MacBook Pro

[Mike Van Laanen]

I got the Red em a few days ago!!!! #855 is finally on its way. Getting ready for the arrival and have been reading posts trying to find what I need in a new 15.4" MacBook Pro laptop. I want to run a FCP workflow. I will be purchasing a new Mac Pro 8-core sometime down the road, but need the new lap ASAP. I apologize if this was covered somewhere, I just couldn't find anything comprehensive on the MacBook.

I spoke with a sales rep at a local Mac certified video/digital/computer boutique store. There aren't a lot of choices up here in Green Bay. Possibly the cold?? Well the rep just em'd me this quote:

Apple 15.4" MacBook Pro
2.6Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo
2Gb RAM (2 x 1GB DIMM's)
200GB 7200rpm Serial ATA
nVIDIA GForce 8600M GT 512MB
8x Dual-Layer SuperDrive
Mac OS X 10.5.x
1 x 2GB 667MHz DDR2 Sodium
$3100

So I am hoping that someone here has some feedback. I would appreciate any advice or concerns. I just want to be sure on this part of the puzzle.

Thanks,
Michael

[Matt Gottshalk]

I'd get the 250 gb drive instead. Upgrade the ram to 4 gb fron newegg.

I got the 2.5Ghz on Tuesday and love it.

[Jeff Kilgroe]

Hmm... Something doesn't add up here. I think the guy quoted you an incorrect price. For $99 more you can get the 2.6GHz 17" with high-res screen and the rest of those same specs from the Apple online store.

I would definitely recommend the 17" model with the high-resolution (1920x1200) screen. DO NOT GET THE GLOSSY SCREEN! The extra screen real estate really helps.

The specs you have above are fine for both the 15" or the 17". You will definitely want 4GB RAM and you can save $300 by buying RAM from NewEgg or other good vendor. Yes, Apple has a 600% mark-up on those 2GB RAM modules right now -- it's complete BS.

mcgeedigital recommends the 250gb drive. that may or may not be of interest, I would probably go with the 250gb drive myself. The 200gb is 7200rpm so it will provide slightly faster seek times, and data I/O. But on a 2.5" HDD, you don't see as dramatic of an improvement as on desktop 3.5" drives. Also, the extra density of the 250GB drive makes up for some of that difference in transfer speeds. Personally, I always run out of HDD space on my notebook, so the bigger drive would be better for me... I use an eSATA RAID for performance because the 7200rpm notebook drive still isn't that fast.

[Mike Van Laanen]

Thank you Jeff & McG

[Airlawn]

Yes but the extra screen makes it bigger. I know a few people who regret having more bulk to lug around. So just think twice before going for the bigger screen.

[Jeff Kilgroe]

The 17" MBP is the one notebook that really doesn't have much more bulk than its 15" counterpart. It's the same thickness, only weighs about 1.4lbs more and is 1.3" wider and 0.8" deeper.

Anyway, I think anyone interested should stop by an Apple store or other place that has them on display and do some comparing of their own. I personally went with the 15" based on my own logic about 17" bulk at the time and I have mostly regretted it ever since. I've borrowed 17" MBPs on occasion and the only time I can think where I would prefer the 15" is if trying to use my notebook while jammed in business class or coach on a flight. Personally I don't think the larger dimensions make much difference, there are still some very compact bags / cases to fit the 17". And if the extra 1.4 pounds adds that much more bulk, then you need to hit the gym. :)

[David Birdy]

Great thread!

Jeff,

What type of eSATA raid do you use?

[Matt Gottshalk]

I have the 17" G4 as my old laptop. I got tired of the extra size since I travel a fair bit.

Thats why I went with the 15".

But like Jeff said, you should DEFINITELY go to an Apple store and see what fits YOU the best.

[David Birdy]

I took a look at the APPLE store and this what I came up with...
If money is an object the store also has a few good referb deals on the 2.4 GHz Macbook Pro models.


Summary
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Subtotal $3,199.00

Estimated Ship:
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Specifications
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* 2.6GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
* SuperDrive 8x (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
* Accessory Kit
* 2GB 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM - 2x1GB
* 200GB Serial ATA Drive @ 7200 rpm
* MacBook Pro 17-inch Hi-Resolution LED Widescreen Display
* Backlit Keyboard/Mac OS - U.S. English

[Jeff Kilgroe]

Jeff,

What type of eSATA raid do you use?

For shooting on set / in the field, I use my Macbook Pro as an off-load station. I have a CalDigit SV2R Duo equipped with two 750GB HDDs in a RAID-1. Pretty quick, fairly secure. It's gone many places with me and although it's kinda large, it still fits in a backpack and travels well.

For higher performance, I have a CalDigit HDPro 5TB RAID. It screams!

[Mike Van Laanen]

Thanks all for your thoughts. I've got an old 1.5GHz PowerPC G4 with 1GB DDR SDRAM that's a 17". Love the big screen!! But the bulk of it sometimes gets in the way. While working out of my trailblazer last year up in Yellowstone it just seemed that a 15 might have been a better choice. Will let you know what I choose and how it performs. I am leaning toward the 17 right now just for the room. What ever I choose it will definitely have the high resolution (1920x1200), non-glossy screen!!!!!! Thanks Jeff.

For the HD I think the 250 sounds best. Thanks again everyone. However, Jeff's last post spoke of a "CalDigit SV2R Duo equipped with two 750GB HDDs in a RAID-1". I have to plead ignorance and newbeeness here. Could you explain what you built there? It sounds nice and I have some room in my budget to push the MacBook.
Michael

PS: One more question please. When you are working out in the field devoid of power except for your car or truck, what do you use to convert ac/dc?

[Ed Watkins]

Hey Mike,

This is what Jeff was talking about:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/457856-REG/CalDigit_S2VR2B1500E_1_5_TB_S2VR_Duo.html

You'd need the following (or similar) to connect it to an Intel Macbook Pro:
http://www.firmtek.com/seritek/seritek-2sm2-e/

I just picked up a 15" Macbook Pro yesterday, with the extra $300 I'm saving not getting the 17", I'll pick up a Dell 1708FP (1280 x 1024) for on set monitoring.

Ed.

b.t.w here's a useful resource for MacBook Pro express card compatibility
http://www.freemacblog.com/how-to-use-the-expresscard34-in-your-macbook-pro/
)

Thanks all for your thoughts. I've got an old 1.5GHz PowerPC G4 with 1GB DDR SDRAM that's a 17". Love the big screen!! But the bulk of it sometimes gets in the way. While working out of my trailblazer last year up in Yellowstone it just seemed that a 15 might have been a better choice. Will let you know what I choose and how it performs. I am leaning toward the 17 right now just for the room. What ever I choose it will definitely have the high resolution (1920x1200), non-glossy screen!!!!!! Thanks Jeff.

For the HD I think the 250 sounds best. Thanks again everyone. However, Jeff's last post spoke of a "CalDigit SV2R Duo equipped with two 750GB HDDs in a RAID-1". I have to plead ignorance and newbeeness here. Could you explain what you built there? It sounds nice and I have some room in my budget to push the MacBook.
Michael

PS: One more question please. When you are working out in the field devoid of power except for your car or truck, what do you use to convert ac/dc?

[Johnny Johnson]

Can someone chime in on how the Geforce cards are doing on the new macbook pro's please? Specifically for some (reserved) use with redcine/redalert

I know the radeon's are best for use with RC/RA but with the new core 2 duo and ram, how does a new MBP with a geforce card compare?

[Aiden Cornwell]

Hmm... Something doesn't add up here. I think the guy quoted you an incorrect price. For $99 more you can get the 2.6GHz 17" with high-res screen and the rest of those same specs from the Apple online store.

I would definitely recommend the 17" model with the high-resolution (1920x1200) screen. DO NOT GET THE GLOSSY SCREEN! The extra screen real estate really helps.

The specs you have above are fine for both the 15" or the 17". You will definitely want 4GB RAM and you can save $300 by buying RAM from NewEgg or other good vendor. Yes, Apple has a 600% mark-up on those 2GB RAM modules right now -- it's complete BS.

mcgeedigital recommends the 250gb drive. that may or may not be of interest, I would probably go with the 250gb drive myself. The 200gb is 7200rpm so it will provide slightly faster seek times, and data I/O. But on a 2.5" HDD, you don't see as dramatic of an improvement as on desktop 3.5" drives. Also, the extra density of the 250GB drive makes up for some of that difference in transfer speeds. Personally, I always run out of HDD space on my notebook, so the bigger drive would be better for me... I use an eSATA RAID for performance because the 7200rpm notebook drive still isn't that fast.

What eSATA raid are you using? I have the original macbook pro only 100gig drive and badly need to get a raid setup.

[tj williams]

If I get a 15" macbook pro I can use my apple cine screen for the big monitor when we have video village. and be smaller when we are more mobile: what is the min ghs of the process or and min memory to use REdcine etc and work in 4K raw with playbacks and live feed fm camera to laptop as a monitor???

[M Olsen]

I would definitely recommend the 17" model with the high-resolution (1920x1200) screen. DO NOT GET THE GLOSSY SCREEN! The extra screen real estate really helps.

.

Jeff,

Excuse my ignorance but why not get the Glossy Screen, is it to do with color accuracy ?

[Brian Reisdorf]

Jeff,

Excuse my ignorance but why not get the Glossy Screen, is it to do with color accuracy ?

Regardless of color, if you're in the field and don't have total control over your environment those glossy screens can be almost impossible to see.

[Mathieu Ghekiere]

Glossy reflects very much (unwanted if you are in the open) but the colors aren't accurate also, they are extra saturated for customers looking to view dvd's on their laptop, not for professional work.
ps: saw normal Macbook's in the Apple store, reflections were horrible to work with, because the sun was really bright that day and the Macbooks were at a window.

If you're a pro, go for the matte screen.

[Joseph Hutson]

I have the 17", and do ALL editing on it, and I think you should go for the 17" as well.

If nothing else, the speakers make up for the bulkness.

They are AMAZING compared to the 15".

Also, the 17" gets the highest rating from "Consumer Reports".

Worth the extra definitely!

Also, smalldog.com has some specials every once in a while...I got mine from them for only $1899.

[Nathan Garofalos]

www.macmall.com Youll get a really good deal. And most likely a free printer, and upgrade on RAM.

[Jeff Kilgroe]

re: glossy screen.

The glossy screen is the exact same LCD panel as the matte screen. It DOES NOT have any increased color saturation or different color representation. The only difference is the top plastic membrane, it is glossy or matte. Only difference.

The glossy screen can give the impression of more deeply saturated colors in some viewing environments. However, this is an artificial perception and it seems to work best in environments with overhead fluorescent or mecury lights -- like retail store environments. But the glossy screen catches glares and reflections so badly that it can be all but unusable in many lighting situations. I have to specifically make effort to place my glossy screen MBP where I won't catch a reflection and it's a major inconvenience. Matte screens don't have this issue.

When viewed in a dimly lit environment with no apparent glare or reflecting light or even in the dark. You can not tell if the LCD is glossy or matte, it will look the same. Colors and all.

Glossy sucks, but go try one out for yourself if you don't believe me.

I only have one complaint about the 17" Macbook Pro. And it's also the same complaint I have over their new wireless keyboards... Apple needs to pull their heads out of their asses and realize that many people do still need that numerical keypad. The 17" MBP has enough room for it, so wtf? Apple can take their whole minimalistic style too far sometimes.

[Chris Kenny]

I've found glossy screens actually work better in some bright lighting conditions. With matte screens, light hitting the screen from any direction will diffuse through the surface, lowering contrast. In sunlight, this can sometimes make the screen impossible to see. With a glossy screen, you'll get more distinct direct reflections... but if you can adjust the angle of the screen to eliminate direct reflections, you don't have the diffusion problem to nearly as great an extent as with a matte screen.

I went with glossy on my MacBook Pro after checking out both at Apple's Fifth Ave. NYC store. That store is pretty ideal for an evaluation because there's tons of sunlight coming in through the central glass staircase, and there are laptops lined up facing it. A more typical retail store environment probably doesn't provide very good conditions for making a decision.

[Stokestack]

I think the 7200-RPM drive is being underrated. This upgrade gives you pretty good bang for the buck. Capacity is less important than speed for these already-compromised laptop drives.

Yes, glossy screens are the biggest step backward in computing in 20 years. Unbelievably dumb.

Finally: The biggest aggravation on the Apple laptops: No Delete key. They only have a Backspace key, mislabeled "Delete."

[Jeff Kilgroe]

I think the 7200-RPM drive is being underrated. This upgrade gives you pretty good bang for the buck. Capacity is less important than speed for these already-compromised laptop drives.

Sure, the 7200rpm does perform a bit faster. Might be worth it, but it does consume more power and the performance gains are pretty marginal. Usually only measurable with benchmarking software or noticeable on large file transfers (actually more noticeable with transfers of large numbers of random small files). Once again, it's an issue that each potential buyer will have to assess for themselves.

As for the glossy screen. I do agree with Chris Kenny somewhat -- the glossy does have some advantages in sunlight or other intense light environments. This is a big reason why Apple chose glossy screens for the Macbook and Macbook Air... But all things considered, I don't find myself using my Macbook Pro in the park or at a sidewalk cafe all that often... For most down to earth and more common work environments, I've found the glossy screen to be a real problem.


Finally: The biggest aggravation on the Apple laptops: No Delete key. They only have a Backspace key, mislabeled "Delete."

That's pretty much an Apple keyboard thing in general. I usually just leave mine in the box and go for a Logitech. Same thing with that bloody awful mouse that Apple has. Has Apple ever made a mouse that was worth a shit? Seriously? The only thing cool about the "MightyMouse" is the scroll-ball instead of the typical wheel, but it's not without issues either.

[Anders Holck]

FN+"Backspace" works as the Delete key

[Drew Mylrea]

I second the request for some MacBook benchmarks (redcine / alert). My first purchase before a tower will be a laptop - thinking about transcoding to hd or sd prores, anyone know how long said transcode would take? My last resort may have to be a flash drive and the apple store, but some solid experience would be amazing.

[Andrew Medina]

Just in case it wasn't clear earlier...the high res display is only available on the 17" MBP, 15" does not have the option.