Video Editing

The major things I do with my laptop is edit photos, and editing videos.

I currently use Adobe Premiere, Adobe After Effects, Corel VideoStudio Pro X4, Adobe Photoshop, and Adobe Lightroom.

My current specs are:

• Intel Core i7-720QM
• ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5730
• 17.3" 900p Screen
• 4GB RAM
• 500GB HDD

This laptop cost me around $1200.

I'm curious if I should keep my current laptop or move to an Apple so I can use iMovie, Final Cut, etc. I'm thinking about keeping my current laptop or switching to an Apple MacBook Pro 13" for specs around $1200 or less.

Is iMovie, Final Cut, and so on worth it? It seems like my specs are way better than the MacBook Pro but if it can handle video editing and photo editing better is what I'm wondering about.

 

You will have to invest a lot of money to switch. iMovie is free with a new Mac but really a low end fun consumer product compared t the Adobe programs you are currently using. Final cut is pretty good but not better than the Adobe programs your using. Of course the Adobe programs are also available for OSX but I think you would need to but them again in the Mac version.

The MBP 13" will not perform better than your current system. Also the low resolution screen will not be ideal for video editing. I would recommend you get the MBP 15" with the high res option. If it is too expensive I would stick with what you are currently using.

 

You would have to invest into a new licence to use Adobe in Mac OS.

What's wrong with your current laptop. The specs are awesome. Instead of buying another laptop I would suggest to possibly upgrade your HDD to an SDD one. They are a bit expensive but much faster. Then use your old 500GB HDD for backup.

 

If you call Adobe, they will often do a one time license change from Windows to Mac, without forcing you to re-buy things... always worth a shot.

 

Make the decision based on software. If you're happy using what you're using, keep the Windows machine because it'll all run on Windows.

If you try Final Cut (& I mean try it out, not spend a few grand on a Mac and a copy of it just to see whether you like it, as you seem to be proposing here!!) and decide you can't live without it - some people do, some people prefer Premiere or Avid or Vegas or whatever - then take a proper look into the costs of getting a Mac.

But at the moment you seem to be considering spending a huge amount of money changing your whole workflow and tools over because you heard it might be better, without any real research as to whether it will suit the way you work.

 

Wait for FCP upgrade if you want to go that route. There were plenty of bugs in last version and we are waiting to see what surprises are in the next one, which is rumored to come out soon.

 

Final cut and premier pro were designed by the same lead designer. They are almost identical in operation. Some of the effects and filters are different, but even the GUI is so close you can go back and forth between the two with 0 learning curve.

Your laptop's specs are quite nice. Switching is not something i can recommend for you.

In a few years once your laptop dies or becomes long in the tooth you may consider switching again. But right now it's just money down the drain IMO.

I use adobe programs daily including Premier Pro. In University I had to use final cut on the lab computers. I speak from experience.

 

As previously pointed out, you are going to get a weaker system (in terms of multi-tasking and graphical performance) if you spend $1200 on a MacBook Pro (MBP) now. The dual-core Core i5 processor in the 13" MBP performs better than the i7 you are currently using when not multi-tasking but it is weaker by the time you add in running other programs at once (due to the nature of dual-core hyper threaded processors compared to quad-core hyper threaded chips).

All-in-all, you would have to spend much more money to not only buy a new MBP with a higher resolution display (which is required for video editing) along with video editing software. You could easily spend over $3000 to do all of this just so you could switch platforms. It would have been better for you to start out using a MBP back when you purchased your current notebook (though it would have been more than $1200). It is pretty much too late to switch now for that type of budget.

Instead, there are other things you can do that will increase performance of your notebook. Upgrade the RAM to its maximum capacity (likely 8GB, that will cost you ~$85), slap in a fast SSD drive that will house Windows and all of your installed programs, and go with an external monitor if you want a higher resolution display when you are docked at home. You could do all of that for around $500-$600 depending on the monitor and SSD drive you buy.

Right now, there is absolutely no reason for you to switch unless running Mac OS X specific software is required. I recently switched to Mac OS X and it was rather expensive. Not only was my MBP $1400 ($1500 with taxes) but I had to buy Microsoft Office, AutoCAD, Parallels, MATLAB, and a Windows 7 license so I could run it under Parallels in OS X giving me access to a few Windows only programs. Luckily my university book store was selling Office for $5, AutoCAD for $10, MATLAB for $20, Parallels for $5, and Windows 7 Ultimate x64 for $7. Otherwise I don't think I could have afforded to switch platforms.

 

Shadowdare, is that an Asus? If it is the specs are exactly like mine and I've done amazing things with the laptop. My advice to you is do what I'm doing. Use the laptop to its fullest use (warranty is up etc.) and then when you are going to buy a new laptop, make it a Mac, technologies by then will be much better and the ones they are selling now may be able to get at refurbished prices.

The only thing my laptop lacks is battery life (it has about 2 hours), however, I'm considering just using a tablet (Playbook or IPAD) if I need anything longer than a few hours battery life for now.

KornChild....where is your uni book store? Those are some very good prices that I would love.