Getting so confussed! What do I buy? MacBookPro 13" for FCPX

So I have a very old macbook pro and since trying the new FCPX free trail I've decided to buy a new macbook pro...

I know I want it to be 13" but do I go for...

2.9GHZ i7 (non retina) - 8GB RAM - 500GB 5400rpm (and then buy a usb 3 1TB portable)
= cheapest

2.9GHZ i7 (non retina) - 8GB RAM - 1TB 5400rpm
= slightly more expensive but big HDD

2.8GHZ i7 retina - 16GB - 128GB Flash (and then buy a usb 3 1TB portable)
= getting more expensive but has retina, bigger ram and flash drie

My concerns are that could I put all my video on an external 5400rpm drive and usb 3.0 is fast enough for the video to edit smoothly. Or would it be best to have all video files inside the computer.

Money is tight so I just can't start looking at 256, 512 or 1tb of flash inside the box - so do i go for 1TB inside the box with the old non retina model and that would be fast than going for a newer model with double the ram and edit from an external hadd.

I'm just going round in circles. 8GB vs 16GB Ram - Internal 1TB 5400rpm vs external usb 3.0 1TB HDD and just a small 128GB flash hdd inside.


Would I notice the difference between the 2.9GHz non retina and the 2.8GHz retina?

Would the 2.9GHz 8GB Ram with internal 5400rpm hdd be faster editing video than the 2.8GHz 16GB Ram with the video coming from an external USB 3.0 5400rpm drive.

So many questions - but I am just going round in circles not knowing which way to go!

Many thanks,

Gareth

While portable, the 13" is is a small screen to edit with. I would look at the 15" and if your budget is limited then I would go for a refurbished MBPr.

This would be ideal for $1,829: store.apple.com/us/product/G0PY0LL/A/ref...-with-retina-display

Max out your RAM because you cannot upgrade it yourself. You can always go for USB3 or Thunderbolt external storage like you've already mentioned.

This is a great 1TB USB3/Thunderbolt external drive for ~$1874 /amzn.com/B008D4X9UI

All media should be located on an external storage so FCPX can maximize the internal drives performance speed.

The Retina Display is perfect for editing on the go to increase screen real estate.


Questions:
What type of editing are you doing?
For profit or hobby?
What are the specs on your current MBP and would you be comfortable with upgrading to SSD and RAM yourself?

Hi,

Sadly I'm based in the UK.

I'm editing video shot on my canon dslr - 1080 stuff 25fps h.264 and stuff from my contour helmet camera again 1080 25fps h.264.

It's all just a hobby!

My current 15" MacBook Pro is 2.66 GHz intel core 2 duo with 4GB ram and 320 GB hdd.

I want to go with ther 13" as I've found the 15" a bit to big for travelling and my idea is that i can do a lot of rough editing not he 13" on the move and for the final edit just hdmi it in to a proper big screen.

Do you really think an external hdd spinning at 5400rpm connected with usb 3.0 will have no problems whilst editing multi cam shots and won't stutter or fall over trying to run that much video?

Many thanks,

G

For rough cuts, an external USB3 HDD at 5400 rpm should suffice but I would do it at 'Proxy'. There are external HDD at 7400rpm. The bottle neck will definitely be the spinning drive.

At any rate,
+ get the most RAM
+ least amount of SSD to save cost
+ if you can splurge on the VRAM go for the 2GB (but only available on 15" so that's out.)


Get your third choice:

2.8GHZ i7 retina - 16GB - 128GB Flash (and then buy a usb 3 1TB portable)
= getting more expensive but has retina, bigger ram and flash drive

It's all limited by what your budget is. Which is???

Thank you for this - what do you mean when you say you would do it at 'proxy'?

G

When importing your media, you'll have options for FCPX to transcode your media to Optimized (ProRes 422) or Proxy (ProRes LT) or both. How long have you been editing in FCPX? If not long, I would invest in some video training (Ripple Training or others) or browse YouTube for tutorials.

I would suggest, max out the RAM, as post purchase upgrade of Retina MacBook Pro is very expensive and not always viable, max out the solid state drive you can buy, or go for USB 3.0. very fast throughput data rate.

You do not need a large internal system drive, the RAM and the external hard drive is important, think long and short term, do not make the mistake I made, hunk o junk rMBP with 4GB RAM, and no one here willing to commit to a price to upgrade, stuck with a very expensive email processor!!!

Great News... I was able to have my laptop replaced, the 4GB for the 8GB retina Macbook Pro. Will be busy for the next few weeks with updates, slow slow slow ADSL here....

Will let you know later just how the 8GB compares to the 4GB model.
Justine