Cons of the 13'' MBP for editing

B.Snow

B.Snow

Active member
I'm going to be buying a new laptop this summer for editing, and I'm just wondering if the 13'' macbook pro would work. The new processors seem fast enough, I would be able to expand the memory, and as for the small screen, I could just use an external monitor. The only thing that I really see as a disadvantage of the 13'' is that it doesn't have a dedicated graphics card. Can someone tell me if this is a huge deal or not, and what the major disadvantages are with not having a graphics card.
Thanks,
 
I can't speak to the dedicated graphics card, so this is kind of a My Threads post for that.

However, I will say that I have been editing video in Final Cut Pro for about a year and I wish I would have gotten something a little bit bigger. The speed suits my needs since I am working on projects as a hobby. I have a 22" external monitor, but if I'm ever off of it I am dissapointed I didn't go for a bigger screen. It would have been worth it to spend a little more for me, but if you are always going to have it on a nice big external monitor then you shouldn't have to worry about it (although I would ask...if that's the case why not go with an iMac? Way more for the money).
 
Ye I've thought about going with an imac for sure, but I really like being able to move around my house and stuff. My parents just bought one like 2 months ago too so I can just use that sometimes when I'm at home.

 
Well in that case I'd strongly recommend a 15" :)

I can't remember, but I think that would solve your graphics card dilemma as well. It's definitely worth the money when you consider that your computer will last about 4 years before you want to upgrade.
 
The new 13" MBP's have the i5's in them, render times would be pretty slick, Im using a dual core 13" from 2010 to edit on, I use a dual screen set-up with a 23" monitor, I edit 1080p footage pretty nicely, even when the clips are color corrected the integrated graphics card can handle it to an extent. Like implied above, which is your main intent, editing on the go or editing from a desk? From a desk the 13" is fine, especially with an external monitor. Summary of Cons based on use: Small screen for on the go, small/slow internal hard drive, integrated graphics card can get bogged down when applying multiple effects to clips, with dual core processor render times can get slow.
 
I think when it comes to editing and shit, the graphics card really isn't THAT important. It definitely has some effect but if you're just looking to edit and fuck around, you should be okay with the 13.
 
Thanks for all the info guys... In response to some of the questions that people were asking:
I plan on editing mostly at home and sometimes on the go. I would definitely get an external monitor for at home though. I'll be using FCP to edit and all my footage will be 1080p. I'm leaning towards getting the 13'' with the i7 processor and upping the memory to 8gigs. I feel like this would be pretty solid unless the graphics card was a huge deal.
 
I use a 13" nigbook without a dedicated graphics card and it won't let me render/playback clips with magic bullet looks or smoothcam. kind of annoying...
 
I'm also in the same dilemma and I'm also learning towards the 13in i7 model. This model is faster than the best model from last year which was the 15 or 17in i7. And you could upgrade RAM to 8gbs like you said and also get a 7200rpm harddrive for under $200. And it would still be cheaper than the cheapest 15in. model. I'm still waiting to see how the 15in. 2ghz quadcore performs to actually make a decision but I'm so used to carrying around my 13in. black macbook that I think going to the 15 isn't going to make it a bit harder and annoying to carry around.
 
Isn't that also because it doesn't have enough VRAM to use those programs? I know the new ones have 384mb of SDRAM and I know my Black macbook had like 32mb of VRAM. I don't really know though so any info on that would help.
 
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