Mac Pro M1 with Final Cut Pro and Logic Compared to Intel 11th Gen with Vegas and Studio one for Audio/Video Editing Value and Use as SYSTEM; Insight?

[lightfire]

Currently, the only Apple product I own is an IPad Pro and I love it.

I prefer to look at computer SYSTEM and not just the hardware and am trying to evaluate the differential between these.
The disadvantage to the Mac system is I already own Vegas video editing and Studio One audio processing software. I have a nice Intel Desktop that I will continue to use but need a laptop this year.

Comparison I am trying to find anyone who has used both systems, albeit not M1. But with speculation of the system with the M1.

Costwise, the Dell 11th gen Intel high res screen 16gb/1TB is the winner: $ 2124
While the Mac Pro M1 16GB/1TB, including Logic & Final Cut Pro is $2780

Obviously with cost being the main consideration, I would be better off with the Dell, plus it does have touchscreen.

But if performance and ease of use would be better, as a video and audio editing SYSTEM, then I am not opposed to the extra cost. And certainly have mixed feelings for both Studio One on the Intel and Vegas on the Intel, so am not opposed to learning the new software and new operating system.

Can anyone add insight here?

 

[frinky23]

Can anyone add insight here?

Yes. Install the Microsoft RDP client on your iPad Pro and continue to do your editing on your Dell. Put the $2700 into an investment account. If you absolutely must spend money and will die if you don't, get the Magic Keyboard for your iPad Pro.

 

[lightfire]

Yes. Install the Microsoft RDP client on your iPad Pro and continue to do your editing on your Dell. Put the $2700 into an investment account. If you absolutely must spend money and will die if you don't, get the Magic Keyboard for your iPad Pro.

I have not purchased the Dell nor the Mac but need a business laptop this year for tax purposes rather than waiting until next year. But thanks for the suggestion of the Microsoft RDP client.

I was looking more for insight as to the use of the video & audio editing with the Mac versus the Intel system. Of course those who have used both systems, with speculation of M1 performance in mind, woud have the best insight as to this comparison.

 

[frinky23]

Yeah, I don't think you're going to get much useful insight about the M1 until people really start using these machines.

I run a business too. I'm opinionated, as you have already seen. I'm also not your accountant and have no idea what your books look like, but I know too many people that do a lot of suboptimal things "for tax purposes". Assuming you are in the US, have you already maxed out your SEP contribution limits? Those are huge. Well anyway, don't forget that if you pick the right courses, you can get a Qualified Education Expense deduction to learn how to use Logic and Final Cut Pro

 

[cardfan]

My only insight is m1 is sort of beta with that type software and getting apps to work. Try it and see and you’ll know it it’s viable. You’d have to buy new software as well. And what about your great dell desktop with it’s purchased software? You’d have a desktop with windows software and a Mac with other software.

 

[lightfire]

you can get a Qualified Education Expense deduction to learn how to use Logic and Final Cut Pro

Great suggestion. Can you explain how/where Final Cut Pro education registration that will meet Apple’s educational discount requirements?
I didnt add in my original post that my current laptop died and I need to replace. This year purchase could possibly be put off but it is advantageous to me to go ahead now. Delivery times for both options listed are fairly close.

 

[lightfire]

My only insight is m1 is sort of beta with that type software and getting apps to work. Try it and see and you’ll know it it’s viable. You’d have to buy new software as well. And what about your great dell desktop with it’s purchased software? You’d have a desktop with windows software and a Mac with other software.

Valid point. I do hate to purchase just to “try” though, as to give a good comparison I would need to purchase both. Even the Intel 11th gen performance on the laptop is a bit of speculation as they just released it.

But my desktop is a custom build I did and I do use more than one editing solution. An edited video or audio file can be transferred between different software and operating systems. But yes,I would be purchasing new software, which IF it is a better solution I dont mind doing. I do realize M1 is speculation but I would expect it to perform at least as good as the Intel solution and speculate it could be a bit better. If I purchased an M1 laptop and liked it a lot, I would also look at a desktop replcement within next 2 years and if I liked the Mac operating system better, would look at the entire Apple ecosystem. Allegedly, from what I have read, it MAY be more secure than windows.
It is my understanding that both Final Cut Pro and Logic are now native M1 solutions.

 

[frinky23]

Great suggestion. Can you explain how/where Final Cut Pro education registration that will meet Apple’s educational discount requirements?
I didnt add in my original post that my current laptop died and I need to replace. This year purchase could possibly be put off but it is advantageous to me to go ahead now. Delivery times for both options listed are fairly close.

Look at page 67 of this IRS guide:

https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p970.pdf

You have two options. First, you own your business (I am assuming), so you can make the training a requirement using the flowchart at the top of page 67. Or you can do the "Education To Maintain or Improve Skills" at the bottom of page 67. The example about the TV repairman sounds like an exact match for your situation. The key point is that the education has to maintain or improve skills in your current job and NOT to qualify you for a new job.

You'll have to think about the courses you find and how they fit in, but just putting the cost as a line item on your Schedule C has always worked for me. I've never had a problem, but I always include a paragraph about why it qualifies.

You'll see plenty of warning about how you can't use this tax deduction to get an MBA, but don't let it scare you off. You are using software package A in your business and need to switch to software package B to do the same work for your clients. Paying money to learn how to use software package B appears to be an exact match for what this tax credit is for.

 

[lightfire]

Look at page 67 of this IRS guide:

https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p970.pdf

You have two options. First, you own your business (I am assuming), so you can make the training a requirement using the flowchart at the top of page 67. Or you can do the "Education To Maintain or Improve Skills" at the bottom of page 67. The example about the TV repairman sounds like an exact match for your situation. The key point is that the education has to maintain or improve skills in your current job and NOT to qualify you for a new job.

You'll have to think about the courses you find and how they fit in, but just putting the cost as a line item on your Schedule C has always worked for me. I've never had a problem, but I always include a paragraph about why it qualifies.

You'll see plenty of warning about how you can't use this tax deduction to get an MBA, but don't let it scare you off. You are using software package A in your business and need to switch to software package B to do the same work for your clients. Paying money to learn how to use software package B appears to be an exact match for what this tax credit is for.

Ah, I misunderstood your suggestion. I have been doing the above for many years. I thought you were referring to a way to tie in Final Cut Pro education with Apple’s educational discount program for purchase of Mac M1; my error of reading too fast. I multitask too much I think, with a gazillion tabs and programs opened at once.

 

[frinky23]

Ah, I misunderstood your suggestion. I have been doing the above for many years. I thought you were referring to a way to tie in Final Cut Pro education with Apple’s educational discount program for purchase of Mac M1; my error of reading too fast. I multitask too much I think, with a gazillion tabs and programs opened at once.

No problem. I'm glad to hear that the deductions are working for you.

 

[Boil]

Currently, the only Apple product I own is an IPad Pro and I love it.

I prefer to look at computer SYSTEM and not just the hardware and am trying to evaluate the differential between these.
The disadvantage to the Mac system is I already own Vegas video editing and Studio One audio processing software. I have a nice Intel Desktop that I will continue to use but need a laptop this year.

Comparison I am trying to find anyone who has used both systems, albeit not M1. But with speculation of the system with the M1.

Costwise, the Dell 11th gen Intel high res screen 16gb/1TB is the winner: $ 2124
While the Mac Pro M1 16GB/1TB, including Logic & Final Cut Pro is $2780

Obviously with cost being the main consideration, I would be better off with the Dell, plus it does have touchscreen.

But if performance and ease of use would be better, as a video and audio editing SYSTEM, then I am not opposed to the extra cost. And certainly have mixed feelings for both Studio One on the Intel and Vegas on the Intel, so am not opposed to learning the new software and new operating system.

Can anyone add insight here?

First off, your thread title is quite misleading...

The Mac Pro desktop & the MacBook Pro laptop are two VERY different machines...!

As for the cost of FCPX & LPX, there are options...

The cheapest & easiest are the already included programs from Apple; Garageband & iMovie...

Then there is DaVinci Resolve, of which there is a free version; but even the paid version (DaVinci Resolve Studio @ $299) is cheaper than the FCPX/LPX combo...

 

[cardfan]

Ah, I misunderstood your suggestion. I have been doing the above for many years. I thought you were referring to a way to tie in Final Cut Pro education with Apple’s educational discount program for purchase of Mac M1; my error of reading too fast. I multitask too much I think, with a gazillion tabs and programs opened at once.

If that’s your concern just go to education store at Apple.com and order away.

 

[timerickson]

There is no such thing as a Mac Pro M1. Do you mean the Macbook Pro 13" with M1?

 

[lightfire]

First off, your thread title is quite misleading...

The Mac Pro desktop & the MacBook Pro laptop are two VERY different machines...!

As for the cost of FCPX & LPX, there are options...

The cheapest & easiest are the already included programs from Apple; Garageband & iMovie...

Then there is DaVinci Resolve, of which there is a free version; but even the paid version (DaVinci Resolve Studio @ $299) is cheaper than the FCPX/LPX combo...

Yes I was looking into Davinci Resolve as well becasue even in Windows environment it pays to have more than one solution; sometimes one will do a task better than the other.

Sorry, I tried to be as accurate as I could in thread title of describing the info I was looking for, and said early on that I was seeking answers from those who may have used both solutions along with educated speculation of the performance difference in the two solutions.

Even though I look at it from the SYTSTEM standpoint, I have always looked for optimum and/or superior performance in a any solution. I was referring to the Mac Pro LAPTOP combined with the two software solutions and speculative performance. As I pointed out, we really dont have performance history of either the M1 Mac or with the Intel 11th gen in a small laptop as the one I was reffing to was just recently released.
I will also always probably build my own desktops as for the last several decades I have always had the superior performance solution, IF economically viable, by juggling performance/cost/productivity parameters. Sometimes a simple software switch can easily pay for itself inside a couple of years. Well over a year I ago I simply changed browsers and have notices that quite a bit of time has been saved by this simply no-cost switch.

And to the other gentleman, for clarity, I am not in the market for a laptop becasue of any potential deduction, I am in the market because we need one. I guess I attempt to research everything maybe too much, as one never knows whether they will like any particular piece of needed tech until they utilize it. I just want to do due diligence before making a decision.

 

[lightfire]

There is no such thing as a Mac Pro M1. Do you mean the Macbook Pro 13" with M1?

Nah, I was referring to the OTHER Mac Pro with the M1...you know, the 4 M1 parallel processing one with 6 USB4/TB4 ports, and 2 4TB NVME drives...Joke....Yes, I abbreviated it as there are only 3 new M1 solutions.

 

[cardfan]

I’d save yourself a headache and get your windows laptop. Grab a Mac mini for 600 something if you want to explore that area to see if viable later.

 

[lightfire]

I’d save yourself a headache and get your windows laptop. Grab a Mac mini for 600 something if you want to explore that area to see if viable later.

I am considering that as well; not bad advice for sure. I will decide next week.

And, at this point I‘m actually wondering if in the binning process, the low end Air gets the worst, the Mac Pro gets the 2nd best, as it gets cooled to make it up to snuff, and the mid-tier Air gets the best. This is another topic, but it is in the back of my mind. If true, the better buy is the top-tier Air.