Need some expert advise on choosing Macbook pro

[edgar777vs]

Hi there, I'm about to buy a Macbook...Can someone tell me why it is worth to pay almost 3000$ for macbook pro 2.2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 4Gb memory,120Gb if for the same money I can buy a PC QX6850 CORE 2 QUAD CORE, XTREME 4GB, TWIN 8800GTX SLI, 500 GB? Yes, it is very expensive in London...:hv20-smilie02:
thanx!

[lefteyedominant]

I guess you have to ask yourself the question, "What software applications do I want to use?". If it is FCP or FCE then you have to go for the Mac. You will certainly get more "bang for your buck" if you go for the PC and use Vegas or Premiere as your NLE.

[edgar777vs]

I guess you have to ask yourself the question, "What software applications do I want to use?". If it is FCP or FCE then you have to go for the Mac. You will certainly get more "bang for your buck" if you go for the PC and use Vegas or Premiere as your NLE.

this sounds like mac users have to pay much more for the same perfomance? interesting....

[lefteyedominant]

this sounds like mac users have to pay much more for the same perfomance? interesting....

Well, yes, I think this is still the case. I have 2 Macs and 3 PC"s and all of my "serious" work is now done on the Mac platform. FCP Studio 2 is an immensely powerful set of video and audio editing tools and I basically switched platforms a year ago purely to use this application (switching over from Avid). I could have put together a similarly specced PC for a few hundred Euros less than I paid for my Mac Pro, but then I would not have been able to use FCP Studio. Also I saved the extra money I paid for the Mac Pro by buying FCP Studio instead of Avid Xpress Pro, so swings and roundabouts.

This is my point really, before making buying decisions for computer hardware take a look at the software applications available for each platform and decide which applications meet your needs in the best way possible.

[edgar777vs]

Well, yes, I think this is still the case. I have 2 Macs and 3 PC"s and all of my "serious" work is now done on the Mac platform. FCP Studio 2 is an immensely powerful set of video and audio editing tools and I basically switched platforms a year ago purely to use this application (switching over from Avid). I could have put together a similarly specced PC for a few hundred Euros less than I paid for my Mac Pro, but then I would not have been able to use FCP Studio. Also I saved the extra money I paid for the Mac Pro by buying FCP Studio instead of Avid Xpress Pro, so swings and roundabouts.

This is my point really, before making buying decisions for computer hardware take a look at the software applications available for each platform and decide which applications meet your needs in the best way possible.

lefteyedominant:
Do you think Macbook pro 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
with 4Gb Ram will work good enought with FCP Studio 2 (editing HD footage) ?
or what can you advice pls

[lefteyedominant]

Yes, you should have no problems with this setup and FCP 6. By HD footage, I presume you mean HDV footage. I would advise that you get at least 1 external FW drive to use as a scratch disc for your material. The only problem you might encounter with this setup is with Motion 3. It uses the GPU (and RAM) for processing and runs slow on my Mac Pro as my GPU is not powerful enough which means I have to upgrade the GPU at some point (easy for me to do on a desktop, but impossible for you on a laptop), however, that being said Motion 3 will still probably be quite usable on the system you are thinking of buying (but slow to process) as long as you get 4MB of RAM. FCP 6 will run quite comfortably on 2MB of RAM, or so I have heard, although to be safe I would still go for 4MB.

If you can, try and get a demo in the store you are buying from, using your own footage if possible.

[edgar777vs]

Yes, you should have no problems with this setup and FCP 6. By HD footage, I presume you mean HDV footage. I would advise that you get at least 1 external FW drive to use as a scratch disc for your material. The only problem you might encounter with this setup is with Motion 3. It uses the GPU (and RAM) for processing and runs slow on my Mac Pro as my GPU is not powerful enough which means I have to upgrade the GPU at some point (easy for me to do on a desktop, but impossible for you on a laptop), however, that being said Motion 3 will still probably be quite usable on the system you are thinking of buying (but slow to process) as long as you get 4MB of RAM. FCP 6 will run quite comfortably on 2MB of RAM, or so I have heard, although to be safe I would still go for 4MB.

If you can, try and get a demo in the store you are buying from, using your own footage if possible.

Thanx for advice!
by the way this forum is GREAT!!!:hv20-smilie77:

[Worley]

It is possible to run Mac OS X on a normal PC. But to do so is illegal. Nevertheless, to see how others have broken the law, why not have a look here (http://wiki.osx86project.org/wiki/index.php/Main_Page).

I think it a shame that Apple doesn't make OS X available for all PCs. Windows would be dead within months if they did...

[edgar777vs]

it's always hard to find something right for you, until you try it.....

[zephyrnoid]

Facinating post.
I thought that the key issue with running OSX on a PC is that the underlying 'kernel' of Mac Processor is Linux...unlike PCs which still run on Good Old DOS. So it's a matter of overall efficiency and crash mitigation. For those that wonder why Mac's don't licence the OS out, you must herken back a few years ago to when they actually did! Do you not remember the Mac Clones?
The concept caught on like wild fire but 'changed' the concept of a turnkey work environment. I doubt Apple will licence thier IP out like that ever again.
In all the CBA's I've done, Apple has consistently out preformed PC for Graphics, Multimedia and User-centric applications.
I doubt that situation has changed.
Also- keep in mind that Microsoft owns some Apple stock. after all, they do the R&D for MS :hv20-smilie77: Soon the transition from MS think to Apple-think will accelerate and as volume accelerates, hopefully Apply prices will drop.





It is possible to run Mac OS X on a normal PC. But to do so is illegal. Nevertheless, to see how others have broken the law, why not have a look here (http://wiki.osx86project.org/wiki/index.php/Main_Page).

I think it a shame that Apple doesn't make OS X available for all PCs. Windows would be dead within months if they did...

[Worley]

When the Mac OS was licensed way back in the mid 1990s (around 97, I think), Gil Amelio was in charge. ALL the hardware had to be Apple certified.

Not long after the licensing began, Steve Jobs returned. The licensing ceased.

There was much speculation that the new OS would be based on his NeXT architecture, so it was a surprise when BSD took the crown.

The Mac OS may be based on BSD, but the kernel is not BSD.

Raw Mac OS cannot be loaded on a PC... Macs do not require a BIOS, they have a completely different method of booting (the name of the chip eludes me, but it is an Intel technology... Trusted something or other). To run on a PC, the OS has to be hacked to work with systems containing a BIOS.

Now, if only Linux distros created a Mac like interface rather than a Windows one...

[altero]

Mac OS X runs on Darwin, which is a Free BSD, which is an UNIX.
The name of the "bios" for Macs is OpenFirmware for PPC and EFI for Intel Macs.

One of the strong points of Apple computers is the hardware-software integration, which is in part responsible for the stability of the platform. Licensing Mac OS X would mean that Apple will have to make sure all componets "made on a ship" will work in any configuration. That's impossible, and we all have a proof.

As for the PC vs. Mac debate, I think it's up to anybody to make an informed choice. For me it's important not only raw performance, but also stability, ease of use, design, community...
Btw, i am writing now from a PowerBook 4 and half years old: it's looking exactly as it looked when new, and it's performing better (because Mac OS X works better with each version).

[w.pasman]

Do you think Macbook pro 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
with 4Gb Ram will work good enought with FCP Studio 2 (editing HD footage) ?

Definitely. I have one with "only" 2Gb and it works great with FCS2. I would recommend to max out the video memory. For me this was necessary anyway because the 30" external screen was a must for me. With VLC I can play back m2t footage full screen (at 2560x1600!) WITH BOB deinterlacing at 50fps which is exactly what I wanted.

[007hamster]

lefteyedominant:
Do you think Macbook pro 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
with 4Gb Ram will work good enought with FCP Studio 2 (editing HD footage) ?
or what can you advice pls

By god! That machine would beast at FCP! I used FCS 1 on my G4 iBook 1.33ghz 768MB with 0 problems whatsoever. Upgraded to MBP in Dec. Core2Duo 2.33Ghz 2GB 17" Matte, it can handle FCP while iTunes is playing in the background, quicktime is half-way through a movie (hidden), VMWare is booted in to Windows Vista Ultimate in the background, and Photoshop CS3 is open, w/ Ease. I can't imagine how fast the SR would be w/ 4GB and the new Nvidia card.
:hv20-smilie77:

[glosswhite]

Facinating post.
I thought that the key issue with running OSX on a PC is that the underlying 'kernel' of Mac Processor is Linux...unlike PCs which still run on Good Old DOS. So it's a matter of overall efficiency and crash mitigation. For those that wonder why Mac's don't licence the OS out, you must herken back a few years ago to when they actually did! Do you not remember the Mac Clones?
The concept caught on like wild fire but 'changed' the concept of a turnkey work environment. I doubt Apple will licence thier IP out like that ever again.
In all the CBA's I've done, Apple has consistently out preformed PC for Graphics, Multimedia and User-centric applications.
I doubt that situation has changed.
Also- keep in mind that Microsoft owns some Apple stock. after all, they do the R&D for MS :hv20-smilie77: Soon the transition from MS think to Apple-think will accelerate and as volume accelerates, hopefully Apply prices will drop.

OS X uses Darwin; a variation of BSD/Unix, _not_ Linux. As a long time user of both Linux of every variety imaginable, and now converted to Mac OS X *solely*, I would urge you to research a little deeper, before making statements which are erroneous. It doesn't matter all that much here, but your statement was incorrect, just for the record. Thanks.

[TimeKoder13]

I edit DVCProHD from the HVX on a PB 1.5 G4 all the time, am expecting to do the same with my new HV20 footage. I do use the G-Drives tho with my FW800 port.