New computer

[JeffReckart]

Guys & gals,

Got about a $1000 to spend on a new computer to run Propresenter. any suggestions on some specs? I'm not mac person, so not familar with mac specs, but a mac is what the leadership want.
Help?

Jr

[Natepelzel]

We recently bought an iMac to run propresenter and I absolutely love it. On apple's refurbished site for 1,019 there's a 21.5 inch with a quad core 2.5 Ghz i5. It's got a 500 gb hd and 512 mb graphics. I'd prefer a 1Gb graphics card, but you can't get an iMac that size for under 1500 bucks.

We used a 512 graphics card in our Mac pro for years with propresenter without a hitch, so it shouldn't be a problem.

That machine would probably be the biggest bang for your buck. I've purchased many computers from apple's refurb store And have never had a problem.

So ya, that's my two cents

Hope that helps, feel free to ask any more questions of you have any,

Nate

[sempei13]

I love Macs, but you're not going to find many out there for less than $1000. The notable exception is here: http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/specialdeals/mac As I'm writing, there's a macbook, a macbook pro, and two iMacs for around $1000 ($850-1019). I'd get the i5 iMac for $1019. That's better than the one we're running ProPresenter on at our satellite campus.

Paul

[petereit]

Agreed. Just about any of the newer aluminum & glass iMacs will run ProPresenter smooth as silk. Starting to see more and more hit eBay and refurb listings since folks are starting to swap them out for the new Thunderbolt-equipped models.

[JeffReckart]

OK, need more help! the new 21" 2.5 mac listed here doesn't have an external vga port, that i see? I need 3 screens 1 control, i front projector, 1 rear projector/stage display? How is that accomplished?

the imac has the on screen built in, but what about the other two?

JR

[petereit]

The iMac itself is your primary control screen, the mini displayport on the back feeds your projector and use a USB display dongle for your fold back. This is exactly how we use ProPresenter.

[JeffReckart]

1. on the new imac shown here there isn't a display port???


________________________________________

2. Usb 2 vga dongle? Can Usb handle the work load of displaying that? any suggestions of a "good" one?

JR

[bpalermini]

We put a Mac Mini (the more expensive one with the AMD Radion graphics card) into a newly remodeled room 6 weeks ago and it is working great for ProPresenter 4. We use moving backgrounds, play video, etc with no glitches. It has a HDMI and Thunderbolt outputs that we have dongles connected to to go to our projector and control monitor. We will likely upgrade another room with this same setup in the near future.

[petereit]

Originally Posted by JeffReckart

1. on the new imac shown here there isn't a display port???


________________________________________

2. Usb 2 vga dongle? Can Usb handle the work load of displaying that? any suggestions of a "good" one?

JR

Oops! Sorry, showing my age: on the newer iMacs it's the Thunderbolt port that feeds the external monitor.

For the USB video, check out ProPresenter's video accessories page. It's the device at the bottom.

[petereit]

I should probably clarify: any mini displayport adapter wil plug right into the Thunderbolt port. So the other mini displayport adapters on the ProPresenter video adaptor page will work for your main projector output.

[JeffReckart]

so the 21.5 2.5gmhz imac with 4g Ram,
one thunderbolt>Vga dongle,
and the USB toVGA Renewed Vision sells,
and a copy of propresenter 4,

will get me going with a computer and display to run PP4, a feed to the main Projector, and a stage display feed to the projector shining on ther back wall.

anything else i'm gonna need ?

have the two projectors and cables and such in place aready.

JR

[petereit]

That should do it! That's all we use.