New MacBook

[Michael Thames]

My graphics card is dying a slow painful death, so I was thinking of just getting a new logic board, or should I just bite the bullet and get a new MacBook?  The one I have now is a 2010, i7 2.66 ghz dual core, which seems to serve my purposes well.  I do mostly video stuff with my 5D3 in snow leopard with FCP6, I'm not a professional video guy, I'm a guitar maker who likes to make videos of guys and girls who play my guitars as well as offer some tutorials on guitar making. 

 

I guess if I get a new MacBook FCP6 won't work any more so I've got to get FCP X.... but, I digress.

 

The question I have here is for editing video will I notice any significant difference between a 2.0 quad core, a 2.3 or a 2.8?  Remember, I'm used to things on my MacBook with 2.66 GHZ dual core and 8 gigs of ram, and a regular hard drive.   So I'm going up to a potential 2.0 to 2.8 GHZ with an SSD drive and 16 gigs of ram.  Maybe a 2.0 will seem incredibly fast compared to my old Mac?  I only care about the speed as it relates to video speed and rendering. 

 

Here is the kinda stuff I do if any one interested.

 

 

 

 

[jonpais]

The slowest component in your computer is the hard drive, and you will experience performance that is ten times better just by upgrading to SSD. I only have experience with the 15" rMBP 2013 2.0 and I can assure you it is lightning fast. My mistake was getting the model with 250GB SSD and 8GB RAM. Storage size is no biggie, since I prefer fast attached storage to using the boot drive for editing but 16GB RAM is the minimum you should have for video editing. I would also suggest getting the one with Nvidia graphics card, not Iris Pro. You can always google for benchmarks between CPUs. Absolutely go with the 15" MB though, not the 13". At the risk of repeating myself, unless you must go portable, a 27" iMac is much more practical than a MacBook.

[jonpais]

Here is the link to a great little site that has comparisons and shopping advice for Macs, including benchmarks for all the CPUs you inquired about:

 

http://www.everymac.com/systems/apple/macbook/index-macbook.html

 

I upgraded from a 2011 MacBook with an aftermarket Samsung 840 drive and I was overwhelmed by the responsiveness, so I'm sure whichever model you choose, you will be too.

[EeeCeeGee]

I agree with jopais. I also switched the factory HD with a samsung 840basic 500 GB SSD. My Macbook is a mid 2010 i5 and it's running quit fast now.

[jonpais]

Fixing the laptop will easily run over $600, and replacing your slow HDD with a high performance SSD like the 840 another $500 (for 500GB), so I would definitely bite the bullet and invest in a new machine.

[Michael Thames]

Thank you Jonpais, you have been much help!  I was on the bench between just replacing the logic board, and a new macbook.  Hearing of these blazing fast speeds is more than my little heart can take. I must get a new one.

 

I found this one from Mac Mall it's cheaper or the same price as the most basic MacBook at the apple store so I guess there is no question any more as to what processor speed to choose from, I'll just get the 2.8 

 

Apple ZOPZ2LL/A 15.4" MacBook Pro with Retina display, quad-core Intel Core i7 2.8GHz, 16GB RAM, 768GB Flash Storage, Intel HD Graphics 4000, 1GB GDDR5 NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M (Turbo Boost up to 3.8GHz)

$2299.00

 

Am I correct to assume that FCP6 isn't supported in Mavericks?  That being the case looks like an additional cost of $299.00 for Final Cut X.

 

Resistance is futile!  I've held off long enough getting FCX..... hope it isn't too much different than FCP6. 

[Michael Thames]

I agree with jopais. I also switched the factory HD with a samsung 840basic 500 GB SSD. My Macbook is a mid 2010 i5 and it's running quit fast now.

 

I've never used an SSD drive before..... really looking forward to the wondrous experiance!  

 

Mine is a 2010 as well...... about 6 months ago I started to see green flickering in the blacks on my screen.  I took it to a repair shop while I was in Bangkok a couple of months ago and the guy told me it was the graphics card.  I thought great I'll just get a new graphics card..... then he told me it was inseparable from the mother of all cards, the logic board. 

 

He said he could fix it but that it was risky either it would be successful or a disaster, the procedure involved a hair dyer and heating up the graphics card so the connections would reform.  I opted out.  

 

Sometimes the green flickering goes away for months at a time but lately it's reappeared and goes away after my computer warms up..... but I'm sure one day it will be Kaput! 

[Michael Thames]

Fixing the laptop will easily run over $600, and replacing your slow HDD with a high performance SSD like the 840 another $500 (for 500GB), so I would definitely bite the bullet and invest in a new machine.

 

I think I could probably replace the logic board myself, I've seen a few tutorials on this.  I might fix this one and leave the spinner 1TB hard drive in it, and either keep it around for surfing the web, or just give it to my son. 

[jonpais]

Let us know how it works out, Michael. I must say I'm a little envious - I wish someone had advised me before picking up my current MacBook. The trouble is, most sites that evaluate performance aren't videocentric, and video is one of the most demanding tasks for a computer. On the other hand, it is what spurred me to get the iMac, so now I have the best of both worlds. And now you'll be able to work with LUTs, Neat Video, DaVinci Resolve and even 4K, probably without a hiccup. Because of VAT here in Vietnam, I paid much more for a considerably less equipped MacBook. I have a question about your video: did you just set it up on a tripod and prefocus before rolling? In a couple of shots, it looks as though the camera is shaking while you are shaving away, almost as if the camera was on the same support as the guitar. The sound is very impressive, though. What are you using? Not the in-camera mic, I imagine...

 

I see so many professional filmmakers balking at spending a couple thousand dollars on their computer, while at the same time, they are willing to spend several times that on camera bodies and equipment, which I still fail to understand. In many cases, it appears to be a case of just looking at immediate needs, rather than possible future demands. For example, today I might only be shooting 24p MOV files at 28 MB/s, while tomorrow I might need to process RAW, 4K 60p or something else equally processor intensive. A fast computer can save a day or more each week in time spent rendering, allowing you to spend more time shooting or with your family, as well as reducing stress levels. Some people, myself included, actually used to have feelings of aggression toward my computer because of the enormous amount of time it took to do tasks like rewrapping AVCHD. In fact, if you keep your laptop for five years, it will only cost around $1.50/day.

 

/edit/ since your new rMBP is equipped with Thunderbolt 2, you would be able to take advantage of RAID drives with read and write speeds of over 1,300 MB/s, almost double that of the boot drive. Of course, you don't need that now, but that's what I mean when I talk about future needs. No USB 3 peripheral can attain performance like that.

[Michael Thames]

Jonpais, your in Vietnam?  Lucky you!  My wife is from Thailand and we have some land there, hope to build a house soon and relocate there in the not to distant future.  

 

Ha ha!  It feels like yesterday when I got my old Mac, and now have to get another one!  Just like when I got my Canon XH-A1 back in 2008.....ended up selling it last fall and getting the 5D3....... it never ends!  I just got a Canon 70 to 200 f4 non IS lens and got more excited about that than getting a new computer....... it's about as electrifying as buying tires for my old truck!  But now I'm being seduced hearing about unworldly fast speeds and visions of new software, not to mention being able to edit in full 1080!  

 

About the video, I'm at a disadvantage because I am a one man team trying to shoot myself without any help.  It becomes rather limited. I just got a Shark slider (love it) two weeks ago and this video was the first experiment in using it.  I think some of the shaking was due to putting tripod on top of my work bench so while I was working it shook the table as well.  Also, I noticed when mounting my camera on the slider on top of a fluid head the camera sits very high and any movement will cause it to shake.  I tried using my follow focus but that entailed using rods and it mounted even higher resulting in not being able to use the follow focus because any little touch would shake the camera.  I think I need a lower head to mount the 5D3.  

 

Here is a photo, and that's without the rods and follow focus........ any advice would be highly appreciated! 

 

[jonpais]

Very cool... I would think that the slider is reducing stability quite a bit. Perhaps mounting the slider across two tripods? Or spreading the tripod legs further apart? But you probably don't have a surplus of space in the workshop...

[Michael Thames]

Some bit of good news.  A friend on Facebook told me his graphics card went out as well on a 2007 Macbook 3 years after apple care was finish and Apple fixed it for free because they had some defective ones.  He suggested I call them to see if the Graphics card in mine is also defective....... I'll give them a call tomorrow. 

[jonpais]

I hope it works out. For others wondering the same thing, that is, which CPU is best, if you're on a budget, for better performance, it's wiser to invest in extra RAM and external storage. 

[Michael Thames]

Very cool... I would think that the slider is reducing stability quite a bit. Perhaps mounting the slider across two tripods? Or spreading the tripod legs further apart? But you probably don't have a surplus of space in the workshop...

I think the slider is very stable, I did some tests with the extensions with two tripods as you suggested and it was fine.  I think the problem is with my lack of skill in moving it slowly and the fact it's rather top heavy.  The first place to start is to perhaps take the battery grip off.  In a number of those shots I was sliding as well as panning.

[Michael Thames]

I hope it works out. For others wondering the same thing, that is, which CPU is best, if you're on a budget, for better performance, it's wiser to invest in extra RAM and external storage. 

 

Yes, this is true as I'm discovering thanks to you guys here.  However, I found a MacBook with Retina display, 2.8 GHZ, 750 SSD, 16 gig of Ram for $2,299.00.  A Macbook pro on the Apple site with a 2.0 GHZ, 250 SSD drive, and Irs pro, comes in at 1899,00 not too much savings over a fully loaded one....... but the sale only lasts until Monday, so I must make up my mind over the week end. 

[Michael Thames]

Well Jonpais, I did it!  Overnight delivery for tomorrow.......... thanks for all your helpful advice.

[jonpais]

Wao! Very nice. If I'm not mistaken, your old Macbook only has USB2 ports, the new one has 2 USB3s, so if you pick up any new portable drives, they will also have transfer speeds that are ten times quicker. I haven't researched it yet, but you'd probably better start checking about FCP6 compatibility with Mavericks. Your new laptop is also rated at something like 9 or 10 hours battery life, best in class.

[andrgl]

any advice would be highly appreciated!

Possible solutions: use a wider lens, turn on IS, and/or get a ton of practice.

If you're using EF lenses with auto-focus (pretty sure that's a canon zoom you have in that picture,) then you should look into a USB focus controller.

Just a thought.

[Michael Thames]

Wao! Very nice. If I'm not mistaken, your old Macbook only has USB2 ports, the new one has 2 USB3s, so if you pick up any new portable drives, they will also have transfer speeds that are ten times quicker. I haven't researched it yet, but you'd probably better start checking about FCP6 compatibility with Mavericks. Your new laptop is also rated at something like 9 or 10 hours battery life, best in class.

I thought it came with Mavericks but it comes with Mountain Lion.... strange.  FCP6 does work on Mountain Lion, that said, I will get FCX today and start the painful process of learning another software.  I have looked at some tutorials and FCX looks very user friendly perhaps more so than FCP6.  I'm excited to finally make the jump to FCX.  FCX, got some very bad reviews when it first came out, so I never bothered to move to it, but now it seems they got their act together. 

 

I use Reaper for my audio DAW and last time I went to Mountain Lion, Reaper did not like it very much, it was very buggy, however, I've heard it is now compatible with ML.  

 

I think in the real world the battery life is more around 6 hours on this 15 inch, according to some YouTube reviews, on the 13inch it's better. The new ones have the battery glued in so you can never take it out!  

 

 

 

I record all my audio (Music) on a separate recorder (Metric Halo) with a couple modified mics from Michael Jolly, then sink up the audio and video with Pluraleyes.  Getting Pluraleyes on to my new comp might be a challenge and I bought it before Red Giant took it over.  I really can't live without Pluraleyes! 

 

Someone told me Premier Pro has video and audio sinking, does FCX have that as well? 

[Michael Thames]

Possible solutions: use a wider lens, turn on IS, and/or get a ton of practice.

If you're using EF lenses with auto-focus (pretty sure that's a canon zoom you have in that picture,) then you should look into a USB focus controller.

Just a thought.

 

Thanks andrgl, I do have the IS turn on at all times, the 24 to 105 can sense if it's on a tripod or not, so no need to ever turn it off.  

 

Thanks for the recommendation I will get a USB focus controller, looks like the way to go!  I have a Kamerar follow focus I bought for a $100 in Bangkok recently but I never use it, the USB FC is a much better solution to my needs. 

 

I believe I used a Canon 70-200 F4 non IS for most of this video either on the slider or a tripod, this combined with an already top heavy rig I think helped contribute to the shakes...... the slider is extremely stable, and very smooth. 

 

 I also have a 50mm 1.4, but I have to say despite the obvious image quality drop from the 70-200 and the 50mm, the 24-105 is much more versatile for my needs in my relatively small space.