MacBook Pro. What do you reckon's the best one to buy for serious video editing?

C

Colinlikesmovies

I've been shopping around for a new laptop, as my present laptop just can't handle the video editing I'm throwing at it (it's just a little Toshiba with 256MB RAM, not meant for anything more than websurfing, and I knew I'd have to upgrade eventually). I'm looking at the MacBook Pro, but can't decide which one to go with. These are the three options I'm considering:

1.
- 15 inch screen
- 2.4 GHz processor
- 4 GB RAM
- 200 GB, 7200RPM Hard drive
- NVidia GeForce 8600M GT graphics processor (256MB of GDDR3 memory)
- Price: $2,399.00

2.
- 15 inch screen
- 2.5 GHz processor
- 4 GB RAM
- 200 GB, 7200RPM Hard drive
- NVidia GeForce 8600M GT graphics processor (512MB of GDDR3 memory)
- Price: $2,849.00

3.
- 17 inch screen
- 2.5 GHz processor
- 4 GB RAM
- 200 GB, 7200RPM Hard drive
- NVidia GeForce 8600M GT graphics processor (512MB of GDDR3 memory)
- Price: $3,149.00


Note that the only advantage of number 3 over number 2 is the 17 inch screen.
Note that numbers 2 and 3 have two advantages over number 1:
- 2.5 GHz instead of 2.4
- 512MB graphics memory instead of 256MB

I want to get a laptop that I can hopefully be using a few years from now, hence the desire to go with number 3. From the specs it looks like it'll be able to hold its own against whatever laptops come out in the next few years, and that's important to me because I don't want to have to buy another computer in three years.

- Is it really worth it to get 512MB graphics memory? That seems to be the biggest difference here.
- Also, are Macs really worth the extra cost?

Macs are notoriously expensive compared to PCs, but they seem to be able to handle just about anything you throw at them, and more. It's the price I'm still trying to get past. Is it worth it? What do you think?
 
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I do serious video editing on my older G4 PowerBook. It has held
its own since I bought it 3 years ago. It has the 1.0 GHz
processor, 512 MB of PC2700 DDR SDRAM and a 4200 RPM 60 GB hard
drive and only 1GB RAM. I have no need to upgrade - even now. I
figure I can get another 2 to 3 years out of it.

Maybe more. It handles FCS 2 well and I really like the 17 inch
screen.

Colinlikesmovies said:
- Also, are Macs really worth the extra cost?

Macs are notoriously expensive compared to PCs, but they seem to be able to handle just about anything you throw at them, and more. It's the price I'm still trying to get past. Is it worth it? What do you think?
Click to expand...
They are worth it to me. But then I only use my laptop for editing and I
only edit with Final Cut so I have no, practical, experience with any other
computer. The more power you get in the graphics cars, the RAM and the
processor the better, but if you can only afford the less powerful options
you will still be fine. As you can see, I'm using less power across the board
and I'm very happy with what I have.

For me the 17 inch screen is better than the 15 inch, but that won't make
or break an editing session.

You might want to try the refurbished laptops at PowerMax.
They are less expensive and I have had excellent costumer service
and excellent products from them.
 
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Thanks very much for the reply, I'm glad to hear that Macs age well. They really seem to be the ideal machine to go with, if one wants to make a serious move into the video editing field. Avid (something of an industry standard, although it's real expensive) works well on Macs, and of course there's Final Cut Pro, which isn't very expensive and looks like a great program.

It's a large investment, but it's an investment in my future. I intend to begin working with the professional editing programs in a few months time, and I want a machine that can handle them. I also want a machine that will last as long as possible. From what I've read on other forums, there's not anything bad to say about Macs. They cost more, but it seems that in this case you get what you pay for. I'm already looking at the laptop bag I'll get if I decide to go with a MacBook Pro (The Brenthaven ProLite III), 'cause I'll sure want to protect it, for that price.

Thanks again for the info.
 
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I just received my Mac Pro less than a month ago. I'm extremely pleased with it... I think it is worth paying extra for the bigger screen. A 15 inch monitor is pushing it a little if you really take editing seriously and if your using final cut studio your going to be switching through motion and sound track pro as well.
 
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I got my G4 because I heard that movies like The Godfather 3 and Cold Mountain were edited on G4. I figured if it can handle those movies, its good enough for me. So far, I like my Mac...



-- spinner :cool:
 
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I'm editing on a 5 year old mac laptop and a 5 year old powermac... they both work like a treat. The power mac deals with HDV just fine. My recommendation is that you max out the RAM (worry less about the video RAM, it's still good - but not as important) and the hard drive. You will also want to look at getting external storage as well. Video is extremely RAM hungry and extremely Drive hungry.
 
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Hey! I had the exact same issue on deciding what to choose because i needed a laptop for college. Now, granted, i had already decited that i was going to get a MacBook Pro, but i didnt know which one to choose.
well i ended up getting the 2.4 4gb RAM 15-inch MBP....i've had it for about a month and I'm loving it to death.
I will admit that editing in Final Cut is a bit trickier since the screen is smaller, but it's not as much a problem for me because i used to edit my films on a 13 inch monitor. =P

Also if you have a student Id you can get $200 off the MBP!
 
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