Help me choose?

[Geoponic]

Hi, there!

I'm soon buying (or at least intending to) an iMac.

I was hoping you guys could shed some light on what would be best for me.
As the guys at apple....always seem to think the most expensive option is the best. Which is sometimes the case, but i just don't need that much power do i?

The sole use for the computer will be to edit videos.
For the time being i intend to run FCE and then, if i see the need to upgrade, either FTS or Adobe Production Suite.

So, I've been looking at the 27" iMacs.
First of all I was thinking.

i7.
i7.
i7.

But then i was wondering, does hyper-threading have the same affect on video editing on macs as it does on windows?

I know it's not a HUGE impact/difference, but saving me 163 pound and some time is a bonus.

So i thought, i5. Maybe upgrade the ram to 8 gigs.
(No longer saving me 163 pound, but oh well.)

But now i'm really wondering, do i need 8 gigs of RAM.
Sure it'll help.

But is it needed?
Really?

Do i even need quad core?


If you guys could point me in the right direction i'd be superly grateful.

Cheers,

 

[the8thark]

No you will not need even i5. A C2D will get your job bone. But the i5/i7 will be a little more future proof. As not much takes full advantage of all the i5/i7's multiple cores. But in the future I'm sure more things will. Hyper threading is not a huge boost as you said. But if you plan on keeping the imac for like 5+ years it might be something to consider.

And with the ram. Never ger more then the minimum Apple will ship the imac with. All the extra you want can be bought from many stores for much cheaper than what Apple charges. And also you cna slowly save up for it and get it stick by stick when you can.

Do you need quad core? No. But would it be nice to have (ie future proof) for a mac? Yes. Sure in 5 years the C2D mac would be still a nice beast, but the i5/i7 would be a little more beastier in 5 years when most apps are optimised for hyper threading.

 

[T_O_P12]

I agree with the8thark, You would have no problem with the C2D but of course more power better performance right? well maybe, some programs are even written to utilize all 4 cores(yet) I am told. If money is a huge issue, you would not be dissapointed with the C2D but if you have some extra money to throw around, try out the quad core and you may be planning better for the future.