Finally upgrading...Please HELP

Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014
Hi All



I have run my POWERPC G5 Dual 2gig for 5 years now, and am thinking of switching to a MACBOOK PRO.

I mainly use my mac to run



FINAL CUT PRO

MPEGSTREAMCLIP (to re-encode 1080p H.264 video to PRORESHQ422)

PHOTOSHOP

AFTER EFFECTS & FLASH



I use FCP to cut HD video @ PRORES 422 HQ @ 1080p & 720p....and color correct in After effects.



Question: Is there a MACBOOK capable of comfortably handling this workflow?



If so, how much does the best MACBOOK PRO outshine my current older G5 desktop?



Cheers



Justin

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 8
    I expect the next upgrade of the MBP line in January. And an i7 quadcore machine to be the flagship. That's the machine you will want! With 8GB of RAM it will scream through your workflow.
  • Reply 2 of 8
    Just wondering how the fastest current macbook pro would compare to my dual 2gig G5
  • Reply 3 of 8
    MarvinMarvin Posts: 15,309moderator
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by justinheaney View Post


    Just wondering how the fastest current macbook pro would compare to my dual 2gig G5



    The 3.06GHz MBP scores 3989 in geekbench whereas the dual G5 scores around 1800.



    It's about double the speed, which makes sense because the architecture is more advanced plus the clock speed is 50% higher. The other MBP models are here for comparison:



    http://www.primatelabs.ca/blog/2009/...rks-june-2009/



    I think you'd be better off holding out for Arrandale as they are hyper-threaded and will run cooler being a 32nm part. Hopefully they will also come with upgraded GPUs.



    Make sure to get at least 4GB Ram and a 7200 rpm hard drive.
  • Reply 4 of 8
    Thanks



    Double speed sounds great, however is there any aspect of even an old G5 that outperforms even the latest macbookpro?

    I guess I'm just curious if switching to portable mac doesn't have any hidden downsides in performance in certain areas, be it harddrive, graphics etc....



    Cheers



    Justin
  • Reply 5 of 8
    MarvinMarvin Posts: 15,309moderator
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by justinheaney View Post


    Double speed sounds great, however is there any aspect of even an old G5 that outperforms even the latest macbookpro?



    The hard drive possibly would but that's why you should get the 7200rpm version. If you haven't replaced the original G5 drive, you may even find a speed boost from a modern 7200rpm laptop drive as they use perpendicular recording.



    The 256MB NVidia 9600M GT in the MBP will be much faster than the 64MB Radeon 9600 Pro by about 4-5x and will have full GPU acceleration support in Final Cut and After Effects.
  • Reply 6 of 8
    Thanks for that.

    Looks like a MBP is a no-brainer



    Cheers



    Justin
  • Reply 7 of 8
    MarvinMarvin Posts: 15,309moderator
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by justinheaney View Post


    Thanks for that.

    Looks like a MBP is a no-brainer



    You could get a refurb Mac Pro too.



    If you were planning on getting the 3.06GHz MBP with 8GB Ram and a 7200rpm hard drive, Apple's price is $3249. Even the refurb is $2749 with 4GB Ram.



    In the refurb store, there is an 8-core 2.26GHz Nehalem Mac Pro with 6GB Ram for $2799:



    http://store.apple.com/us/product/FB...co=MTMxNDMwOTI



    There is a 3.2GHz 8-core Penryn for $500 more but the Nehalem model will be better value as it has 16 threads and faster Ram:



    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9feMTI-BIE



    The 2.26GHz Nehalem and 3.2GHz Penryn get about the same Geekbench score of 12000 - 3 times faster than the Macbook Pro for pretty much the same price.



    If you want to get renders finished in the fastest time possible, go for the Nehalem Mac Pro. If you want a decent upgrade over your current machine with the benefit of portability, go for the Macbook Pro.



    I'd personally get the laptop because I don't like having such a huge machine as the Mac Pro lying around. It's much easier to sell laptops on eBay too because you don't have to pay nearly so much for shipping and you can simply carry it into an Apple Store if it needs repaired.



    Not sure how much performance the Arrandale (mobile Nehalem) chips arriving in January will have over the Core 2 Duo but if it's the same jump as the desktop models, they will be a great upgrade.
  • Reply 8 of 8
    backtomacbacktomac Posts: 4,579member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Marvin View Post


    You could get a refurb Mac Pro too.



    If you were planning on getting the 3.06GHz MBP with 8GB Ram and a 7200rpm hard drive, Apple's price is $3249. Even the refurb is $2749 with 4GB Ram.



    In the refurb store, there is an 8-core 2.26GHz Nehalem Mac Pro with 6GB Ram for $2799:



    http://store.apple.com/us/product/FB...co=MTMxNDMwOTI



    There is a 3.2GHz 8-core Penryn for $500 more but the Nehalem model will be better value as it has 16 threads and faster Ram:



    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9feMTI-BIE



    The 2.26GHz Nehalem and 3.2GHz Penryn get about the same Geekbench score of 12000 - 3 times faster than the Macbook Pro for pretty much the same price.



    If you want to get renders finished in the fastest time possible, go for the Nehalem Mac Pro. If you want a decent upgrade over your current machine with the benefit of portability, go for the Macbook Pro.



    I'd personally get the laptop because I don't like having such a huge machine as the Mac Pro lying around. It's much easier to sell laptops on eBay too because you don't have to pay nearly so much for shipping and you can simply carry it into an Apple Store if it needs repaired.



    Not sure how much performance the Arrandale (mobile Nehalem) chips arriving in January will have over the Core 2 Duo but if it's the same jump as the desktop models, they will be a great upgrade.



    If he's thinking of desktops why not at least mention the new iMacs with the Nehalem processors? It would crush his G5 PM even more so than a MBP. He can almost get a 2.6 ghz Quad core iMac and a 13" MB for the cost of a 17" MBP.
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