Advice on purchasing New or Old MacBook Pro 15"??

Dear Everyone,

thanks in advance to anyone reading this and to anyone with any advice. Iknow some people have asked about some of these issues in the past but I just wanted to get the most recent updates on how people feel about the new macbook pro.

My Powerbook G4 (with FCP HD 4.5) has died and I now want to buy a new MacBook Pro and FCP6. I use FCP mainly for editing documentaries. On the new computer I will still be editing my next documentary shot on DV but also will in the future I will be editing HDV and HD.

My main gripes about the new MacBook Pro are the glossy screen and that there is only one Firewire input.

>Q1> Has anyone tried to put on these non-reflective overlays on the glossy screen of the new MacBook pro??

>Q2> I always capture my footage to an external firewire harddrive which thus would already occupy the one firewire port. It is possible to connect my DV camera to the other 400 Firewire port on my external lacie drive, right???


So either I am thinking of getting the old MacBook Pro 15.4"
- 2.5 GHz core 2 duo, 2gb PC2-5300 RAM (i would upgrade to 4GB), HD 250gb
5400rpm, GPU GeForce 8600M GT 512mb RAM, matte screen!!!! (really good deal
$1200)

OR the new MacBook Pro 15.4"
- 2.53 ghz Core 2 Duo, 4 gb PC3-8500(2x2) RAM,, HD 320gb 5400rpm,
GPU GeForce 9600M GT 512 mb RAM ($2300)
- I would also consider getting the 2.8 GHz if .3 GHz really makes a difference??

So the old one is cheaper of course but I am willing to spend extra money if the new one is better and will make my work easier and more efficient. But the salesperson told me the two models are very similar and that I would not notice much of a difference in terms of speed.

>Q3> Any opinions on whether the difference between the old and the new is noticeable??

>Q4> Does 2.8 GHz make a noticeable difference over 2.53 GHz on the new MacBook Pro?


Thanks everyone. Happy holidays!

Cheers,
Robert

I LEAPT at the old one. Many reasons. CHEAP...yet still good. So cheap. I mean, .03Ghz difference for HALF the price. And I still have FW400 and 800...and I have that Matte Screen.

AND...the newer MacBook Pros are having issues with the latest OS update...so.

I advice get the older one...$1200 is a screaming deal. I took it.


www.shanerosseditor.com

Listen to THE EDIT BAY Podcast on iTunes
[itunes.apple.com]

Hey Robert,

Unless you dig looking at yourself (and all the light sources in the room behind you where you edit) in the massive reflection of that new glass monitor, I would DEFINITELY go for the old stand-by with the matte screen. I bought a 15" MBP Core2Duo loaded with 4 Gig RAM, extra battery, leopard, backpack & more on Ebay for $1100. It rocks - No brainer.

When life gives you dilemmas...make dilemmanade.

Thanks Shane and Grafixjoe for your responses! Thanks for the good advice. The glossy screen drives me nuts as well!

Just out of curiosity though - do you guys know if anyone has had success with the anti-glare plastic films that one can put over the new MacBook Pros glossy screen??

Also is it true that one can connect the DV camera to the external firewire harddrive?? (Which seems like the only resort with the new MacBook Pros single Firewire input.)

Thank you both!
Kind regards,
Robert

...another bummer RE: the new MBP = one less USB port and FW400 is gone. Not good for our work. No experience with anti-glare films here.

When life gives you dilemmas...make dilemmanade.

You can daisy chain, but some people report issues with that. The MBP has that expeess34 slot that you can buy a card for to add more FW ports.

No clue about the anti glare film.


www.shanerosseditor.com

Listen to THE EDIT BAY Podcast on iTunes
[itunes.apple.com]

Thanks guys.

I spent twice as much on the MBP that's listed in my signature and I just found the one you mention at my local college for $1199 too. Guess what? I'm buying it!!!

Very happy with the one I have and I totally agree with Shane on why to get/own the older generation ones.

--
Eric Harnden
Quintessential Studios
---------------------------------
[wordpress.quintessentialstudios.net]
[twitter.com]

Wow, you guys are really hung up on that glossy screen. Of course, that's no reflection on the talents here. <sorry, couldn't resist>

I'm typing this on 17" of glossy goodness and it's not a problem. Granted, I wouldn't want to try to work on this thing outside or in a room with lights everywhere, but if you can limit the lighting behind the area where you are using the laptop, it's very easy to work on. Apple also puts an anti-reflective coating on the glossy surface to knock down the reflections. Honestly, the times where there WERE lights behind me, I was so focused on my work that it didn't bother me. The one thing that I DO like about that rockin' deal you guys are finding on the 15" is that the smaller size is SO much nicer to travel with. Lugging this 17"er on a plane is no picnic.

Thanks again everyone for your emails. Eric the 1199$ deal I found is also at a college campus.

Hey Dave you mention "an anti-reflective coating for the glossy surface that Apple puts out. Do you mean the plastic film one puts over the screen??? Have you used this? Any experiences with it?

Thanks for your support!
Cheers,
Robert

Hi Robert. What I was saying was that there is already an anti-reflective coating on the glossy screen to knock down the reflections. Believe me, it WOULD look bad if they had not added this. However, many people still won't like it and I can't say that I blame them. My previous MacBook Pro and Powerbook were all matte finish screens. The night I bought my 17", I set it next to another 17" matte finish screen and then loaded the same desktop images on both of them. It was a close call but (to me) the glossy had a bit more snap to the overall image contrast. But, they both looked great. BTW, mine is a late '06 model with both FW ports. Either way, good luck.

Quote

Granted, I wouldn't want to try to work on this thing outside or in a room with lights everywhere, but if you can limit the lighting behind the area where you are using the laptop, it's very easy to work on.

The whole idea of owning a laptop is portability & being able to work anywhere. Chances are you cannot control the lighting so if that is a factor, the glossy screen is a waste of money & a detriment. Being "hung up" on it is irrelevant.

When life gives you dilemmas...make dilemmanade.

IDK about the rest of you but when it came down to it, my first MBP could have been a 17" but I picked up that beast and thought, "If I'm going to be dragging this thing all around, this is just too big!"

Ends up there's another reason 15's are better than 17's for video editing, something about the power to run the 17" screen is too much and you can't run a 7200 bus-powered external FW drive.

Now I've read that the matte screen is closer to true color than the glossy screen and the guy at the Apple store agreed, so matte was always my choice.

But saving $1,100 alone is enough of a factor to forget all the rest. It's 15.4" and it's matte so, there you go.

'Nuff said!

--
Eric Harnden
Quintessential Studios
---------------------------------
[wordpress.quintessentialstudios.net]
[twitter.com]

Robert:

Go for the older Mac Book Pro, that's what I have done.
I have f.c.p. 6.0.X running on it, and it run's just fine.
I have an external 2T hard drive (firewire) connected.

Russ

Thanks guys for all of your generous advice. You are really helping me out a lot with my decision.

I guess I will go for the older one. There is also the new 2.8ghz model but probably again .3Ghz is not that much faster I assume. It feels awkward to buy the older model when the new one came out. But I agree with all of you that the glossy screen and the one firewire output are very impractical for our work, especially on location. I also do photography and I know the reflections would drive me crazy when doing any photoshop work. It seems like the new one is more of a cosmetic change than a significant change of computing power which is what I am most interested in.

Thanks everyone.

Happy New Year!

Robert

Macworld is just around the corner. I'd advise holding off until you see what might be coming then.

Phil Cramer
Indianapolis