New Core 2 Duo Mac Book Pro's!!

I hear that, I just sold my G5 2GHz iMac and will be buying a new Mac. The only problem is I dont know which one. My wife wants her own 17" Mac Book Pro (I suggested the decked out 15.4" and she said it's "too" small.... 1.6" too small. YIKES!) The good thing about the Mac Book Pro is it can push a 30" monitor plus it's mobil.

I also just read an article that states Intel is releasing the new Clovertown quad core chip in mid-November...This will never end.........muaahahahahahahah
 
whachusay said:
insanityfw-

LOL These are definitley different.

I hope the heat issue has been solved in these core 2 duo's..... That is the only thing that has me on reserve..


They still run ridiculously hot.

I'm not sure if there's any improvement from previous models.
Just put a book or something on your lap...
 
I noticed that for the 15" versions there is not an option for a 7200 rpm hard drive at the Apple Store. I've read somewhere on this site that the 7200 rpm hard drive is the way to go so that I would not drop any frames during editing. Are the 120 gig or 160 gig ATA serial drives @ 5400 rpm going to get the job done? If not would one advise swapping out the 5400 rpm that comes with and installing a 7200 rpm hard drive from another computer store? Maybe the Apple Store has this option if I called. I noticed the 17" version does offer the 7200 rpm option.
 
For small work, the 5400rmp drive on a LAPTOP will do. But not for any real in-depth editing.

The other catch is, your MEDIA drive HAS to be 7200, on a laptop, and laptop only, FCP and the OS will do fine in a very limited fashion.

And Motion will just not work, as from what I remember, and I could be wrong, but I think the 15" has a graphics card Motion/Shake/Aperture won't run on.

Apple has all the specs on their site.

Besides, 15" is way to small to actually seriously edit on. I use a 17" PB to teach on, and I do some occational field editing with it, but I actually couldn't live with anything smaller than a real 27" LCD to edit on.

That's just me...
 
Thanks for your reply, Ben. It sounds like my only option for real laptop editing is on a 17" mac book pro, since apple only offers a 7200 rpm drive for the 17" laptop. (I plan on distributing an instructional video that will be distributed worldwide so I guess I qualify for a computer that does real in-depth editing.) I plan on also using the laptop as a field monitor using the DV Monitor software with my Kessler Crane. I was also planning to get in the future a 20" or 23" Apple Cinema display to edit with the laptop.
 
I must be getting old, but I'm getting tired of trying to keep up. Just when I get settled the rug gets pulled out from underneath me. I'm a bit nervous.

Changing from PC some years ago was a bit bumpy, but once I got going the Mac was the only way to go. Stable, tactile and easier to use.

My new old Macbook Pro is hotter than hell and freezes all the time. Feels like the old PC days only hotter. :)

People, please tell me Apple with slow their roll just a bit and get things back in order.

Don't start flaming, I still love my Macs, but the best of my bunch is still my old 12" powerbook and dual 2.0 power mac. My new laptop is just being used as a harddrive wired into my desktop, because it just can't be trusted. :)
 
I totally disagree with this post. I've edited plenty of longform DV and DVCPRO HD on 5400rpm drives, and never had a problem with my current 1.83 GHz MacBook Pro (January's model). You don't need a 7200 rpm drive.

Also, a 15" screen has been quite workable for me. In fact, I've edited multi-hour projects on old PowerBook screens with resolutions that pale in comparison to the new Macbook Pro screens. Obviously, a bigger screen is always nice, but most people, in my experience, can pretty easily adjust to a 15" screen. And you can always attach a second monitor for when you're working at your desk....



BenB said:
For small work, the 5400rmp drive on a LAPTOP will do. But not for any real in-depth editing.

The other catch is, your MEDIA drive HAS to be 7200, on a laptop, and laptop only, FCP and the OS will do fine in a very limited fashion.

And Motion will just not work, as from what I remember, and I could be wrong, but I think the 15" has a graphics card Motion/Shake/Aperture won't run on.

Apple has all the specs on their site.

Besides, 15" is way to small to actually seriously edit on. I use a 17" PB to teach on, and I do some occational field editing with it, but I actually couldn't live with anything smaller than a real 27" LCD to edit on.

That's just me...
 
Is it just me, but I have the idea that after the update for my macbook pro 17 inch afew weeks ago, the issue with the heat of the laptop is less?? Or is it because I got cold hearted :)

Niels
 
Niels Neeskens said:
Is it just me, but I have the idea that after the update for my macbook pro 17 inch afew weeks ago, the issue with the heat of the laptop is less?? Or is it because I got cold hearted :)

Niels
So are you saying you just got used to it?
Or did apple change sth...?
 
I am almost ready to buy a new mac(s) and really dont know which to buy. I could either get 2 MBP or 2 iMac 24"ers fully loaded. One for me and the other for my wife. I could get one of each but then there is this thing called sharing......hhmmmmm, not too sure about that one. :)

If y'all had around $6,000 to spend what would you do? The Mac Pro is not really a desire for me right now because there have been reports about the quad core Clovertown about to come out and I would rather wait it out for that.
 
insanityfw said:
I must be getting old, but I'm getting tired of trying to keep up. Just when I get settled the rug gets pulled out from underneath me. I'm a bit nervous.

Changing from PC some years ago was a bit bumpy, but once I got going the Mac was the only way to go. Stable, tactile and easier to use.

My new old Macbook Pro is hotter than hell and freezes all the time. Feels like the old PC days only hotter. :)

People, please tell me Apple with slow their roll just a bit and get things back in order.

Don't start flaming, I still love my Macs, but the best of my bunch is still my old 12" powerbook and dual 2.0 power mac. My new laptop is just being used as a harddrive wired into my desktop, because it just can't be trusted. :)
My feelings exactly! Why can't they just slow down a tiny tiny bit and make the things run cool, or, at least warm ... and take the time to iron out the bugs. I accept that I pay more for my Macs, but for the first time in my life I'm considering getting a PC laptop.
 
k2director said:
I totally disagree with this post. I've edited plenty of longform DV and DVCPRO HD on 5400rpm drives, and never had a problem with my current 1.83 GHz MacBook Pro (January's model). You don't need a 7200 rpm drive.

Also, a 15" screen has been quite workable for me. In fact, I've edited multi-hour projects on old PowerBook screens with resolutions that pale in comparison to the new Macbook Pro screens. Obviously, a bigger screen is always nice, but most people, in my experience, can pretty easily adjust to a 15" screen. And you can always attach a second monitor for when you're working at your desk....

k2, here's a question since i too thought that post was rather odd... considering the glowing reviews the original Macbook Pro's got for video editing...

my question is: the option right now is either the standard 5,400rpm 160 gig drive or for 100 dollars LESS a 100 gig 7,200rpm drive... given the choice would you opt for 60% more space or the added speed the system drive would provide?

60 gigs is a lot but 7,200rpm would obviously be faster. thanks
 
I'm using a 15" MBP Core2Duo right now with a 5400 rpm drive. Limited DV editing on the system drive works, Motion is very jerky. Just ordered a G-Raid2 drive to put all my media on and that should make a HUGE difference.

If you're just going to use the laptop drive as a system drive, 5400 seems fine. If you plan, or have to put media on it, then I'd definately go for the 7200. I'd go for an external media drive. Even if it's just a small bus powered one. I think you'll be a lot happier.
 
Personally, I would go for the 160 gig, 5400 rpm drive. I really am not convinced that a 7200 rpm laptop drive makes a big difference for editing, vs. a modern 5400 rpmmer.

Also, 100 gigs can get filled up pretty quickly with DVCPRO HD (remember, you also need room for the OS, for Final Cut Studio, etc.). Having 60% more capacity sounds a lot more convenient to me.

Realistically, if you're doing anything other than short-burst commercials, you're going to need external storage anyway, so your internal drive will not even matter that much. In that case, I would invest in a SATA dual-drive raid from the likes of Firmtek, or a Firewire 800 G-Raid, or La Cie's Little Big Disk (a small, bus-powered raid made up of 2 laptop drives), or Wiebetech's Ultra line of desktop hard drives, which can also run off of bus-power.

But when you need to work on the go, without taking your external drives with you, I really think that having a 160 gb internal drive will be more useful than having a slightly faster 100 gig drive.

So get the 160, and make sure you have at least 1.5 gigs, preferably 2, of ram!

Hope that helps...










kyle_doris said:
k2, here's a question since i too thought that post was rather odd... considering the glowing reviews the original Macbook Pro's got for video editing...

my question is: the option right now is either the standard 5,400rpm 160 gig drive or for 100 dollars LESS a 100 gig 7,200rpm drive... given the choice would you opt for 60% more space or the added speed the system drive would provide?

60 gigs is a lot but 7,200rpm would obviously be faster. thanks
 
By the way, my old 800 Mhz PowerBook G4 worked fine for "limited DV editing"; a new Core2Duo MBP should (and does) eat DV for breakfeast!

I think the reason Motion may seem jerky probably has more to do with the MBP's graphics processor, or your installed ram, and not the speed of its internal HD...


for_mlove said:
I'm using a 15" MBP Core2Duo right now with a 5400 rpm drive. Limited DV editing on the system drive works, Motion is very jerky. Just ordered a G-Raid2 drive to put all my media on and that should make a HUGE difference.

If you're just going to use the laptop drive as a system drive, 5400 seems fine. If you plan, or have to put media on it, then I'd definately go for the 7200. I'd go for an external media drive. Even if it's just a small bus powered one. I think you'll be a lot happier.
 
David S. said:
Why is FW800 so important?

First, there is only one firewire bus.

Second, an EC/34 adapter would provide FW800.

Third, unless you are capturing to FCP and the FW800 bus, it really doesn't matter. 720/24 runs only about 5.6 MB/s.

1) For using an external hard drive, FW800 is twice as fast as FW400.

2) Now you don't need an EC/34 adaptor. Wouldn't you rather use a built-in port instead of having to buy an additional part which will protrude from your laptop?

3) Not sure what you mean. For editing or just transferring data, FW800 is faster, right?
 
FW400 is more than adequate for 720 captures.

There is only one FW bus on all Macs, so you then are sharing a bus with two devices, and that affects capture.

That's why I always recommend a second FW bus, which is achieved by the EC/34 FW card.
 
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