17-Inch MacBook Pro

Is there anybody up and running with FCP on the new MacBook Pro? If so, what has been your experience to date? Performance? Type of editing done? Motion? etc. Are you using an external monitor?

Thanks...

I tried it out in an Apple Store here....it's ENORMOUS... wish they had everything they put into it in a smaller package (firewire 800 and better SuperDRIVE AND CLOCK SPEED)

They have them pre-loaded with FinalCut 5.0 and HDV footage..which looks very nice on the larger screen and plays back without a hiccup off the internal drive....tried to choke it by adding a few effects and processor intensive transitions...and it handled them just fine in the dynamic editing mode.

One thing seemed odd though..I would change a transition on the timeline ...and it would still remember the earlier rendered transition (eventhough the transition changed...) it wasn't until I cut the earlier transition and added the new one would it appear unrendered....and then it would play out a proxy copy...or if needed rendering would do it fairly quickly.

Andy

Thanks for sharing your experience...

I need to get an FCP platform and am considering either leasing a maxed-out G5 Quad and then upgrading later (using the deal being offered by Apple) or starting out with the 17" new notebook teamed with an external monitor and drive.

Can the 17 be looked at as a primary FCP workstation?

Any thoughts?

The advice is great, but don't trust Apple store demo models for the end-all. People who don't even know how to spell "Mac" are pushing and prodding on them all day (no lie, I saw a guy who thought the iPod Shuffle was a camera). So maybe people who own one might give you better advice, I'm looking for the same...

But I'm NOT trying to discredit Andy's advice...just a warning...

Jim Thompson:

Can you please tell me about the Quad upgrade offer from Apple?
Does that mean you can buy one now, and when the new Intel tower comes in you get a discount?

The offer is on their website under "Store". I received a promotional email directly from Apple regarding this. Call Apple for more details...

I finally got mine from Apple last week. So far, so good. I haven't done very much intense editing yet as I'm brand new to apple and FCP. I was finally able to make the switch from Premiere.

I haven't had any performance issues and it connects brilliantly to my external monitor.

I'll try to post more once I've had a chance to really tax the machine.