Question for Mac heads -- advice on buying laptop for video/audio editing

[drumwolf]

I'm planning to get a Macintosh laptop, and I would specifically like to use it for making music and multimedia and possibly even editing video, using programs like Flash, Final Cut Pro, and ProTools.

As a PC user, I've noticed that standard specs for Macs seem to be different from that of PC's (for example, a 1.25GHz Mac is actually much more powerful than a 1.25GHz or even 2.0 GHz PC). What minimum processor speed and memory should I look for in a Mac if I want to do video, audio and multimedia editing?

Also, could I get away with using an iBook or should I really have a PowerBook? And will a G4 be sufficient or should I really have a G5?

[realisticphish]

1. not a big hardware guy

but i would advise getting a g5; but be warned, this is coming from a 19 year old psychology major

post in the mac forum, you'll get much better help


:hippie: The Incorrigible Democrat

[mrbassman03]

2. No G5 Laptop...

Get a 15-inch Powerbook, then cram it full of RAM... If you are doing video, I would advise getting the Superdrive (DVD burning). It can easily handle Final Cut Pro and Logic and Pro Tools, maybe all at the same time. Go check them out at an Apple store if possible.

A 12-inch is way too small for video, and the 17-inch is too fuckin' huge AND expensive. Don't worry about a better laptop coming out soon, by the way... a G5 Powerbook is nowhere near close.

[Liberal In Texas]

3. Not a Mac-head either...but

...if your editing video, don't use a laptop.

Video is notorious for eating memory. Believe me, I know.

Mac is probably the premier platform for video editing, with Final Cut and Final Cut Pro. Even I-Movie is pretty good.

Just don't do a laptop for that.

[mrbassman03]

4. Actually, a laptop is preferred unless you are doing hard-core rendering..

Makes it easier to bring it to the location... Sure, you can cram a G5 with 8gigs of RAM, but it is not needed for MOST video editing... I have 640mb in my 876Mhz Powerbook and Final Cut Pro runs great!

http://www.apple.com/pro/video/arnot/

[huellewig]

5. Do you need to do all off the work on a laptop?

For a couple of years I had a cheap iBook to do work with while I rode the bus to and from work everyday. It was slow(G3 600), but it worked. The commute was about three hours per day. I just picked non intensive things to do on the iBook (flash and light PhotoShop). And I had a nice MDD at home for the heavy lifting. Since you can't get a G5 Powerbook you might look into a cheap G4 laptop and a G5 iMac.

[drumwolf]

6. A desktop Mac isn't an option for me

I already have a desktop PC and don't want another desktop. I spend most of my time in local cafes, not in my cramped and poorly-ventilated bedroom, so I'd like a laptop.

I think I overstated how good I need my computer to be for video editing. I want a laptop that's okay, not great, for video. For now, I mostly want to make music.

[leftofthedial]

7. I second the Power Book

I have the 17. It is great. Don't get the really big one. The middle of the line is 17-inch (or was when I last shopped them).

load it with RAM.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

8. Actually, the 15-inch is the middle of the line

The 17-incher is huge, but it isn't necessarily more powerful than the 15-incher.

[leftofthedial]

9. oops.

I meant 15-inch.

and I'm sitting here using one!

[Lydia Leftcoast]

10. Right, anything bigger than a 17-incher, and

it wouldn't be all that portable. :-)

[asthmaticeog]

11. One rule of thumb on buying a Mac

and this applies to towers as well as laptops -- if money is a factor, any corners you can cut in order to sink more money into RAM are corners that should be cut. Get a slightly smaller screen, put the money into RAM, get a slightly slower processor, the $100 or $200 difference is better spent on RAM than .25ghz of processing speed.

Most graphics and video software is more RAM-intensive than processor-intensive, so whatever you can do to max out the RAM, do it. If money's NOT a prohibitive factor, get the faster processor and bigger screen, by all means - "too much" processing power is never a mistake - but no matter what, get the RAM up as high as your budget will allow.