If your set on getting final cut pro, why don't you get it now and try it on your 11"? If you end up taking it back and getting the 13", you can always install the program there too.
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11 core i7 or 13 core i5 for video editing?
- Thread starter cucullin
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Hi,
I had to send my macbook air back as it was faulty. They've given me the choice between a replacement 11inch core i7 (same as I had) or a 13inch base model core i5. The cheap so and sos wont even refund me the difference if I choose the cheaper 13inch. They said its only 50. Uh huh
. In saying that though if it comes to it I'll just get a refund and buy the 13inch seperately.I edit 1080 hd video in CS 5.5 on my i7 13" with no problems, I'm going to buy an external monitor so if I were you the setup I'd get would be the 11" i7 and a nice 23" 1080 HD external monitor to plug into when your at home/work, best of both worlds that way, you can still edit when traveling but when you get to your desk plug into the big monitor to double check everything and color correct.
I'm editing just fine on my 11inch i5 (4GB) in FCPX. No stuttering or lag or any problems. I don't find I run out of RAM in a noticable way. About 7 minute videos.
The point here is the editing itself in FCPX should always be nice and easy, thanks to things like using ProRes and proxy media. So no idea why it was choking on the video you saw. The program really runs smooth as butter. Remeber you aren't actually editing AVCHD files themselves. At least you shouldn't be... unless you want to make things difficult for yourself.
Export times as mentioned will be different, but if they are THAT critical then as mentioned you should be looking at a faster machine.
Basically.. stick with either Air, and get an external screen, if you are planning on taking this sorta seriously. The screen space is managable on the 11, not great though. This might get a tiny bit better when Apple updates FCPX to be a full screen app.
If you are using SD cards remember you get a slot on the 13 to aide imports, but external card readers aren't exactly a hassle...
Also, I'm not sure how much better your exports will be using FCPX if noise is showing up in iMovie. I wouldn't have thought that iMovie is introducing noise just for the hell of it. I would have thought it was present in the original media.
I went with the 11 over the 13 because of portability. I don't think I will miss the extra 2 hours of battery THAT much, and hoping that Lion updates bring improvements in power management. Like I said, with a screen, the whole thing of it being 'too small' becomes moot. I won't be doing much serious work out in the field anyway, just quick cuts and edits to show people rough stuff.
The point here is the editing itself in FCPX should always be nice and easy, thanks to things like using ProRes and proxy media. So no idea why it was choking on the video you saw. The program really runs smooth as butter. Remeber you aren't actually editing AVCHD files themselves. At least you shouldn't be... unless you want to make things difficult for yourself.
Export times as mentioned will be different, but if they are THAT critical then as mentioned you should be looking at a faster machine.
Basically.. stick with either Air, and get an external screen, if you are planning on taking this sorta seriously. The screen space is managable on the 11, not great though. This might get a tiny bit better when Apple updates FCPX to be a full screen app.
If you are using SD cards remember you get a slot on the 13 to aide imports, but external card readers aren't exactly a hassle...
Also, I'm not sure how much better your exports will be using FCPX if noise is showing up in iMovie. I wouldn't have thought that iMovie is introducing noise just for the hell of it. I would have thought it was present in the original media.
I went with the 11 over the 13 because of portability. I don't think I will miss the extra 2 hours of battery THAT much, and hoping that Lion updates bring improvements in power management. Like I said, with a screen, the whole thing of it being 'too small' becomes moot. I won't be doing much serious work out in the field anyway, just quick cuts and edits to show people rough stuff.
13" 1.8 GHz Intel Core i7 4GB
Video rendering is painfully slow using FCP X on my MBA. If you have a thirteen hour flight, you may want to consider using one.
Also, Motion is a dog.
Trying to run these applications on this machine is laughable.
Intels HD 3000 just isn't up to the task.
MBA = iMovie
MBP = FCP
Spend a little extra money and buy a MBP.
Video rendering is painfully slow using FCP X on my MBA. If you have a thirteen hour flight, you may want to consider using one.
Also, Motion is a dog.
Trying to run these applications on this machine is laughable.
Intels HD 3000 just isn't up to the task.
MBA = iMovie
MBP = FCP
Spend a little extra money and buy a MBP.
I politely disagree. Laughable is a huge exaggeration. I'm never going to say these machines are as powerful as 15" MBP's with dedicated GPUs, but the performance in my experience has been nice and smooth using both Motionand FCPX.
What situations did you have where it struggled?
get the 30 day free trial of CS 5.5, I'm editing AVCHD MTS files and footage in Premiere Pro with no problems, AVCHD is a PITA to edit too, not so with 5.5. i talked to a guy the other day who is editing RED 4k footage on his i7 Air in 5.5 Premiere Pro.
The gpu in the MacBook pro makes little difference it is a mobile desktop grade solution. Last time I checked FCPX has no gpu acceleration. Almost everything is processed by the CPU. Now I know the graphics cards make a slight difference but more important the MacBook pros have a much better processor.
But the airs processor is cutting edge and very powerful. The air is light, fast, affordable and has an ssd by default making it one of the best all-round laptops ever made.
It requires a Mac with the HD 3000, an NVIDIA IGP, or a discrete GPU, so it must do some GPU acceleration. It won't run on Macs with only previous generation Intel integrated graphics.
I have a base 13/128/i5 and have Final Cut Studio installed on it. It's not the fastest thing but editing is fine. I tend to render my stuff before bed so rendering time is not an issue for me. My workflow typically follows compressor, fcp, soundtrack pro, color, compressor. The MBA is more than capable of running all the final cut studio suite (not including motion, compressor) at once. In other words, editing shouldn't be a problem. If rendering time is crucial to you then you will want to look at something with a more powerful processor.
That being said, I'm waiting for the new gen iMacs for a more permanent desktop solution.
That being said, I'm waiting for the new gen iMacs for a more permanent desktop solution.