Which MacBook Pro should I buy? Which features are more important?

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picaplow1

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Which MacBook Pro should I buy to edit videos? Which features are more important?
Hey guys, first of all, sorry if i created this thread in the wrong section. So Im thinking about buying a MacBook Pro cause i want to edit videos with final cut. I checked the apple store on internet and there are many different models of the MacBook Pro... these are the features of the cheapest one:

Intel core i7
dual core 2,3GHz
4GB 1333MHz
320GB 5400 rpm1
Intel HD Graphics 3000

1199 $

second model

Intel Core i5
dual core 2,3GHz
4GB 1333MHz
500GB 5400 rpm1
Intel HD Graphics 3000 Intel core i7
dual core 2,7GHz
4GB 1333MHz
320GB 5400 rpm1
Intel HD Graphics 3000
1499$

Im not really into computer stuff so is there a big difference between a dual core 2,3 ghz and a dual core 2,7 ghz ( second cheapest macbook pro model at the store) ? And does more 120gb (HD) makes much difference for rendering?? Cause anyway I have a 1tb external hd... Oh and I have a Canon HV40 and I use a firewire cable to import footy.

thanks!!!​
 
You need at least the 15" Macbook Pro. FCP X will not run unless you have a compatible, dedicated graphics card. Intel HD 3000 will not work. 4GB of ram will be sufficient, but upping it to 8 with some cheaper ram through someone like ramjet.com is a good idea at some point. Rendering will processor intensive, so a quad-core processor is definitely going to benefit you.


If you're planning on doing anything remotely serious with video and editing, I would suggest:

15" 2.0 quad-core i7
500GB 7200rpm hard drive


Then get a firewire external hard drive (thunderbolt is an option but expensive). Keep all your media/raw footage on the external drive, and keep your internal drive for your apps and personal stuff.

As soon as you can afford it, get a second hard drive and back up everything regularly. All hard drives fail eventually, and you don't want to lose everything.

I'm a professional shooter/editor who used to work at the Apple Store. Hope that helps.
 
Most important things are i7, quad core, 8G ram, dedicatied graphics (I prefer nvidia) and at least a 7200rpm HD. I would replace whatever you get with a 10K raptor or ssd.
 
DadinWestchester said:
Most important things are i7, quad core, 8G ram, dedicatied graphics (I prefer nvidia) and at least a 7200rpm HD. I would replace whatever you get with a 10K raptor or ssd.
Click to expand...
Unfortunately, a preference for NVidia doesn't help, because Mac Book Pro's don't use NVidia graphics, they're all AMD now.Ed
 
I just bought a 17" MBP i7 2.2ghtz quadcore, 4 gigs ram. Matte screen.

It was about 2500$

Now I know its more expensive, but its fundementally got the horsepower where it counts, plus the screen real estate is a big plus.
 
I'd second Timur… while thunderbolt peripherals ate starting to appear, the expresscard slot is more versatile for now… and much cheaper to take advantage of.
 
To say nothing of how nice it is to off-load from SxS cards. Or from SD cards with an Expresscard reader.
 
ullanta said:
I'd second Timur… while thunderbolt peripherals ate starting to appear, the expresscard slot is more versatile for now… and much cheaper to take advantage of.
Click to expand...

As a T2i user I chose the 15" over the 17" for the ease of use with SD cards. Same horse power, better battery life and less weight. If I did not have a Mac Pro I would have chosen the 17" hands down. I actually spent over an hour in the store after weeks of deciding, trying to figure out what to do. My inability to decide helped me though. When I finally decided the Thunderbolt Macs had just been released two days before.
 
I have been travelling and using a MacBook Pro 17 for almost 5 years, it has and continues to serve me well. Though the 17 is larger it is worth the money and the extra space. Lets face it you will still need to be as careful with a 15 as a 17 and you will LOVE the 17 when you are editing and have that extra real estate. My "old timer" has the express card slot and I use it to run esata and fw multiple drives with ease. I will be buying a new one but not to replace it just to compliment it since it will still have lots of editing days ahead. So if I were you I would go for the 17 inch model.
 
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