iMac Fusion for video?

[knimmo]

I am ready to make the jump from a MacBook Pro to a 27inch iMac, 3.5GHz i5, 8GB RAM, 4GB VRAM, and the Fusion drive. I produce video for a living. Not 4K, but 1280x720 for Youtube delivery. I'd like to go SSD, but these are way outside my budget. I run Premier Pro, Photoshop, and other Adobe products. My question is, will this machine cut it for that format? Will the HD be fast enough to feed video without jerks or freezes? Or is this an issue for higher rez video files? In the future I plan to get an SSD external, maybe when the prices drop. Thanks in advance for any advice.

 

[pigoo3]

Will the HD be fast enough to feed video without jerks or freezes?

Users have been producing video content on Apple computers for decades with spinner HD's. Just make sure you have plenty of RAM.

Logically the other way of looking at things is. Even if there was an issue (and your budget won't allow for an SSD)...then what would you do (not produce any You Tube video)??...I think not. If the 27" iMac with the fusion drive is all that the budget will allow...then the 27" iMac with a fusion drive it has to be.

- Nick

 

[Raz0rEdge]

A standard HDD at SATA 3 speeds can manage 500 MB/s read and write speeds which is more than sufficient for most needs. A SSD using the SATA 3 connector will go a little bit faster, it's the PCIe SSD connection that gets into the GB/s rates (the latest 2017 MBP is around 2 GB/s)

 

[knimmo]

Thanks for the info. You saved me from going to a Windows machine!

 

[pm-r]

Thanks for the info. You saved me from going to a Windows machine!

Just to add a note, and we don't know what MacBook Pro model it is you have, but you may even want to consider installing a 7200RPM drive in it if it hasn't already got one and I'd suggest considering something like the WD Black 7200RPM or equivalent type drives.




- Patrick
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[knimmo]

I have an older Macbook Pro, 2014. It does have 8GB of RAM, but the graphics--Intel Iris 1536 MB--are hardly up to the task.

 

[IWT]

In echoing previous remarks and understanding your fiscal constraints, upgrading your iMac specs to 16GB of RAM over the default 8GB would, in my view, bring a very useful benefit when creating and editing video - and is a fraction of the cost difference between Fusion and SSD.

Ian

 

[pigoo3]

I have an older Macbook Pro, 2014. It does have 8GB of RAM, but the graphics--Intel Iris 1536 MB--are hardly up to the task.

Thanks for the additonal info.

Patrick's (pm-r) question was definitely important. We always try to offer alternative solutions to a situation if possible. And as Ian (IWT) suggested...definitely fill this 27" iMac with plenty of RAM.

In case you didn't know...the RAM in 27" iMac's is user upgradeable...AND...I would suggest only getting this iMac with the standard 8gig of RAM. Apple's RAM upgrade prices can be kind of steep. If you wanted 16gig of RAM...the standard 8gig RAM configuration will come with only 2 of the 4 iMac's RAM slots filled (2 x 4gig). You could then get 2 more 4gig sticks of RAM for $92.88 from OWC (macsales.com)...then you would have a total of 16gig of RAM.

Good luck,

- Nick