Does Ableton Live Studio run well with a Macbook?

[metrowilliams]

hi everyone. i'm really hoping someone can help me out. i am thinking of purchasing a second hand macbook (not a macbook pro, just a normal white macbook) solely to run Abelton Live (possibly Ableton Live Studio) for live performances. The macbook will meet the recommended requirements of an intel processor and 2GB ram.

however, i don't want to go ahead and purchase this macbook if it doesn't run Ableton well. i currently don't use ableton but i am hoping to make the swithc real soon. and i currently use a pc so i am not a mac expert. however, some mac users i know tell me a macbook is mainly for home use (web browsing, word processing etc) and that i should go for a macbook pro.

a friend of mine is selling an old g4 powerbook with 2gb ram, but Ableton do recommend an intel processor.

does anyone out there use ableton with macbook with these specs that could tell me if runs okay? and also, what u would you go for - the intel macbook or the g4 powerbook?

thank you to anyone who replies to this newbie

metro

[agent314]

Not being a Mac user myself and knowing only a little about the whole thing, I would say go with the Intel over the G4.

That's about all I can offer. :/

[Migra]

I'd say Save more money until you can buy the newest white macbook, definitely NOT G4!!!

[Contra]

i used to have g4 powerbook with ableton live 6, and now the MBP wth Live 8. go for the intel processor. big time difference

[metrowilliams]

thank you to everyone who replied to this post.

migra - why would you suggest going for the newest white macbook rather than say one that is 2 yrs old?

[alex.the.forge]

yes. white macbook here.

[metrowilliams]

alex - what specs are your white mac book and what os do u run?

thank you

[alex.the.forge]

alex - what specs are your white mac book and what os do u run?

thank you

2GHz core 2 duo - bought this time last year

I stuck an extra gig of RAM in (to 3GB) and a 320GB HD but it was doing ok before then

[metrowilliams]

sounds cool. did the extra 1GB of ram make a big difference?

i haven't started using ableton yet. i currently use protools on a pc with an Akai mpc 4000. however, i need something simple yet powerful for live gigs. abelton run on a small macbook looks like ideal choice.

i know it sounds crazy, but aesthetically i prefer the white macbooks to the silver powerbooks.

i haven't decided on a controller yet. last thing i wanna do is use a mouse in a live gig - it will look lame! somebody told me novation launchpad is good. what do u use as a controller?

[superjudge]

As others have already noted, go for an Intel-based Mac.

I run Ableton Live 8 Suite on a 2.4GHz MacBook (white, plastic) with 4GB ram and a 500GB 7.200 disk; I am still fairly new to Live, but I would say it runs beautifully (as a side note, I have seen none of the crashing problems and stuff others have been complaining about; not a single crash on neither 8.1.1, nor 8.1.3). I guess it depends somewhat on the amount of effects and instruments you cram into your sets.

As an example, running the Live 8 Demo song (the all-MIDI version), my CPU meter fluctuates between about 20% and 33% (and it plays without problems).

I also run Live 8 Suite on a Windows 7 64bit (I did try 32bit as well) quad-core Phenom 9500 desktop with 4GB ram. It runs fine on that machine as well, but if I could have only one of them, I would choose the Mac any day of the week. Even though the specs of the AMD-box are generally better, it feels like Live runs much smoother and faster on the Mac (also, I DID have some crashing problems on the AMD-box).

Hope this helps!


Cheers,

/johan