Imac i7 - Can i Run Final Cut Pro

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Imac i7 - Can i Run Final Cut Pro

Hey Guys,

in July im looking at getting an imac with fcp to continue my dream of film design and video editing. as of now i use Avid liquid.

i have 5 questions

#1. my imac spec so far....

2.8GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i7
8GB 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 4x2GB
2TB Serial ATA Drive
ATI Radeon HD 4850 512MB
8x double-layer SuperDrive

will my imac be able to run FCP and all of the side programs (colour & animation) in its intirety without too many problems in 2k or 4k res. if for example i get a job designing cinema Adds and i want to edit in 4k will i be able to do it? (even if it lags) i know its a big ask! with avid you can use all the features but more complex tasks lag terribly with my system, BUT you can still use them! its just frustrating.

can i edit 4k at all?

#2. if i somehow get more money and can afford to update something. what should i update to make FCP run smoother

#3. i have heard a rumor that the mac pros are getting 6x prossecors soon. will imacs prossecors be updated and when? i hear that they update in augest? is this true?

#4. my budget is about $3,500-$4,000 for a Mac, Imac or Pro? keep in mind im really keen on the Imac

#5. what is the superdrive? does it burn blu ray?

i wont have enough money until June-July so i have allot of time to reserch. Thankyou heap.

Imac i7, iPhone OS 3.0

Posted on Jan 18, 2010 10:36 PM

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Answer 1

Shane Ross

Level 8

43,110 points

Jan 18, 2010 11:17 PM in response to Dave-Mac

An iMac will run FCP.

without too many problems in 2k or 4k res.

4K? Are you kidding? That's a HIGHLY professional format for a rather CONSUMER computer to handle. You need a MacPro with a big hard drive RAID array and high end HD Capture card for that stuff.

if for example i get a job designing cinema Adds and i want to edit in 4k will i be able to do it?

No. You need a pretty fast RAID array for that, and the best you can attach is FW800...that handles ProRes, but not HQ.

Color? Iffy. Again, ProApp, consumer computer. You have no way of properly monitoring what you color correct anyway, on an iMac, so...

#2. if i somehow get more money and can afford to update something. what should i update to make FCP run smoother

A better computer. RAID array. Capture card.

#3. i have heard a rumor that the mac pros are getting 6x prossecors soon. will imacs prossecors be updated and when? i hear that they update in augest? is this true?

Rumors aren't allowed on Apple's site. And those who know, cannot tell.

#4. my budget is about $3,500-$4,000 for a Mac, Imac or Pro? keep in mind im really keen on the Imac

MacPro. Stop being "keen" on the iMac when you want to deal with very high end formats. It just won't deal with it.

#5. what is the superdrive? does it burn blu ray?

Burns DVDs. Not BluRay. You need an external BluRay drive to burn BluRay.

Save up.

Shane

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Answer 2

Dave-Mac Author

Level 1

0 points

Jan 19, 2010 9:49 PM in response to Shane Ross

thankyou for the advice. can you explain what Raid array is?
and i just had a thought:
even if i did need to make 4k videos i couldnt if my original fotage is SD or HD only. i cant get SD to magically be 4k. is that true? sorry im only amatuer atm.

does anyone edit in 4k? or are most cinema adds i see lower quality most likely?

if you could answer these questions it would be a big help. thankyou

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Answer 3

Shane Ross

Level 8

43,110 points

Jan 19, 2010 10:41 PM in response to Dave-Mac

can you explain what Raid array is?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAID

i cant get SD to magically be 4k. is that true?

Correct. You need to shoot that format. Not many cameras do that. Why do you need 4K anyway? I doubt you'd ever do 2K. I don't get into 2K yet...

does anyone edit in 4k?

Not really. They shoot 4K, edit 1080p and then maybe finish in 2K. This is very VERY high end feature film and music video work. And they do not use iMacs.

or are most cinema adds i see lower quality most likely?

Cinema ads? TRAILERS? They typically shoot on film, or perhaps the RED camera that shoots 4K, or the CineAlta or Viper cameras (Viper was used on COLLATERAL, Red was used on THE BOOK OF ELI) High end feature work. The people who edit the trailers typically get 1080p files from the film masters, or offline (very low res files) that are later assembled at 2K for film out so you can see it in the theater.

Shane

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Answer 4

Dave-Mac Author

Level 1

0 points

Jan 20, 2010 2:20 AM in response to Shane Ross

Thanks heaps mate,

when I said cinema adds I didn't mean trailors, where I come from (Noosa, Australia) people make terribly bad quality home made cinema adds for there local companys. I could do better, most of the time)

I'm really keen on making basic SD documentarys so I'm most likely going to get the Imac but thankyou for your advice

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