Best Editing Package Question

Here’s my dilemma. I have approximately $1,000 to spend on a new computer which I will use to EDIT with Final Cut Pro. I was thinking Mac Mini with Superdrive, External 160gb Hard Drive. Is that the best option? Should I look at something else? (Would a G4 tower do better, and where would I find one?) If I get the Mac Mini, what options should I add? PLEASE HELP!!!

i would say a g4 tower would be ur best bet....it blows that they stopped making them though because even on FCP HD it worked very well.

If you can, save up an extra 200 and get an imac G5 with the education discount. The frontside bus is considderably faster and overall performance would be dramatically better:

17-inch widescreen LCD
1.6GHz PowerPC G5
512K L2 cache
533MHz frontside bus
256MB DDR400 SDRAM
NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200 Ultra
64MB DDR video memory
80GB Serial ATA hard drive
Slot-load Combo Drive

$1,199.00

If your budget can stretch to it, get a G5 Powermac. In the long run it would be a better investment as you can upgrade it.

1.8GHz PowerPC G5
600MHz frontside bus
512K L2 cache
256MB DDR400 SDRAM
Expandable to 4GB SDRAM
80GB Serial ATA
8x SuperDrive
Three PCI Slots
NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200 Ultra
64MB DDR video memory
56K internal modem

but...$1,349.00

If you're serious about getting into editing, hold off for a little while and save up the extra cash. If you're willing to invest $1000 you don't wan't to invest it on technology that's on it's way out. The G5 range is the best direction to head in if you're going to be doing a lot of editing now and in the future.

Follow up question

What about this used computer I found on Baumon.com:

G4/933 ("Quicksilver", 133Mhz bus) (512 / 60GB / Superdrive) . . . . $889 (Modem, +$15) New Listing

Would that be fairly ideal in keeping with my Final Cut Pro goals?

i would watch ebay for a good deal

That system could edit, final cut pro would be no problem, however the rendering times would be slow... also if u want to do motion and after effects with that system good luck.. final cut, no prob.