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Old MBP vs. New Air - GPU...

FSMBP

FSMBP

macrumors 68030
Original poster
Jan 22, 2009
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I was wondering if anyone had an insight on my current issue:

I currently have a old MBP (see sig) with a dedicated 128MB RAM GPU. Would it be "down-grading" in terms GPU activities with the new rumored Air's 650 integrated GPU? I can't tell if a 5 year old Mac with dedicated GPU would be video activity better than a new MacBook Air with an integrated one (along with its SSD & etc...)

For reference: I don't game but I do edit HD video & do very light Motion work every now and then (mostly small projects every couple of months).

Thanks in advance for any answers.
 
I went from a 2008 15" MBP to a 13" i5 MBA. Everything is faster - most things are much faster. Have not found any video card related issues at all, although I don't play games and haven't tried using Motion or Color from FCS. Most of my software is old, but still meets my needs; Final Cut Pro 6 works great, same with Photoshop CS3 and VectorWorks 2008.

One issue with Final Cut Studio (and maybe some other programs) is that it runs a compatibility checker when you install from the DVD's. This breaks on the MBA because it doesn't recognize the graphics card. I also had to jump though some hoops because the installer needed Rosetta (but the individual installers inside the package files didn't). However, I used time machine to just move the installed software from my old MBP to the MBA, and that worked fine. For another program, I installed it first on my old MBP, copied the files/folders to a flash drive, then copied them to the correct places on the MBA and that was fine too.
 
Boyd01 said:
I went from a 2008 15" MBP to a 13" i5 MBA. Everything is faster - most things are much faster. Have not found any video card related issues at all, although I don't play games and haven't tried using Motion or Color from FCS. Most of my software is old, but still meets my needs; Final Cut Pro 6 works great, same with Photoshop CS3 and VectorWorks 2008.

One issue with Final Cut Studio (and maybe some other programs) is that it runs a compatibility checker when you install from the DVD's. This breaks on the MBA because it doesn't recognize the graphics card. I also had to jump though some hoops because the installer needed Rosetta (but the individual installers inside the package files didn't). However, I used time machine to just move the installed software from my old MBP to the MBA, and that worked fine. For another program, I installed it first on my old MBP, copied the files/folders to a flash drive, then copied them to the correct places on the MBA and that was fine too.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the insight.

I'm currently migrating into FCP X (with the new Motion), so hopefully I won't have those issues. I would imagine that the new MacBook Airs will be optimized for them (as the current Airs handle FCPX decently based upon reviews). I just gotta plan ahead for exporting/encoding! ha.
 
I thought about getting FCP X, but really I can do everything I need in FCP 6 for now. I haven't bothered to look more closely, but I know FCP X has received a very negative response from some people. I just don't do as much video now, but may have a big project next year. Or maybe not.

I think you will be happy with performance coming from your old machine though. My MBP was Core2 Duo 2.4 with 4GB RAM. I did one test where I exported a 140MB XDCAM full HD clip to an 852x480 h.264 clip. It took my 2008 MBP 72 seconds while the MBA did it in 42 sec. :cool:

And I paid $2,500 for that old MBP while the MBA cost $1,500. There was a time when I did a lot of video, 3d modelling and animation but not these days. If I ever get back into that, I suppose I'll want something faster. But I used to run all that software on a dual G5 that I thought was really fast, and it me cost a LOT of money back around 2004. :D
 
Boyd01 said:
I thought about getting FCP X, but really I can do everything I need in FCP 6 for now. I haven't bothered to look more closely, but I know FCP X has received a very negative response from some people. I just don't do as much video now, but may have a big project next year. Or maybe not.

I think you will be happy with performance coming from your old machine though. My MBP was Core2 Duo 2.4 with 4GB RAM. I did one test where I exported a 140MB XDCAM full HD clip to an 852x480 h.264 clip. It took my 2008 MBP 72 seconds while the MBA did it in 42 sec. :cool:

And I paid $2,500 for that old MBP while the MBA cost $1,500. There was a time when I did a lot of video, 3d modelling and animation but not these days. If I ever get back into that, I suppose I'll want something faster. But I used to run all that software on a dual G5 that I thought was really fast, and it me cost a LOT of money back around 2004. :D
Click to expand...

The comparison on exporting is *very* refreshing to hear!

And like you, I used to do more graphic-intense work a couple years ago but not that much anymore (once a quarter). Down-grading from a Pro to an Air seemed scary but not too much anymore. ;)
 
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