You can get up to a decent amount of RAM in small steps and intermittent purchases of small sticks. THe X1900 XT is a pretty set-in-stone investment; you cannot get, say, a 256MB version of that card and upgrade 256MB more later. Therefore, I'd suggest buying the videocard first, since a) the card is cheaper to get with your computer and b) can't be bought independently from your computer for an inexpensive price, and then work your way up the system RAM scale as money becomes available to you.
Looks like Apple needed to keep buyers from canceling or from changing their order to the lesser graphics card. That is the only business reason for the price drop that I can think of.
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That said - I'd go for the Ram. Upgrade the card later if need be.
Can't really speak for Aperture but fcp will run fine with the standard card.
The Radeon will suit you much better in Aperture.
It's a tough choice. I'd go for the Radeon now, and upgrade the RAM later.
Although get the least amount of RAM you can from Apple, and get the rest you need elsewhere.
It boils down to which program you use more. FCP? go with the RAM, the video card if you're going to use Aperture.
How well will final cut run on 1GB of RAM?
hint: this is an unnecessarily naughty way of asking whether you're editing DV cam stuff or 1080p
And you forgot Hollywood porn features.
I will be using Final Cut Studio a lot. I will also be using aperature a lot, but I have't decided if I want to shoot RAW yet.
How well will final cut run on 1GB of RAM?
I will be primarily editting DV (the camreas are the schools thus no HD) but some HD, more and more as time goes by.
P.S. -- A porn production at the age of 15 would be quite an accomplishment...