I have a 2.2ghz MacBook Pro, and with the XR500V I just bought, editing is slow. I am using Final Cut Pro, and I have to render every clip while editing. I have tried Final Cut Express with the same issue. I am looking to upgrade to a faster computer, but havent decided which one yet. I have just been looking at the Macbook pros, since I want a laptop. What would you recommend for specs? 2.6, 2.8gHz? What else should I look for, would a faster hard drive speed things up dramatically? Im not looking to spend much over 2000$, might go the used/refurbished route.
I havent taken much of a look at PC computers, not really sure what to look for in them.
Thanks

The new Windows 7 is great with AVCHD and you will have far more choices for video editing than with a Mac. HDD speed is not a huge factor. General processing and video speed are where you should focus. You can get a very good laptop PC for <$1500. You can get far more power at a lower price on a desktop instead of a laptop.

I am really looking for a laptop, as I do a lot of traveling. Any recommendations for windows laptops? All I have had for editing is mac, and really like the programs, just want it to be fast enough for the new cam.

I would wait for a few weeks as there is a shift in pricing going on: http://news.cnet.com/8301-13924_3-10366950-64.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-5

How do you think a Macbook Pro with
* 2.8 GHz Core 2 Duo Processor
* 4 GB DDR3 RAM
* 500 GB Hard Drive, DVD SuperDrive
* Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard Operating System
* NVIDIA Geforce 9400M + 9600M GT Graphics, 15.4 inch LED Display
would handle AVCHD? Id like to be able to edit without rendering every move.

From what I understand it should work since AVCHD will be converted into Apple's format (AIC?). Hard drive space is the thing to watch.

Regardless of whether you're editing AVCHD on a desktop or laptop the single biggest factor will be the processor. In this case faster is always better. If you're locked into a Mac then get the single fastest processor you can afford. If you're open to a platform switch then you're in luck as Intel has just released a mobile version of their Nehalem processors (codename: Clarksfield). I just saw this special today on Techbargains (http://www.techbargains.com/news_displayItem.cfm/180318). Battery life isn't great on this new class of laptops but nothing will chew through AVCHD faster in the mobile space. Four processing cores with Hyperthreading (8 threads). Anandtech just did a nice article on the new platform (http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/showdoc.aspx?i=3647).

Stay with the Mac. I use a Macbook Pro and a MacPro. Admittedly on the laptop I use iMovie more, and if I want to use FCP, I use the MacPro. I have no problems with mine with AVCHD. iMovie converts to AIC, and FCP converts to ProRes 422. I have no issues with either of the two codecs. Patrick, your laptop sounds like the same specs as mine. But I do use a WD 2TB external hard drive with FW800 for all my media.

Well I just updated to FCP 6 and with the correct settings, I can import and move clips on the timeline without rendering. I just have to render when I put effects on clips. I was pretty relieved to figure this out. I still would like to upgrade to a newer mac, are there any mac programs that edit AVCHD natively yet? Also, is going from a 2.2ghz to a 2.8 a very significant change in speed?

I do lots of AVCHD editing, you definitely want the fastest cpu possible. I splurged and built a core i7 based PC for $600 specifically as a video editing box and it has worked flawlessly so far. Don't worry about hard drive speed, it doesn't matter too much. I use Sony Vegas Video 9.0b 64bit which is very quad core friendly and supports AVCHD naively, makes video editing a breeze. I use Windows 7 64bit as the os.

So for about $600 you should be ready to go if you build it yourself. It is a splurge, but I would definitely go core i7. I would not recommend a core2duo, or even an older core2quad. I have a 2.6ghz q6600 that I find is too slow for native AVCHD editing, unless I heavily overclock it. For reference, my 2.4ghz core i7 920 renders clips about twice as fast as my 2.6ghz core2quad q6600.

If you decide to stick with Mac, just be sure to go with whatever core i7 they offer. I don't know what pricing would be on Mac at all though, presumably it would cost more than $600, but hopefully not too much.

EDIT: I just saw that you want to edit on a laptop. I still recommend going with a core i7 though even on a laptop, otherwise you will find native AVCHD editing quite frustrating. It will cost you a lot more with a laptop though, probably more like $1100 for a PC laptop which is a lot of money, but it's up to you. Here's a sample laptop that should be decent at AVCHD editing:

http://configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?oc=potier17test&cs=19&dgvcode=ss&c=US&l=EN&dgc=SS&cid=27399&lid=627062

are there any mac programs that edit AVCHD natively yet?

No, and I don't think they ever will. The way Macs transcode it, is actually better for editing anyway. You don't need as much processing power. You do need more hard drive space though, as has been said. I think Roxio Toast 10 Platinum allows you to put AVCHD straight to Blu-ray from AVCHD without transcoding to MOV - I haven't tried doing that yet, so don't hold me to that. Unless Quicktime gets native m2ts (which I doubt it will), it won't be on iMovie or FCP.

Well, without smart rendering, but native editing there's of course good ol' Avid Mediacomposer still available for the mac I believe.

You should try Windows 7, and you should be able to solve your problem pretty much