Which MacBook Pro for FCP 5.1 ?

I am thinking about purchasing a 15" MacBook pro. My main concern is the graphic card: is the ATI mobility radeon with 128 MB of SDRAM enough for FCP 5.1, or do I need 256 MB ? I already have my old G5 for production work (editing, motion graphics, 3D...). I'll use the 15" every now and then on location, mostly for editing. Any feedback would be appreciated !

FCP manages perfectly well with the Radeon - it isnt heavily GPU dependant unlike Motion etc. If its just 'now and then' editing etc then i think the 15" is a excellent choice.

If you are going to be using an external monitor over DVI port then 15" is OK!

But if you are going to be using it as a mobile editing station, do yourself a big favor and spend the few hundred extra to get the 17" screen and it's perfect resolution to show all of Final Cut Pro on the screen.

It comes with 2 GB RAM and a 256 MB video card which will alos work a lot better with Motion.

Curse you John Foley and your logic. I have been trying to talk myself out of the 17" and into the 15" for two weeks now. I keep trying to tell myself that I don't want to carry that big thing around and that I don't need all the extra bells and whistles. What I didn't need was you coming in here and being so sensible and rational about it. Oh well, looks like I have to go get a bigger laptop bag than I'd planned on... poor me.
Other than size and weight and what bike thieves would call a high "heat score" anyone got a reason to not get the 17"?

ak
Sleeplings, AWAKE!

well ... theres the ... on no, wait ... ah ha, what about ... no, no ... the 17" is gorgeous

Quote

Other than size and weight and what bike thieves would call a high "heat score" anyone got a reason to not get the 17"?

Everyone around you will be very jealous... Um, increased chances of back ache? Errr... you have more screen surface that you have to keep clean? Im struggling here...

The 15" is enough for me. This is only for editing on location every now and then, I have a 30" cinema display for every day use And I think the 15" is just the right size for plane and train !

As long as your 17 is a replacement for your desktop and you dont intend to carry it anywhere it's beautiful. Everyone I know who has one wishes they had a 15 though. The 17 is just to big to bring on airplanes and even coffee shops. Plus its heavy to carry around. I can't imagine a better book for your office though.

Michael Horton
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Thanks Mike. That is what I was looking for. I want to be able to carry it around and it won't be the core editing machine. My quicksilver G4 does fine for my offline work at home and will do until the end of 2007 for sure. The MBP is for working on music projects, writing and getting out of the house/office (and burning DVDs out of DVDSP at 6x - yeeeha!).

ak
Sleeplings, AWAKE!

Comeon Guys! The 17" only weighs 1.2 lbs more than the 15" and has an enormous screen real estate and doesn't seem to get very hot to the touch for my liking. Certainly not a "burned lap"

Well, I use this to capure long form DVCPRO HD 1080i/p or 720p from the HVX200 camera.

Sweet!

"Other than size and weight and what bike thieves would call a high "heat score" anyone got a reason to not get the 17"?"

for me there is no "other than" size & weight

i get a powerbook for portability.
and the 17" is too big for me.
i haven't tried carrying a 17" around, but heck the 15" is heavy enough.


nick

I traveled with a borrowed 17 G4 PB one tie and never again. Like Nick says, weight counts and that extra 2 pounds or whatever is a beast after a lot of walking with other stuff to lug around. and forget about using it on an airplane unless you got the whole row to yourself or you type with your teeth.

Which I often do after a few Scotch and Sodas.

Michael Horton
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I still say it's relative.

My husband has 2 15" PC laptops that weigh significantly more than my 17" PB. A 15" MBP weighs more than a 12" MBP.

If you use wheels, the weight and size doesn't matter, anyhow. I love my pilot's case. It takes the load so I don't have to carry anything.

I can't argue the airplane one, except to say that I don't use mine on an airplane.

I prefer having more real estate on my screen for those times I can't ship a second monitor, which is often these days.

deb

Michael Horton Wrote:
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> I traveled with a borrowed 17 G4 PB one tie and
> never again. Like Nick says, weight counts and
> that extra 2 pounds or whatever is a beast after a
> lot of walking with other stuff to lug around. and
> forget about using it on an airplane unless you
> got the whole row to yourself or you type with
> your teeth.
>
> Which I often do after a few Scotch and Sodas.

hey Mike ... you need to get them to fly you business, plenty of room for a 17" in there
I've travelled a bit with mine, both the 15" I had previously, and 17" I'm using now.
I really don't notice the diference in size and weight much, although I gotta admit I did have to buy a slightly bigger bag!

No problems on planes really, but I'm not a big guy so that might be an advantage.

A couple of the producers I work with are using 15" MBP's and seeing them kind of stops you for a second whilst you work out whats wrong ... of course, nothings wrong at all, they're the exact same goodness, just a tad smaller.

for me that gnats whisker extra screen real estate makes enough difference to make it worth it.

This is interesting. I myself am bemoaning the lack of a 12inch PB equivilent in the new range. Not that I don't like my 15inch MBP, but I fall into the category of constantly moving, mainly on public transport, and it really being more a 'get a quick hour of work in' more than a desktop replacement.

IMO, the 17 inch is a fantastic desktop replacement. For my purposes, the 15inch is also too much of a desktop replacement! I want small and powerful damn it.

I don't want a MacBook, cause if its on the cusp of not being able to run FCS5, how's it going to go when 6 arrives?

Sorry for the thread-jack! the 15inch should suit Mack Truck perfectly I would think.