New to Mac, Wondering what would be a good laptop to get for running Final Cut Studio

[Anders Haavie]

Well. A 15″ powerbook will work out ok. You have to remember that the powerbook is quite slow compared to a dual G5.. but it works ok. Fill it up with ram (2gb) and fcp works just great. (motion is quite slow on a powerbook.. depends a bit how complex you projects are)

Anders

[George Loch]

You can get by with a Powerbook but it won’t be spectacular. The Dual G5s really show you what FCP 5 can do. A Powerbook is ok as an offline editor but, I owuld not want to suffer though it on a regular basis.

N ow if Apple comes out with a Pentium M based Powerbook then it will be a different story…

-gl

[Mitchji]

Hi,

If you don’t need to run on batteries you should consider an iMac G5 with this case:
https://luggerbags.com/G5.htm

“OK, we all wanted a G5 Powerbook… but it doesn’t look like they are going to make one this year…. so make your G5 iMac portable! After all, its only 2 inches thick, weighs 18 lbs & has a dazzling display nicer than any notebook!

Just SLIP the iLugger over the monitor, then FLIP the bag over, then after putting you mouse, keyboard and misc. items in the iLugger, just ZIP it up! SLIP – FLIP – ZIP”

Here is what a friend who edits on location and used to use a Powerbook has to say (he got the iMac after I sent him the information about the case):
“I just got my iMac today – infinitely faster than any powerbook I could have bought at three times the cost. I got the cheapest I could find: a new 1.6gHz 17″ with a CDRW/DVD and 256 RAM on eBay. I upgraded to 1GB RAM and got the iLugger bag. The total was about $1000 for everything. Thanks for the tip!”

If you get the model with the 20″ screen it won’t be that much harder to move around and working with a 20″ screen on location will be sweet.

Best Wishes,

Mitch

[Jana]

Will the imac g5 be suitable to fun final cut studio, in comparison to the powermac g5?

[George Loch]

An iMacG5 with sufficient ram can handle everything in FCP studio except Motion. That is due to the porr graphics card that is a permanent part of the iMac. OTherwise, I know several who are happy with the iMac and FCP 5.x

-gl

[Walter Biscardi]

17″ Powerbook is the best laptop to run FCP Studio on. Motion will still not be nearly as fast to use as a G5, but FCP cuts very well on the 17″. Just get the max RAM to ensure the best performance. Also remember that when the laptop is parked on a desk, you can run dual displays with it by connecting another monitor to it. That can be really handy.

Walter Biscardi, Jr.
Creative Genius, Biscardi Creative Media
https://www.biscardicreative.com

Now in Production, “The Rough Cut,” https://www.theroughcutmovie.com

Now editing “Good Eats” in HD for the Food Network

“I reject your reality and substitute my own!” – Adam Savage, Mythbusters

[Mitchji]

[Jana] “Will the imac g5 be suitable to fun final cut studio, in comparison to the powermac g5?”

Hi,

In addition to the graphic card issue dual Powermac G5 will be better than a single CPU iMac and it is more expandable.

But back to your original question for a portable solution it will be much better and cheaper than any Powerbook. If you get the model with the 20″ screen it will be pretty nice for location editing.

Best Wishes,

Mitch