Could anyone give me some pointers for what I'll need to run FCP on a laptop with minimal issues.

This would not be a full-time professional set-up - just a machine to do occasional editing homework on. However, would I still need to go for the 17" model or could I get away with a smaller screen size? I already have a 22" monitor at home, although it is VGA input only. Could I use that as a second monitor and would that allow me to go for a smaller laptop screen?

Also what are the options for viewing realtime on a video monitor from a MacBook? Is there a cheap video outputting solution?

And are there any issues if I wanted to install Avid alongside FCP? And how about After Effects?

Sorry for the dumb questions, but believe it or not I've never owned a laptop before. I'm only thinking in terms of MacBook because I want to have the option to run FCP.

Thanks.

To get the most out of all of these apps, you are best off with either an upper-end 15" MacBook Pro (get best gfx card) or the 17"MBP. The 17" is the top-of-the-line, but I prefer the 15", because it's more suitable for me as a standard laptop on the road. I am running AECS5, MC5, FCP7 (FCS) on a 3-year old 2.4GHz 15", 4GB RAM, OS 10.6.4. The reason for the advanced gfx card is so you can use Motion and Color. You can connect your external monitor using an adapter.

- Oliver

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Oliver Peters
www.oliverpeters.com
Blog at digitalfilms.wordpress.com
Creative Editorial | Interactive Design

Hi Oliver,

Thanks for your guidance.

Is there any way to have realtime external video monitoring from a laptop? I know it sort of defeats the purpose of portable editing, but I always much prefer to have external video monitoring whenever possible.

Quote:

Bruce
Is there any way to have realtime external video monitoring from a laptop?

Depends on what you want to do. You have real-time, fullscreen display in the desktop display mode from inside FCP. This would play your footage in real-time to either the laptop screen or to an externally-connected display. If you want real-time video output to a video (not computer) monitor, then look into a unit like the AJA IO Express or the Matrox MXO2 Mini. The hitch is that these would require an Express34 slot card. That now only comes on the 17" MBP.

- Oliver

------------------------
Oliver Peters
www.oliverpeters.com
Blog at digitalfilms.wordpress.com
Creative Editorial | Interactive Design

Sorry to return to this. I've still yet to commit to buying....

I have the opportunity to get a slightly older model 2.8 Ghz Core 2 Duo 17" Macbook Pro for about 200 pounds less than I can get the new 2.53 Ghz i5 CPU model. Would anyone know if the saving is worth it, or should I just go for the newer CPU?

I am also being told that I should have a 7200rpm internal HD, not the standard 5600rpm. Is this strictly necessary if my media is all being kept on an external drive? And surely I could easily swap the drives myself rather than paying the suppliers £35 for the privilege... although would this invalidate the warranty?

And is Applecare worth nearly £200?

I'd go for a new machine AND buy the AppleCare. I like my Apple laptops, but I have had warranty repairs (within 3 years) with every laptop I've owned - both Macs and PCs. A single big repair, like a bad logic board (not uncommon), will make it worthwhile. Of course, it's basically an insurance policy.

- Oliver

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Oliver Peters
www.oliverpeters.com
Blog at digitalfilms.wordpress.com
Creative Editorial | Interactive Design

Thanks, Oliver. Sounds like good advice.

What's your feeling on the 5600 vx 7200 rpm issue? I just took a look at the Avid website and it does state 7200rpm drive. Nothing about it on the Apple Final Cut Pro page, though.

Did you swap out the drives?

Quote:

Bruce
5600 vx 7200 rpm issue?

I stayed with the standard 5400 RPM drive for better battery life. A friend had the 7200RPM and that was a concern he had raised. I don't have actual quantitative comparisons. If you tend to have AC power available most of the time you use the laptop, then the 7200RPM drive will respond a bit faster with apps. Typically I use external drives for media, so it's not an issue to have the slower drive for me. I think the newer machines come standard with 4GB RAM. That's a good amount. Not less.

Another consideration is expansion. The newer machines only offer Express34 slots in the 17" model.

- Oliver

------------------------
Oliver Peters
www.oliverpeters.com
Blog at digitalfilms.wordpress.com
Creative Editorial | Interactive Design