Video editor seeks advice between new MBP and MP

[ringoya]

I have the cash for one or the other -- Mac Pro or McaBook Pro. The upper end MBP has a 512mb video card, bright 17" LED screen, and 4GB of RAM while the MP comes with 256mb video card (needing upgrade) 2GB of RAM (no monitor) and neither has blu-ray so I would have to keep one DVD drive open anyway.

I do a lot of work on Adobe Premiere Pro (still on a PC so making the switch) Question: Is running these applications on a MBP much slower than the pre-configured MP? For the money (bang for buck), is the MP worth more to video editors than the MBP?

 

[Blue Velvet]

Regardless of task, I would never buy a laptop if size and portability weren't the main concerns. I'm a designer and moved from a G4 dual 1.4 to a 2.33 MBP used as a desktop replacement solely on the grounds of it taking up far less space and being almost silent... I have a very small flat.

However, I'm not going to pretend that it's the equivalent to a MacPro in terms of power and speed alone; the hard drive is the current bottleneck.

If you're happy not moving the machine, editing in one place, then get the MacPro. Having faster and bigger drives is going to help a lot with those scratch files, at the very least. You can get upgrade with third-party RAM pretty cheaply, anyway.

 

[ringoya]

Thank you so much. That helps. I use a lot of external drives for my laptop, but to be honest, as much as I like the portability and "coolness' of the MBP, I can't remember when I edited video away from my workstation.

 

[FF_productions]

I've gone through the same situation, I used to have a MacBook Pro and loved having the portability, I could edit anywhere..


When I got the Mac Pro, I was so stunned with its speed. It rapes anything I throw at it and eats it for lunch..

At this point, I'm keeping my MP and gonna buy a MBP to compliment it, not replace it.

So, I'd say to go with the Mac Pro route. Buy ram from 3rd party vendors, including hard drives. You can fit another 3 in there and you should always have a separate drive for video (you should know this). You also gotta realize, that this Mac Pro is an OCTO-Core. 8 processors against the MacBook Pro's 2. Imagine the speed difference.

 

[ringoya]

Super helpful advice! MP seems like cloud-9 for video editors. I hope there aren't any angels up there on cloud-9 "raping everything throw at it and eating it for lunch." If there are, I'f like to edit that movie on my new MP!

 

[FF_productions]

In all seriousness, the Mac Pro is the way to go.

I realized that I do not edit on the road, I usually edit at the office on a G5 or at home on the Mac Pro.

Everybody's needs differ, but if you need something to do the heavy work, this beast will fit the bill.