Your Macbook pro experiences?

[Marc Berger]

Please tell me your experiences with the new Macbook pro. My needs for the next couple of months are: Cutting in FCP, max 1080P. Do the 0,1 Ghz difference between 2,5 and 2,6 make a difference? HD 7200 instead of 5400?
Thanks!
Marc

 

[Harrison Diamond]

I think the main selling point (IMHO) of the higher end model isn't so much the higher clock speed as the significantly larger amount of VRAM. Since that is one component you can't upgrade in a laptop, I'd say go for it.
A 7200RPM hard drive never hurts when running powerful apps. More important to max out your RAM though.

 

[Marc Berger]

Thanks! Is there a possibility to put more then 4 GB Ram?

 

[Hans von Sonntag]

Hi Marc,

I would not buy a MacBookPro for editing. Editing on a Laptop is great for the news guys, makes them mobile. Otherwise it's not fun. The 17" is a monster to carry and with its size renders the whole laptop idea obsolete.

I would rather go for a MacPro, does not need to be the fastest one. The middle one is plenty enough (Nvidia 8000GT).

Rendering R3d files with a MBPro is not a clever idea. The Laptop are not build for longtime full power redering, they get very hot. We've got one and it does get very hot. Again a MacPro is the better alternative, much faster and made for such tasks.

On a tight budget I would go with a small MacBook and a middle sized MacPro. RC doesn't run on the MacBook, but RedAlert! does work nicely. I use a MacBook on every shoot and like it. Actually I find it even sturdier than the MBPro and its more handy and lighter.


Hans

 

[Marc Berger]

Hi Hans,
thanks for your answer.
The problem is, I have to go for a Macbook Pro (15,4 "), because I´m moving this year to France, and will have little place until my Studio will be ready (approx. 1 Year) and I have to be able to edit on travel. Once my studio is ready, I will go for a Macpro too. Maybe there is a way for extra cooling a Macbook Pro?
Cheers
marc

 

[Paolo Tinari]

MBP 17" 2,6, 7200rpm, 4Gbram is an amazing tool. Doing everything on it till bigger things will come. 17" makes checking frames on field reliable (1080) and DoPs happy.
It gets hot just looking at it, imagine with some rendering on. Buy the extended warranty and if you cook it you replace it

 

[Marc Berger]

Paolo,
great idea with the extended warranty!
Thanks
Marc

 

[David Birdy]

MBP 17" 2,6, 7200rpm, 4Gbram is an amazing tool. Doing everything on it till bigger things will come. 17" makes checking frames on field reliable (1080) and DoPs happy.
It gets hot just looking at it, imagine with some rendering on. Buy the extended warranty and if you cook it you replace it

Paolo,

I agree. I ordered a MacBook Pro 17" for a friend and it looks great, Perfect for demo's and onsite play back+ plus you can take it to the bar and show everyone footage after the day is done!

I heard a rumor that the Quad core Macbook pros are around the corner...?
Can anyone confirm?

Dave