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$4000.00 to spend

L

letscopro

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jun 18, 2012
21
0
Vancouver, BC
Like so many others, I was all set to buy a new Mac Pro on June 11th. My 2008 Mac Pro is showing its age running FCPX. It works fine for my other uses.

I've placed an order for the Retina MBP with 16GB and 768SD. With a 3-4 week delay in shipping, I knew I could always cancel the order if I had to.

Am I fooling myself thinking this will be a sufficient upgrade from my Mac Pro for video editing?

I'm also considering the Mac Pro 6 core with the HD 5870 or the stock 12 core 2.4GHz. With either one, I would be upgrading to at least 24GB of non Apple ram.

Here is my current configuration:

Mac Pro 3.1 8 core 2.8GHz
18GB ram
GeForce 8800 GT
ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT
2TB software RAID
2TB WD
30" Cinema Display
22" LG Display
23" Acer Display with HDMI

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
 
letscopro said:
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...

With 3 displays is there any time when you move to different locations? (e.g., you need to pack up your rig from time to time and go to remote locations). If not moving at all, are there unmet space saving constraints for physical workspace area ? (e.g., no more room in physical working area for more equipment, so some equipment is swapped out as change between different focuses )

Not seeing a huge "win" of the very high end MBP 15" if don't hit either one of the above criteria. A completely stationary MBP doesn't really compete well with a Mac Pro.
 
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Personally, I wouldn't pay Apple a dime for outdated 2010 technology, and in the case of the video cards, , 2009 tech.
 
Can you honestly see yourself editing in the field or on a set ? Is that something you absolutely require for your job ? I find that when the answer to that is only a "maybe" then the laptop ends up never leaving a desk.

If I were you I'd upgrade your graphics card to a 5870 and stash the rest of the cash for the next update. Your computer is a capable machine, with a graphics update I'm quite confident you'll see a substantial FCP X performance benifit.
 
I had a MBP for a week or so last year and I did find it very useful to be able to work anywhere.

I have considered upgrading the graphics card, but it's kind of like putting money into an old car. At what point does it become too much? Do you know if there would be a big difference between the 5770 and 5870? Also, I read somewhere that FCPX doesn't like 2 graphics cards. I wonder if the ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT might be part of the problem.

The thought of spending $4000.00 on "outdated technology" makes me sick to my stomach.
 
If you can hold off another year, save your cash and wait. If your making money and need the speed for better performance, get the hex. It's anyone's guess if apple will come through. Would suck if folks get shafted by apple if they do kill off the Mac pro. Just buy from 3rd party for extra parts. Don't think the laptop will give you the 24/7 power (if needed) to render long periods of time. I never liked external drives for scratch disks and such.
 
I tested Final Cut X on the MBP with Retina Display, you will love it. To my surprise if you setup the display so that it runs at the equivalent of 1920 x 1200 instead of the default settings it is easier to read than the now discontinued 17-Inch. The ability to have 1080p footage playing back at full resolution in Final Cut X is fantastic. With 16GB and the SSD the system will fly.

There a very healthy market for second hand Apple Macs, particularly the laptops, so no problem updating in a couple of years time if you needed to.
 
Well, it's always nice to save money, except for the fact that at the end of it all you're not going to be taking any of it with you UpStairs.

Me, I need both. I need the MBP to go anywhere, hang out in bars, and be working on my project. But I need the MP for enough horsepower to do live shows.

The Retina (or other) modern MBPs look really, really nice ... but for the fact that you can't run an add-on GPU (and, I'd worry about the heat generation doing a 3-hour show). Having said that, though, I'd kind of like to rent one for a few days to see just what it can do....

Good luck with your decision!
 
I ended up cancelling the order for the RMBP.

As luck would have it, I found a used HD 5870 on Craigslist today and got it for $320.00. I was concerned about buying without trying, but as it turned out it was from a church 10 minutes away and they even gave me a receipt. It's up and running.

I'm going to work with FCPX and the HD 5870 for the weekend and see how it goes. If I do end up with the 6 core, I was going to add the 5870, anyway. This way I could sell the 5770.

I might end up reordering the 512GB SSD RMBP and use that in conjunction with my MP.

Thanks for the input.
 
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