Help choosing - IMAC 5K, trashcan - macbook pro

[Humberto Ramos]

Hi all,

I will need to buy a new computer for video editing and need your help to decide the best option for my case, for now i'm only delivering in 1080p and the computer will be used with resolve 11 and adobe programs.

- I would not like to spend more than 6000 euro (7500 usd) and want a mac, cause always have used it and I prefer it.
- I have an late 2009 IMAC 27" that can work via mini display port as second monitor
- I also want a raid system to work with.

Option 1:
macbook pro 15" retina all up - 3.249 €
ThunderBay 4 RAID 5 12 TB - 1.029€
Total = 4.279€ (5500$)
(option 1 is the cheapest option and would have)


Option 2:
IMAC 5K all up - 4.599€
ThunderBay 4 RAID 5 12 TB - 1.029€
Total = 5.628€ (7181$)

Option 3
Trashcan 4 core all up 6199€ (7909$)
or
Trashcan 6 core all up 6699€ (8547$)
(option 3 exceeds the 6000€ I would like to spend, will not have dual display as I would have to use my old imac 27" only, would not have the 12TB RAID


What in your opinion would be the best option for me?

 

[john zerihoun]

If you're only working in a 1080p environment there's no need to even think about option 3.

What you are left with then is the alternative of being mobile(option 1) or get some more juice and a 5k screen(option 2).

 

[Humberto Ramos]

If you're only working in a 1080p environment there's no need to even think about option 3.

What you are left with then is the alternative of being mobile(option 1) or get some more juice and a 5k screen(option 2).

Thanks John,

Right now I'm nor working with 4K, but in the future will be.

 

[Michael Jarvis]

I suggest purchasing a maxed out iMac....use it for 2 years as a stop-gap solution...sell it while it still has value. At that point upgrade to the next best version, with Broadwell (or newer chip) and save the 6 grand now (top end nMP). Use the iMac as a stop-gap solution to save money now and invest into a much better system than is currently available. It's will save you money for the next 2-3 years with this plan and you will end up with a much better rig in a few years once technology turns a corner.

This is is what I plan on doing. I personally do not want to invest 10k in a nMP with the fast rate that tech is being release....especially with Broadwell around the corner. I would rather get and iMac now, with its display benefit, and plan on selling it in 2-3 years for a newer iMac that is more powerful that a top end current nMP. It will save me money in the long run....my projects with turn out fine for the next 2-3 years....and I'll end up with a great rig in a few years that blows current systems out of the water....and save money now.

Thats my take. Another way to think of it is....whatever system you get now, you probably will not want in 2-3 years anyway. Currently the tech is not good enough for me to spend 10k on a single rig. I'd rather wait for a few things to be implemented.

 

[Humberto Ramos]

I suggest purchasing a maxed out iMac....use it for 2 years as a stop-gap solution...sell it while it still has value. At that point upgrade to the next best version, with Broadwell (or newer chip) and save the 6 grand (now). Use the iMac as a stop-gap solution to save money now and invest into a much better system than is currently available. It's will save you money for the next 2-3 years with this plan and you will end up with a much better rig in a few years once technology turns a corner.

This is is what I plan on doing. I personally do not want to invest 10k in a nMP with the fast rate that tech is being release....especially with Broadwell around the corner. I would rather get and iMac now, with its display benefit, and plan on selling it in 2-3 years for a newer iMac that is more powerful that a top end current nMP. It will save me money in the long run....my projects with turn out fine for the next 2-3 years....and I'll end up with a great rig in a few years that blows current systems out of the water....and save money now.

Thats my take. Another way to think of it is....whatever system you get now, you probably will not want in 2-3 years anyway. Currently the tech is not good enough for me to spend 10k on a single rig. I'd rather wait for a few things to be implemented.

Thanks Michael,

that is a good point, option 2 with imac 5k and 12TB raid now using my old imac as second monitor. When broad well comes out I can sell the 5k imac and old imac and buy something good at that time, a broadwell imac 5k, MacBook Pro or even trashcan, also can keep the imac 5k as second monitor if at that time the 5k monitor of imac still a good option...

What about RAID is my option a good one? (ThunderBay 4 RAID 5 12 TB working on raid 5)

 

[Michael Jarvis]

I actually have a different take on raid systems that I am sure I will get a lot of flack for....but it works great for me and has never failed. I actually do not like raid systems at all. Yes they are redundant...but it is possible to have software corruptions as well....not just hardware. Also...your using your redundant system a lot. This drives are spinning. Why not keep a redundant system as new as possible.

Thats why I abandon the raid system and purchase drives in pairs...in separate enclosures. I keep assets identical on both separate enclosures and keep my current session files in the cloud, not my desktop, and on my primary working drive. At the end of the day...I back it up to my redundant system. So my redundant enclosure only gets used to back things up...its not working all day when it doesn't need to.

So I purchase drives in pairs of 8TB each. So I buy 16 TB at a time. The redundant system only gets used when I back things up for a few minutes at the end of the day. I have current session files in multiple places. Its probably less expensive...and more mobile if I need it to be. Its rock solid and I have never had any problems...and I'm not dealing with the headache of "how do I want to configure this raid..." and all the complications of wasting space because of the type of raid and redundancy I want.

2 separate enclosures = rock solid and simple.

 

[Humberto Ramos]

Thanks again Michael,

I see your point and I was thinking in a similar way to yours.

I will start next month a wildlife documentary work and I want the 12TB raid or even 16TB to work with all my files from there, and I intent to backup all files in non raid drives. Each time I return from the wild, I put the files in the raid to work from there and at the same time will backup them to the other drives. I can also think in getting two raids, one to work and other to backup.

 

[Mike Garrick]

Im sort a already doing what Michael suggests.

Currently on a fully spec'd Imac 7, after the untimely death of my Mac Pro (last model) . Anyway I'm now planning on selling the current Imac and upgrading to the 5K version without a big expense. Looks like I may be doing this every couple of years from now on in.

 

[Michael Jarvis]

Yea, I look at computers as expendables. There is no reason for me to invest 10k into a system that will absolutely be outdated and worth almost nothing in a few years. So, for me, it's much better to get a system that is solid, but doesn't break the bank...use the heck out of it and trade it up every 2-3 years.

I could easily buy the 10k + systems...but it just doesn't seem to make a lot of sense to me these days when the processing power of a computer like the iMac is acceptable....yea it's not a powerful as a nMP but it does check a lot of boxes and I can live with it being slightly slower on some rendering jobs. In 2 - 3 years, I'm sure the next iMac will beat the pants off the current Mac Pro ....if the Mac apro still exists at that point.

 

[Daniel Kelly Brown]

Thats why I abandon the raid system and purchase drives in pairs...in separate enclosures.

What enclosures do you use if you don't mind my asking?

 

[Saumene Mehrdady]

I'm in the same position as the OP. Had a freak accident with my current workhorse MBP and now I'm deciding between a maxed out 2013 rMBP, the new 5k iMac (4ghz i7, 295x, and 1TB fusion drive), or a base model refurbished nMP for 2549 + 1TB blade SSD from ebay and ram from amazon.

I think they are all about the same performance wise, it's just the expandability vs. portability feature that I have to choose. Its a hard choice, as I really need to offload media and view shots while on set and I don't want to lug around a desktop and power supply everywhere

 

[Michael Jarvis]

What enclosures do you use if you don't mind my asking?

Sure, I normally buy 2 G-tech 8tb thunderbolt drives and make sure they are exact copies of one another. Soon I will most likely move to a system that uses an 8tb G-tech studio class (faster drive) and a less expensive 8tb drive as the redundant copy.

With this method, my work is always mobel. I can work from my MacPro tower or MacBook Pro Retina and always have a current session. I also keep current editing session copies in the cloud and my info is absolutely safe and redundant at all times. I work the crap out of the primary working drive and the redundant copy barely gets turned on.

This method keeps my work flow fluid, rock solid, and I'm not buying huuuuuge raid arrays and getting into that ecosystem. I have a mapped out strategy of how long I keep 100% of each project's assets until each project is moved off to cheap archive drive and never opened unless we need a re-edit.

Then, I have 1 small wallet size drive I always carry with me that has every project's master ProRes4444 video on it so I always have my projects with me. That little drive also is a redundant copy of my master video collection that is also on each computer.

I had a few raids fail over the years and the redundantcy did not work....so for me....it was time to jump ship on that workflow.