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Stable hackintosh for video editing possible for $600?

S

slackerinabox

Lifer
My 24" iMac seems to finally be biting the dust so I'll be needing a new desktop video editing system. I'm considering just buying a refurb iMac for around $900 but would consider a hackintosh if the price is right (considering I need to buy a nicer LCD than I have).

Would an apx $600 hackintosh be stable and bug free enough for video editing? I'm guessing a nice specced LCD will cost me $200 so, at a total investment of $800, is it worth the hassle to save $100 or should I just get an iMac?

On that note, the newew mac minis are pretty affordable, are they good enough for final cut pro editing of 1080p footage (with an external HD for storage/swap disk).

Thanks!
 
Is that refurb iMac an i5, 21.5"? Or an older 24"?

If you could live with the smaller screen, an iMac is not a bad way to go, new or used. I wouldn't pay that much for an older non-i5 iMac though.

As for a Hackintosh, use the Kakewalk build examples as a gauge.
http://www.kakewalk.se/computer-builds/

It's a pretty good rule of thumb, your $600 budget range is in the low end of the spectrum. Starting with the key elements, CPU, motherboard, graphic card, you can easily get an i3 and fairly decent graphics. An i5 is going to add at least another $100 onto even the lowest end build, so I'd say $700 is a more realistic entry level for an i5, not $600. The moderate build is a little bloated, but even shaving off some bloat that's going to be $750-$800.

Then of course another $200 or so for a monitor, you're not saving much.

What you are getting is better performance, (Final Cut Pro works beautifully on any of those builds, setup with Kakewalk) and a larger monitor of your choice. Although you're not going to get the best choice of specs for $200.

Meanwhile, a Mac Mini might just work fine for you also. Even the entry level handles Final Cut Pro just fine- it just depends on what you'll be doing with it.

I use FCP 7 all the time, and I'd gauge the minimum type of machine I'd run it on like so:

1. Projects with mostly 1 track of 1080p video, the occasional B-track also at 1080p, and a minimal effects, and transitions that require rendering: an entry Mac Mini with maximum RAM added would be fine, and even older Core2 based iMacs, Hackintoshes etc. with at least 8GB of RAM would be fine.

2. Projects with multiple tracks of 1080p video, lots of effects and transitions that require rendering: Go with as beefy a system as you can afford, an i5 or i7, a very capable graphics card (no onboard anything) and lots of RAM.



So basically, your budget range makes it kind of a toss up, depends on what you want and what kind of projects you'll be working on, and if you can live with a smaller monitor vs. a larger (but probably lesser quality) third party monitor. Depending on those factors, any of the available choices may suit your needs.
 
Wow- thanks guys! Since I'm no longer editing professionally and just want to use it for family videos, a Mac Mini seems like the logical choice. But the extra power for not much more scratch seems appealing - checking out kakewalk right now. Thanks again!
 
Just get an iMac. Will be about the same price in the end after everything and you get a 27" screen which just happens to be fantastic.
 
And not having to mess with the system beyond using it for its intended purpose is always nice.
 
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