Looks like no one’s replied in a while. To start the conversation again, simply ask a new question.

User profile for user: Shannon Williams1
Shannon Williams1 Author
User level: Level 1
19 points

Buying a new Mac for FCP X...Help

Looking to buy a new iMac and my primary reason is to use FCPX. I will primarily be using FCPX for a videography side business. My primary business will be weddings, corporate, and music videos. I haven't purchased a Mac in a while so I need some opinions. (my current iMac is 2.93 Intel Core Duo/4GB Ram and using old Final Cut Pro HD).


Here are my options:


27" Retina

3.5 GHz i5

8GB

1TB Fusion Drive

AMD Radeon R9 M295X 4GB


27" Retina

3.3 GHz i5

8GB

1TB Serial ATA @7200

AMD Radeon R9 M290 2GB

From these two options, there is a $425 difference.


Questions:

- Is the better GPU worth the difference in price?

- Is the Fusion Drive or Serial the better option?

- The non Retina 27" iMac only has a 1GB GPU but obviously much cheaper...should this be an option?


From my reading, it seems that the GPU is the most important but I wanted to ask those who actually know.


Thanks in advance.

Posted on May 24, 2015 9:32 PM

Reply
Question marked as Best reply
User profile for user: Luis Sequeira1
Luis Sequeira1
User level: Level 9
64,472 points

Posted on May 25, 2015 3:06 AM

A few thoughts:

1) yes, a better GPU may have you covered for longer and provide better performance with FCP X. The CPU speed is probably not much noticeable day to day.

2) for general OS performance and responsiveness, an SSD boot drive or Fusion drive can make a difference.

3) since you will need fast external drives for your media, you are likely to not need so much internal space. if budget allows, I would easily go for a 256GB or 512GB SSD instead of the Fusion; and definitely skip the single HD option.

4) while it will work ok with just 8GB, for larger projects you will soon see the benefits of extra RAM. Fortunately for the 27" imacs one can still buy that ram from reputable third parties (OWC or Crucial come to mind), for much less than it would cost from Apple directly. You can buy with 8GB, use it that way and decide later on more RAM.

View in context
2 replies
Question marked as Best reply
User profile for user: Luis Sequeira1
Luis Sequeira1
User level: Level 9
64,472 points

May 25, 2015 3:06 AM in response to Shannon Williams1

A few thoughts:

1) yes, a better GPU may have you covered for longer and provide better performance with FCP X. The CPU speed is probably not much noticeable day to day.

2) for general OS performance and responsiveness, an SSD boot drive or Fusion drive can make a difference.

3) since you will need fast external drives for your media, you are likely to not need so much internal space. if budget allows, I would easily go for a 256GB or 512GB SSD instead of the Fusion; and definitely skip the single HD option.

4) while it will work ok with just 8GB, for larger projects you will soon see the benefits of extra RAM. Fortunately for the 27" imacs one can still buy that ram from reputable third parties (OWC or Crucial come to mind), for much less than it would cost from Apple directly. You can buy with 8GB, use it that way and decide later on more RAM.

Reply

Buying a new Mac for FCP X...Help

Welcome to Apple Support Community
A forum where Apple customers help each other with their products. Get started with your Apple ID.
Learn more Sign up