Buying A New Mac - Recommendations for FCP?

It is sales tax holiday weekend in my state, so that means I can get a new Mac and save a significant amount of dough. I currently have a 17 inch PowerBook G4, 1.33 Ghz. with 2 Gb of RAM. I use the machine to do all sorts of graphics and video work, using programs like Final Cut Studio, Adobe Creative Suite, iWork and iLife.
I'm interested in opinions on a new machine. There are some budget constraints, but I'd like to know the following:
1. Is the iMac 24 inch a viable option as a video editing station using Final Cut Pro Studio? One option I am considering is to buy an iMac 24 inch and a MacBook, doing my video work on the iMac and presentation work on the Macbook. What is your opinion about this?
2. I've looked on the Apple Store at both new and refurb MacBook Pros. If you had to pick a model, which gives the most bang for the buck? Do you think a refurb Core 2 Duo machine would be fine for my needs? Is there a disadvantage to buying a refurb vs. a new machine for the style of work I am doing?
3. Again, concerning Macbook Pros...do you prefer a 15 inch or 17 inch screen? Are there any disadvantages for going with the smaller screen? Both sizes come in both matte and glossy finishes: do you recommend one over the other for video editing?
4. Are Apple's RAM module prices in line with others? I would like to trick out the machine with as much RAM as possible right now. If Apple is high, who would you buy RAM from? I have used Other World Computing in the past, but I hear Apple is now competitive on this.
Thank you for any help you can provide on this situation!
wncmacs
Message was edited by: David Biddix

It has taken me longer to get resources lined up for my new Mac purchase, but I think the consensus here is to buy the 15 inch MacBook Pro instead of the 17 inch and purchase an external monitor.
I've looked at the refurb units available and they have a 15 inch MBP with a 200 Gb hard drive and 2 Gb of RAM and the NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT with 256MB of GDDR3 memory for $1699. They also have a 15 inch with the same specs with the exception of a 250 Gb hard drive and a NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT with 512MB of GDDR3 memory for $1999. Is the hard drive bump and the VRAM increase on the NVIDIA card worth the extra $300?
I also note that there is a 17 inch MacBook Pro that slots in with basically the same computer as the lower priced 15 inch model, save only a 160 Gb hard drive instead of a 200 Gb one for $1899. Should I even think about this one or just concentrate on the 15 inch?
I'm still torn over the screen...glossy or matte. I do lots of Web work and audio/video production on my machine. Is one style advantageous over the other one for what I do?
I'm also thinking about external monitor options for the 15 inch solution if I go that way. Apple has the 20 inch for $499 refurb and the 23 inch (of which my workplace owns 2 of on my workstation) for $749. Is the 23 inch worth the extra $250? Should I consider another make of external monitor?
I'm going to upgrade RAM from 2 to 4 Gb, and Other World Computing has that today for approximately $94. I'll have to remove all of Apple's RAM and add in my own here, right? OWC also has an upgrade for the hard drive to a Hitachi 320 Gb 7200 RPM model for $160. I guess this would be the time to make that move while I'm replacing the RAM, or do you think a better deal will be coming down the line soon?
Thanks again to everyone who has weighed in with their opinion on this. Your advice is greatly appreciated!

Similar Messages

Questions about buying a new Mac Pro for 4k video editing.

Hi everyone,
I'm currently looking into buying a new mac pro and I have a few questions. I'm a filmmaker/freelance editor looking to get a system that can handle any/at least most 4k formats that I might throw at it, and will hopefully last me around 7 years or so, like my last mac pro has. I've saved up about $5,300 and am becoming more obsessed with getting it asap, but am willing to wait a bit and save up more if necessary. I also play the occasional elder scrolls or civilization game, and might run windows on the new system as well. So here are my questions:
1. I've read rumors that a newer build could be released this year, with newer processors and graphics cards. Is there anything to point to when? I tend to buy things a month before a newer version is released, and I'd like to prevent myself from doing it this time around..
Here's the Build I'm looking at:
6 core
2 D700s
base ram to be upgraded myself to 32Gb (2x16Gb cards leaving 2 slots empty to expand to 64Gb later)
512Gb-1Tb internal hd
2. Should I be considering the 8 core? I'm not too excited about the additional $1500, but I want a system that will last.
3. Is getting the two 16Gb chips of ram and leaving two slots empty a bad idea?
4. I currently work with FCP studio 2 and love it. Not sure whether to go with FCP X, or adobe. Any thoughts?
5. I'm not finding many deals for cheaper ram and hard drives. OWC's prices seem to be comparable to Mac's. I want to do the ram so I have room to upgrade to 64Gb later, but are there any hard drives out there that would make it worth upgrading it myself?
I appreciate any insights you might have. I plan on getting a decent raid and 4k monitor in the next year or so, but for now just want a base system that will keep me editing and will be ready for 4k when I take that next step.

The late 2013 Mc Pro uses Intel Xeon ECC processors (error correction), and as far as I know Intel has not announced any newer Intel Xeon processors than those in the late 2013 Mac Pro. I would not expect to see an update to the 2013 Mac Pro until the end of 2015 at the earliest and probably later than that.
If time is not an issue, then you should be quite happy with the 6 core 2013 Mac Pro. It will do an excellent job with 4K video footage. And, yes, I would suggest getting the best raid system you can afford. That is actually more important than processor speed since I/O is frequently the bottleneck when doing multi camera video or 4K video.
I have the latest version of Adobe's Premiere Pro 2014 CC installed on my late 2013 Mac Pro and i have used it a bit without problems. However, I find it much much slower to edit with than FCP X. Also be advised that if you Google you will find several individuals on the Adobe Forums who purchased the late 2013 Mac Pro and have not been able to use it with Premiere Pro CC because of either a hardware incompatibility or software issues between Premiere Pro CC and BMD's Resolve. It is quite possible that I have not experienced these problems because I have not made very demanding projects with Premiere Pro CC on my 2013 Mac Pro.
I strongly recommend FCP X. Apple released FCP X before it was ready, and many early users were unwilling to take the time to learn how to use this very different NLE which is not track based. Apple has over the last 3 years since FCP X was released, issued more than 10 updates (all free), and the program is stable and blazingly fast. I urge you to check out the FCP X training offered by Ripple Training and/or Larry Jordan. Both are inexpensive, and worth every cent. Watch their training videos and you will be up to speed in FCP X in no time at all, and you will wish you had switched a long time ago.
If you can afford the 1 TB of PCie internal flash storage on your Mac Pro, then by all means get it. For me 1TB is well worth the cost.
As far as editing 4K video, the format of the video will be important to the ease of editing. For example, I am able to edit in its native format (XVAC S) several streams of 4K video form my Sony FDR-AX100 with no problems. If I were editing Sony's XVAC format used in their professional 4K cameras, that might pose a problem that would require transcoding. Similarly for other 4K formats. XVAC S is an easy format to edit natively because it is essentially a high bit rate h.264 format.
Best of luck on whatever you decide to do, and happy editing.
Tom

New Mac Pro for FCP - should I do 8 cores or faster clock?

I'm setting up a FCP station to replace a 2.3 GHz dial G5 and I'm wondering which would be better - an 8-core 2.26 GHz or a 4-core 2.93 GHz Mac Pro.
Right now the G5 is most likely to choke up when rendering/auto rendering within FCP.
Based on price and the trends in parallel processing, I'm guessing I should go with the 8-core, but that old-school MHz addict in me keeps second guessing. I'd appreciate any advice/insights!

American Flannel wrote:
I heard the new four core mac pro dusts my 2.8ghz 8 core in benchmarking
That's not exactly true. I've been doing some research in the past 24 hours and it seems that the benchmarks (like Geekbench) in which the new 4-core "dusts" the previous 8-core are those which include memory tests. Memory tests will run much faster on the new Nehelems because they use faster RAM.
But the early 2008 8-cores are scoring higher on some benchmarks which score single and multi threaded tasks and don't get hung up in cumbersome RAM tests.
As for the current 4-cores versus the current 8-cores, it seems that the 2.96 GHz 4-cores are beating the more expensive 2.26 8-core procs in single-threaded operations. In FCP, only Compressor is optimized for multithreading, so I'm guessing the real benefits of the extra cores won't be visible until both snow leopard and a new version of FCP.
Why a new version of FCP? Because from what I've gleaned, Grand Central will not make single-threaded operations run better, but will give developers tools to more easily utilize parallel processing. So it would seem FCP will need a significant upgrade to take advantage of what 10.6 has to offer. Don't know if it'll be a .5 or a full version upgrade, but I'm betting on one of them.
Please don't take this as gospel... if I'm wrong about any of this, I'd love to hear a contrary opinion.
Message was edited by: Rey Mo

I am considering buying a new MAC laptop to run LOGIC for composition and band live/recording, but which one is best as I do not want to spend too much money? Does it have a line in and how do you monitor sound? Will I need adaptors and a interface?

Can anybody help?
I am considering buying a new MAC laptop to run LOGIC for composition and band live/recording, but which one is best as I do not want to spend too much money?
Does it have a line in and how do you monitor sound?
Will I need adaptors and an interface?
Also, I am guessing as Logic only runs on MAC surely then they would not the best spec to recommend to run it?
I see all the upgrades as additional memory or a faster process?
Is a retina screen necessary, and why flash based storage against a 1TB hard drive, and a i5 instead of an i7
The main reason for this purchase is to play live and use backing tracks and record found sounds and make creative songs.
I hope you can provide some valuable feedback, as I am a longtime MAC user and see upgrades and changes happen regularly but the most important thing is the songs not the equipment.
I have £500 already and willing to add another 500 to 700 pounds, then software extra.

Can anybody help?
I am considering buying a new MAC laptop to run LOGIC for composition and band live/recording, but which one is best as I do not want to spend too much money?
Does it have a line in and how do you monitor sound?
Will I need adaptors and an interface?
Also, I am guessing as Logic only runs on MAC surely then they would not the best spec to recommend to run it?
I see all the upgrades as additional memory or a faster process?
Is a retina screen necessary, and why flash based storage against a 1TB hard drive, and a i5 instead of an i7
The main reason for this purchase is to play live and use backing tracks and record found sounds and make creative songs.
I hope you can provide some valuable feedback, as I am a longtime MAC user and see upgrades and changes happen regularly but the most important thing is the songs not the equipment.
I have £500 already and willing to add another 500 to 700 pounds, then software extra.

Do I need to buy a new printer, dedicated for my Mac or can I use the same one we use for our PCs?

Do I need to buy a new printer, dedicated for my Mac or can I use the same one we use for our PCs?

Hello stacksofamber and welcome to Apple Support Communities,
You should be able to find a Mac OSX driver for that printer. Did you check with the manufacturer/'s website?

Is the retina display for the new mac book pro worth the extra cost? I'm buying a new mac book pro but not sure about the retina display.

Is the retina display for the new mac book pro worth the extra cost? I'm buying a new mac book pro but not sure about the retina display.

There is a US$10 adapter from old power adapter to new MacBook Pro.
MagSafe to MagSafe 2 Converter
The MagSafe to MagSafe 2 Converter allows you to use the MagSafe connector on your LED Cinema Display, Thunderbolt Display, or MagSafe Power Adapter to charge your MagSafe 2-equipped Mac computer.
For battery life, check the latest Software Update for the fix for most problems.

If I buy a new mac book can I re download the apps that I have already paid for and downloaded on my current mac book?

If I buy a new mac book can I re download the apps that I have already paid for and downloaded on my current mac book?

Yes. Log into MacAppStore with the AppleID that purchased them.

My browser wants me to buy a new Mac

Okay so I'm running 10.5.8 on a 2009 MBP. I also run Firefox and it did its automatic update and I've been informed that my OS is no longer supported. It's recommendation? To buy a new Mac. Now spending £1000 on a new laptop is currently not an option. I've looked at other browsers. Chrome doesn't support 10.5.8 and to be honest I don't want to use Safari (I haven't checked if that supports my OS).
So now I have to have think. Is it genuinely dangerous to continue running the latest Firefox (or Chrome)? Are there browsers that DO support my OS? Is my MBP suitable for being upgraded? And, if I can, seeing as I bought an iMac only 12 months ago with a nice new shiny OS, am I entitled to upgrade without spending more money? That would seem to be logical although I'm betting Apple don't allow it...
Thanks in advance.

You could just upgrade your OS X to something newer.
You can still purchase Snow Leopard, and the last I heard, it's only $20, but could still be the original $30. Even so, that's not purchasing a new Mac, just a few quid to get your system updated, and you can then use that updated FireFox again
You have to call Apple sales direct, and talk to a sales agent to get it.
https://discussions.apple.com/thread...art=0&tstart=0
Update Snow Leopard to latest with Software Update, and you will then be able to purchase and upgrade to the current Mountain Lion, if you want to do that.

Buying a new mac what can SL do?

Unless I did my taxes wrong I should be getting a very nice refund this
year. I may use it to buy a new mac. One MAJOR issue with the new $999
MacBooks is the lack of FireWire and I use this for my camcorder. Is
there some adaptor or way around this without jumping to the $1200
model? What do I need to know if I were to buy a new Mac? Also would any
of them ship with Office 2008 and Windows 7? I have Office 2004 and I
have a bad feeling that I am going to have problems doing a transfer
from the PPC Mac to the Intel Mac with Migration Assistant.
Presently I am using Tiger and its really nice compared to older mac OS versions. So what stands out as a MAJOR advantage to SL that is not in Tiger? BootCamp looks nice, but it wont be if I need to go and buy Windows 7.
John

John,
If you want Firewire then you will need to get a MacBook Pro it is just that simple.
You can order a Mac from Apple with Office 2008 preinstalled, you have to specify which version of Office though the Student or Professional version. You can do this if you order from Apple.com/store but if you buy in an Apple Store you probably will have to install the software yourself which is very easy. Regarding Windows 7 you will need to buy that separately because it not an Apple product also you will also have to install it yourself. You can either install it after you have started up Bootcamp. Another popular alternative is to use software like Parallels or Fusion that will allow you to simultaneously run MS Windows and it applications while you are running Snow Leopard.
If you would like to learn about Snow Leopard then I would recommend going here.
Regards,
Roger

Buying a new mac and syncing old ipad.

Here goes.
So I want to buy a new Mac, and sync by old iPad with it.
Normally when you do this you get a message saying by syncing this iPad you will erase all your data.
But I am using time machine to back up my Mac, so if when i get my new Mac and plug in my time capsule, will my itune libary be the same on the new mac?
And in turn when i plug in my old iPad with the new Mac will it just sync like normal without erasing all data and needing to start again?
Please help...
Kind Regards.
Tom D
=]

Yeah. Plug it in using a wire or do it wirelessly... The set up options has a "restore from Time Machine" option. It should be pain free. Might take you awhile, especially if you restore wirelessly. You should have everything restored: files, settings, etc. For me personally, I backup everything on my external hard drive and I just drag and drop everything manually instead of using the Time Machine user interface. Both way works and achieves the same end result. I don't recommend my way unless you are really familiar with Macs and knows where files are.

I want to buy a new mac. Would a 21.5 inch Imac run Aperture 3 with 4GB or ram until I can upgrade to 8GB

I want to buy a new mac. Would a 21.5 inch Imac run Aperture 3 with 4GB or ram until I can upgrade to 8GB? And would the stock 512mb video card be fine.

davidfromdartmouth wrote:Would a 21.5 inch Imac run Aperture 3 with 4GB or ram until I can upgrade to 8GB?
Specifically, after you buy a Mac test for RAM needs by calculating page outs as described below. The good news is that RAM is cheap enough that every Aperture user who can should upgrade to at least 8 GB RAM.
And would the stock 512mb video card be fine.
All 2011 Macs will "run" Aperture, but lesser CPUs and/or lesser GPUs will provide lesser performance. What "fine" is depends on your workflow and how demanding you are. There are some folks here happy with the power of the box you suggest.
GENERIC UPGRADE ADVICE
Apologies in advance to those for whom this info is redundant.
Some general guidelines for operation of heavy graphics applications (specifically Aperture):
• Only the strongest Macs will provide the strongest operation. Owners of weaker boxes (CPU, GPU, i/o, RAM) or older boxes will experience lesser performance.
• There is a huge difference in hardware needs among workflows. A heavy pro workflow will only work best on a top well-equipped modern box.
• As RAM prices continually fall RAM needs will continually grow. This has been true since the beginning of computing.
OS X has enabled Photoshop, for instance, to take advantage of at least 32 GB RAM for many years even though 32-bit operation limited direct RAM access to ~3 GB RAM.
• All computers/OSs/workflows are different. Each individual user needs to carefully evaluate (meaning see what the early adopters report) workflow and hardware operation BEFORE upgrading any application or OS.
• Hardware upgrades should be planned for always-increasing future OS/application demands, not just for today. After all, a computer purchased today is used for the next 3 years, not last year.
• SSDs rock. All users, all apps will benefit from using a solid state drive as the boot/apps drive. Strongly recommended. RAM-challenged setups will additionally benefit from 10x faster page outs.
• All users should regularly evaluate their workflows by checking the Page Outs number under System Memory on the Activity Monitor app before starting a work session; then rechecking after working. If the page outs number increased significantly during operation the workflow is RAM-starved and steps should be taken, such as increasing RAM or restarting and running only one app at a time - - or switching from 64-bit operation to 32-bit operation. [Note: this is a manual calculation of any change in page outs. Ignore the cute pie charts, page ins, etc.]
HTH
-Allen Wicks

New Mac Pro for photography (raw edition).

Hi,
I want to buy the new Mac Pro in december for use as my main works station. I work mainly with Photoshop CS6 and Capture one, editing/retouching big amounts of RAW and TIFF files from Nikon and Hasselblad.
Im thinking in buy the 6 cores version with 16Gb or 32Gb if I get the money, (I think the 16Gb is the basic configuration for the six core and looks really good). Like this is a big investment for me, I was wondering if this will be the right configuration for my work. I am a photographer and an advanced retoucher. But I'm not sure if the 6 cores are really necessary for what I do (serious photo edition, fashion and publicity.). Maybe the 4 cores with 32Gb (or more) of Ram is just enough or... Maybe, its the 8 cores the right option.
This machine should last at least five years.
Any advice is welcome.
By the way, anyone knows how to solve the Eizo Colornavigator 6 compatibility with the OS X Mavericks issue?.
Thanks a lot!.
Cristóbal.

Hi FatMac and The hatter,
Thanks for yours suggestions, it's been very helpful!.
i'm using a MacBook Pro (6.2) 2.8GHz i7 8Gb Ram (not upgradable) and 500Gb SSD connected to an Eizo monitor. It does his job but lately having heavy overheating and slow down its performance in a notorius way. Its a good machine but is not made for serious editing.
Before that, I was using an imac 27 quad core 16Gb ram that I sold for get some money for the new Mac Pro.
This should be a notorious improvement for me.
Based on what you saying I think with the 6 cores at 32 Gb ram I will be ok. Im thinking on upgrade the Ram in the future. Probably the 8 cores will be too expensive for my budget and don't make a significant improvement for my work compared to the 6 cores.
Thank you very much for your advice and links!!.
Best,
C.

I'm entitled to an upgrade as I have CS3 I want to buy a new mac and install the upgrade on the new computer. How do I do this?

I'm entitled to an upgrade as I have CS3 I want to buy a new mac and install the upgrade on the new computer. How do I do this?

Hi Ned,
Thank you for your help. I want to join creative cloud and when it check my system I told i can join for the discount price.
One Year, Paid Monthly plan — €36.89 per month, inclusive of VAT
My mac is Version 10.6.8 so I need to purchase two new mac creative cloud to run properly. I want to install the aps on both macs one for work and one for home use.
Will this work or cause me any problem?
Chris

Where could I buy a new hard disk for my macbook pro 15''(MB986CH/A)

Does anyone know where I could buy a new hard disk for my macbook pro 15''(MB986CH/A) (mid 2009)? The hard drives sold in Apple Store are not for macbook pro... Thanks a lot!

At one time Apple use to put an Apple firmware on the drives installed into Mac computer. That is not the case anymore. And even if they did that firmware was just to indentify the drive as an Apple drive. Those same drives would work in any computer and any drive would work in a Mac computer. Same is true today. There are NO Apple Mac drives. Apple uses the exact same drives as any other computer.
Apple uses the exact same hardware as all other computers. Same CPU, GPU, RAM, Drives, DVD drives you name it, it is the same as any PC.
Good Luck but just because you go to a Mac-centric store doesn't mean it is any different then what you would buy some place else, other then it may cost more from one of those Mac-centric places.
Joan_hk wrote:
Thanks. According to my previous experience with an old white macbook, there might exist some compatibility problems for the hardware I bought from computer parts store...That's why I want to find an official retail store or reseller.... Thanks anyway!

I have a PC windows. I have Adobe Creative Suite 3. I am going to buy a new Mac computer and want to install my Adobe Creative Suite to this new computer. I realise that I need to upgrade to do this. Howmuch will it cost me. Also I want to know if I can

I have a PC windows. I have Adobe Creative Suite 3. I am going to buy a new Mac computer and want to install my Adobe Creative Suite to this new computer. I realise that I need to upgrade to do this. Howmuch will it cost me. Also I want to know if I can jsut upgrade the photoshop/illustrator and premiere software as aI dopn't use the rest, would this be cehaper to do and possible to do? Please help.

YOu are long past any upgrade cycles and need to buy a new CS6 license at full price or sign up for Creative Cloud.
Mylenium

Buying A New Mac - Recommendations for FCP?

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