Running FCP on 13-inch Macbook Pro?

S

staypuft85

Active member
I have a 1st gen PowerMac G5 single 1.6ghz w/ 3gb RAM It's 6 years old and safe to say it's showing it's age.

I'm considering the $1499 MBP 2.53ghz w/ 4gb RAM Geforce 9400m

Right now my only camera is a Nikon D90 although I hope to get a more professional friendly HD one in the future.

I'm wondering if this MBP would be able to run FCP, Color and Pro Tools well enough to last me a few years.

I tried stopping in an Apple store to test the programs out but they weren't loaded on the 13inch models.
 
I can't say anything about the performance aspect of your question, but the first thing that would stop me from buying a 13" MBP would be the screen. I cannot imagine trying to edit HD on 1280x800. Or maybe I'm just spoiled by the two 30" Cinema Displays.
 
I believe that FCP will not run on any 13" Macbook or Macbook Pro since it requires a dedicated graphics card and all 13" models (as well as the "Air" model) have only integrated graphics. From Apple's system requirements page for FCP:

"An AGP or PCI Express Quartz Extreme graphics card (Final Cut Studio is not compatible with integrated Intel graphics processors)"

Note that the new 17" MPB and all but the lowest 15" (2.53 GHz) models have a second, separate graphics processor (to avoid confusion I should also mention that the *previous* generation 15" MBP 2.53 GHz model *did* have a separate card).
 
Motion and Color are the only apps that really depend on the GPU. FCP, Soundtrack, DVD SP, etc., should run fine.


-A
 
Thanks for the rapid response!

I started to lean towards the 13in macbook pro because I had originally planned on getting the lowest level iMac which is identical in specs to the 13in macbook pro save for a .13 ghz difference for only $200 more. I'd love a 15in MBP but that's an additional $500 (for one with a second graphics card) that I can't afford right now.

I'm not terribly bothered by editing on a small screen as I have a spare LCD. Most of my serious editing would be done at home.

I stopped in the apple store and asked how possible it was to run Final Cut on the 13in 2.53ghz and they said it could run it, but that it would probably run slow. I tested the iMac with near identical specs to the MBP and it seemed to run Final Cut easily, even with 720p DVCPRO HD clips. Color did have some choppy playback for HD footage though.
 
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