Macbook Pro or Custom MacPro???

How is the workflow on a macbook pro, and what kind of additional setups would I need for the best performance. I'm trying to decide whether to get one, or to build my own mac pro? I use mostly FCPX, Motion and the Adobe Suite.

Aside from the fact that piracy is stealing, it also depends on whether it's a hobby kit or a professional kit. If it's a hobby kit and you want to learn how stuff works in a computer, sure, hack all you want. If it's a professional kit, and you have paying clients, you want access to updates and support without having to jump through hoops when you're troubleshooting on a deadline.



www.strypesinpost.com

Except that I'd be buying all the software so nothing is being pirated.

I think Strypes is referring to the fact that it's not legal to run Apple software on any computer other than an actual Apple computer. If you make a Hackintosh, you're technically pirating.

But are you talking about actually building a fakey Mac Pro, or do you mean just getting one that you decide which processor, how much ram and so on?

I'm not sure I can recommend a Mac Pro right now. It's a bit of a rip-off because the hardware is so outdated. Some people have moved to iMacs but there is supposed to be a new Mac Pro model next year, according to Tim Cook.

My software:
Pro Maintenance Tools - Tools to keep Final Cut Studio, Final Cut Pro X, Avid Media Composer and Adobe Premiere Pro running smoothly and fix problems when they arise
Pro Media Tools - Edit QuickTime chapters and metadata, detect gamma shifts, edit markers, watch renders and more
More tools...

Yea, it's a violation of the EULA. OSX is supposed to only run on Apple equipment. But my main point being that if you are trying to troubleshoot, you don't want to have to throw this unknown equation into the mix.

But yea, also what Jon mentioned. The current MacPro is the 2010 version with a mild speed bump.



www.strypesinpost.com

I was thinking of building a hackintosh since the Mac pros are so old. What about the retina macbook pros, or the new imacs? Has anyone used them? Are they powerful and fast enough to handle a lot of editing and motion graphics? (AE, Motion, Cinema4d).

The Retina MacBook Pro is fast but it doesn't have many ports and memory is not upgradeable so you have to pay up-front for however much RAM you anticipate ever needing. A new non-Retina MacBook or an iMac would be a better bet.

My software:
Pro Maintenance Tools - Tools to keep Final Cut Studio, Final Cut Pro X, Avid Media Composer and Adobe Premiere Pro running smoothly and fix problems when they arise
Pro Media Tools - Edit QuickTime chapters and metadata, detect gamma shifts, edit markers, watch renders and more
More tools...

The difference is parallel processing. Mac Pros have 12 cores, with hyper threading. An iMac or the RMBP doesn't come close. They do have faster single proc speeds though, so operations may be snappier, just not for heavy rendering in softwares that heavily utilize multi processors. As Jon said, rumors of a new MacPro is nigh, and that will signal the direction Apple will take with their hardware. If you need a Mac for powerful parallel processing now, then your choice should be the Mac Pro, but yea, it's not a great long term choice. And yea, I won't recommend a Hackintosh for a production workhorse, because it potentially complicates troubleshooting, but if that's a spare machine that you're using for additional rendering pizzazz, then it's not a biggie. You'll be violating some EULA, but that's between you and Apple.



www.strypesinpost.com

We just got new 27" iMacs in our store with fusion drive and It's FAST as far as launching goes anyway FCPX takes about 4 seconds. I haven't spent much more time with it but it felt amazing Motion 5 launch was instant.

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Dean

"When I see you floating down the gutter I'll give you a bottle of wine."
Captain Beefheart, Trout Mask Replica.

Yes. SSD technology is amazing. I load some NLEs twice now, because it loads up way before the OS has time to mount my external drive.



www.strypesinpost.com