buying a used Mac for editing

I am a total rookie to Mac and Final Cut. I have taken one editing class, am scheduled for another and want to purchase a used Mac for the class and am not sure if the one I'm looking at is a smart buy for my needs now and later. It is a G4, 533MHz, 512 RAM, 1MB level 2 backside cache, 133MHz system bus. It is loaded with Tiger 10.4.1, Final Cut Pro, DVD Studio Pro and Adobe CS complete V1. What I've read on line says this is the absolute minimum for Final Cut but not enough for the HD version. Is this a wise purchase or should I go with a minimum 1GHz chip so I can run HD?

Thanks

You need more speed and more ram. Get a dual 533 with at least a gig of ram and a second 100 gb hard drive.

I used the system you were looking at and yes, you can edit with it, but very slowly for any FX or titles. I don't know if it will run FCP 5.

Good luck!

Kevin

I agree. Aim higher. Go with a g5

Ian

If you can afford a G5, go with that, for sure. However, if there are budget constraints, a dual-processor G4 (but at least dual 1G) plus 1.5G RAM, plus fast internal additional Hard Drive is essential.

This will do the job, but be aware is not qualified for Motion. I used a setup like the one described for a couple of years and while it's true that RT effects are limited, you can adjust your workflow to get around that.

hth

KL

If you are serious about being able to adequately edit video and video compositing titling and other chores, you'd be best to find a recent used G5 2.0 GHz MAC or better.

Your money better spent. Yes a G4 can do much, but a G5 would be the best use of your resources.

I'm with everyone else. You will quickly want more speed and power than the minimum. It is possible, but not that much fun, to edit with the machine you are looking at.

the minimum g4 i would reccommend for fcp. would be the dual 1.4. i had one of those with 2 gigs of ram and it worked just fine.

"the minimum g4 i would reccommend for fcp. would be the dual 1.4."

I've been running on a G4 dual 1.25 with 2 gig of ram for about 2 years now. I've noticed performance issues with big projects. I've been suffering through "Preparing Video for Display" for the past couple of months while working on a feature length doc. It sometimes takes up to 10 minutes (or at least it feels that long) to get my sequence up and running. I've cut a number of shorts, none longer than 10 minutes and she ran like a dream. It's just the larger projects that hit her pretty hard.

Can't wait to get through this project so I can go FCP Studio on a G5.....




Would you kill to make a movie? [www.roughcutmovie.com]

I've been suffering through "Preparing Video for Display" for the past couple of months while working on a feature length doc.

That's been fixed in FCP 5. Go for it!

Kevin Monahan