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iMovie and MBP needs

D

Dlcinnc

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Nov 26, 2011
25
0
Hi! I have a base model 15" MBP for work that I love and am planning on buying a Mac laptop of my own. Just wondering...I will be using it for general email, word processor, Power Point, and maybe VM ware or other PC portal. I love working in iMovie...will a basic 13" MBP work well with these and iMovie rendering? I tossed the idea of a MBA but was turned away from it by some Apple employees and fear the limited storage. I also want the 13" because I feel the 15" is too much to tote around. Any thoughts or suggestions is greatly appreciated. Max budget is $1500 and I am not comfortable adding in any upgrades on my own.

Thanks so much!:)
 
The late 2011 13'' MBP will handle iMovie, using its HD3000 graphics. If you are going to use iMovie a ton/every day I would go with an SSD for your hard drive. You can upgrade to an aftermarket SSD but you said you are not comfortable with upgrades yourself, I am using the factory Apple SSD (the inferior Toshiba version) and am just fine with it. (I have a late 2011 MBP). However you hinted at needing more storage so it may be cost prohibitive going the SSD route, but getting the Apple SSD configuration and picking up a traditional external hard drive from amazon/newegg is the way to go.

If you feel using iMovie daily is your thing, your tastes may change and opt for a more robust editing software a week/month down the road. For this reason you may want the 15'' just for the better gpu/cpu, but if you are just a casual user the 13'' will do what you want.
 
Thanks! I may have to consider that route of using an external hard drive - for some reason I remain intrigued by the MBA as well. Would working in iMovie (a bit for work for training videos but mainly for family memories) on an MBA be just as good as on a MBP 13". Not sure of the timeline for my purchase either - maybe the end of January or later in the spring but not sure I want to wait out the possibility of newer models if these will accomplish my goals.
Thanks all!
 
Yes the Air will also do the things you want just fine. I saw you made another thread in the Mackbook Air forums and for the price/what tasks you want to accomplish the Air may be the way to go in your case. The price is a bit less and the Air will comes with a SSD for your storage included in the price, win win.

The quickness and snappy feel on day to day things mostly comes from having the SSD in there. Also get max RAM for the Air if you go the Air route since the RAM can't be upgraded, even though you can't/dont want to personally upgrade parts, you still won't be able to bring it to an Apple Store and have them upgrade the RAM, afaik (i don't have an Air). Ive read that the core i5 is plenty good for what you want to do and more. Hope that helps.

It has been speculated that new revisions of the Macbook Pro(maybe the Air in parallel) will come in mid to late 2012, so you may not want to wait that long. Especially if you aren't looking for a powerhouse portable.

Air vs Pro, the Air is obviously in a smaller form and is great for traveling with you although you could argue the 13'' MBP is just as easily transportable. In your case it comes down to what you think looks better/personal preference as both are very similar and capable.

GL, whatever you choose, Air or Pro will suit you well for a good while.
 
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I use a lot of iMovie and do a lot of work on Maya (it gives problems when installing due to screen resolution but works out in the end) along with a lot of other engineering software on my MBP (see signature). I have had no issues besides the RAM hogging which was fixed when I upgraded to 8GB.
 
JamesGorman said:
He docent say which 15" he currently has, so you can't make that assumption.
Click to expand...

My current (work) 15" MBP is the basic model no upgrades but purchased in 11/11. Is the 13" MBA less of a power loss? I do get some beach balls now but my work wiped off Lion and put back 10.6.8. Thoughts?
 
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