New MacBook Pro Question - Urgent, Thanks

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FrankCapella

Member
All things considered, which upgrade would be better (for the purposes of running FCP): an upgrade from a 160gb 5400 rpm hard drive to a 200 gb 7200 rpm hard drive OR an upgrade from 2.4 GHz intel core 2 duo processor to a 2.6 GHz intel core 2 duo processor. I can't afford both, and am pulling my hair out trying to figure out which will do more for FCP, which system is better, etc.

The systems would be either 2.4 GHz intel core 2 duo w/ a 200 gb 7200 rpm hard drive OR a 2.6 GHz intel core 2 duo w/ a 160gb 5400 rpm hard drive. ALL OTHER THINGS BEINGS EQUAL, which is the better system for FCP?

I should mention that I also use a Lacie External d2 quadra -- firewire 800. For the project I'm currently working on (150 gigs of footage) -- and ultimately what I'm buying this system for, I don't think (right? atm I'm not entirely sure from where I'd run scratch, footage, and project files) I'd really use the 200 gb on its own.

On a 2.6GHz machine, will the 5400 rpm drive be the bottleneck? Or on a 2.4GHz machine, will the faster 7200 rpm hd lose out to a better processor?

Thanks. I appreciate it.
 
I'd go for the faster, bigger hard drive as the difference between 2.4 and 2.6 will be negligible, but a 7200 rpm drive will make your system noticably speedier. Also FCS2 takes up quite a bit of hard drive space.
 
torn

torn

from one other forum:

" Processors aren't really upgradable and if your going to use a different disk than the internal for FCP then go for the 2.6Ghz."

"the internal drive is never used for media storage so the speed is really irrelevant. get the faster processor."

so that's 2:2
processor:hd

anyone care to add more info? I'm completely torn. maybe it doesn't seem like a big deal, but I only get one system. thanks ...
 
Last edited:
FrankCapella said:
"the internal drive is never used for media storage so the speed is really irrelevant. get the faster processor."
Click to expand...

Not true. The operating system is always referencing the drive, as do the programs you run. A faster drive means a more responsive system.
 
Owning both a 15" MBP at 2.2 and a 17" at 2.4 I'll put my money on the hard drive. The drive I have in my 17" is 250 and it's not big enough. I skipped installing all the Sountrack Pro content on an external drive to save space. Right now I'm trying to decide if I should upgrade to a 320 gig internal or hold out for something bigger yet.
 
I was more interested in how a faster hard drive effects performance of fcp, that is the efficacy of a 2.6Ghz upgrade vs. 7200 rpm hd upgrade.

essentially 2.6Ghz + 5400 rpm hd vs. 2.4Ghz + 7200 rpm hd
for the purposes of running final cut pro

I'm a little less concerned about space and a comparison between a 2.6Ghz upgrade vs. an additional 50 gigs. Though I DO appreciate your input. Just wanted to clarify.
 
You'll see a noticeable difference in overall system speed/responsiveness with the hard drive upgrade. It's also quite likely, that you'll see a decrease in battery run time with a 7200rpm drive in there.

With the processor upgrade, the only noticeable improvement in speed would be in compressor during output.
 
Faster drive. Beware that you're battery life will be shorter, the laptop will run a bit hotter and you'll feel the vibrations more of the drive spinning (nothing serious, but I noticed it immediately when moving from a PowerBook with a 5400 drive to a MacBook Pro with a 7200 drive - though it could just be a MacBook Pro design flaw)
 
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