Just had a chat with Mac Sales Adviser

[Frances144]

As you may know, I have a iBook G4 with external hard drive and extra 512mb RAM.

I use a Canon MVX3i and Powershot ISs2 camcorder/camera.

I make DVD's using iDVD and iMovie and FotoMagico and each film is about 6 minutes long (15 max).

Now, my iBook is coping very well as I tend to get bored and go and open other apps in the middle of doing something else.  I like to have Mail open all the time with broadband on (just in case someone loves me!), Safari is usually open, Preview, iPhoto (if I am editing photos), and iTunes.

Then add iMovie or FotoMagico and the whole thing freezes.

Am I asking too much of my iBook (or any iBook)?  My Advisor said that my iBook should cope with films but it usually gets its knickers in a twist and then I lose stuff when it freezes.

SHould I be more focussed and close everything else down and just work in one app at a time and stop drifting from one to app to another?

Should I get a bigger better Mac to devote totally to the films?  ie a 24" iMac? and leave the iBook for my drifting and iTunes.

Advisor said that if iBook was not coping, something was very very wrong.   oooooh (backing up as we speak).

Thanks
Francesx

[gunug]

I feel like the iBook G4 is a little lightweight for too much of that load.  Others might have different opinions!  Even with 512Ram added aren't we talking about 1Gig or less of Ram?  Video editing is a memory intensive (as well as a processor intensive) activity.  When you ask it to do other tasks at the same time you're talking about a lot of hard drive swap and laptop drives are generally kind of puny in cache and also not the fastest (5400rpm or less).  Other people might have a different opinion but I think I'd go for a G5 or Intel desktop at least.

[Frances144]

Thanks Gunug - when you say Intel desktop, do you mean iMac or something else?

I think the G5 is a humungous amount of money for what I want, but if I am only going to be upgrading (as I learn the business or get better or even use FCE and Studio Pro) in a few years time anyway, would it be better to go for the big one now or then?

[gunug]

By Intel I mean what Apple is making other than G5's!  I'm "not" real fond of the iMAC G5's (5 failed out of 83 machines) but maybe you'd be okay!  I'm not buying anything new due to the expense; I'm thinking of holding out awhile and picking up a used dual-G5.

[Frances144]

Top of the range Mac mini?

[Paddy]

Frances, I don't think you'd really want a mini. The video in them is the integrated Intel GMA 950 graphics processor with 64MB of DDR2 SDRAM shared with main memory - in other words pretty bottom of the line. The iMacs (apart from the bottom of the line 17" one) have ATI Radeon X1600 with 128MB of GDDR3 SDRAM - and in the 20" and 23" models you can upgrade that to the NVIDIA GeForce 7600 GT with 256MB SDRAM for another $75 US. The minis only take 2GB of RAM - the iMac up to 3 GB.

However, you also might want to consider a PowerMac of some sort. Which one depends entirely on how much money you are willing to spend. You could get a dual processor G5 (2 to 2.5GHz) for around $900 to $1400, judging by the prices on eBay. Obviously, you'll need to go looking on your side of the pond - and the prices may be somewhat higher. Another option is a refurbed iMac from Apple - those can be had for similar amounts. With the iMac, you'd have a lovely screen too...

20" 2GHz refurbed iMac - UK Apple store

There are also refurbed G5s and Intel PowerMacs on offer - again, depends on how much you're willing to spend.

Pretty much any of them, with the addition of some RAM (no less than 2GB would be my recommendation if you're doing video editing) is going to run circles around your iBook.

[Xairbusdriver]

I don't think I would ever recommend using the computer that is 'paying its way' as a personal machine ( web surfing, email, Preview and iTunes [the last two are definitely not a professional apps] ). I suspect that all those other apps are being used for mainly entertainment and personal activities. Backing up is, of course, critical for any money making activities, but asking an iBook to do what you are even with 1G of memory is a lot. Memory accessing is only one aspect of the work your asking this machine to do. As gunug said, video processing is extremely cpu intensive, a massive amount of computational activities going on behind the scene. And with the usually slower drives of most laptops, you are also trying to use a small door to pass through several Grand piano's at once! When the machine runs out of real RAM, it starts using the disk and it is obviously having a hard time keeping up.

My suggestion would be to get a dedicated machine to do the video editing, at least a well equipped dual processor G5 desktop or the new Mac Pro. Much of the hardware in the iMacs are actually laptop-based ( slower drives, smaller cache sizes, less powerful video hardware, etc. ), if you get one, make sure it has the faster drives, as much RAM as you can afford and the largest screen ( 24" ). I would still recommend that you not use it for web surfing/iTunes while processing a video.

Apple has done a super job of memory allocating with OS X, but cycles are cycles, each time you add a running app, it will at least be asking for some of those. Whatever it gets may also be more efficiently used by that video editor.

[Frances144]

Thanks for all your suggestions.

I have printed off this thread and am going to sit down, with a glass of single malt, to read it and inwardly digest.

There is Mac Expo (ok, I use the term loosely - Mac Advisor is in community centre with his Mac set-up) on Friday and Saturday so I may do a spot of shopping.

Oooooh!

Also I will look at re-furbs.  I have nothing against paying less money.

Thanks again.

Fx

[kelly]

I still say go Intel for what you'll do.

Mac Pro IntelTower. Or 20" Intel imac.

[Gregg]

I'd go smaller and better if I could.

That is externally smaller, of course.