Maybe I am wrong?
But in 4 to 5 years more than likely that machine won't support a new card either the OS could not be upgraded or some point in the hardware string won't either.

I dunno, anyway it does get to a point that just buying the latest and greatest makes more sense even if it cost more.

Dave,
I got the iMac with an upgraded video card so that it will handle a lot. And it only is 512MB.

The new 27" one comes with ATI Radeon HD 5750 1GB GDDR5 SDRAM (or you can upgrade the "low end" 27" to that card), which should last you for a long time.

Let me ask you this: do you do a lot of video rendering/editing? I'm not talking iMovie or the occasional Final Cut Express. I mean FCP or whatever.
Do you do heavy photo editing with Photoshop/Aperture?

If you answer no to either of those, you will be fine for years to come. Even if you answer yes, I would bet that you will be fine for at the minimum of 5 years.

Personally, the iMac is the way to go. Even a quad core iMac is a bit overkill for most folks as they don't have/use any apps that take full use of the multiple cores.

This is probably what I would get:

2.8GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i5
4GB 1333MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 2x2GB
2TB Serial ATA Drive
8x double-layer SuperDrive
ATI Radeon HD 5750 1GB GDDR5 SDRAM
Apple Wireless Keyboard (English) & User's Guide
Magic Mouse

this:

2.8GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i5
4GB 1333MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 2x2GB
1TB Serial ATA Drive + 256GB Solid State Drive
8x double-layer SuperDrive
ATI Radeon HD 5750 1GB GDDR5 SDRAM
Apple Wireless Keyboard (English) & User's Guide
Magic Mouse

or this:

2.93GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i7
4GB 1333MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 2x2GB
1TB Serial ATA Drive + 256GB Solid State Drive
8x double-layer SuperDrive
ATI Radeon HD 5750 1GB GDDR5 SDRAM
Apple Wireless Keyboard (English) & User's Guide
Magic Mouse

Add ram later from somewhere else for cheaper price.

I think I'm doing #3... the i7.... yes minimum RAM cause Apple charges a premium*. I don't need it now, but if I do it'll be cheaper later, just because technology gets cheaper as time progresses.

* actually priced 4 GB 1333 RAM and Apple isn't that far off... they charge $180, MacSales charges $144 to $159 for a similar RAM chip. Yes cheaper, but before Apple charged 35-50% more ! But if I wait 1-2 years, it might be << $100 !!

Mainly I do iMovie, so I'm sure this will be more than adequate.

Thanks for the input John and Steve.
I think I'm also going to do the Barkleys Card and pay it off in 11 months... = free loan. I've done this on numerous other items, like TVs from BrandsMart & furniture from Rooms to Go... I am disciplined.

Just curious, what version?

I have version 6.0.4

I find it okay for my needs, certainly don't need FCP.

Then again once you start on a project in iMovie, then some where along the way you morph a George Lucas type of producer. You then start to want all the power and special effects that iMovie does not have

I always do the 0% interest free thing.

I just did a bunch of digital video with iMovie 8 and it was a snap.

8 wow I am still on 6 - LOL

Anyway do you use the Apple templates? be nice if there was a huge selection

Using V 8.0 but need to upgrade... with my old G5 I can't until I get an Intel Mac.
Same with several other programs like Camtasia, I'm really "stuck" in old school with the non-Intel Mac.

And now the pricing is out:

base price for single 6 core: $3,699.00
base price for 8 core: $3,499.00


You can upgrade the 8 core to the 6 core.

Video cards in 8:
ATI Radeon HD 5770 1GB
Two ATI Radeon HD 5770 1GB [Add $250.00]
ATI Radeon HD 5870 1GB [Add $200.00

.
And $2,499 for the 2.8GHz Quad-core.
.