MacBook Pro video editing/travelling. 13" vs 15"?

[DariuDolla]

Hey,

I was looking to purchase my first MacBook and I'm struggling to decide which one.

I will be travelling for 3 months, so portability is a requirement, during which I will be editing 4k 24p and 1080 60p (slowed down) H.264 video.
So far I was editing in Premiere Pro on a Windows desktop, but due to FCPXs optimization I would be willing to use that.

I've looking into this topic a lot and I came to the conclusion that a 2016 or 2017 MacBook Pro would be the best option. As the trip will be very expensive, I would like to save as much on the laptop as I can, so getting the cheapest one that gets the job done. It just has to reliably edit.
I would also be willing to buy a used one.

The first question would be 15" vs 13".
I know that the 15" is much more powerful, but I wanted to know if it that extra power is necessary or if the 13" would be enough.

Then if 15" then 2017 or is a used 2016 good enough?
And if a 13" then non-TB or with TB (again 2017 or 2016)


Thanks,
Darius

 

[Samuelsan2001]

Hey,

I was looking to purchase my first MacBook and I'm struggling to decide which one.

I will be travelling for 3 months, so portability is a requirement, during which I will be editing 4k 24p and 1080 60p (slowed down) H.264 video.
So far I was editing in Premiere Pro on a Windows desktop, but due to FCPXs optimization I would be willing to use that.

I've looking into this topic a lot and I came to the conclusion that a 2016 or 2017 MacBook Pro would be the best option. As the trip will be very expensive, I would like to save as much on the laptop as I can, so getting the cheapest one that gets the job done. It just has to reliably edit.
I would also be willing to buy a used one.

The first question would be 15" vs 13".
I know that the 15" is much more powerful, but I wanted to know if it that extra power is necessary or if the 13" would be enough.

Then if 15" then 2017 or is a used 2016 good enough?
And if a 13" then non-TB or with TB (again 2017 or 2016)


Thanks,
Darius

Well the 15 inch will be about 2-3 times as fast for some things (export and rendering times etc) however if you are just going to run these over night it’s not an issue to have the 13 inch.

If you go 13 I would get the touch bar for the sliders etc in FCPX and for the better cooling, better sustained performance and quieter operation when pushing it to its limits.

The 2017 has better hardware decoding for H.265 and any 4K work so while not an issue now it will be better for you in the future I expect.

 

[Miltz]

The best bang for the buck right now is the 15" 2016 model. It really depends on how long your clips will be. If they will be short you can get away with the 13". FCX is the way to go on the MAC.