10-29-2007, 09:46 AM

Hi,

First thing!

- I live in the UK and a friend is going to pick me up a MacBook Pro or a Black Macbook next week in the States... Is there any problem with this?? With regards to power supply/warranty?

- Secondly, i'm new to using MAC in general but I'm keen to use my new laptop for Video Editing and also for music production and live sets... the question is:

Should I go for the Pro or the Black Macbook?? If it's the pro - what the lowest spec i could get away with for final cut vid editing!

THANKS!
Seb

10-29-2007, 10:18 AM

i would go with the pro. If you have the money now, your going to wish you have gotten the pro. I have the macbook now and i kinda regret it. They are AWSOME machines, but they are constructed very poorly. The plastic separates from eachother ALOT and scratches really easy. Metal>plastic any day. GO PRO

10-29-2007, 10:25 AM

Definitely go for the pro, you will need the extra video memory to do editing. Always buy the best you can afford and then add extra ram (not from Apple, its far too expensive).

10-29-2007, 10:42 AM

yeah I suggest crucial or crosair for RAM max it out at 4 gigs i would get the 15" for portability the 17 is just too big

10-29-2007, 11:04 AM

Thanks a lot!

Probably going to have to go for one of the cheapest PRO's you can get though and yes 15" definately!

$2,300 Dollars should get a pretty decent pro shouldn't it??

Thanks for your help again!

10-29-2007, 12:05 PM

Not sure about the warranty, I don't think it's a problem, but I don't know for sure.

About the computer though... get the Pro; it is a significantly more powerful machine in many respects than the regular MacBook. You could get away with the base model just fine.

That being said, I'd encourage you to consider a couple of upgrades. First, consider getting the 160gb/7200rpm hard drive. It's a $225 upgrade (on the 2.2GHz model; $150 on the other models) at the time of purchase, and if you call around you should be able to find an Apple store that has a 2.2GHz machine with the 7.2k drive in stock. It will make a dramatic difference in loading times, boot times, and rendering times (if you save your movies to the internal drive).

Also, upgrade it to 4GB of RAM. DON'T buy the machine with 4GB... Apple charges $700 to upgrade it to 4GB, when the RAM is available for <$200us. But definitely upgrade it.

You might also consider going for the 2.4GHz model, but unless you have the budget for the 2.4GHz model AND the RAM and hard drive upgrades, don't bother. You'd be much better off with a 2.2GHz machine with 4GB of RAM and a 7.2k drive than you would with the base 2.4GHz machine.

10-29-2007, 12:08 PM

I had the same choice, a Pro or MacBook Black... I chose the latter, with some regret. However, as it was my very 1st new Mac purchase, and I was still a Windows baby, I didn't quite want to spend the $2300 or whatever, as opposed to $1700.

The Pro gets you a bigger screen dedicated gfx and some nice features like Firewire800 and a backlit screen.

My next Mac, without a doubt, will be a Pro line portable. Having said all that, the MacBook is a very capable beast.

10-29-2007, 12:45 PM

hi, in regards to compatiblity of your macbook/mbp there will be no problem just buy a travel adapter from a place such as WHSmith or Argos etc, i was going to purchase one from the States and did some research into this myself and i can tell you , you will have no problems. In the end i went for a UK macbook because of the issues of getting apple care and if it were to breakdown it would mean a trip to the states and further questions about adress etc. I looked into the MBP but i decided for the top range Whitebook (not black because i prefer the white to the black and im not going to fork out an extra £70 to have an extra 40 gb of HD space!) i got the macbook for 4 reasons:
I prefer the portability
It was still going to be 4 times more powerful as my desktop pc (IN terms of Ram)
This is my first mac and its a VERY powerful and sleek comp to get me immersed in the OS, that is in a league of its own.
I am using the macbook for education based tasks like web browsing, word processing, making the odd powerpoint/keynote, making dvds/cds , VERY light editing etc.... So i just didn't need it, and although for vanity i could've bought it and shown off to my friends, it wasnt worth the extra £500, but that's just me. If you NEED the macbook pro and can afford it then get it, however if you don't then i would stick to your needs and not your wants. Is the vid + music editing a hobby or an occupation?

10-29-2007, 02:16 PM

I don't know if this is true, but a buddy of mine is spending about 4 months in Europe, he took is MacBook Pro with him. Now he told me that he was hoping that there was Wifi anytime he needed internet access because there's a difference between American and European ethernet connections. He said something about data going different directions in the two variations and that if he hardwired his Mac to an internet connection over there it'd fry it. Anybody ever heard of that?

If it's true then you'll want to be wary of that globalseb if your friend is buying your computer over here...

10-29-2007, 03:57 PM

Originally Posted by Sexy Patrol

I don't know if this is true, but a buddy of mine is spending about 4 months in Europe, he took is MacBook Pro with him. Now he told me that he was hoping that there was Wifi anytime he needed internet access because there's a difference between American and European ethernet connections. He said something about data going different directions in the two variations and that if he hardwired his Mac to an internet connection over there it'd fry it. Anybody ever heard of that?

If it's true then you'll want to be wary of that globalseb if your friend is buying your computer over here...

In a word, no. Ethernet connections are universal. I regularly use my US MacBook in the UK and in Germany.

10-29-2007, 03:59 PM

yes what zoolook said

10-29-2007, 06:46 PM

Thanks for all the responses so far, they're really useful! As is the quashed Ethernet connection rumour...phew.

I'm gunning for the PRO because I am looking to use it for work as well as play, the Macbook would be good for lugging around to shows but I think the PRO has it.

Thanks again!
Seb