MBP for video editing

Hi,
I am planning to purchase a MBP for editing HDV video while on the road using Final Cut Studio. My plan is to also use a G-Raid external HD for storage of content and backup.
My Question is regarding the internal HD..FCS2 takes up over 50G to install the entire suite, which really eats into the 160 gig internal HD. Will the 250 gig HD be more appropriate?? Any suggestions for seeting up a new MBP for video editing??
Apologies if this is in the wrong forum!
Cheers
SJH

Will the 250 gig HD be more appropriate?
If you're comparing it to the 160GB 7200rpm drive then you will get similar (though not better) performance. The best drive, assuming it's large enough for you is the Hitachi 200GB 7200pm drive. It has the best mix size and performance and comfortably beats the rest. Unfortunately it's not only the fastest but it's also the most expensive drive you can get at the moment. This might help…
http://www.barefeats.com/rosa06.html
EDIT : Be aware that this drive will require you to do your own installation and hence, potentially void your warranty. However, I do think it will be worth it in your case. I have one on order myself.

Similar Messages

Early 2011 MBP for video editing, or sell and get something better?

I want to start video editing, wont be extremely intensive just yet I guess that depends on my learning curve. Anyway I have a:
Early 2011 13 inch Macbook Pro
2.3 GHz Intel Core i5
4 GB 1333 MHz DDR3
Intel HD Graphics 3000 384 MB
Running on OS X 10.8.4
This is my only computer and buying a newer Mac one would be one **** of a task (pricey, im a broke college kid). So my question is if I upgrade the ram and change the HDD to a SDD would that be enough to run Adobe Premeire, After Effects, maybe Final Cut Pro depending on which I like more and not feel like i have the oldest computer in the world?
I also want to have a 3 external screen setup using USB video adapters and the mini displayport when im home running in clamshell mode I believe its called? I just need some experts advice.

Thanks for the tips. I think I'll go with this config then.
I might look at another capture box that exports the video in DV since that seems like the easiest format to work with in FCE. I understand there aren't many products (Mac or PC) that edit MPEG2 files directly due to complexities in the file format? The product I was using on the PC was called TMPGEnc MPEG Editor which worked well - but I'd use this as part of a two step process - edit all the clips in this one product, and then import all the clips into a second editing suite (Nero Vision) to paste them all together, add photo shows, build the DVD menus and then burn the DVD. It was a bit painful going through the two steps, so hopefully capturing my analog content to DV and editing just once in FCE will do the job.

Recommended ExpressCards for new 17" MBP for video editing

Ok, so after sitting on the fence for months I had to buy the new 17" MBP. I just couldn't wait any longer and my trusty PB G4 is getting slow.
After reading the enormous amounts of posts I can see why people are so upset about losing the ExpressCard slot in the 15" models.
But, for the 17" models does anyone have any good suggestions of Expresscards? And what is the optimum set-up I should go for?
I am an Avid and Final Cut editor using a 4-pin Firewire Sony DVCAM deck and two Western Digital External Drives daisy-chained together.
Would love some advice.
thanks!

The Sony DVCAM is FW400 (aka iLink, aka IEEE1394a), so a 4-pin-to-6-pin or -to-9-pin cable will do. I'd get the 4-pin-to-9-pin (FW800 is fully backward compatible with FW400) so you can connect directly to the MBP's FW800 port, if needed. You can just get a FW800 ExpressCard, since it's backward compatible.
I'd recommend this one:
http://www.sonnettech.com/product/fw800expresscard34.html

Better for Video Editing? MBP 13" or 15" w/9600M GT

I am planning on purchasing a Macbook Pro for relatively extensive use of Final Cut Pro (HD video) along with possibly some light Motion work and video transcoding. In addition I will be using it for photo editing and web editing. I don't plan on using it for any high-end gaming.
I will be purchasing a $200 24" external monitor to use most of the time along with external keyboard and mouse (so MBP screen size isn't an issue), but I need the portability and don't have the funds to purchase an additional dedicated desktop yet.
I am having trouble deciding between the 13" and the 15", mainly due to conflicting opinions I've been hearing over the importance of a dedicated graphics card for video editing. Salespeople at the Apple store tell me it's important and I should get the 15". Research online yielded heated forum arguments over whether it really makes a difference or not.
The price difference is quite significant though at the configurations I picked ($765) so I am seeking advice here for whether people think the cost difference is really justified for my needs. Note that both configurations include 4GB of RAM, smallest hard drive option (i've got external drives) and AppleCare protection.
Pricing with education discount after tax:
13" 2.26GHz - $1520
15" 2.66GHz w/9600M GT 256MB - $2285
*Is there a real difference in video editing performance and if so, is it really worth an extra $765? Or is there a better option that I'm not considering?*

Thanks everyone for the feedback!
Studio X wrote:
Are you planning on making any money at this or are you only in it for fun? Have you ever edited before? Have you ever edited with FCS before? What of the 44 billion HD formats are you planning on editing? Do you have a camera? What format does it record? If it's a flash media based device, what's your back up strategy? How are you planning to externally monitor the HD material ? What are you planning to use as media drives as the system drive should not be used for media capture or playback?
Still, I guess I come down on the side of "it doesn't matter as neither one is a serious editing machine". If I was in the market for a laptop and was limited to the current apple lineup, the only machine of interest is the 17" MacBookPro. The other two MacBookPros you are considering have no expresscard slot and come only with glossy screens - both are serious deficiencies in my world.
I do plan on using this computer professionally. I am a recent college graduate but do have professional FCS editing experience under my belt. However my work was done using both school and employer resources. I do have an archive of work in Mini DV(HDV) and AVCHD formats. I don't currently own an HD camera, however will likely be purchasing one in the near future. As far as externally monitoring HD material, what else would I need other than the 24" external monitor (perfectly capable of full HD) or a separate HDTV? In addition to several older usb2 external drives for backup I do have a 1TB 7200rpm external capable of FW800 and eSATA that I would use as a media drive.
I currently have an old 17" dell notebook with a glossy screen. The screen hasn't really bothered me, but the size and weight of the notebook has. And while the 17" MBP is a little lighter and smaller than my old dell, I would still prefer a 13" or 15". But from the opinions I've been hearing I'm steering away from the 13" and fully realize the downsides to the lack of ExpressCard slot in the current 15" as well. Still wondering while Apple decided to remove it.
MartinR wrote:
If budget is a primary constraint, then consider a refurbished 15" or 17" MBP from Apple, or a used MBP from a reputable supplier.
I hadn't checked into the refurbished options, but now that I did, I found a nice 15" (late 2008 unibody) configuration that would provide a lot more value for the buck. For about $550 more than the new 13" config I would get a faster processor, 2" bigger screen, 9600M 512mb GPU, double the internal storage, removable battery as well as the ExpressCard slot (even though its not listed in specs, it's there). The only trade off I can see is battery life.
http://store.apple.com/us/product/FC026LL/A?mco=MjE0NjE5MA

For video editing, is the new 13" MBP enough? Or should I go for 15"?

For video editing, I will be using both Final Cut Pro 7, and Adobe CS5.
Is the new 13" Macbook Pro enough? I'm asking both for the lower-end and higher-end 13". Or should I just go with the 15"?
I'm just seeking for opinions from more experienced mac users, since this is my first transfer from Windows to Mac. Also, I'm taking into consideration in the price difference among these different models.
Thank you very much

It will render much faster on the new quad cores then any other MBP ever made. This new release is really a pretty major deal in the laptop world to my thinking. If I didn't just get a new iMac, I would be probably getting one. I don't do a lot of video and I use FCE not Pro so my need isn't as great, but I do a lot of photography and with several things open at once so the power matched with sufficient ram is pretty amazing. But is it absolutely a must? I had a friend who just until this year was a film music editor and he was using Pro Tools on a G4 Power Book though he had to start working around the machine limitations at the end of the day, but it is possible. Still for the money, the new machines are a great deal at pretty much the same price as what they are replacing. I know I'm advocating here, but I'm just a user not and employee:)

Going from iMac to MBP retina for video editing

I appreciate that this question probably gets asked reasonably regularly but I have a few specific points I'd like some help on.
I've been using a pretty high specced iMac for video editing for a couple of monthes;
Current model 21.5 - 2.8ghz with i7 processor
250GB SSD
16GB RAM
I also run off a second 24inch monitor
My main workflow is Premiere Pro 5.5 for editing, After Effects 5.5 for compositing and effects and Da Vinci Resolve 8 for grading. I push the software reasonably hard (footage doesnt stray above full HD res so far though, I use 5D mk2 video footage 99% of the time) and I've been super happy with how the iMac keeps up.
The general work that the iMac has to chew through is - big Premiere Pro projects with a reasonable amount of dynamic linking with AE. After Effects is used for mostly compositing with quite a lot of visual effects. Resolve is used for grading with a lot of 3D tracking, noise reduction and normal grading stuff - same as the others...quite intensive).
However..... I have no portable computer and not enough money to invest in a decent one in addition to the iMac. I don't go a week where having a good MBP wouldn't have been a massive help. I'm not a massive geek when it comes to macs. I appreciate that the iMac is a desktop and should outperform any laptop but there are loads of things on the MBP retina that seem to level the field. I'd look at the following spec;
2.3GHz Quad-core Intel Core i7, Turbo Boost up to 3.3GHz
16GB 1600MHz DDR3L SDRAM
256GB Flash Storage
As far as I see the MBP has;
the better USB3 sockets (a godsend when you have 64 gigs of footage to download).
More thunderbolt sockets (I could use two external monitors).
Faster RAM (1600mhz against 1333mhz).
Better screen res (although I have some questions on that).
More graphics RAM (1GB against 512mb)
So thats a lot of things that look better. Im not worried about the small 256mb HD as only the footage Im currently using will be on the MBP's HD itself.
So my questions are as follows;
How should the two units stack up against eachother performance wise when being given quite intensive tasks from Premiere Pro, After Effects and Resolve (the MBP just simply being a notebook.....the MBP having faster RAM....the iMac having a faster processor etc)?
How should the graphics compare (the iMac having a 6775 chip with 512 memory and the MBP having a 4000 chip with 1GB memory)?
How should the screens compare. The MBP obviously has a massive PPI boost but.....is the colour balancing meant to be good enough. So far I've been more than happy to use the iMac for colour grading).
Am I asking too much of the MBP to run two extra monitors when at home...?
Am I just being stupid getting rid of a desktop for a notebook as my main working computer...?
Any help that you knowledagable people can give me will be massivly appreciated...
Thank you!
Alex

I think the MBP Retina would outperform the 2011 iMac as far as CPU due to the updated Ivy Bridge processor. Since the CPU's are similar (hyper threading) the clock speed is important, but the MBP Retina can have TurboBoost of up to over 3GHz. That's faster. Remember, the iMac is still in the 2011 model. The MBP Retina is a 2012 model.
GPU Wise, the NVidia GeForce 650 outperforms the Radeon 6775. http://www.notebookcheck.net/NVIDIA-GeForce-GT-650M.71887.0.html. Now, the Intel HD 4000 isn't really about performance (in my opinion), so if you do get the MBP Retina, turn off automatic graphic switching.
Editing photo or video on the MBP Retina would be amazing. The display is really quite vibrant. Have you had the chance to see a MBP Retina in action? I would definitely do it, if you're serious about dropping that kind of cash.
I don't think using 2 monitors is too much to ask at all; I would love to have a triple monitor setup with coding and that sort. But I can live with one . I also think it's a great idea to use the MBP as a desktop. I currently do it, and have been since January 2011.
One other thing to add, you may want to look into a USB3 hub (with full speed), so you could hook up a large USB3 drive to store files on.

13 inch 2.9GHZ MBP or 15 inch 2.3GHZ? for video editing

Hi, everyone. im looking to buy a new MBP but i don't know which one to buy, the 13 inch 2.9GHZ MBP or 15 inch 2.3GHZ? i will mainly use the computer for video editing and sometime photoshop. i'll be using Adobe Affter effect, and premier. i have a samsung and i think i already had enough of it. it takes me 40-60 min to render a 7 min video and if i have effects from after effects in it, it take even more to render my videos. im thinking about buying the 15 inch mainly beause of the NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M with 512MB of GDDR5 memory. but i don't know if the money is really worth it. i have the budget to buy these computer, so the budget is not a concern, but i still don't want to throw the money around.
i also been thinking about the 15 Inch 2.6GHZ but i don't see that big of a jump from the 2.3GHZ. BTH forgot to mention i want to buy the non-retina Display MBP
Which one wold you guys recommend.

that's an easy answer.
go with the 15' for what you'll be using it for. it has it's own discreet graphics.
the 2.3GHz is better because of the quad core design. especially true for video editing.
the 13' will also do what you want but slower because of the built in intel video which is driven by the processor and uses part of the system RAM.
if you're not worried about speed and are more concerned about portability, then you can stick with the 13'.
whatever, you decide to buy, you'll be happy with either macbooks. just make sure you max out the RAM for your purpose.

Using MBP 2.0ghz for Video Editing

Hey All,
I'm looking to buy a MacBook Pro 15" 2.0ghz for an array of uses, but mainly for video editing/DVD authoring.
My question is this:
If anybody out there uses their MBP primarily for video stuff (ie. editing, rendering, encoding, etc.) can you kindly provide me with some performance feedback?
I will most likely be using Final Cut Pro and DVD Studio Pro combined with Adobe After Effects.
Thanks in advance,
Mark

I'm now looking for a good but relatively cheap
external harddrive. I'm looking for between
200-300gb.
What brands should I be looking for / avoiding? and
should I go with firewire or USB 2.0 or both? I know
the speeds of each but I don't know which is more
deliable for steady video?
Cheap is a bad idea for video as video has very high data transfer demands. USB is a no-go due to its limited bandwidth and subsequent frame-dropping. FW400 is minimum for DV, adding a /34 FW800 card and a FW800 drive is recommended (and mandatory for standards above DV) or - if affordable - Firmtek has introduced a /34 SATA card and external chassis, that would be the optimum and would even cover 8-bit uncompressed safely (no idea if you need that).
Edit: OWC, G-Tech and LaCie FW drives work pretty well - alternatively get a good FW chassis (e.g. MacPower) and put a HD in yourself.

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.

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.

Which of these macs would you choose for video editing?

The main difference is the MBP has an Serial ATA drive, and the Air has a Flash drive. Also the MPB has 2.9Ghz, and the Air has only 2.0Ghz. Which one would you pick for editing with Final Cut Pro X? (Also curious which one you would pick even if video editing wasn't a concern for you, thanks!)
MacBook Pro 13.3” - Dual-Core i7 2.9Ghz ($1269 refurb, or $1399 new at BestBuy)
Eligible for OS X Mountain Lion Up-to-Date Program
Originally released June 2012
13.3-inch (diagonal) LED-backlit glossy widescreen display, 1280-by-800 resolution
8GB (2 x 4GB) of 1600MHz DDR3 SDRAM
750GB Serial ATA @ 5400 rpm
8x double-layer SuperDrive (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
Intel HD Graphics 4000
Or
MacBook Air 13.3” - Dual-Core i7 2Ghz ($1449 refurb)
Eligible for OS X Mountain Lion Up-to-Date Program
Originally released June 2012
13.3-inch (diagonal) LED-backlit glossy widescreen display, 1440-by-900 resolution
8GB memory
512GB flash storage
720p FaceTime HD camera
Intel HD Graphics 4000

Zenman1969 wrote:
Thanks for the answer. Didn't realize the 13" MBPs differed from the 15" MBPs. I thought the screen was the only major difference.
Apple fools a lot of people with that. The 13" is really a MacBook and not a "Pro" machine.
The best machine for video editing depends upon what your going to do, full on production or casual home stuff.
A 15" MacBook Pro and a iMac for the casual lightweight stuff and iMove can do the job.
The new MacPro coming out for the heavy duty stuff.
The industry seems to be moving away from Final Cut Pro X as it's been consumerized or something, lacking needed features and moving towards Avid on powerful Mac's or Windows 7 towers.
http://arstechnica.com/apple/2011/07/does-apple-still-care-about-creative-pros/
http://www.avid.com/US/
So perhaps a mix of Avid and Final Cut Pro X if your serious about furthering your career.

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.

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.

Powerful laptop for video editing?

Sometimes people ask what laptop to buy for video editing. My laptop has the following specification.
1 gigabyte graphics memory (NVIDIA GeForce GT 620M)
Intel core i7 3632qm CPU (quad core, 2.2 GHz with maximum 3.2 GHz).
5400 RPM hard drive in two partions C: and D:
6 gigabytes with RAM
I use Windows 8.1, with Windows settings for maximum performance.
I have spent more than 200 hours editing a project which is about 110 minutes long.
RAM, graphics card respectively CPU have been no limitation. But my hard drive must often work hard.
Partition C: became full with media cache files since my project is so big. So in the future I will put the media cache files on partition D: For this project I solved the problem by deleting those media cache files which were no longer needed.
Alright, I have been forced to split up my long project into smaller pieces. So I have projects which each contains a few hours with raw material, out of which there is about 10 minutes on the timeline. For each project I export a video file. These files I import into another project where I join them into one video file which is 110 minutes long.
I find it inconvenient when PE 12 needs more than one minute to load a particular project. This is the reason why I split up my long project into smaller pieces.
To avoid confusion, I never use video transitions. And I only use video effects when I am forced to correct poor footage. So in each project there is at most about a minute of footage to be rendered. I mean, even though I don't render, PE 12 works well.
I hope this will help those who need to buy a laptop for editing.

Thanks for the comments.
Sorry for this delay in answering. I didn't check if there was any comment because I didn't expect any.
a.
I should had expressed myself differently.
No, I have not monitored CPU usage because it is the hard drive which limits how fast my laptop works.
There is one advantage with having a track for video expanded rather than collapsed. One can see what one has already put on the timeline without moving the cursor. If one waits until the computer has generated pictures on the timeline.
But I realized that with my laptop one has to wait uncomfortably long for those pictures to be created. So it is faster to move the cursor to that position where I have guessed that I have already put the footage I want to find.
b.
I have not tested multiple monitors. Neither would I bother if CPU usage increased because it is the hard drive, not the CPU, which limits how fast my laptop works.
c.
I have not used Premiere CC so I have not checked the hardware requirements.
Unless I have misunderstood something, Premiere CC has somewhat higher hardware requirements than Premiere Elements. Understandable since professional camcorders use higher bit rate (more information per second) than cheaper camcorders.
So presumably I would be forced to split up my projects in even smaller parts to make everything manageable. On the other hand, using footage which is intra frame compressed rather than inter frame compressed would mean that the hardware needs to work less hard, so perhaps it would be possible to edit long projects.
At the same time, some professional programs can work with proxy files, and in that case the high bit rate for professional footage would be no problem.
Besides, unless something is wrong with my memory, Edius has somewhat lower hardware requirements than Premiere CC, so possibly that program would be more relevant for usage on my laptop.
Higher bitrate means that there is room for fewer hours with raw material on my single hard drive. So with 100 Mbps I would in practice be limited to creating movies which are at most about 40 minutes long.
One advantage with professional video editing software is that it can edit video with higher resolution than 1920*1080. But I doubt that would work on my laptop.
Thanks for your congratulations.
Yes it works. And after posting in another forum in my native language, another film maker commented that he had edited on a laptop with even less powerful CPU. For him it was also the speed of the hard drive which limited how fast his laptop worked.

Hard Drive for Video Editing

I need a new external hard drive to use for video editing with Final Cut Pro 6. I will be using it with the new 17" MBP (June 09). Mobility is a major plus, so would this drive suffice?
http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Other%20World%20Computing/MS8U7500GB16/
If not, any other ideas?

Firewire ExpressCard/34:
B&H Photo (Lacie, Sonnet, SIIG, Belkin cards)
Wiebetech (their own cards)

MBP for video editing

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