[liberty77]

I currently have a 2.66 MacPro with 2GB of memory. I use it for video editing and DVD authoring using Final Cut Studio 2.0
I've decided that I am going to get myself a MacBook Pro. I know that it will run the software, but I'm not sure how much I should "beef it up," or if a base model (15" 2.4 w/ 2GB) will work just fine.
Money is a factor, so any suggestions would be very welcome. Also, I plan on selling my MacPro once I have my MBP up and running, so I won't be able to go back.

[wgood]

I used to run iMovie '05 on my 1Ghz iBook G4 and it would run quite well, albeit the rendering would need to be done overnight. /forums/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif Upgrading to my MacBook has made iMovie '06 even more enjoyable with a surprising amount of computing power. I understand you will be using FC Studio, which is substantially different than iMovie, but I believe the needs are somewhat similar. You'll definitely want as much RAM as you can afford. A large hard drive will also be a necessity. Someone can probably confirm or deny this, but I understand FC Studio uses a very large library of presets and themes, which means a Firewire External drive might come in handy. It might add a little extra inconvenience when working in the field, but will keep your internal drive free for the more important stuff.

[moose_n_squirrel]

It will work fine, but out of the box the MBP won't match the performance of the Mac Pro based on hard drive speed alone. You should use an external FireWire whenever possible to get the load off the slow little internal laptop drive, assigning FCP render files to the external.

[filmdp]

Were coming up on a new Mac hardware cycle - end of 2007 or January 2008 - if you are not in desperate need you may want to wait and see what is coming out at Macworld 2008 January.
Could be nothing new for Mac Book Pro - but at the cost for a new Mac Book Pro at $2500 plus. It might be worth waiting to see,don't know if they will do a hardware update then or not.
I use a new 17" mac book pro 2.4 mhz - 4 gigs of memory - and a sata 2.5 TB external raid for FCP Studio 2.0 - it runs great. The raid is from macguru - and is about the size of 2 hardback novels. With a 30" inch external Apple monitor all driven by the laptop.
FCP is a real memory hog - the more memory the better, if you are looking at multiple video layers, real time effects and less rendering time.
Pete

[mactexana]

I edit with Avid Xpress Pro 5.7.5, (the newest update from avid just came out) It is sprightly with a 2.4 intel and 4GB RAM and a 800FW drive (not RAIDed). Compared to FCP it is a bit faster with some media since you don't have to change mxf files into QTs. Plus you render far, far less in general. This also works well with 2GB Ram and 2.2 processors. Avid doesn't hog as much as FCP and the working codecs are superior to FCP. There may be some issues with QT 7.2 still, but these should be dealt with by Nov.