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Upgrade my MacBook Pro? [Video Editing]

D

DanielDMB

macrumors member
Original poster
Jul 25, 2010
53
0
Hi everyone,

I purchased a Macbook Pro 15 inch for video editing in July of 2009. I've been looking into buying a new Macbook Pro since my current one is slower while creating motion graphics or editing video.

Here are the specs:
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Processor 2.66 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
Memory 4 GB 1067 MHz DDR3
Graphics NVIDIA GeForce 9400M 256 MB
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I'm not very big into hardware, but if I purchased a 2011 or one of the new 2012 Macbook Pros with an i7 processor and a 512mb graphics card, would I see significantly better results?

And would I have better luck buying directly from apple, or building a 'hackintosh' for this?

Thanks in advance,
Dan
 
No for editing. Yes for transcoding or motion graphics rendering. RAM will do more good than processor upgrades. How much RAM do you have in your current machine?
 
WRP said:
No for editing. Yes for transcoding or motion graphics rendering. RAM will do more good than processor upgrades. How much RAM do you have in your current machine?
Click to expand...

4 GB 1067 MHz DDR3. two 2GB slots. I was considering upgrading to 8GB.
 
Well if you are working in After Effects and you have MP enabled you are only using 2GB per core which is the absolute minimum. That also leaves no RAM for other processes. Bumping that to 4GB per core will help significantly.

Most video editing is slowed down by the bus it is on. You should be working on an external drive that is FW800 at least ideally. Also, you should be transcoding to en edit friendly codec. If you are editing h264 you will see not much will help the speed as it is a very processor intensive codec. It allows for smaller files but the machine has to work harder to code/decode the video on the fly.
 
On the same topic, would you expect video editing (not actual encoding) to improve if used with an SSD instead of spinning disk?
 
I do directing and editing for living and can tell you the upgrade will make a big difference. Now it also depends what you go for.

I just upgraded to the new retina completely maxed out. You are going to have more CPU power, RAM, better GPU and Flash drive which will significantly improve your workflow not to mention having the double thunderbolt ports and double USB3.0 for externals. We all know how many externals us editors have...

You should have 8GB RAM minimum and a 1GB video card minimum plus you can take advantage of CUDA and OpenCL.
 
WRP said:
You shouldn't be editing off your internal drive so no.
Click to expand...

Depends on the project size. Sometimes the project you have on the go you can work off your internal. Then once it's all wrapped up move it to an external via thunderbolt or usb3.0. But yes you shouldn't be 'storing' on the internal for long term. So yes you will notice a difference while you edit then just move it to an external after.

Convert and H.264 or other material to Proress.
 
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heyimandy said:
Depends on the project size. Sometimes the project you have on the go you can work off your internal. Then once it's all wrapped up move it to an external via thunderbolt or usb3.0. But yes you shouldn't be 'storing' on the internal for long term. So yes you will notice a difference while you edit then just move it to an external after.

Convert and H.264 or other material to Proress.
Click to expand...

I've done it for a living for a long time as well. While technically you can edit from your system drive you never should.
 
Whatever improves your workflow. Everyone has their own method. One's not right over the other. Me personally this is the way I've done it for big projects for broadcast. It will be much quicker then sending your data to an external while you edit.
 
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The MBP that you see in my signature along with a Seagate 750GB Momentus XT hybrid drive totally powers everything I do video editing wise with FCPX. I cut shows to shorts and this machine is bullet proof. All the video is ran off a Lacie Thunderbolt drive.

You can read through this thread I started when I got the new 2012 MBP-non retina -2 days after it came out and you will learn how hard I push this machine.
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1386040/

I had a 2011 with the same specs in my signature line and it performed great, yet with the 2012 I am getting a bit more out of this machine, as well as I gained a USB 3.0 port.

I edit 10+ hours everyday on this machine and can handle anything I throw at it.

Hope my experience with this machine can help you with your decision.
 
Dviper27 said:
You need a upgrade. That intel core duo will not preform well.
Click to expand...

I have a 5-year old (2007) 2.4 C2D that I bring to clients offices and work on huge AE projects no problem. :rolleyes:

I'd prefer to use my 6-core with 32GB of ram and dual 24" ultrasharps, but saying something won't perform well is just ignorant. A few streams of ProRes in FCP will perform no differently on that machine wia a FW800 drive than my tower.
 
anyone gave any thoughts on USB 3 vs Fw800?

Thunder bolt drives seem poor value at the moment.

also, with these new ssds, can your scratch disk be internal?/on the system drive?
 
WRP said:
You shouldn't be editing off your internal drive so no.
Click to expand...

Why not? If you have a 512GB SSD, I say go for it.

Uncompressed video takes a lot of space.

----------
prfrma said:
anyone gave any thoughts on USB 3 vs Fw800?

Thunder bolt drives seem poor value at the moment.

also, with these new ssds, can your scratch disk be internal?/on the system drive?
Click to expand...

USB 3.0 is the cheapest way to go. Get an external USB3 enclosure and pop in an SSD.
 
SDAVE said:
Why not? If you have a 512GB SSD, I say go for it.

Uncompressed video takes a lot of space.
Click to expand...

Yes... but SSD's have limited write cycles. It is not ideal for editing, rendering, etc. Yes, it is quicker but you are risking wearing it out sooner by editing on it.
 
WRP said:
I've done it for a living for a long time as well. While technically you can edit from your system drive you never should.
Click to expand...

WRP said:
Yes... but SSD's have limited write cycles. It is not ideal for editing, rendering, etc. Yes, it is quicker but you are risking wearing it out sooner by editing on it.
Click to expand...

Well, I don't do it for a living, just editing some vacation videos and other stuff made for fun. I think wearing it out is a risk I'm willing to take. The drive is removable anyway, and has a warranty, too :)

heyimandy said:
Whatever improves your workflow. Everyone has their own method. One's not right over the other. Me personally this is the way I've done it for big projects for broadcast. It will be much quicker then sending your data to an external while you edit.
Click to expand...

I personally dread working with external drives and dongles of various sizes. Backups is the only thing I do with a cable, but even that may just have to move to wifi, to make sure I have no excuse not to back up ;).
 
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