New Macbook Pro "Thunderbolt" - Savior for pro-video on laptops?

Ordering mine April 2nd. I've decided to go with 17" with the faster processor and not upgrade through Apple on the RAM or SSD. I am going with Crucial 8Gb ram, and the new OCZ 3 240Gb SSD. It is SO MUCH faster than the Samsung drives in the Apple, plus, I can repurpose the 750GB drive that comes with it.

Can't wait!!
 
I don't know about you guys in US or Europe. But here in SE Asia, we often buy a 3rd party HDD enclosure with whatever brand of HDD we want. So you can pretty much get any enclosure you want - be it USB 2.0 or Firewire or eSATA and mix it up with any HDD - WD, Seagate and so on. So well, I guess, we just need some 3rd party to come out with some thunderbolt HDD enclosures.
 
I was under the impression that there won't be any Thunderbolt 'adapters'/enclosures... from what Intel and Apple have said????
 
indigo said:
I was under the impression that there won't be any Thunderbolt 'adapters'/enclosures... from what Intel and Apple have said????
Click to expand...

I doubt that they would introduce a new interface and not let manufacturers make enclosures for it. I'm sure we'll see them in due time once the standard gets out there a little longer.
 
Hi,

Thunderbolt discussion is all too premature as yet, there's nothing out there so far except a page from Lacie as far as I can see... so it's a waiting game

On the subject of SSD's I have a OWC 120gig in my new 17" 2.3 MBP ($280 AUD), very very faster indeed, plus i installed a 500 gig seagate SSD/HDD Hybrid drive in to the Optic slot, witha $29AUD adapter. was great value for money $140 AUD and is nearly as fast as the SSD. ram is dirt cheap too.. wacked in 8gig. fitting drives as a very simple procedure.

I was so impressed with the SSD performance I got another 120gig OWC and a "Icydock" 2.5 to 3.5 adapter to fit my early 08 Intel Macpro 3ghz, it's now as fast as the MBP, OS 10.6.6 on both machines, running 64bit.

cheers
Tom
olinevideo.com.au
 
G-tech, Caldigit, and possibly istoragepro will have Thunderbolt announcements at NAB as well....
 
So I finally got my machine, but haven't started installing/transferring from my old MacBook Pro yet. One thing I can say is WOW this new machine screams. I benchmarked some real software I use and it was 100% faster (FPS went from 50fps when in use to 100fps). I am sure I will see performance above and below this for specific tasks, but I can say now that i7 is MUCH faster than core2duo.

I also used XBench to measure the machines. The memory throughput alone was 5x between them. Not all the CPU functions per core were massively faster, some just 20 to 30% more, but things like the FPU (Floating Point Unit) were five times as fast. This is important to me because the Altivec code in the G5 was so much better at the time then Intel for FPU operations.

The graphics performance is SIGNIFICANTLY better. Threading wise, there was no question. Going from 2 2.96Ghz or 4 2.2Ghz with the hyperthreading just speaks for itself.

I ended up going with the in-store configuration of 2.2Ghz and 4Gb of RAM. I did this because I DO NOT like the matte screen. They just put a piece of film with a metal edge to secure it to the glossy screen. Having used a glossy screen now for almost 5 years, I prefer it. (Not that either is right or wrong). And the 50 they want for the matte option is just crazy to me.

Also, after spending A LOT of time researching drives, I just couldn't go with the Apple SSD (Samsung). The performance was so slow compared to almost ALL other SSD drives, I was amazed. OCZ drives while the fastest, seem to have issues of reliability. I found many instances of people having bad drives or compatiblity problems. Not that some people had none, but the numbers I read were more than I liked. This meant I was going with either OWC or Intel. The Intel 510 series that is SATA 6G seems to have compatiblity problems with the MacBook early 2011 models. So, it seems no one was having trouble with the Intel 320 Series drives. I ordered the 300Gb model for $429 I believe and will be testing that later today. It seems the best bang for the buck, and they seem to be VERY reliable. I also went with 8GB from OWC for $114 as they are always cheaper than Apple. Waiting on the RAM to get here today.

I am VERY happy so far with this upgrade. Can't wait to see the SSD performance and edit some video on it to see how it behaves.
 
As a followup, the Intel 320 300Gb drive was an EXCELLENT investment. The speed is just out of this world. I don't think I can ever go back to platters in my laptop again. :)
 
Rick Burnett said:
As a followup, the Intel 320 300Gb drive was an EXCELLENT investment. The speed is just out of this world. I don't think I can ever go back to platters in my laptop again. :)
Click to expand...

Hi Rick, i don't have one but i'm very interested also in the 320 series, Can you run a test using a software like "crystal disk mark" or "as ssd" and publish scores ?, please send me screen captures and/or post that info at the SSD thread i was make here at dvx, will be very intereseting for people want to buy an SSD as for video.
 
FarinHeight_Productions said:
Maybe FCP 7 was so half assed because the launch of the "real" Final Cut upgrade (FCP 8) partly awaited this technology to be fully developed so Apple would have a computer worthy of taking full advantage of its capabilities. I knew Apple wouldn't abandon us filmmakers and editors!
Click to expand...

Oh Dear. Just found this old post. If only you knew FCPX was around the corner...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top