strain considerably under FCP.

If the only reason for getting a Mac is to run FCP, then I would strongly suggest looking into a Power Mac G4/G5 or a PowerBook G4 for that version of FCP. Otherwise, you will definitely not be utilizing the full potential of a high end professional app like FCP.
The Mini simply will not do that application justice, no matter what version you get or what release of the Mini you get. That machine was not built with professional apps like FCP in mind.

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So even if I install FCP on a faster external hard drive as well, it'll still run slower? How much ram do you need for FCP? 1 gig isn't enough?

Powerbook's are more expensive and I don't want to break $500.

freakynipples69 said:

So even if I install FCP on a faster external hard drive as well, it'll still run slower? How much ram do you need for FCP? 1 gig isn't enough?

Powerbook's are more expensive and I don't want to break $500.

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I would recommend at least 2 GB for use of FCP. Running it off of an external drive will have some latency and it would be preferable to run it off the internal drive. Also, an 80GB drive will get eaten up rather quickly as raw video footage is rather large. I use the app rather extensively and can attest to that. I usually keep the excess footage on the external and keep the working footage on the internal.
I'm not saying that it won't run on the Mini, I am simply saying that the experience will not be anywhere as smooth as it could/should be with better suited hardware.
I understand that your budget is limited, but if your sole reason is to run a pro app like FCP, then cutting corners isn't the best route to take. You will quickly outgrow the Mini's capabilities and the performance won't allow you to get the best usage out of a highly capable and full-featured app like FCP.

You have some very good points. Right now I am still in the early stages of learning FCP. I'm a filmmaker and I've only been taught FCP and I want to stick with it.

So lets say that I could ONLY get a mac mini. I can get an G4 mini with the specs above, or a brand new one with the specs listed
1.66GHz Intel Core Duo Processor, 1GB RAM, 60GB HD, DVD/CD-RW Combo, IEEE 802.11g, Bluetooth, Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 950, MacOS X 10.4

Which one would be better for FCP out of the two?

freakynipples69 said:

You have some very good points. Right now I am still in the early stages of learning FCP. I'm a filmmaker and I've only been taught FCP and I want to stick with it.

So lets say that I could ONLY get a mac mini. I can get an G4 mini with the specs above, or a brand new one with the specs listed
1.66GHz Intel Core Duo Processor, 1GB RAM, 60GB HD, DVD/CD-RW Combo, IEEE 802.11g, Bluetooth, Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 950, MacOS X 10.4

Which one would be better for FCP out of the two?

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If it had to be between those two Minis, then the Intel would win hands down.
You might want to at least consider upping that to at least an iMac, though. You can find some good deals on refurbs on the Apple Store and you can get some good deals on ones from third party resellers.