Question about Leasing Computer for AV work

[Wasko]

Hey, I've got a fairly high stakes gig coming up where I'm going to be using 4 projectors to create a panoramic dome projection. After testing our footage, and having my mid-2012 13' Macbook Pro not hold up in the frame rate department - we've concluded that given our time constraints we have to lease a computer. Finding a retailer that rents Macs was difficult; but we found one.

I am torn between their iMacs and their Macbook Pro Retinas. Neither have the juiced up power that would put my mind completely at ease - but I need the two display ports; and I've read great things about Mac Retinas + iMacs holding up to HD video content.

The Goal is to output 1 clip of HD footage to 4 projectors; split 4 ways in the advanced settings and then edge blended together (using a Matrox Triplehead2go). I'm hoping one of these two computers can handle this:

IMAC SPECS:
Base Features
· Processor Type
Intel Core i5
· Processor Speed
1.4 GHz
· RAM
8 GB (1600 MHz LPDDR3)
· Hard Drive Capacity
500 GB
· Hard Drive Speed (Revolutions Per Minute)
5400 rpm
· Pre-loaded Operating System
OS X Mavericks
· Graphics Card
Intel HD Graphics 5000
· Dedicated Graphic Card
No

MACBOOK PRO RETINA SPECS:

Processor
2.2 GHz Intel Core i7 Quad-Core 4th-Gen Crystalwell
Cache
L3: 6 MB
Memory
Onboard Type: 1600 MHz DDR3L SDRAM
Installed: 16 GB
Graphics Card
Type: Integrated
Installed: Intel Iris Pro Graphics with 128 MB Shared


I was at first leaning towards the iMac but the Retina has better components. I feel like this shouldn't be a massive load on a computer but - my Mac couldn't handle it and my new ground-up PC I'm having built is not yet ready.

Which do you think is the better choice? Thanks !

[He2neg]

None of these two is a good choice...

http://resolume.com/support

"What is the best laptop for Resolume?"

If you can afford them MacBook Pros are excellent laptops for Resolume.

Of course a decently specced PC will do a good job as well, be prepared to drop at least a €1000,- to secure yourself a decent machine. Remember that Resolume is a professional application with professional requirements. Getting a cheap bottom-end laptop to run it will more likely cause you headaches than save you money.
"What is the best hard drive for Resolume?"

The faster the better, 7200 RPM is the base minimum. If you want to mix in HD or if you really want things to fly, use an SSD.

Do not connect an external hard drive via USB2.0, unless you like strobing and stuttering.
"What is the best video card (GPU) for Resolume?"

All video rendering is done with openGL on the video card in Resolume, so you will want to get a good graphic card. But it is not necessary to break your entire budget on it.

In a laptop you should look for a dedicated GPU that does not share the RAM. A recent card by NVidia or AMD is usually fine. It can be problematic to run Resolume on the integrated Intel graphics processors you find in many (cheap) laptops. If you're thinking of going for one of these, be sure to try before you buy.

Please be aware that Matrox graphic cards do not support a recent enough version of OpenGL to work with Resolume. So Resolume will not work with a Matrox graphic card, but it works fine with a TripleHead or DualHead.

[Empyfree]

Where in the world are you? There are lots of suppliers in the UK for renting Mac Pros and other high spec MacBooks.