Is Mac book pro useful for Video Editing and VFX Work?

There is nobody from Apple here . . . just Mac users like yourself.

What you suggest looks pretty close to top of the line and should be fine.

For over 6 years I have been using a 2008 Core2Duo iMac with 4GB RAM for 1920x1080 editing and have just upgraded to a new but discontinued (2012) i3 Mac mini again with 4GB RAM.

Many others are using similar low powered computers to successfully edit hi-def video.

The point I am making is the MBP you detail will have loads of power.

Personally I would get a 27" iMac rather than the MBP as you will get more bangs for your buck and the huge screen is extremely useful when editing video.

I also have a 15" rMBP with the 750 GPU. Awesome machine. For short projects, you can even use the internal SSD for your media and libraries, and it flies.

For more serious work, attach an external USB3 or TB drive and you have a great setup.

FWIW I have been stringing together 30 minutes or more projects using the internal SSD, as I work often when I am not at a desk, and it handles everything with aplomb.

Note: It has always been the general recommendation to use fast external drives, NOT the system drive, to hold media and libraries. While this is still the norm, the superfast SSD in current machines do change the situation a bit. Just keep in mind that the system drive is used at all times and needs, more than other drives, to keep a healthy proportion of free space in order to perform adequately. As a rule of thumb: small projects, small libraries, on the move, are fine to edit in the internal SSD. Big stuff, desk bound, external. BBBIGG stuff, multicam, etc. , use a RAID

cgakash wrote:

Thanks Luis for your suggestion but I also want to know that How long have you been working on MacBook Pro. and If I want change my Internal HDD to SDD so Is it possible?

The rMBP has always had SSD in it. There has never been an HD inside a rMBP, and indeed it could not be, because it would not fit inside. It is so thin (and light, which is also a big plus, since I carry it around quite a lot).

My rMBP is the current 15", with a 512GB SSD and the same CPU and GPU that you mentioned.

This is my work and play machine, and one I use daily for many hours.

I use FCP X and Motion quite a lot on it, but I am not a professional editor.

I am not sure exactly what the point of your question is, but the way I see it there are two things to consider:

a) whether the rMBP has enough power to work hard at editing, compositing and doing motion graphics --- the answer is a resounding YES

b) whether a laptop is a good choice for editing compared to a desktop --- the answer is a resounding MAYBE, as it depends a lot on how and where you work. If you sit still at your desk editing for hours and do not need mobility, then a retina iMac is *probably* a superior choice. The screen alone is worth the price of admission, and the ergonomics of a desktop beat those of a laptop hands down. Your eyes and your back will thank you. If you value the option to edit on location and be able to have your content available anywhere, then by all means go with a laptop.

You have a monstrously good machine for filmmaking and editing if you have the right hard drive to go with it.

I would add a second monitor.

You definitely want SSD if you can get it.

Both internal and external.

The only people who make do with less are those without sufficient resources.(money)

Or those that want to prove a point that more can be done with less.

It's pointless.

They are totally mistaken.

It can be done to an extent but not nearly as efficiently and time consuming.

<Edited By Host>

cgakash wrote:

I am Video Editor and Motion Graphic Artist. I do a lot of Video Editing work and I have to spend hours sitting in front of my Desktop and this is getting so hectic for me.

Could be a translation issue, "tedious" might be more appropriate than "hectic".

Editing is always hectic. Comfort and utility are what you seek.

Editing on a little screen attached to a keyboard with a non-moveable trackpad is agony for me. I do it on remote locations only when I must and I'm cranky when it's over. Give me two or three 21-27" monitors, a wireless mouse, wireless trackpad, acoustically accurate speakers, controllable lighting, and a comfortable chair.

David Bogie Chq-1 wrote:

… and a comfortable chair.

… completely underestimated tool in movie-making!

Excellent advice! 😁

. . . and don't forget plenty of coffee . . . or the beverage of your choice.

I must concur that laptops are a nightmare and should only be used when a desktop is not available.

Ian R. Brown wrote:

… I must concur that laptops are a nightmare and should only be used when a desktop is not available.

… it's a bit the discussion "just because you can do things, it doesn't mean you have to do them", right? 😉

This 'film producing on the back seat of a car' is nice, and in very rare cases optional...

But far from the OP's initial question "what is best for editing" ...

Aside all our jokes about seats and beverages: it is indeed much more needed than just some Gigaherz and Megapixels to work 'best'.

Esp. for screen-design things (Motion), I would NOT use a matchbox- tap-track and a screen, the size of a sheet of paper. This asks for "Biiig Toys !", big screen, big input tools (Wacoms) which allow a gesture from the shoulder to draw a dynamic curve! LOL!

back2topic:

awesome Mac, missing a bunch of ext. hard-drives, or at least some 'box' as this tiny thingie from OWC, to do editing&designing on some pro-level.

I think a laptop is the best choice of all except when you need more power than you can get in a laptop. Even then "Both" is a great choice. In this instance, this laptop is more powerful than the largest Mac Mini that exists today, a great choice. You can't carry around an iMac or Mac Mini. The Macbook Pro Retina is the best thing out there. Again, except when your needs are greater than it can provide.

Of course a good laptop can cost as much as a Mac Pro. They are fairly cost effective though when matched to a Mac Mini or iMac, although I did get my mini for under a thousand dollars with everything except monitors and external drive.. That Macbook Pro he's got is about $2,000..

All a laptop is is a Mac Mini with it's own screen. So you get the best of both worlds, plus portability. Add monitors and mouse and keyboards and touchpad and external drives when you choose, or simply walk or drive away with your computer in your hand anywhere you go. Try that with a Mini. A great advantage.

Location stuff.. etc etc etc. Talk about chairs and whatnot, I like to lay in bed on my back with my laptop on my belly. Super relaxing. I too, get tired of sitting in that chair all the time. I don't care how good it is. I'm a truck driver. I know all about sitting for hours on end. It becomes torture.

Both computers, that's the ticket.

All of them if we're rich enough.

$10,000 for a million dollars worth of equipment.

The price of a good used car. Fantastic machines.

On a side note, life without eating and drinking and ingesting stimulant drugs is a great life!

Far and away more better than the stimulants ever could provide!!! Far, far superior. In all ways..

This has been a very inyteresting thread, but looking back it seems that an important suggestion has been missing: a laptop can be more than a laptop. When Tom mentioned "both", I remembered that a laptop CAN be both. Just add a nice external monitor, a keyboard and mouse, and you have the best of both worlds. Portability when you need it, an ergonomic multiple screen desk system in the office, or den. I do have that, though I don't use it much because I tend to most of my editing in the car... waiting for a football practice to end, or a match to start :-)