Mac help urgently needed

EMA747

EMA747

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Andy
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This is slightly more video orientated that photography but I'm sure some of you can help me. I need some urgent advice on a used mac my friends shop will reserve for me but I need to act fast as they need to know by tomorrow really! Please read on.

I am going to get a Mac for on the move video editing. I am in the process of setting up a video production company. I have not really been a mac user so I am a bit undecided which to go for out of the following options. Please note I intend to use the latest version of Final Cut Pro with professional 422 Canon MXF files.

1) Get one of these from my video gear provider http://www.jigsaw24.com/product-deta...ebook-computer
Cost £1500

2) My friend works in a Mac refurb place, they do insurance refurbs. He just sent me this message as he knows I am looking for one.
"Had a word with my boss and we have a cracker Macbook pro in stock at the moment.

Its a Macbook pro 17" 2010 model.
Specs:
Intel Core 2 Duo 2.8Ghz
8GB DDR3 1066MHz RAM
500GB Hard Drive
Nvidia 9600M GT (with Nvidia 9400M as secondary device)

Cons:
Its second hand (obviously)
Mouse pad left click button is temperamental - but right click and tapping the pad works fine; you could always get an external wireless/USB mouse instead anyway.
It came in the shop to be fixed after it was water damaged, but everything has been replaced or fixed
2 month guarantee, but after that its a risk unless you get it insured with a separate company.


However, RRP = £1,849 (thats with 4GB RAM)
But for this one with 8GB RAM, he's said you can have it for £600."
Cost £600

Obviously the new one is better and has a warranty but the cost difference of £900 is big and is making me undecided. Any advice?

Thanks for any comments.
 
Last edited:
Your option 1) link doesn't work.

2)
It's got good spec for the price (for a mac).

Current Macbook specs:
http://www.apple.com/uk/macbook/specs.html

The Macbook Pro they are offering you is much better spec, for £200 cheaper. The water damage might concern me though, they say it's all been fixed or repaired, but if so, the touchpad problem would be easy to fix just by replacing it.

Only 2 months warranty, you might want to consider getting it insured as you are going to be taking it on the move. I would say the larger risk is accidental damage than part failure, but if some of the parts started breaking it could get quite expensive to repair. That said, it's not particularly old, and if they have actually repaired everything ok then part failure should be a small risk.

I've not used Final Cut Pro before, so I can't say too much about that. It should run fine on it, but as said I've not used it before.
 
That link works.

The biggest difference is the processor, the i7 is noticeably faster although annoyingly it doesn't say which i7 model it has.

Personally I don't think it's worth £900 more, although you would of course have full warranty and support etc.

Out of the two I would buy the refurbished £600 one in terms of value for money. You will have to consider your needs, and how resource intensive the program is.

Is this going to only be used for rough on site editing? Or is it going to be used as your main editing computer. You say you are setting up a video production company, could you afford to have the laptop out of action for a week or so whilst you got it repaired? A used computer isn't going to get the same support as a brand new one.

As said, if I was choosing between the two for myself I would go for the cheaper one, or consider different options, but my situation isn't the same as yours.
 
neil_g said:
i wouldnt look at a laptop for video editing to be honest, id be looking at a desktop with a good spec graphics card with the potential for twin screens.
Click to expand...

I would agree if it's going to be used as the main/only computer for editing, rather than on the move.
 
It's for basic editing and backup while out of the country. My desktop, while not state of the art, will do the trick for now in terms of main computer.

My brother is running one of the more recent FCP versions on a Macbook that is lesser spec and it seems to handle it fairly well. It's more the risk of buying this used one that is of concern right now. I'm reluctant to plough tens of thousands into a full editing suit before my business has even really go off the ground.
 
I say the used macbook pro.

You can test everything is working fine when you get it, battery status, hard drive etc, and if everything is working fine there is no reason it's going to break significantly sooner than a brand new one.
 
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