Help Needed for an new Mac !

[Genoslide]

Hey guys,

I'm starting a new course soon and that requires me to buy a new mac. I was wondering if there was someone who could help me out on giving me adivce on how to to go about buying one (how much it would cost and/or good places to buy one for a good price).

Its a Mac thats more than 600 MHZ and it has to include the following software:
Final Cut Pro or Final Cut Express
DVD Studio pro ( or similar DVD authoring software such as iDVD )
Microsoft word
Some sort of music creation software ( such as garageband , Soundtrack or similar)
An image editing software like Photoshop or Photoshop Elements

Personally i am more of a PC maniac so i wouldnt have a clue on where to start looking for macs!

thanks alot guys !

Genoslide

[beeswax34]

Requires a Mac??? What exactly are you doing?

[Rob99]

Requires a Mac??? What exactly are you doing?

A guess, learning this software

Final Cut Pro or Final Cut Express
DVD Studio pro ( or similar DVD authoring software such as iDVD )
Microsoft word
Some sort of music creation software ( such as garageband , Soundtrack or similar)
An image editing software like Photoshop or Photoshop Elements

[Genoslide]

love the humor in that question beeswax34 . its a diploma in digital film. it explained why a mac . for its ease of use and steadyness of final cut pro ..honeslty when i was studying in natcoll ..i found final cut pro on a mac being so unpredictable that i used to work on premire pro on my PC at home! .

[winmacguy]

Requires a Mac??? What exactly are you doing?

Simple answer to that would be DV and Multimedia editing.

[winmacguy]

[QUOTE=Genoslide;562082]Hey guys,

I'm starting a new course soon and that requires me to buy a new mac. I was wondering if there was someone who could help me out on giving me adivce on how to to go about buying one (how much it would cost and/or good places to buy one for a good price).

Its a Mac thats more than 600 MHZ and it has to include the following software:
Final Cut Pro or Final Cut Express
DVD Studio pro ( or similar DVD authoring software such as iDVD )
Microsoft word
Some sort of music creation software ( such as garageband , Soundtrack or similar)
An image editing software like Photoshop or Photoshop Elements

Personally i am more of a PC maniac so i wouldnt have a clue on where to start looking for macs!

thanks alot guys !

Whats your budget?
I would say either look on Trademe or ask at the University of Auckland Computer Store since Apple does do Student discounts.
Budget wise you would probably be better of getting Final Cut Express for PPC if it is available otherwise you will be getting Final Cut Studio 2 which runs on Intel Macs. The music creation software and iDVD comes standard on Mac OS X Tiger as part of iLife and get Photoshop Education version which can be bought as a free standing app rather than Photoshop Elements since Elements is not used

You should be able to pick up either a 17 inch Intel iMac at a reduced student price since they are being EOLd or you could look at a MacBook Pro and look at getting 2GB of RAM cause you will need it.

If your looking on Trademe, you will need to look for the Intel Macs rather than the older PPC Macs.

What versions of Photoshop is the school running?

Macs are pretty much becoming or have become the industry standard overseas where TV production or DV production is involved especially in places like the BBC or US TV stations.

[winmacguy]

Personally i am more of a PC maniac so i wouldnt have a clue on where to start looking for macs!

thanks alot guys !

Genoslide

If you need any other usefull advice you could ask the guys in the Campus IT store at Auckland Uni since they do actually give informed advice for Free without making you buy stuff.