Do I need more Mac?

Do I need a bigger Mac? Apple doesn't seem to want to give away this information, so I'd like to open up the question to the world of opinion. I'm a semi-pro photographer, use lightroom and photoshop often with my 07 Macbook (Intel Core 2.2, 2Gig Ram) and external monitor. The macbook has performed fine. But I started timelapse photography, basically getting into rendering video through photoshop and quicktime. I'll be getting Final Cut soon and exploring timelapse video even more. So here's the question: I'm patient with computer speed and like not to over-do it with technology. Am I going to cook my Macbook making it work this hard? The fans are nearly always running now, and sometimes it sounds like the fans are going to explode through my keyboard. Can the Macbook handle video and photo work, albeit slowly, or am I setting up for a melted macbook? I'd rather sell it and make money BEFORE I cook it, than run it into the ground within the next year. Any tips? I don't need a notebook, so I'm considering a new iMac. The mac pro seems like overkill. (I am after all still just a carpenter by day). Thanks to anyone with advice or insight.

Andy
Kestrel View Productions

Video is always going to max out any computer.

My advice, if you have the money get a faster new IMac, otherwise the MacBook will be just fine

I would also get a new iMac with an updated processor and 4gigs of RAM, especially if you're going for Final Cut down the road.

But I don't think the MacBook will melt down either, it will sooner shutdown to prevent any damage and it's still a nice computer, maybe a memory upgrade to speed things up?

And yes, the Mac Pro is overkill. Although I wouldn't mind getting my hands on the beautiful overkill machine

Thanks guys. I'll start saving now and make the macbook work for now. Cheers

If your aim is time lapse and not video editing, you might want to look at alternatives to Final Cut. There are applications dedicated to time lapse and stop animation that may make more sense.

Since it sounds like you'll have the machine for another year, a cooling device that goes under laptops maybe a good investment.

When you do upgrade, buy a machine with a discreet graphics processor. It looks like the new iMac models just released all have this feature. Not all past models do.