fcp users: 2006 2.66 mac pro or 2008 3.08 24" imac?

i am a new final cut pro user. my needs are lightweight-i won't being using color or even motion-just cutting short projects in sd/hdv/hd.

my budget is limited. i am looking at local craiglist offerings.

the two machines i am most interested in are a 2006 2.66 mac pro and a 2008 3.08 24" imac.

the imac comes with the nvidea geforce 8800/512 video card. the mac pro nvidea geforce 7300 gt/256 video card.

the mac pro comes with 4gb ram expandable to 8gig. the imac comes with 4gb ram and is filled.

the imac comes w/500gd hard drive. the mac pro comes with 2x500 gb hard drives and is able to take 2 more internal hard drives.

the imac "comes" with a 24" 1920 screen. i would need to buy a decent monitor for the mac pro.

both come with airport.

the mac pro has many more firewire in/outs. the imac has one fw400 & one fw800 which i imagine are on the same bus. neither have any esata ports.

the bus speed of the mac pro is 667, the imac bus speed is 800.

the imac has 2 more years of applecare. the mac pro does not come w/applecare.

i can get both machines for the same price-$1400.

the is my 1st final cut pro dedicated machine, not my last.

so all u final cut pro users, which machine would u buy and why?

thanks in advance to all who care to share.

be well

rob

Older Mac Pro 100%.

It has PCIe and can support the following capture / accelerator cards:
1. BlackMagic Design, Decklink or Studio
2. AJA LHe / Kona3
3. Matrox MXO2 / CompressHD
4. Able to Add eSATA Cards, Fiber Channel and various RAID cards (SCSI, SATA and SAS).

Try doing any of the previous with the brick called iMac. It is geared towards consumers and that firewire 800 port is already outdated.

My 2ç.
-C

Assuming you have the money for a decent monitor, the Mac Pro will give you a lot more flexibility> You can add internal disk and memory. You get a choice of Firewire ports, which will help if you have/want external/portable disks. In other words, you get a very good FCP machine from the start, with the flexibility to enhance it as your needs/wants develop.

OTOH, the iMac is complete and a one-box solution, and will run FCP OK. But waht you get is what you're stuck with.

If you have the money for the monitor, I'd go with the Mac Pro and get a decent monitor. Don't see any disadvantage, unless you don't like the look.

Without a question the Mac Pro is the better machine for FCP.That model Mac Pro has either one or two dual core Xeon processors. Two processors is a really big advantage when you are rendering. There is much better expandability too, even such simple things as being able to add another three disk drives internally.

Agreed with the others, the Mac Pro is your best bet.

You should also consider purchasing Pro Care from Apple. Although it's not a warranty it does give you priority service from Apple (pre-set appointments) and 24-hour turn-around on parts if needed. You can only purchase it from your local Apple Store, not online.

all-

i appreciate the feedback.

all seem to suggest that the mac pro is the way to go. i knew the idea of using the imac would be functionally okay but in time i would want more. i was willing to allow that learning curve to take some time then move the 24" imac into its role as a machine for my home. that said, i am a video professional who now wants/needs to edit his own efforts-or at least make the 1st attempt. my needs are rather simple-mostly cuts and simple transitions all which can be easily accomplished on a imac w/4gb of ram and a 512 video card. where i am less secure is in the rendering time and dvd burning time. i imagine the mac pro would accomplish both tasks much quicker.

the difference in price between a mac pro and an imac is $1k which translates into 4 days of me paying one of my editors to sit w/me and go thru my footage. i'm sure once i get up and running on a mac pro, i'll find 4 days "savings" to justify the cost.

at this moment, i'm leaning towards an 8 core. sounds like a bit over the top but the pricing for the cheaper models with additional ram and quicker video card leads me to believe the 8 core is the sweet spot in the used mac pro market.

of course, ymmv (your mileage may vary)

be well

rob