Hey, all you stuck up Mac users, I have a question for you!

[Johnboy976]

Okay, I created the title to get your attention. I am wanting to do some video editing work that will help out with my ministry (youth), and I am looking for a good Mac that will utilize this best. I don't want to spend too much money, but if the Macbook and the Pro's performances will be that much different, I want to pick the better product. Since Final Cut will work on both computers, I want to see if I can get some input from y'all as to what is best... Or should I just stick with a notebook PC?

[Conan71]

My daughter who is in design arts at OU would tell shame you into a Mac Book Pro.

[sgrizzle]

I don't use final cut studio but the price difference is very minimal between the MB and 13" MBP for a significant spec bump in both performance, materials, and ports. I'm only a recent mac convert and bought a macbook used on craigslist "to try out" a few months ago and ended up using it daily.

With video, disk space may be an issue. I replaced my 40G drive with a 500G drive in a couple of hours on my macbook, pretty simple.

[abryant]

johnboy, I'll shame you into a MacBookPro 15 inch, 17 inch is too bulky to cart around.  I won't really shame you but if you plan on focusing on video editing, you will most definitely want to get their largest drive as well as a external hard drive on the side to backup stuff (which you can find some great deals out there for 1 & 2 Terabytes).  With rendering and such you don't want to scrimp on the capacity of your Mac, so if you are get it, get the largest they have.  Regarding FCP, for a lower cost Final Cut Express will be all you need.  It does pretty much everything FCP does except for some detailed bells and whistles.  I converted back to Mac last year after 15 years of misery.  Once you go Mac, you'll never go back.

[sgrizzle]

Once you go Mac, you'll never go back.

I can believe this.

[Johnboy976]

Alright, so you guys have convinced me to get a Mac... actually, so did this article: http://www.macworld.com/article/139252/2009/03/15inch_macbookpro.html

Here is what I am considering for my choice of computer: Apple MacBook Pro MC118LL/A 15.4-Inch Laptop 2.53 GHz, 250 GB HDD

It's median priced, so it will last me five years (excluding the battery). Likewise, I figure it's a wise choice since I also don't have to shell out $300 for minimal upgrades. I already have a 1Tb external, so I should be adequately covered for space. Thoughts?

[sgrizzle]

Alright, so you guys have convinced me to get a Mac... actually, so did this article: http://www.macworld.com/article/139252/2009/03/15inch_macbookpro.html

Here is what I am considering for my choice of computer: Apple MacBook Pro MC118LL/A 15.4-Inch Laptop 2.53 GHz, 250 GB HDD

It's median priced, so it will last me five years (excluding the battery). Likewise, I figure it's a wise choice since I also don't have to shell out $300 for minimal upgrades. I already have a 1Tb external, so I should be adequately covered for space. Thoughts?

Time Machine is one of the best programs ever invented, so I got an external hard drive just for backups. It requires it to be formatted specifically for the mac to run time machine on. Might consider getting a small 250 or 300G for system backups and use the 1TB for your raw video storage.