2010 Mac Pro or 2015 Macbook Pro for 4k Workstation

[nptech]

Hi Guys,

Relatively new to the apple world but i'm wanting to purchase a mac to move to Final Cut pro. This will purely be a 4k editing workstation. I currently edit on Premiere Pro, but considering a lot of the work I do is producing content for youtube, I've heard FCP is friendlier in this regard. I'm a one man team, so having a quick, efficient and stable workflow is crucial to me. I'm also still deciding whether portability is going to be a factor. Either way i'm wanting to get a dedicated machine (separated from my personal machine which I currently edit on).

What i'm looking at is a 2010 Mac Pro - it's this model here: http://www.everymac.com/systems/app...o-eight-core-2.4-mid-2010-westmere-specs.html

Specs: 2 x E5620 processors - 24GB Ram - 2TB HDD (8 core machine) which I can purchase for 1000USD.

The other option is to go for the new macbook pro, which is 3000USD (my local currency converted). Four core i7, 16gb ram and all that jazz.

What do you guys think is the better option?

 

[Tomorrow]

I couldn't bring myself to think that a 6-year-old computer, regardless of its specs, is a better option than something new.

 

[Mefuzar]

Don't forget that if you choose the Mac Pro option - you'll have to spend around 1400$ on a 4K screen

Did you consider an iMac?

 

[kohlson]

The Mac Pro is nicely expandable - drives, graphics card and even CPUs. It's quite a workhorse, but it's also 6 years old, and won't have USB3 and TB and PCI SSD unless you add them. . You can get a Dell 27-inch 4K for about $600 - I have once and it's a pleasure to use. FCPX is many times faster than PPro - Apple has tuned their software to take advantage of their hardware. Check out recent reviews.

 

[campyguy]

Two tips. First, Apple's holding one of their "Events" next week and there will be new iOS devices - but they rarely make noise any more about refreshes of their Macs, they just get updated with faster or new tech. I can't help but think that there's going to be some updated Macs showing up in the near future with faster processors and memory and ports. A few more days of waiting to see can't hurt. There's lots of sales of existing Mac laptops right now and some countries are showing shipping delays - two hints that backstock is getting cleared out for the new stuff (and tax time is coming up too...).

Second, look on the refurb.me web site - it's a front end for Apple's refurbished Macs and other products. I bought a maxed-out late-2013 15" rMBP a couple of years ago this way at a $750 discount over a new Mac, and it's flawless.

 

[nptech]

Thanks for the feedback guys! I did have a look at an Imac but fortunately the video work I do is for a computer retailer - so getting screens and stuff like that is actually not an issue for me.

I think the best option for me at this stage might be the macbook pro purely for the sake of the portability (also that it doesn't take up a lot of room on my desk). Thanks for the link campyguy I'll take a look at that.

As you also mentioned it would definitely be worth waiting a few days just to see if anything does come out of the apple event next week.

I went to a local apple reseller today and they mentioned that the support cycle for the mac pros is 5 years, so if I were to get a 2010 model, if the main board went kaput there would be no support, which would kind of suck. One of the reasons i'm thinking of buying newer.