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Minimum MacBook Pro specs to run FCP 6
Hello Everyone,
I am going to be traveling for 4 months attending screenings of one of my documentary films, and I wanted to be able to edit my upcoming film while I am traveling.
I would like to buy the minimum MacBook Pro to be able to edit with FCP 6, and will probably buy a used MacBook Pro on Ebay.
1) Are there certain models of MacBook Pros that you would recommend? Any to avoid?
2) I know that Apple’s specs state 2 GB min RAM (for compressed HD and uncompressed SD), but does 2 GB always suffice? (My Mac G5 has 4 GB RAM).
3) I also know that I need a MacBook Pro with a 800 firewire port
4) Is a 15″ screen large enough to edit on the road?
5) Any other accessories (speaker types, external keyboard, etc) you would recommend for a traveling FCP editing system?
6) Aside from Ebay, are there other sources to purchase used MacBook Pros? Somewhere that offers some kind of warranty would be great.
Thank you for your thoughts and advice.
Khashyar
*****
Here is what Apple recommends as the minimum required specs:
Minimum Requirements to Install All Final Cut Studio Applications
* A Macintosh computer with a 1.25GHz or faster PowerPC G4, PowerPC G5, Intel Core Duo, or Intel Xeon processor
* 1GB of RAM
* An AGP or PCI Express Quartz Extreme graphics card (Final Cut Studio is not compatible with integrated Intel graphics processors)
* A display with 1024-by-768 resolution or higher
* Mac OS X v10.4.9 or later
* QuickTime 7.1.6 or later
* A DVD drive for installationRecommended Configurations
The following are recommended for all applications:
* 2GB of RAM when working with compressed HD and uncompressed SD sources
* 4GB of RAM when working with uncompressed HD sources*****
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6 Replies
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I think my MBP is one of the first generation. It’s a 17″ model. I’ve cut DVCProHD 720P with it and a FW800 drive with no issues. I’ve not edited with a 15″ model, but it’s probably fine. You can adjust the size of the Canvas to where you want it. I always considered this a rough edit as I wasn’t watching on my broadcast monitor which for me is always the final arbiter of visual goodness. I usually monitored with headphones. If you don’t find one on eBay, just Google it and other options may pop up.
John
MacPro 8-core 2.8GHz 8 GB RAM OS 10.5.8 QT7.6.4 Kona 3 Dual Cinema 23 ATI Radeon HD 3870, 24″ TV-Logic Monitor, ATTO ExpressSAS R380 RAID Adapter, PDE enclosure with 8-drive 6TB RAID 5
FCS 3 (FCP 7.0.2, Motion 4.0.2, Comp 3.5.2, DVDSP 4.2.2, Color 1.5.2)Pro Tools HD w SYNC IO & 192 Digital I/O, Yamaha DM1000, Millennia Media HV-3C, Neumann U87, Schoeps Mk41 mics, Genelec Monitors, PrimaLT ISDN
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Thank you for the feedback and for sharing your experience, John.
Yes, I would see editing on this MacBook Pro as an offline edit.
Headphones are a great idea…
It actually probably would be best to find a 17″ model if I can find one.
In January, I may be in India filming a new documentary in 1920×1080, so it might be a good idea to find a MacBook Pro that will handle 1920×1080 60i as well.
The reason why I want to run FCP 6 on the MacBook Pro, is because that is the FCP version that is being used on the G5.
Would you mind sharing the model and specs of your MacBook Pro so I can look for comparable models?
Thank you.
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Next time I’m at my office (tomorrow or Monday) I’ll check and post back. With which camera and codec will you be shooting?
John
MacPro 8-core 2.8GHz 8 GB RAM OS 10.5.8 QT7.6.4 Kona 3 Dual Cinema 23 ATI Radeon HD 3870, 24″ TV-Logic Monitor, ATTO ExpressSAS R380 RAID Adapter, PDE enclosure with 8-drive 6TB RAID 5
FCS 3 (FCP 7.0.2, Motion 4.0.2, Comp 3.5.2, DVDSP 4.2.2, Color 1.5.2)Pro Tools HD w SYNC IO & 192 Digital I/O, Yamaha DM1000, Millennia Media HV-3C, Neumann U87, Schoeps Mk41 mics, Genelec Monitors, PrimaLT ISDN
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Thanks, John.
The project that I will be editing has already been shot (actually, it was shot a few years ago). The format is 10-bit uncompressed SD.
The new film we are shooting (and which I would prefer using the laptop on that project also) is 1920×1080 60i (AVCHD)
Khashyar
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My MBP is v2.1, has one 2.33GHz Core 2 Duo processor, and 3GB RAM (max that fits in that machine).
John
MacPro 8-core 2.8GHz 8 GB RAM OS 10.5.8 QT7.6.4 Kona 3 Dual Cinema 23 ATI Radeon HD 3870, 24″ TV-Logic Monitor, ATTO ExpressSAS R380 RAID Adapter, PDE enclosure with 8-drive 6TB RAID 5
FCS 3 (FCP 7.0.2, Motion 4.0.2, Comp 3.5.2, DVDSP 4.2.2, Color 1.5.2)Pro Tools HD w SYNC IO & 192 Digital I/O, Yamaha DM1000, Millennia Media HV-3C, Neumann U87, Schoeps Mk41 mics, Genelec Monitors, PrimaLT ISDN
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Thank you, John…
I am looking on Ebay for a comparable MacBook Pro.
Khashyar
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