Which Apple laptop for editing red 4k r3d video on location?

[Katie. A]

Hi,
I wish to have an Apple laptop for on location editing red 4k/5k r3d video. Which is the fastest laptop you recommend?
Will I need external raid or inbuilt Flash storage is enough?

 

[David Callahan]

I use a 2012 Retina MacBook Pro and regularly edit R3Ds in Premier Pro. It's been my main machine for 1 1/2 years. Depending on the resolution and frame rate I edit at 1/2 or 1/4 resolution. Works very well for me. I normally playback from 7200 rpm USB 3 drives. My machine has 16 GB of ram. I'm sure the newer machines will perform even better.

 

[Shiblon Wixom]

Your only option at this point is the top of the line Macbook Pro Retina with the GTX 750M, which is the only model with a discreet GPU, and is around $2,800.

 

[Will Steer]

Macbook Pro Retina, top-spec model is the way to go. Don't bother maxing out the internal storage, just get the 512GB SSD (you can get less internal storage than that, but I wouldn't recommend it). You will need external storage. I'd recommend getting an external RAID, G-tech is the most obvious choice for their thunderbolt and USB3 drives. Standard harddrives may be fine but after a while may struggle as the drive fills up or if you're working with multi-layered timelines.

 

[NOSA OBAYIUWANA]

Agreed. I've got the top spec Macbook pro as well. It works beautifully as long as you drop the resolution. I've been told it is now even sweeter with the Premier CC update. Anyone tried this yet?