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How well will the 13" MBP run Logic Express and Final Cut Express?

N

NBarnes21

macrumors member
Original poster
Apr 14, 2010
43
0
I really would like to get the cheaper, lighter, smaller, more portable 13" if at all possible. However, I need it to smoothly run Final Cut Express (I do some video editing for work) and Logic Express (I'm a full time musician). I travel a lot with my computer and my current 15" 2.16GHZ MBP has always been a bit bulky and heavy, and lags a bit when using Final Cut.

Will I get smooth performance running FCE and LE with the 13", and will it be a capable computer (keep up with updated software) for the next 4 years or so? I'd probably max out the RAM and maybe get a faster processor if I was to settle on the 13". If not, I'm looking at having to get the 15", any suggestions on which 15" model would be the best for me in terms of what I need it for? Would I be set with a lower end 15"? Any help is much appreciated, thanks.
 
It depends on what kind of footage and what kind of music formats you use and how many tracks you have.

I edited quite good on my iBook with DV encoded video back in the day, it was slow, but working.


So what kind of footage do you use?
How many tracks?
....

MRoogle is also a good start to find plenty of threads about this.
 
I can imagine a 13" being a bit small when doing audio and video editing but if that ain't a problem for you, it should be fine.
 
spinnerlys said:
It depends on what kind of footage and what kind of music formats you use and how many tracks you have.

I edited quite good on my iBook with DV encoded video back in the day, it was slow, but working.


So what kind of footage do you use?
How many tracks?
....

MRoogle is also a good start to find plenty of threads about this.
Click to expand...

Cool, thanks. It's mostly HD footage shot with a Flipcam Ultra HD. The most video tracks I'd use is 3 (5 including title tracks).

With Logic Express, it's usually around 8 tracks or so, maybe up to 12 at the most, never recording more than 2 at a time due to my interface only having 2 inputs.
 
Then that should be no problem.

Maybe invest in a faster HDD down the line or get an SSD when the prices come down to your liking. That will give you another boost in two to three years.
 
Thanks for the info. I'm thinking about going for the higher priced 13" but keep everything the way it is. Down the road I may upgrade to a bigger/faster HD and add 4 more GB of RAM if it seems like my computer needs it. Anyone else have any thoughts on this?
 
I used to have the Macbook Unibody 13' (first gen, before it received the MBP name change). I have edited tons of 1080p (DVCPRO) videos fine with Final Cut Studio with it. I couldn't play lots of video tracks together in real time without dropped frames, but just two of them with just a Color Correcting filter on each one went fine (the most you need unless you do FX, split screen, or something like that).

If you need more simultaneous tracks, or two tracks with tons of filters, you can change FC settings so the video plays at a lower quality when editing (RT Unlimited option). With this option on, it skips frames and shows videos at smaller resolution, but you can avoid constant re-renderings at editing time.

I also used to record audio tracks on Logic Pro using a firewire sound card MB on first gen MBP 15', and it worked fine. Never did heavy music production though.

I am awaiting my new Macbook Pro 13', and I expect it to perform fine for both of these tasks, as well as some Photoshop and Lightroom editing. ;-)

Sure, the 15' is *way* more powerful, but those extra 0.5kg go hard on my back.
 
Good to know, thanks a lot. One more thought, I notice that there is no option to get a 7200 rpm HD in the 13" model. I often am having to edit video or audio onto the built in drive rather than an external when I am traveling. Is the 5400 drive going to have a hard time doing this?
 
NBarnes21 said:
Good to know, thanks a lot. One more thought, I notice that there is no option to get a 7200 rpm HD in the 13" model. I often am having to edit video or audio onto the built in drive rather than an external when I am traveling. Is the 5400 drive going to have a hard time doing this?
Click to expand...

I had the same though, but as I said, the 5400 was fine for standard tasks (two track HD video in FC, etc.). I think the wise option is to wait one more year or so a until Intel SSDs get really cheaper, and replace the stock HD for one of those for a real performance boost (way more noticeable than 7200 vs 5400, I read).
 
Please keep us, (more like ME) posted.

NBarnes...thanks for posting this question. Im in the same situation as you except I've never owned a MAC & im considereing buying one in the VERY near future. Please let me know if the 2010 MBP 13'' works for you. Thanks.
 
I know, this thread is quite old, but NBarnes know, that video editing is better done with an external dedicated "scratch" drive, as editing video stored on the internal HDD will give you quite a performance loss and will also stress the HDD due to several processes (OS and video) accessing the HDD at the same time.

So better get an external 2.5" or 3.5" FW800 HDD for HD content, with 7200RPM would be good.
 
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