Buying a Macbook Pro for field use

[tj williams]

Looking to buy a MacbookPro for field use, to download footage primarily. The Macbook pros range in price from 1600 to 3500 I am spending quite a bit of money and don't want more computer than I need to do the job. My little experience with computers is limited to pc world. Clear advice is certainly appreciated,.

I'm looking for the least expensive minimum configuration to do the following.

1. download footage from flash cards and drive magazines as quickly as possible to an outboard raid.

2. Play back quick time proxies on a smaller apple cinema monitor. which since it has Dvi In can also function as the live monitor from the RED HDMI out.

3. Do some limited rendering, from 2K and 4K to HD and SD for our sample reel and run final cut pro using proxies to edit some short demos and sample pieces. Software I will use is: Final Cut, RED Cine, RED Alert

Should I spend more money on additional RAM to expand to 4K or should I buy a faster processor 2.4 2.5 or 2.6? What will get me more bang for the buck? Is there a processor I shouldn't go below?

Because of processor versions or 2K opposed to 4K ram how much of a performance hit will I take with the slower processor or less ram, for my uses?

Below is the RED Site write up on what to buy. All the current macbookpro computers I see come with Leapord 10.5 does this mean the problems with later quick time will not affect my machine?

I believe these machines all come preloaded with the later quick time is that true?

All of the machines I've seen advertised have the same video card: the N vidia GeForce 8600MGT w 256mb will this card be adequate to play higher level proxies, etc?

Will the quickness of the raid affect downloading more than processor speed or ram, in other words should I opt for a faster Esata raid rather than firewire 400 0r 800 to get more download speed?

Is there other software I should have for my proposed field use?



Here is What RED Says.... not much info....
RED recommended OS/Software configurations for Mac Hardware

* Recommended configurations for Final Cut Pro 6.0.2
* Configuration #1: Intel MacPro or MacBookPro, Leopard (OS 10.5.2) with QuickTime 7.4.1
* #2: Intel MacPro or MacBookPro, Tiger (OS 10.4.11) with QuickTime 7.3.1*
* * users with NVIDIA 7300 GT should update to Leopard
* Minimum RAM for all configs: 1 GB
* Suggested RAM for Kona3 configs on Leopard: 2 GB*
* * if experiencing performance issues. If not, AJA recommends 4 GB

Note:
there have been stability issues working with Red Footage using QuickTime 7.4 and Quicktime 7.4.1 on Mac OS 10.4.11 (Tiger)

There are reports that QuickTime 7.4 is causing stability issues with both RED ALERT! and Final Cut Pro when working with RED footage. RED recommends that users on Tiger (10.4.11) remain on QuickTime 7.3.1 and do not install QuickTime 7.4 .

If you are working with RED ALERT! and Final Cut Pro under Leopard (OS 10.5.2) RED recommends that users run QuickTime 7.4.1

[M Olsen]

TJ

I think you will find the new MacBook Pro's have 512 Mb of Video Ram, except perhaps the entry level model.

[tj williams]

There are versions listed at Macmall etc. with both 256 and 512. Is 256 not adequate for my uses? appreciate actual answers. Thanks

[Cüneyt Kaya]

Looking to buy a MacbookPro for field use, to download footage primarily. The Macbook pros range in price from 1600 to 3500 I am spending quite a bit of money and don't want more computer than I need to do the job. My little experience with computers is limited to pc world. Clear advice is certainly appreciated,.

I'm looking for the least expensive minimum configuration to do the following.

1. download footage from flash cards and drive magazines as quickly as possible to an outboard raid.

2. Play back quick time proxies on a smaller apple cinema monitor. which since it has Dvi In can also function as the live monitor from the RED HDMI out.

3. Do some limited rendering, from 2K and 4K to HD and SD for our sample reel and run final cut pro using proxies to edit some short demos and sample pieces. Software I will use is: Final Cut, RED Cine, RED Alert

Should I spend more money on additional RAM to expand to 4K or should I buy a faster processor 2.4 2.5 or 2.6? What will get me more bang for the buck? Is there a processor I shouldn't go below?

Because of processor versions or 2K opposed to 4K ram how much of a performance hit will I take with the slower processor or less ram, for my uses?

Below is the RED Site write up on what to buy. All the current macbookpro computers I see come with Leapord 10.5 does this mean the problems with later quick time will not affect my machine?

I believe these machines all come preloaded with the later quick time is that true?

All of the machines I've seen advertised have the same video card: the N vidia GeForce 8600MGT w 256mb will this card be adequate to play higher level proxies, etc?

Will the quickness of the raid affect downloading more than processor speed or ram, in other words should I opt for a faster Esata raid rather than firewire 400 0r 800 to get more download speed?

Is there other software I should have for my proposed field use?



Here is What RED Says.... not much info....
RED recommended OS/Software configurations for Mac Hardware

* Recommended configurations for Final Cut Pro 6.0.2
* Configuration #1: Intel MacPro or MacBookPro, Leopard (OS 10.5.2) with QuickTime 7.4.1
* #2: Intel MacPro or MacBookPro, Tiger (OS 10.4.11) with QuickTime 7.3.1*
* * users with NVIDIA 7300 GT should update to Leopard
* Minimum RAM for all configs: 1 GB
* Suggested RAM for Kona3 configs on Leopard: 2 GB*
* * if experiencing performance issues. If not, AJA recommends 4 GB

Note:
there have been stability issues working with Red Footage using QuickTime 7.4 and Quicktime 7.4.1 on Mac OS 10.4.11 (Tiger)

There are reports that QuickTime 7.4 is causing stability issues with both RED ALERT! and Final Cut Pro when working with RED footage. RED recommends that users on Tiger (10.4.11) remain on QuickTime 7.3.1 and do not install QuickTime 7.4 .

If you are working with RED ALERT! and Final Cut Pro under Leopard (OS 10.5.2) RED recommends that users run QuickTime 7.4.1

TJ talk to torrey of silverado...he will take care of you...and has competitive prices for macbook pros at the moment. But hurry up

[Alex Carr]

I wouldn't have any less than 2Gb of RAM, If you need it only for copying Cf cards and previewing footage then a slower processor could suit you. A Laptop is not the best tool for converting Red to Pro res anyway...

Esata is great for a laptop, its as fast as you can get when you are on set and on the go. It means buying a Expresscard e-sata adapter and using 3.5" - 7200 RPM E-sata Drives. It should be able to handle the _M proxies in higher resolutions in FCP timeline. You could potentially offline edit with the laptop if you needed to.

[Jeff Kilgroe]

Things to consider about your new Macbook Pro.

The 17" high-res screen is very much worth it.
Don't get the glossy screen.
2GB minimum, 4GB recommended.
You can save $400 buying the RAM elsewhere.
Biggest internal HDD (200/7200 or 250/5400) hard to change later.
512MB video memory is a good idea as a future-proofing move.
You will be running OSX 10.5.2 w/ QT 7.4.5 on any new Macbook Pro.
You will want an eSATA RAID

[Paul Kalbach]

Things to consider about your new Macbook Pro.

The 17" high-res screen is very much worth it.
Don't get the glossy screen.
2GB minimum, 4GB recommended.
You can save $400 buying the RAM elsewhere.
Biggest internal HDD (200/7200 or 250/5400) hard to change later.
512MB video memory is a good idea as a future-proofing move.
You will be running OSX 10.5.2 w/ QT 7.4.5 on any new Macbook Pro.
You will want an eSATA RAID

Why not the glossy screen? It's supposed to give richer color and deeper blacks. Just need to keep the reflections environment under control.

[HD Hildebrand]

Need to get another MacBook too. WHich models of Macbooks are people using and running successfully? Can anyone list their particular specs that are working?