Powerbook Settings for FCP

Samantha is getting a Powerbook for College and needs to know the best way to set up FCP HD on it. Since it only comes with one hard drive, to where do you designate the Scratch Disks? An external drive? Is it possible to have all on one drive? I didn't think that was recommendable...She will be using the Powerbook for short projects and clips and mostly for learning programs.. NOT as a full blown editing system. Thanks for the help!

there is no special setup for a powerbook, just install and go.
she WILL need an external firewire drive as a scratch disk - you cant capture reliably to the internal drive.

i HIGHLY reccommend ANY of the firewire drives from promax.com ive owned nearly a dozen and have had NO problems. AND they are just as affordable as the trash you'll find at your local large computer chain

Thanks Wayne! I appreciate the info!
-Samantha

here are 2 drives id suggest:
[www.promax.com]
[www.promax.com]

id reccommend getting no less than a total of 1 gig of ram as well.

for one or two small projects, i would say you CAN work off the internal drive.

i would probably try working from the internal, and IF it becomes an issue then move to a FW solution.
especialy if portablilty is the priority.

get the biggest internal you can get, (80gigs, i think)
and check that it's a fast one: 5400rpm, although i think that;s the standrad now.

mind you you;d only get 4hrs of DV on there, and less if she's got a decent size music library and iPhoto colection
so wayne's sugestion is the best.
but get the big, fast drive, anyway, as she may well need to play files off the internal at times

also, for decent editing, i'd also sugest a real keyboard.
and DEFINITLEY a mouse, or tablet, NOT the trackpad.

dont forget to turn expose off, or re-alocate it's activation keys: they conflict with FCP,
and i read somethnig recently about being able to make the Fkeys into real Fkeys, without having to use the fn modifier..
but i cant remember where.
not an issue if using a real keyboard.

cheers,
nick

Wayne, regarding the two drives that you suggested. Do I really need an 800 FW drive if i'm just using Mini dv? How about the basic 160gb 400?

If all you are going to do is small projects and erase after everyone of them then a 160 or 400 will do. Rule of thumb is always get the most you can afford. Most ram, biggest Hard drive etc.

Mike

no you absolutely do not NEED a FW800 drive. but here is my math:

160 gig FW400 drive $160
320 gig FW800 drive $400
for $240 more you get twice the space and a faster interface - i think its a steal!

my current system uses 3 of cheaper 160 gig promax FW400 drives and ive NEVER had ANY problems.

here is a link to them:
[promax.com]

and as i said, ive owned over a dozen of these and ive never lost a bit of data

and like michael said, a good rule in video is "get ALL YOU CAN AFFORD". FW drives (both FW400 and FW800) are reasonably cheap. and you can NEVER have too much RAM.

my powerbook g4 17" has a gig of ram and for general edit and playback in the field its never missed a beat (with a promax FW400 drive connected). BUT when it comes to heavy compositing in aftereffects i wish id bought MORE ram...

here is my baseline powerbook setup:

- G4 powerbook 15" or 17" both fine. (at least 1 gig ram)
promax 160 gig FW400 drive
- FCP
- DVD studio PRO
- adobe illustrator, photoshop and after effects
- peak 4 (full version) $200ish upgrade from the
freebie version that comes with FCP
- logitech optical mouse
- sony mdr-v600 headphones
- an extra laptop battery

that will get you up and running in video. anything else is just deliverable or taste details