Buying a second-hand MacBook for video editing

I've been in the market for a MacBook to do some HD video editing. I found a deal through someone selling an older (non-Unibody) white MacBook with the software I need (Adobe CS4 suite). After researching this MacBook, which was released in 2008, I'm not sure if it'll perform the way I need it to.
Here's the specs of what I may be buying (some upgrades have been made):
2.26Ghz Intel Core2Duo processor(s) with 3MB L2 (per core)cache
4GB DDR2 PC5300 Crucial RAM
320GB Western Digital Scorpio Black 7200RPM hard drive
From what I understand, the graphics processor is an Intel GMA X3100, which I have come to understand is not a good enough GPU to do high-end things like editing and gaming.
Here's my issue:
The system comes installed with Adobe CS4 suite, and I plan on using Premiere Pro intensively to edit 720p/1080p video shot with a Canon 7D. I've read that software like Final Cut Pro 7 requires a dedicated graphics card and not something integrated like the GMA X3100.
Right now, I can't afford a MacBook Pro, and I need a system soon. My question is, +will this system be able to handle HD video editing through Premiere (or comparable software)?+
Any help is appreciate, thanks.

Intel's graphics chips are horrible for gaming. They're low power and provide enough functionality for the average sort of things people tend to do with computers, but they're not set up for gaming.
But another issue with this system, is that they're selling the software with it. That's always a tricky proposition. While there's nothing illegal about it, if the person decides they want to make a copy of the install discs before selling it, and then uses the software on another machine... It can lead to problems.
Honestly, if you're planning on doing video editing, I'd recommend ruling out laptops altogether. They really are poor platforms for that sort of thing. Integrated graphics are just the start of the problems. Screen size is small, resolution is generally just a touch over 720p, limited upgrade potential, you'll need some kind of external mouse because a trackpad won't cut it. Buy a Mac Mini or an iMac. You'll have more screen real estate, no worries about batteries, better upgrade potential (though not much)... Sort of bottom line is that laptops are great for things like word processing, web browsing, and maybe movie WATCHING, on the go... They are NOT desktop replacements, and video editing of any serious nature is most definitely a desktop task.

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I am 12 and want a 13 inch Macbook for video editing and stuff I cannot do on my iPad.

I need a Macbook for video editing and stuff I cannot do on my iPad (flash web browsing, iMovie or Final Cut Pro for YouTube, small games, photoshop, Reaktor 5, etc). I was thinking of buying the MacBook Air 13" refurbished intel core i5 for $999. I can pay up to $1,300 so I was thinking of getting the 13" MacBook Pro with retina display refurbished intel core i5 for $1,260. But then I couldn't buy many accessories or AppleCare. I do not really want to buy the non-retina MacBook Pro because it is not as portable and I am only 12 but I don't know much about how heavy it is because there is no apple store where I live but this is why I came here. So which MacBook should I buy? (I am probably going to wait until the new MacBooks in June 2013)

Hilary:
Welcome to Apple Discussions.
Congratulations on your upcoming graduation and the really wonderful gift you anticipate from your parents. Unfortunately, I am unable to give you information about upcoming Apple products or promotions, as I honestly don't know.
All my purchased music, and games, and videos, etc are on the computer I am currently using. Is there a way to transfer all of it to my new MacBook I will be receiving?
If the computer you are currently using is a Mac, yes, it can be transferred. One of the difficulties with the new MacBook is that it does not have any firewire ports, which will make networking a bit of a pain, but it can be done. Post back after you have your new computer with specs and we will give you directions on how to do it.
And are they going to make a new Macbook? So should I wait?
While I do not have any specific information about upcoming products, it is fairly certain that Apple will be coming out with new products. Of course this is a continuing process so you can be waiting for a long time. I would, personally, go ahead and get one now, and that should certainly see you through college. By then who know what wonderful products will be available!
Please do post back with further questions or comments, if you have any.
cornelius

Need advice on getting macbook for video editing purpose!

Hi!
Was thinking of getting the macbook to do some video editing stuff so would appreciate valuable advices for those who have done it before. Was thinking that I will upgrade it to 2gb and a bigger hdd when i purchase it.
Is it slow on the macbook? Anyone tried using adobe premiere or final cut pro on macbook? Heard that battery is draining very fast on macbook also? Care to share?
Thanks.

Hi mackie,
In addition to 777iPod which is correct that my external DVD burner is faster than my macbook optical drive, I also use it for Dual Layer media if I need one, since my original macbook didn't come with one.
Also I use the lightscribe etching program to etched the top surface of my dvd disk project.
And my internal HD is 100 GB (7200 rpm), after I replaced the apple standard and my external HD is 500 GB Lacie D2 and Lacie Porsche 160 GB.
And if I'm not mistaken, adobe already stop developing premiere on mac platform, so if I'm right, the last premiere will be for Power PC and it will struggle using it under mac intel using rosseta.
You can use new premiere version on boot camp xp if there is none available for mac.
And here is a nice toy to play if you haven't got one:
http://www.contourdesign.com/shuttlepro/
Good Luck.
ps: I guess most poster suggest you to consider macbookpro and it is not a bad idea.

Please help me with buying a second hand PC for CS5 (i7-920)

Hi,
I hope someone can help me?
I'm new to the forum. I hope I posted to the correct forum.
I need help on the following.
I cannot presently afford to buy or build a brand new system. I can get the following second hand PC at a very good price.
Intel Core i7-920 2.67GZ
GA-EX58-UD3R
6GB Memory
Asus GTS 450 Nvidia GFX card
2 x 1.5TB
2 X 250GB
1 X 320GB
Windows 7 Home Premium
As an absolute beginner with Adobe, will the above specs be good enough to run Adobe CS5 Master Collection until I can afford to buy a better PC?

Thank you. I looked at it but not carefully. I will go look at it now CAREFULLY.
Have a nice evening.
Thanks for your help. I'm off to buy this PC tomorow.

Thinking to buy a new 15inch macbook pro retina display. Aim to use it for video editing and compositing... Is ıt worth for it?

Hi... I am a freelance filmmaker. Now I have 2008 model mac pro and I am thinking to buy a new macbook pro 15 inch retina display. Do you think its worth for it? I aim to use the macbook mainly for video editing, video compositing (after effects) and photo editing. My current old mac pro has 12 GB and the graphics card is ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT 256 MB (Yes I still use it). My main question is, do you think its better to move to macbook pro or upgrading the old one? Making it 32 GB of RAM and buy a new NVIDIA cuda capable graphic card? I dont have enough budget to make it together... Want to hear your suggestions...

I'm not sure, I've seen pro animators use MBPs but usually with a large monitor. Especially doing video editing, compositing and editing it might make more sense to upgrade the Mac Pro to an SSD as the boot drive. What kind of CPU setup is in your Pro?
Check these out:
mac pro SSD upgrades?
SSD as system disk while users folder + data on HDD
Early 2008 8-Core Mac Pro GPU Upgrades
I deal exclusively with OWC. I'd call them and walk them through your system and see what they say.
What you do takes a lot of CPU, RAM, graphics and boot disk power.
I've upgraded my two computers to SSDs and the first thing I noticed was that Photoshop CS6 opens in 7 seconds vrs. 50 seconds when the application was on a HDD.

Which MacBook Pro w/ Retina to buy for Video Editing?

Hi, I am looking into buying a MacBook Pro for Video Editing. This is not my main machine because I already have an i7, 16GB RAM, GTX 760 2TB HDD machine at home. My home machine beasts through my daily editing but I am stumped on which MacBook is worth the money!
I am comparing the...
13" Retina with
i7
256 GB SSD
16GB RAM
Integrated Graphics
for $1849 (with EDU discount)
VS
15" Retina with
i7
512 GB SSD
16GB RAM
GT 750m with 2GB DDR5 Memory
for $2,479 (with EDU Discount)
I don't really care about the screen size, I'll be using thunderbolt storage anyways, I am mainly wondering if the GT 750m will make much of a difference in editing footage. Mainly AVCHD 1080p but also I'd like it to be able to handle 4k in small amounts. I would mainly use proxy's at that point but just in case. I also don't do a ton in After Effects, but may need to send some shots here and there of for VFX work. This is mainly for if I'm on the go and need to make an edit or I need to do photography work (Lightroom and Photoshop)
Thanks,
Cameron Gallagher

Both will work fine with 1080p AVCHD but you will notice an increase in performance simply because Premiere LOVES a good GPU and the 750M is a good one as far as laptops go. Yes, its more but if you're serious about performance go with the better GPU.
That being said...save a bit and go with this below (same as your 2nd option but cheaper):
Refurbished 15.4-inch MacBook Pro 2.5GHz Quad-core Intel i7 with Retina Display - Apple Store (U.S.)
It'll save you $400. Bam! Thank me later. Apple's refurbished program is top of the line. Comes fully warrantied and you can get apple care, etc. if you want as well. It's like buying it new. These refurbished computers are often just ones bought and then returned within a few days by customers trying things out and there's absolutely nothing wrong with them. They can basically be looked at like new.

Which Macbook Pro for Video Editing

I'd like to buy a macbook pro for video editing on the go and with all the available features, I can't tell which is best.
I use final cut pro 7 and all footage is HD.
RAM?
7200rpm vs. 5400 ?
DUAL CORE vs. QUAD
INTEL GRAPHICS?
RETINA?
It's all very confusing, especially since I haven't looked into buying another mac since I purchased an iMac in '07 (which still rocks).

- Get either a 7200 or SSD internal drive
*You'll need an external hard drive that runs at least 7200rpm for your media (scratch disk)
- If you can affor it, go with a Quad Core
- For graphics, I believe all the new MacBook Pros come with Intel HD Graphics 4000
- As for CPU speed and RAM, they really go hand in hand with video editing.
- CPU speed doesn't help if you do not have sufficient RAM cover all of needed video/audio/effect editing and rendering processes.
- Slower CPU with more RAM means that procesess get covered by the additonal RAM, but will take longer to render and preview during editing.
*So when choosing CPU and RAM, do not sacrifice one for the other.
You can always upgrade RAM later if you can't afford it now.
- Retina? Doesn't make much of a difference for you. You're not editing 4k video so chose what you like better, or can afford.
Here a post that goes over some basics

What preset MacBook pro would be better for video editing and eventually college?, What preset MacBook pro would be better for video editing and eventually college?

Hi,
I am thinking about getting a MacBook Pro. My current computer is very very old and can not be used. I would like to use it for video editing and eventually to use when I go to college. I want to get one of the preset 13 inch MBPs. I do not know which one will be better for my purposes. Could anyone please help me??

Any computer made today, Windows or Mac, will be MILES ahead of what you are now using.
Raw CPU speed is not the total benchmark of a computer. Look at it this way. A 2.6GHz CPU made today is much faster then a 2.6GHz CPU made just a few years ago, like 3 years ago. the difference between a 2.6 and a 2.9GHz CPU is 3 tens of 1 GHz, 300MHz. The percentage difference is about 8-9 percent (.08-.09). Back when CPUs were listed in MHz, 120, 300, 600, if you have a 300MHz CPU and you replaced it with one that was 300MHz faster that was a Big Jump. You doubled the computing power. Today 300MHz, .3GHz, is next to nothing. Especially for the price jump.
Note that when you make the switch you will either need to update your program, that means Re-Buying most of them, to work on the Mac OS or install a version of Windows in either a Boot Camp partition, Dual booting the Mac, or into a Virtual Machine software program to run the Windows version of those program.
If you decide on a Mac buy the BASE model that is offered for the CPU speed you want. The RAM and hard drive can be upgraded by you for much less then what Apple charges for those upgrades. With the hard drive if you upgrade it to a larger and faster drive, Apple supplies 5400RPM drives, like a 7200RPM drive you get to Keep the original drive to use in any way you like. Like an external drive.

Choosing an external hard drive for MacBook Pro video editing?

This summer, I'll be taking an introductory video production/editing class, using Final Cut Express 4.
I own a late 2009 MacBook Pro (2.26Ghz Core 2 Duo, 8GB RAM, FireWire 800, GeForce 9400M), which I'd like to use for editing at home, i.e. when I don't have access to the class video lab.
I've heard that I should buy an external hard drive, so as not to fill up and wear out my laptop's 160GB hard drive. Google returns a tsunami of information on hard drive choices, much of it undated, and mostly geared towards pro video editors. Overwhelming, and not that helpful so far.
For my basic needs, are all hard drives more or less interchangable? Is one brand/model better suited for video editing (versus backups)? What are the critical specs to consider?
I hope to continue with movie-making as hobby - and to promote my small business - but I do not expect to put together a pro setup.
Thanks.

Get as big a firewire drive as you can afford, making sure it runs at 7200rpm. Media files are huge: regular DV is around 13GB/hour. Most HD media is transcoded to Apple Intermediate Codec in FCE as it's ingested, around 40GB/hour.
I've had very good luck with drives from Other World Computing (http://macsales.com/). If you'll be transporting the drive between school and home regularly, I'd suggest a bus-powered drive, just because it's smaller. Lots of folks in this forum swear by LaCie drives.

Which 2013 Macbook Pro for Video Editing? "Help"

Hello, I am new to the Apple forums and this is my first post. I'm a 19 Years Student and I'm actually attending a cinematography and television school
I am looking for a Macbook Pro 15" for Video Editing, the sowftware I'm be using and studying are Avid Media Composer, Adobe AE and Premiere , and Photoshop.
My budget is around 2500 - 3000 Euros, And I've been reading every kind of post about the Macbook Retina 2012 and Macbook Pro 2012, but I Really don't know what to get, and if some video editors here can help me would be awesome! So, Let's getting started:
( Both models "Costs" the same, I don't mind paying 100-200 more Euros for a 2500 Macbook so i'd love to have to find the perfect balance with Performance/Design and everything else!)
I'd Like to get a Retina to be honest, but I know every kind of problem that the retina has at this moment: Expensive Repair Costs, High Framerate Drops, Choppy Interface, Burn-in screen and ghosting. I've seen by myself these errors and I don't know if there's a true fix, my opinion is that the GPU is not enough to use smootly the Retina Resolution, and I'm afraid that If I'll buy a macbook retina, the low and suffering GPU will decrease a lot the performance of these software when Rendering, Exporting, and when working with big files. ( I'm asking you if this is true, because I don't have a macbook so I couldn't test by myself how a rMBP works under pressure for atleast 3 hours with one of these softwares, my experience with retina is limited to an Apple Store Experience ). Happy that Final Cut X and CS6 Suit now Supports Retina anyway!
But, Since the retina has all these problems, I'll not be buying THIS version of the retina. I've readed every kind of rumor and even talked to some Genius in my Apple Stores, in June 2013 the New Haswell processor might come, I don't know exactly how it works but Intel says that the GPU performance might be increased by 20 - 40%. Do you think it will resolve all the problems that this rMBP has? In The apple store I've also heard that in June 2013 the Macbook Pro Line will be RETINA ONLY, and this is going to be a issue for me if the retina will still have all these little problems, because I don't want to buy a machine that makes me work bad
The Macbook Retina I'd Like to get by now is the 15" Quad 2.7Ghz 16 Ram 512 SSD = 2800 Euros
The Other Macbook is the Macbook PRO 2012, It still good looking, but placing inside it an SSD makes it so **** expensive, and apple won't put inside more than 8 GB of Ram inside of it, so, If I'd choose to buy one and buy the 16 GB of Ram from 3rd Part, and is aroudn 200 euros, Plus a 600 Euros Samsung 512 SSD since the Apple one costs 700 euro. And it doesn't come with retina display, remember, it's not needed I know and the screen is gorgeus, but I feel and fear that the Macbook Pro hardware is outdated, and might not catch the other in the next years ( I might be wrong, but I believe that Retina motherboard and Retina Chipset are more Fast/Good than the 2012 Macbook Pro, even if everything is glued in there and is not user-friendly )
If I buy the 2012 Macbook Pro By following Apple Products, I'd be spending 3000 Euros, and I found it too much since It doesn't come with retina, I might be wrong.
If I buy the 2012 Macbook Pro By placing the Ram and SSD by myself i'd be spending 2800 Euros, but 3rd part hardware is not under apple warranty.
If I buy the 2012 Macbook Pro WITHOUT SSD, but a 750 GB 7200 and by placing 8 GB Ram It's 2500 Euros.
So, here it is, I don't know what to do :\ Actually I don't like the retina and I hope that in June 2013 they'll change the Processor, Fix all the problems, and maybe add a solid Graphic Card, ( I doubt the'll change the graphic card, just the integrated intel graphic card might change, not the Nvidia for sure, because the rMBP thin )
But, If I wait June 2013 I Fear that the 2012 Macbook Pro will disappear, and if there's only a Not-So-Good Retina left, I'll really not know if to buy it or wait more monts.

Hello Andrea,
I edit video and am familiar with the MacBookPro models. Both the 15" MBP and the 15" rMBP will be fine for editing with Avid Media Composer, Adobe AE, Premiere and Photoshop. But there are some differences that may be important to you, depending on the external equipment you plan to use:
The regular MBP has the following i/o ports:
1 FW800 port
1 Thunderbolt port
2 USB3 ports
1 SDXC slot
Audio line-in port
Audio line-out/headphone port
The rBMP has the following i/o ports:
2 Thunderbolt ports (no native FW port)
2 USB3 ports
1 SDXC slot
Headphone output port (no audio-in)
HDMI output port (output, not input)
The lack of audio line-in port and native FW800 in the rMBP rule out that model as far as I am concerned.
Also, you need to be aware that you cannot upgrade the RAM memory after purchase. There are no RAM slots in the current MacBook Pro models (rMBP included), so no after-market upgrades are possible.
I would not recommend purchasing the very expensive SSD. I suggest configuring a MBP with the 750GB, 7200rpm SATA hard drive and invest the savings in external hard drives - you are going to need them for video work & backup.

Thinking of Building/Buying a PC for Video Editing?

If one is thinking of building, or buying a PC for video editing, Harm Millaard has published an ARTICLE in the Adobe Hardware Forum. He has arranged it such that one can rather pick and choose from three levels of system - beginner, intermediate and full-blown advanced pro-level rig. There have been some advances in hardware, since the article was first published, but with the discussions that follow it, much has been updated.
Harm approaches the computer from the eyes of one using PrPro, but with the exception of the GPU requirements for the Mercury Playback Engine (MPE), PrE will benefit from his suggestions. Be sure to follow all of the links that he offers in that rather longish thread.
Also see his other NLE PC ARTICLE, and his storage requirements ARTICLE.
If one is considering a RAID setup, his RAID ARTICLE will prove very useful.
If one is considering working with external HDD's, then this ARTICLE should be useful.
Hope that this helps people, who are considering a new computer for video editing.
Good luck,
Hunt

Harm Millaard has written an update to his computer ARTICLE, and there is some good discussion in it, as well.
Hope that this helps someone.
Hunt

What should i do i buy a second hand iphone 4s but its lock to the previous owner in find my iphone pls help me i cant use my iphone for a year already

pls. help me about find my iphone lock. because i buy a second hand iphone 4s but still lock to the previous owner when i restore factory settings still searching for the previous owner of this phone still now i cant use this phone

Hello jimmy ii
The only option is to contact that person to have them remove Activation Lock from the iPhone. They can do it online and do not have to come to you. Check out the article below for more information.
Find My iPhone Activation Lock: Removing a device from a previous owner’s account
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS4515
Regards,
-Norm G.

A friend bought second hand macbook air mid 2011 with crossed circle on the display, we tried recovery from partition and same thing happened, after internet recovery it stays the same except now it asks for password for boot option, what happened?

A friend bought second hand macbook air mid 2011 with crossed circle on the display and give to me to try to recover the system, I tried recovery from partition and same thing occured, after internet recovery it stays the same-crossed circle after reboot, then we tried to boot from USB with mac os 10.8 on it, it installs something,like it has being finishing installation, rebootes, and now it asks for password for boot option.We have no idea what that password could be.What happened!!!

I forgot to write down my computer specs:
iMac 27 Mid 2011
2.7 GHz Intel Core i5
4 GB 1333 MHz DDR3
AMD Radeon HD 6770M 512 MB
OS X 10.9.2

Should I do a clean OS install after buying second hand MacBook?

I just bought a second hand MacBook 2010 for my girlfriend. It came with a clean Lion installed. What is making me paranoid is that I use tracking software Prey on my own MBP and now how can I be sure that the new one hasn't got tracking software installed for opposite reason (to steal it and sell again)?
I know it might sound stupid, but I like to be prepared for the worst. So should I format the drive and install Lion again? What would you do?

I would never run a used Mac "as is"; there is too much potential for security violations or just software problems. I strongly recommend, unless you completely trust the person from whom you purchased the Mac, that you erase the hard drive and reinstal Mac OS X. That way you start fresh, without any of the cruft that accumulates on any OS, and of course remove any potential for malware such as a keylogger.
Regards.

What Macbook Pro to get for video editing?

For software like adobe after effects cs5, what macbook would be the best, I have pretty limited money so is the base model ok? if not whitch one works well?
Thanks!

The top end non-retina, 15" anti-glare is the best. SSD preferred, has a Superdrive. RAM and hard drive upgradable later by the user.
The retina has a glossy screen which is hard on the eyes and using in various places, it's battery life is terrible and the images are not correct as it's blowing things up to mach the higher pixel rate. No Superdrive. You can't open the machine up, you can't clean the fans of dust you can't upgrade it later, you will have to max it out at purchase for a small fortune and go way over budget. Plus there really isn't too much difference in the quality of the screen with regular MBP's anyway, just eats battery life to drive that huge pixel screen. You'll be replacing it a lot sooner than the standard 15"
Don't waste your money on the 13", it lacks a dedicated graphics, the CPU does it thus it's HOT. Won't 3D game well if your also into play.
Top end 15" antiglare is perfect.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_X0wo6dIsMU
Actually the MacPro is the perfect choice of power and performance for video editing, with it's substancial cooling. But you want a laptop , just know things will take longr and the machien will be hotter as a result and wear out sooner if your doing 3D gaming or video often.

Buying a second-hand MacBook for video editing

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