Hardware Apple Laptops.

[cooroxd]

I think you mis understand , the software for audio and video editing on the mac is superior and industry standard used.. this is the reason the college suggest the use .. i dont need a laptop , we have them..

Of course a college that uses macs would suggest you to use them because they're bias and most likely endorsed by apple. And the superiority of software between a Mac and pc is absolutely false. Whatever software a Mac has for photo and video editing, a pc will have it too.

The cheapest and best alternative that someone has already mentioned is building a hackintosh. You hand pick the same parts for the half the price and slap on an apple logo. Not only that, you can dual boot windows and have it on same system.

If you do decide to drop 2k on an apple laptop, atleast compare the specs to a high quality gaming laptop for the same price. You'll be surprised how much you're getting ripped off.

 

[FAST6191]

*spits drink*

16-18 years old and they expect mac computers (not sure why that failed to click before). Time was that might have been pushing it for undergrad. In basically all cases though every course you will go on will provide all that is needed to do it on site, this more so you can have something to always get on with, play with during the off time and not have to go sit in libraries and labs.
*returns to miserly ways*

"Conversant with mac"... have you noticed how most people do 95% of stuff in the browser these days? Same deal with video editing really. Sure macs have the kind of unix/linux like all in one filesystem and directory tree and the UI can take a few minutes to get used to if you have windows on muscle memory but show him https://xkcd.com/627/ if he takes it to heart then it is nothing major.
If Final Cut Pro is the main tool they want to use though then it might well be mac time.


Anyway drawing tablet (if you have not got one of those fancy apple pencil supporting things or android equivalent) + camera with manual focus option (plenty do well with the af only bridge cameras, I certainly love mine, but you will be laughed out of the room if you do not have manual focus on your camera*) + pick up a tripod in a charity shop/car boot (unless you want to sit a massive thing on there then if it looks sturdy enough and rotates in all the relevant directions it will probably do) and bolt a manfrotto (clone) head like http://www.amazon.co.uk/Professional-Ballhead-Release-Monopod-Tripod/dp/B008H3XZAO/ on there. Oh and maybe a subscription to Adobe Creative Cloud if you (or grandparents or someone) fancies burning some money https://creative.adobe.com/plans?store_code=gb&promoid=KSPAL
Of course this means you might then have to suffer your machine/laptop being... borrowed for an extended period at times and the prospect of once more being able to say "do not touch daddy's computer" could appeal.

*and if you want to spend an afternoon at the sea/park/town centre or whatever learning about focus, white balance, shutter speed, fstops and whatever and how to sort such things quickly and efficiently then it is probably far more enjoyable than times you might have to have had to remember decades old maths lessons or suffer the tedium of dropping things down to a really low level to match a curriculum.

 

[emmanu888]

You know, a good idea would be to try to find a used MacBook Pro to save some money.

 

[pwsincd]

well my op inferred this , this is the question , where in the world of used mac's does the spec become underpowered , i have been warned on checking battery cycles on older macbooks , and a 2012/13 model would / should suffice....

 

[riggs]

If you're thinking of picking up a 2nd hand system I'd absolutely recommend doing some research into potential issues. Both of the MacBook Pros I've owned (a 2008 model and a 2011 model) ended up having GFX card failures which resulted in me having to send them off for repair. Luckily, the problems were well known by Apple and they extended the warranty of said machines with said issues, i.e., both repairs were offered free of charge.

 

[FAST6191]

That really does depend.
Apple want you to use their OS to make, or at least compile, software for IOS and such. For that purpose I see quite a few people buy mac minis and such things just to use as a compiler (and then make https://xkcd.com/303/ accurate). I would not suggest that here, indeed I would not suggest that there and say people spend that little bit more to get something you might actually be able to use if you have to.

You said video and video is one of the traditional big three system grinders along with games and CAD, both of which that syllabus overview makes it look like they are also doing at some point (though that probably means unity and some basic 3d modeller rather than something crazy but hey). There it is directly comparable with a PC really; OSX might just have a slightly lower overhead (though I should note I have seen a bunch of CPU and memory hungry startup programs added to OSX installs *spits at dropbox* just like any old windows install) but when RAM comes in sticks measured in gigs there is nothing in it.
If this is just to use the software and get used to timeline editing, basic colour correction and such from nice 720p footage then yeah core2 and 4 gigs of RAM and up really. You want a production ready thing to deal with the crazy filters on 4K video and that is a whole other story.

On buying old ones then yeah it is like buying an old laptop and you check those models do not have any system killer errors (and Apple have had a few Nvidia in HP laptops moments), you accept you are probably going to have no battery unless you replace it (and remember you are paying apple tax now), the hard drive might warrant a shiny SSD replacement, assuming you have not got soldered in RAM then that might also be worth looking at, you check the vendor to make they are not trying to pull a fast one and for the sake of keeping down your lunch you keep far away from any blacklights that might be around once it arrives. A lot of the macs I have dealt with are not the worst for pulling apart to get dust out and redo thermal paste either, by no means good but you might be spared a full teardown.
About the only thing extra is check to see if it will run the current OSX, I mentioned it in passing earlier and things are a bit up in the air right now ( http://www.computerworld.com/articl...ort--leaves-1-in-5-macs-vulnerable-to-at.html for an example of the older stuff). If it runs the current one of the day though then carry on.

 

[Tjessx]

While you can perfectly buy an older mac for these kind of things,
Keep in mind that the lifecycle of it will be shorter, a new mac will live 3 years longer then a 3 year old mac.
Also, older laptops are more powerful.
If you really want to buy a 2d hand one, that is fine, but try to stick with late 2013 or newer, (only update in 2014 was a minor cpu update + more ram for same price)
if your son needs the laptop in september, then wait for buying it a few months, the price of older macs will drop during the spring.

 

[Yil]

For your son, if he is going to use video apps then the only option is Macbook Pro line of laptops (13" and 15"). The Macbook (the new thin one) and Macbook air are too casual and underpowered for your son's needs.
If you could, wait until they refresh their line of laptops, it should be soon. Then either get the latest Macbook Pro or last year's model for a discount.

Macbook maybe, but macbook air's hd 6000/ yet to be released iris 540 is enough even for final cut pro. And iris pro 580 (came with 45w quad core i7, and only 30 bucks more expansive with massive gpu boost and l4 cache) is officially faster than m370x (75w?) while using much less power.

 

[Joom]

As stated previously, there's a thing called a hackintosh.

Apple uses the same hardware everyone else does, they just slap an Apple logo on it, add some proprietary hookups, and jack the price up. You can buy windows laptops that will install the latest OSX on it with no real trouble. There's at least a few models of laptops out there that you just format the HDD right, plop the OSX install disc, and it'll install just fine.

You'll find a range of compatibility with most laptops, but a lot of that can be handled with a bit of work. Usually the hardest parts are the wifi and sometimes graphics, but there are workarounds.

If you want cheaper, but you need it to run OSX&windows, that's the way to go. You can dual-boot windows and osx easily on laptops nowadays.

Here's a good primer/advice article on the topic, with specific laptops for cheaper:

http://picknotebook.com/blog/best-hackintosh-laptop/

Do not expect that it will install easily and without any problems. You can pray that it will, but do not expect it. If you want 100% compatibility – buy a MacBook.

Yeah...

Hackintoshing is mainly for hobbyists, and I would not recommend it for an actual production machine. The only way to get a "perfect build", is to build your own rig geared towards the OS. OEM laptops will always have some sort of issue that require special KEXTs, bootloaders, and/or DSDT patching. And even then, a fully functional install is not guaranteed.

 

[pwsincd]

binned the idea . went fr something else entirey... thread is moot.

 

[Joom]

binned the idea . went fr something else entirey... thread is moot.

I'm just glad you didn't go the Hackintosh route. It's a bigger headache than the reason your son needs it for.