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FCPX on a Macbook Pro
This is likely a stupid question, but I was curious what people thought about editing on a Macbook Pro. In my previous position I worked on an iMac that was fully loaded and never really had to worry about the hardware specsm but now I’m setting off and doing some freelance and am trying to see what I can make work on a very limited budget.
Would a 2014 model Macbook Pro work for basic 1-2 minute long 1080p web videos? I want to eventually upgrade to a better editing system, but at the moment I need something mobile and affordable that I can take with me for quick projects on the road.
Specifically looking at this model:
8GB of 1600MHz DDR3L SDRAM
256GB Flash Storage1
720p FaceTime HD Camera
Intel Iris Graphics
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1072686-REG/apple_mgx82ll_a_13_3_macbook_pro_notebook.htmlWould this likely do the job for the time being without crazy processing times? The last time I tried FCPX on a friend’s Macbook (can’t remember the specs) I remember it crawling along when I went to export a video for YouTube. Don’t want to fall into the same pitfall.
Thanks!
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8 Replies
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Really comes down to what you personally mean/can endure by “crazy processing times”. That machine is quite decent but there are also substantially faster options for more $. You get what you pay for.
Noah
FCPWORKS – FCPX Workflow
Call Box Training -
Thanks Noah. Most of my videos (at least the ones I have confirmed or in line over the next 6 months) will be simple multicam interview videos with lower thirds and some text treatments and photos w/Ken Burns effect. If I can walk away and come back an hour or two later and its done, I’ll be happy.
My immediate budget is $900-1200 so I am unfortunately limited. My hope is to upgrade next year and have this be a backup/on the road machine. The joys of starting a business on the side.
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Sure and you can always go into proxy mode if you find performance suffers. It’s either pay with $ or with time waiting on renders. Cheap, fast, good- pick two. Welcome to the club!
Noah
FCPWORKS – FCPX Workflow
Call Box Training -
[Sean OBrian] “My immediate budget is $900-1200 so I am unfortunately limited. My hope is to upgrade next year and have this be a backup/on the road machine. The joys of starting a business on the side.”
Did you check out the Refurb store at the online Apple Store? My hesitation on that laptop is the i5 processor. If you can swing an i7, it should speed things up quite a bit.
https://www.apple.com/shop/browse/home/specialdeals/mac/macbook_pro/13Good luck,
Dave -
[Dave Gage] “My hesitation on that laptop is the i5 processor. If you can swing an i7, it should speed things up quite a bit.”
+1
I would be hesitant too about a Core i5 for video editing. You really should try and get a Core i7. I have a 15-inch, Mid-2012 MacBook Pro with 2.3 GHz Intel Core i7, 16GB 1600 MHz DDR3 memory, NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M 512 MB graphics and FCP X runs really well on it. I also question if a 13″ display will be big enough for video editing (unless you have “young eyes” which I don’t).
If you don’t have a lot of money I would definitely buy used. You’ll get more Mac for your money that way!
~jr
http://www.johnrofrano.com
http://www.vasst.com -
John how are you finding your MBP on other apps?
Do you use it for After Effects, Resolve and hopefully and RED workflows?
Im toying with the idea of a slimmed down DIT station.
Currently lugging a 24″ Apple Cinema HD and mac mini on set.
But I had to remove the stand to fit in a Peli 1600.
I would like to get it all in a smaller form factor Peli 🙂 -
While I have After Effects CS5.5 on my MBP I don’t use it much anymore. I’m primarily using FCP X and Motion and haven’t had any problems. I shoot AVCHD so no RED workflows to compare to (sorry). I’m still working in HD.
Here is a training video I did on my MBP for Boris FX. There is some pretty heavy compositing going on here and you can see that FCP X with Boris Continuum Complete 3D Extruded EPS is working quite well. You can see it get slower as I have more layers but it’s surprising what I was able to accomplish on a MBP I think:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HmEyogfWLwA
~jr
http://www.johnrofrano.com
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FCX is definitely preferred for a macbook, If you don’t believe me check out my recent test comparing the 2014 Macbook Pro to the 2015. FCX is WAY faster than Ppro on this laptop.
My suggestion is to somehow scrape up $750 and get the 2014 MacbookPro thats on sale on B&H for $1999 with a previous price of $2500. You’ll get larger screen, QuadCore i7 CPU (same one in 2015) 16GB ram, 2GB 750M GPU, 512GB SSD.
This way you will not have to update soon, and it should do the job for a long while, even if you go to 4k. The i7 and dedicated GPU will really speed up rendering. If I was in your position I would do whatever it takes to make this happen. Sometimes it’s about making the smarter decision, which is to spend 1/3 more money for 2X+ the performance.
B&H has Paypal 0% interest for 6 months. Can you afford to pay $125 month for 6 months 0 interest? If not open a 12 or 18 month 0% interest credit card and pay $63 or $39 a month. You’ll have a faster system and you won’t pay interest for the financing. I would get creative.. Maybe go through your garage/storage and sell a few things that you haven’t used in a long while. Why stop “Funds” from making you take longer to do your job. Is this editing job paying you? Overall you’ll save time and money getting a better machine right now then getting a slower machine and then selling it to buy another one.
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