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Pro App Performance on the Macbook Air
- Thread starter mwayne85
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I've got a 11.6, 1.4ghz, 2gig Macbook Air.
I've already edited a few full high definition videos from my Panasonic HDC-TM700K. Using Final Cut 6.0.6
No problems at all.
Let's face it, back in 2001, people were using iMac G3's to edit things with Final Cut. Granted, it wasn't HD back then... but even the Air's 'lowly' processor, along with the decent video card, is still light years faster.
I guess I'm surprised anyone even has to ask the question really. But I suppose in 5 years, even when the 'low end' Macbook air is quad-core and 10 times faster than todays Air, there will still be somebody who asks 'But can it edit my videos?', 'can I do photo editing on it?'.
What's even funnier is there will probably be someone who says even in 2015 that the future Air 'is only good for surfing the web and word processing' ... because it's not a "PRO" machine, lol.
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That's really good to know, thanks for the info.
When you were editing with FCP - did you have the MacBook Air hooked up to an external monitor?
Cheers,
Nick
When you were editing with FCP - did you have the MacBook Air hooked up to an external monitor?
Cheers,
Nick
I'm also curious about the monitor question. And well put about what it can really do. I'm eagerly awaiting the day after Christmas for mine.
Haven't tried it out. But along the lines of what I was saying earlier, the integrated nvidia 320, while a bottom line card these days ... is as fast as the 'top end' card of say, 2005, 2006 or so. Those cards could certainly run an external monitor no problem, so my guess is that you'll be fine.
I think it's a mistake to assume that just because the Macbook Pro line of laptops has the word "Pro" in its title, it is, somehow for professionals, while Apple's other laptops are not. "Pro" is a word chosen by copy writers, not by engineers. Whether a given computer will run a given app satisfactorily is governed by the design and specifications of the computer, not by its name.
I have not used any of the applications about which you inquired on my 13 inch Ultimate MBA. I have, though, confirmed that it will run Windows 7 and several Windows apps in VMware Fusion's Unity mode simultaneously with several OS X apps. The MBA has proved itself able to handle these tasks with just as much speed and stability as my Santa Rose Macbook Pro runs them and my MBP had 6GB of RAM. This experience has reinforced my opinion that whether a Mac has the word "Pro" in its title is not much of an indication either about whether it or a Mac from a non pro line will or will not run a given setup satisfactorily
I would think it depends what your doing in each app. It's a huge difference from working with SD and 4K in final cut. Maya might be a fun app to use on an Air but rendering time would suck.