Should I purchase this 2011 Macbook Pro?

[TSmith16]

*EDIT: In the title, I meant 2012 Macbook Pro, not 2011.

I need a new computer soon and I want something that is good with video editing. My current laptop can't handle it so I need something that is good enough to do so. I'm only 17 and therefore do not have a lot of money but I found this used Macbook on eBay for under a $1000 from a high rated seller. Also, I am not a professional filmmaker, so I'm not making movie-like videos but I do make big enough projects that it matters what kind of laptop I have.

I was really excited because its a mid-2012 13" Macbook Pro Unibody with 2.9 GHz Intel Core i7 8 GB RAM 750 GB of hard drive space which is partitioned with Yosemite and Windows 8.1. Additionally, it comes with
Final Cut Pro X,
Motion 5,
Office 11,
iLife11,
iWork 09,
Toast 11 Titanium

And then I found out that its only a dual core

Is investing in with a quad core important? I heard that it is if you want a faster computer but I would like different people's opinions because I don't want to make this purchase and then be disappointed. The same seller sells a similar one with nearly all the same specs except its a 15.4", a quad core, and at least $800 more (which I simply can't afford).

Opinions?

Here is the link to the Mac I'm interested in buying: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Apple-MacBo...445?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1c53ba4095

 

[z31fanatic]

For that kind of money you can get a better computer. You can get a used late 2013, mid 2014 retina MBP for $900-100

 

[TSmith16]

For that kind of money you can get a better computer. You can get a used late 2013, mid 2014 retina MBP for $900-100

The thing I like about this seller is that all of the Macs he's selling come with pre-loaded software. By the time I spend that much money on a Mac that doesn't come with the software, I won't have enough to buy the new software I need because I would need to buy a Mac version of Microsoft Office, a new video editing program (I sure cannot afford something as good as Final Cut Pro unless it actually came with the computer like this one does), and a new Scrivener license because I am a writer too.

He has some 2013s on his store too but they're quite a bit more than I can afford right now. I just need something to start me off but works decently.

 

[chrfr]

The thing I like about this seller is that all of the Macs he's selling come with pre-loaded software. By the time I spend that much money on a Mac that doesn't come with the software, I won't have enough to buy the new software I need because I would need to buy a Mac version of Microsoft Office, a new video editing program (I sure cannot afford something as good as Final Cut Pro unless it actually came with the computer like this one does), and a new Scrivener license because I am a writer too.

He has some 2013s on his store too but they're quite a bit more than I can afford right now. I just need something to start me off but works decently.

None of the software that's included is legally licensed.

 

[TSmith16]

None of the software that's included is legally licensed.

What do you mean?

 

[chrfr]

What do you mean?

It's pirated software. You don't get legal licenses to any of it.

 

[TSmith16]

It's pirated software. You don't get legal licenses to any of it.

Oh. I guess that never occurred to me. If that's really what's going on, I'm surprised that he hasn't been caught yet. Well anyway, I really need a computer that can do video editing and $1000 is my max.

I don't know what to do because my computer is nearing the end of its days and I know Macbook Pros are known for good video editing. My dilemma is, I have found some Mac Pros that I can afford but will have no money left over to buy the software I need to continue. Everywhere I go, people said that if I want to do any kind of video editing, I need a higher end computer but then they suggest PCs and Macs alike that are quite a bit out of my price range.

Like I said, I just need something fairly decent for video editing that will get me by and hopefully get me through college. I'm not trying to be unrealistic because I know with Macs you pay for what you get. I just need something that I can afford!

 

[MacVibe]

Many colleges have volume licenses where the software is heavily discounted, or free. The machine you picked out has a much bigger hard drive than the used rMBP you can get for $1000- something to consider.

 

[iamMacPerson]

I don't know what to do because my computer is nearing the end of its days and I know Macbook Pros are known for good video editing. My dilemma is, I have found some Mac Pros that I can afford but will have no money left over to buy the software I need to continue. Everywhere I go, people said that if I want to do any kind of video editing, I need a higher end computer but then they suggest PCs and Macs alike that are quite a bit out of my price range.

Like I said, I just need something fairly decent for video editing that will get me by and hopefully get me through college. I'm not trying to be unrealistic because I know with Macs you pay for what you get. I just need something that I can afford!

Well, if you get a new Mac (or even a refurb from Apple) you get iMovie for free which is usually pretty good for consumers. It's what I used for years until I finally made the the move to FCPX earlier this year. It really depends on what kind of videos you are editing. Are we talking YouTube videos, are we taking short films, full length movies, home videos? Unless you are doing hard core YouTube videos or you are making short films, a dual core should suit you fine.

A MacBook Pro should suit you fine. The Retina machines are very nice and you can get a discount on them either via Apple's refurbed page, or if you have an Apple Store near by you can use your college ID to get a discount on a new one. The newer generations will be much faster then the machine you are looking at, especially considering that computer has a hard drive and not an SSD which is about another $200-$400 upgrade. I wouldn't use 10.9 Mavericks or 10.10 Yosemite without one. The processor in that machine also came out in late 2011/early 2012 and is multiple generations behind the current one. This would still make a great general purpose laptop (like my 2011 13" MBP), but I think it would be cutting it really close for any medium to heavy editing on it. I only to very light edits on my machine and use my Mac Pro for everything else.

Also, just for future reference, the MacBook Pro is Apple's higher end laptop. The Mac Pro is Apple's high end desktop (former tower) cylinder.

 

[TSmith16]

I make short films and YouTube videos. Right now, I use Corel Video Studio X6 but its only for Windows unfortunately. However, my videos are never more than ten minutes long. Anything that would work better than my computer for editing would be an improvement (seeing how it barely handles editing at all), so I don't need the best of the best, just something that will work decently.