Macbook Pro 17" 2008 for FCP X?

[Nyte]

Hey so, I've got a deal on a Macbook Pro 17" 2008 model with the 2.60 ghz Core 2 Duo, 4GB of Ram and a 512MB Nvidia 8600 GT, it comes with a 200gb HDD which I intend to at first upgrade to a 500 HDD at least and after some time probably put an SSD in it.

I haven't yet bought it, but I'm going to check it out during the week to see if it's in good condition (the seller said it is) the price is very low, something around 250-300 dollars.

So I'm wondering is it's going to run FCP X well? And are SSD and 6GB ram Upgrades worth it on such an old'ish MBP? Also does Mavericks run well on a 2008 machine ?

One more thing...as I understand, the GPU in those 08 Macbooks will surely burn..it's just a matter of time eh?

Sorry for all the questions, I have never owned a Mac, worked on Mac Pro's during Uni times, but never owned one.
Thanks.

 

[Tsuchiya]

It will run FCP X as it meets the minimum requirements. However I'm not sure how well it would run.

As for your other questions:

More RAM and an SSD are worth the upgrade, there would be a noticeable difference. I found that Mavericks performs OK on a regular SSD, but is somewhat sluggish. With an SSD there is a noticeable difference.

If the graphics card is known to fail then proceed with caution. I was in an Apple store recently and found that they have discontinued out of repair repairs for early MacBook Pros simply because they don't have replacement parts. Yours is a little newer than the one I had taken in to show so it might not be the case. Regardless proceed with caution.

 

[Nyte]

I have checked the official system requirements for FCP X and it seems that it does meet the minimums, but I'm concerned if it's going to run well or not.

If all else fails, I'd go with Final Cut Pro 7, for I have used it a lot during Uni times...for all I know FCP X is a glorified iMovie But gotta use the latest stuff to stay up to date.

Yes I am aware they stopped supporting it but I'm not sure if it's just a ticking time bomb or not...since I bet there is no way to tell if a laptop has had a faulty GPU without disassembling it eh ?

 

[saturnotaku]

I bet there is no way to tell if a laptop has had a faulty GPU without disassembling it eh ?

Not even that. The only way to tell is when it actually is failing, such as when you start seeing artifacts and such on your screen.

 

[Nyte]

Dammit...I guess I'll have to check it out tomorrow and maybe at least get a decent price...as in cheaper than it is already lol.

 

[GSPice]

I've used a 2008 iMac with FCP X. It was.. usable. Not enjoyable, but usable. If you absolutely must go with that machine, please max out your ram and use a SSD with that macbook for your editing.

Of course after those upgrades, might as well get a newer machine.

 

[Nyte]

I've used a 2008 iMac with FCP X. It was.. usable. Not enjoyable, but usable. If you absolutely must go with that machine, please max out your ram and use a SSD with that macbook for your editing.

Of course after those upgrades, might as well get a newer machine.

I see. Well I'd go for a 2012 non retina MBP for a fully upgradable machine, but right now and probably for the next six to eight months, I will be needing money elsewhere.

My current laptop went almost dead after it's GPU somewhat fried. It's a quad core q9000 2.0 ghz laptop and It was working alright with Adobe Premiere, but from what I gathered on the internet, Apple optimizes their software better, so I'm expecting somewhat of a similar experience using FCP X.