Macworld Forums

Hi, newbie here.

I'm just about to buy my first mac (PC user for 15 years!)

I need a mac to be able to learn FINAL CUT STUDIO 2 (I'm an AVID editor of 17 years)

Was going to buy a Mac mini, but learnt on the Apple website that it cannot run FC STUDIO 2?

What would be the minimum spec to run FC STUDIO 2 just for the purpose's of learning the software?

Buying a Mac mini would be good for me, but could I also buy an iMAC Intel Core 2 Duo 2.16GHz with ATI RV370 Graphic Card, 2GB and OS-X Leopard (seen on ebay)?

Also is the ATI RV370 the same as 128Mb ATI Radeon X1600?


Many Thanks

matlough,
Personally i never trust ebay for any computer purchases, if you want to risk the purchase, than you will be able to get a better feel for what FCS2 can do. The problem with the mac mini is the GMA video card(or lack there of), which will render motion useless. I do believe their is a patch somewhere on the internet to allow motion to start with the GMA card, but the ability to work in the program will be unbearable. Editing in Final Cut is doable, i have seen people edit on these machines, you wont be able to utilize Unlimited RT, and since your coming from Avid, getting used to having to render everything to view will be a bit frustrating. However with the Imac you would be able to lightly test Unlimited RT.

- It comes down to whether or not you can handle the lack of performance. An option i would suggest is to check out the refurbished macs on the apple store. You can find Imac on there for under 1000 sometimes and u have the option of adding applecare an invaluable investment, for any mac.


-Incase you havent checked out the Tech Specs for Final Cut Studio: http://www.apple.com/finalcutstudio/specs/

-In regards to the ATI RV370 that is not a mac based card, and in fact i think that is chip but i could be wrong.

Good Luck with your decision

matlough,

In a very similar position myself a few years ago
and would advise biting the bullet and shelling out for a Mac with decent spec rather than trying to get FCS2 to perform on a slow machine. Motion 3 will be a no go area on a slow set up and layering video and mixing multiple audios will be a drag without any realtime capacity. After learning FCP3 on 'top of the range' G4, I was happy to start taking 'offline' jobs and the
Mac was paid for in days!! It's an investment!

I have always bought refurbs from Apple with never a problem.

Regards

matlough,
I was having the same thoughts buying a Mac Book but reading the specs for the Mac Book I was having second thoughts, although I am not a professional editor and not into Motion I would be better off with an iMac the latest one’s have Firewire 800 which would help with HD files. What I would really like is a lower price lower spec Mac Pro Tower.
arnoldr