Ableton Forum

...aside from potential hardware problems (i don't have any of these btw) el cap is an awesome os...fast and stable...my late 2011 macbook pro feels like a new computer...really...with el cap apple focused on stability and under-the-hood-improvements...

Thanks, H2Only.

H20nly wrote:

Tarekith wrote:What's wrong with El Cap for you?

the reviews are horrible... horrible. getting better admittedly, but hardware issues with audio equipment is enough. it's a crap shoot. the OP came for recommendations, it would be a shame to lose a controller over El Cap. that's no way to start on an Apple platform.

It´s not Apple nor Microsoft´s fault when manufacturers are utterly lazy with updating their drivers!

Every manufacturer has access to Beta versions of new OS releases to test their products and update their drivers in time for RTM release of a new OS!

Steinberg and RME for example had their drivers ready in time, unlike Focusrite and PreSonus, which last updated their drivers two years ago!

That´s why I got fed up with Focusrite. I had the 2i2 for a while and suddenly got audio issues, went back and got 6i6 instead. That one had driver issues. Didn´t work on OSX 10.11 at all and crashed Live 9.5 constantly on Windows 10.
I returned it and finally went for the Steinberg UR44. Best choice I have made so far. All problems went away and everything runs stable now.

Last week I just bought a 2014 MBP with a quadcore 2.5 and 512 Gb hard drive, 16 gig ram brand new for 1800$. I ordered it from B&H, and because I don't live in NY or NJ, I had no sales tax. So far, I'm really impressed with it and would highly recommend it. There is no real discernible difference between that and the 2015 model other than price. If you buy refurbished, buy from Apple, but you can get great deals on a non current model from other resellers, and if you buy online from a different state you save a couple hundred more in taxes.

Thanks Division Monarchy. Last night I discovered the same thing. Found a NIB late-2013 27" iMac at B&H for about the same price as the system I posted. It's a 3.2 GHz quad i5, not i7, but the newer model probably compensates. Only 1 internal 7200 rpm drive, but I can have that replaced with an SSD down the road if need be. I think I'm going to get the late-2013, an extra 8 GB, and a 500 GB USB 3/TB SSD. All in, just $200 more for a 2-year newer model, NIB.

Guillermo Barrancos wrote:

H20nly wrote:

Tarekith wrote:What's wrong with El Cap for you?

the reviews are horrible... horrible. getting better admittedly, but hardware issues with audio equipment is enough. it's a crap shoot. the OP came for recommendations, it would be a shame to lose a controller over El Cap. that's no way to start on an Apple platform.

It´s not Apple nor Microsoft´s fault when manufacturers are utterly lazy with updating their drivers!

agreed...

but that is no consolation when you're sitting with your brick that used to be a controller or worse... an interface.

no one cares who's fault it is then... they just know they didn't have the problem before the "upgrade".

iceaxe wrote:Thanks Division Monarchy. Last night I discovered the same thing. Found a NIB late-2013 27" iMac at B&H for about the same price as the system I posted. It's a 3.2 GHz quad i5, not i7, but the newer model probably compensates. Only 1 internal 7200 rpm drive, but I can have that replaced with an SSD down the road if need be. I think I'm going to get the late-2013, an extra 8 GB, and a 500 GB USB 3/TB SSD. All in, just $200 more for a 2-year newer model, NIB.

that sounds like a good route.

are you paying extra for the SSD though? if so, why not get one and install it in the machine?
SSDs are better for running your system and software than for storage.

The B&H system comes with a 7200 rpm internal and I'm planning to use an external 7200 rpm for samples. IF I start running into problems, I can buy a PCI-E SSD and the local Mac repair shop will install for $129 (or I'll do it myself if I'm feeling brave/lucky). Alternately, Adorama has the same system with an internal 256 SSD and 16 GB for $350 more. Add an external 7200 rpm drive and I'd be set, but ~$500 over the refurb in my original post...starting to hurt a bit. If I go with the B&H iMac (internal 7200 rpm) chances are a year from now the PCI-E drives will be cheaper...

Considering moving away from Apple here although I'll try out el capitan before I make the switch. I'm on Yosemite with a 2012 MBP 2.7 ghz 8GB Ram and I think Yosemite sucks. Apple is moving it's computers away from workhorse models into the realm of entertainment systems. The way they try to brick your phone with new operating systems is hostile. They are trying to bury all of our root files into "libraries" making it a pain in the ass to find them. All in all I think they are trying to cater more and more to the uneducated user at the expense of those of us who have at least a vague understanding of computing.

what would you switch to though? Windows 10 shows the direction that Microsoft is heading in, and that's not exactly roses either...

I haven't used Windows 10 tbh so you have a valid point there. Bitwig is supposed to run on Linux, right? Hmmm... BeOS? I don't know. I just know that I am getting increasingly pissed off with Apple.

H20nly wrote: agreed...

but that is no consolation when you're sitting with your brick that used to be a controller or worse... an interface.

no one cares who's fault it is then... they just know they didn't have the problem before the "upgrade".

It's just a good lesson learned really. I have now learned my lesson about which manufacturers I will avoid in the future.

For example, when it comes to Audio Interfaces in the "affordable" catergory. I would either go Steinberg or RME at the moment.
Focusrite and Presonus are on my black (avoid like the plague) list now.

I'm going high-end trailing edge with a refurbished MacBook Pro 17-inch (late 2011). That was the last model with a 17-inch screen, FireWire, standard RJ-45 Ethernet jack, ExpressCard slot, and built-in CD drive, and one of the last models designed so that users could easily upgrade the RAM and hard drive.

Specs are comparable to current models: 2.4GHz quad-core i7 with shared 6MB L3 cache, 16GB RAM (works fine despite specs saying max is 8GB), 750GB 7200 RPM hard drive. Around $1400 including three-year warranty and cables for video and FireWire. I can upgrade to a 1TB SSD for $300 if I decide it's worth it.

I'm switching from Windows 7 because I got tired of sitting down to make music and instead spending hours dealing with random system issues. I'm an expert user of both platforms and usually choose Windows over Mac when I have both available, but support for pro-level digital audio seems to be better on the Mac.

hey rlauriston-

- a few months late but better than never -

original 17" 2011 quad 2.4ghz i7 MBP owner here -
thingy is STILL cranking away and holds its own... i take good care of it -
housed it in a Moshi Codex that sits in a big 17" Targus Metro bag - and I've been lugging it all over the place.
for business and shows - indoors and outside in crazy conditions.
i've made sure to regularly check and 'Verify/Repair' the 7200 750GB HD.
am very grateful to still have it and would consider getting a replacement should it bite the dust.
double partitioned it with 10.7 then back graded to 10.6 when I first got it.
now running both partitions on Mavericks 10.9.5 with almost 0 problems. didn't ever bother to install 10.7. or 10.8.
having the small (60gb) hd boot partition for emergency boot ups has made it easy to maintain the big working one for regular disk maintenance.

17" lappie has seen and still sees a lot of use but also has a lot of love and seems to be pretty happy after nearly 5 years with me.

how's yours doing?

cheers,
Liz

H20nly wrote:soon, the latest OS X version that doesn't work properly with audio applications and hardware will not be supported on that model.

Nah. In 2 years maybe. 2011 will be good to go for 2 more years as long as you don't feel pressed to run the latest versions of everything. It's not like when systems shifted from 32bit to 64bit.

Also, at any point you can sell a Mac as long provided you take care of it and upgrade to a later second hand model (or new). I recently moved up 2 years and paid maybe $300 in between.

10.11 El Capitan is the best OS X version ever in my eyes and ears, even surpassing 10.6 Snow Leopard. Mavericks feels crappy in comparison.

SSD is a must.