Moving from PC to AppleMac

[def71]

Hi,
I am about to get a new computer. I have a PC tower and laptop but was considering getting a laptop to cover both.

I am a bit over the speed of my quad core pc (8gb ram) and it's regular freezing.

I have heard (from mac lovers) that an Apple MacBook Pro would match most hi spec PCs when it comes to Ableton Live and Pro Tools.

Obviously their view are biased but I would like to know if a 13inch MacBook Pro with a 256gig SSHD and 8gigs if memory would suffice for Ableton Live. Obvioulsy the 15 inch has a quad core and higher spec but I need to carry the thing to work every day.

Please could somoeone in the know give me some advice. I don't want to get a Mac and realise it's just as laggy and freezy as hi-spec pc laptop and tower.

Thanks.

David
https://soundcloud.com/northernelement/ ... lon-skaman

[Machinesworking]

The 13's are a nice size but much less powerful than the 15's.
You want power, get a 15, but, and this is really important-
Do not buy until after June 10nth!!
The WWDC is Apples developers conference, and likely they may roll out new laptops at that time.

[Pasha]

I have the 13" MBP base model with 8GB RAM. It's ok for my needs and only internal drive feels slow when accessing multiple sampled instruments from the Library. I guess I will update with an SSD in the future. Having said so to overcome the internal drive limitation (which is good for normal laptop work) I use an external FW800 drive for Library and I gain some performance.
You can search forum for L9 performance test results (with stock RAM).
Absolutely follow MachineWorking suggestion. Stay put until after WWDC!!!

[mr.ergonomics]

a current high end tower pc is way faster than even the best macbook pro. if you problem is related mostly to low latency than your audio interface (maudio) could also be the reason.

that said, a current MBP can be a lot faster than you old quad core. one can't say something about it without knowing the details (cpu etc. )from your pc.

when your primary goal is performance get a new tower pc...when your primary goal is convenience and enough power get the MBP 15" - the 13" is only a dual core.

when you say freezing.... maybe it's just a small OS corruption and you just need to reinstall windows.

[CFM]

Personally I've looked at doing the same PC to MAC. I would think a 13" screen is way too small for long term Live use so an extra monitor would be usefull. However, I'm power freak so not interested in anything less than an I7 3rd gen with 8gb ram. In the end I got a average built Dell XPS for £600 whereas an Apple would have been £1,500. I'm assuming the extra cost was for being trendy.

[nathannn]

A new 13 inch macbook will only have a slight advantage over your current setup. If I was in the same situation I would buy a used mac (since you dont own one ) and I would buy a new cpu for the desktop.
If you want a power full computer on a a budget you are still better off buying a windows laptop. There are no real advantages to owning a low end mac over a pc other than running osx. Macs are not any faster than pcs they are always slower when comparing computers in the same price range.
The only time you will see an advantage to owning a macbook over a new pc laptop is when you go for the retina model. In my opinion the retina model is ahead of its time and currently a waste of money.
I really have no idea why people are still telling their friends to waste money on a mac to make music.. its not 2001 pc's have been very capable and stable since windows 7.

And at the end of the day its all just a computer.. you use it to run software not to dick around with the operating system , that said you need to take in consideration that mac does a lot of things backwards and seem to make no sense if you are coming from windows. some of the shit like resizing windows in mac, installing software, using the mouse (two fingers on the track pad to right click) is un logical.
Also the whole mac user interface looks extremely out of date with its ridiculous bubbly icons.

Also macs make a loud system noise when they power on.. its really embarrassing out in public
Macbooks pro's are also known to feel like they are going to explode due to bad design (the fan vents are almost hidden and all the heat is absorbed by the metal case). As I am typing this my mackbook is sitting on the arm of a chair instead of my lap because it feels like its 130 degree's. I really feel like I could use it as a coffee warmer.
Ah and the idiotic design of the power plug for the macbook.. this thing is always falling out and you dont realize you are running on the battery until its to late and the battery is dead.

the computers themselves are pretty, the operating system on the other hand is not.

I guess the reason so many people rave on about macs being better is because the majority of people dont know whats good and if their friends say crap is good then crap is good to them. For me crap is crap and the mackbook is crap.

[pencilrocket]

Laptop's CPU isn't faster than Desktop's. But you'll be able to get enough poweful CPU if you get i7 MBP over 15-inch.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MacBook_Pro

Don't buy one with i7-****M processor, but i7-****QM.

[Semuta]

I have a 13 inch Core2Duo, so my perspective is admittedly dated. That being said, I found that the machine did pretty well until I hooked it up to an external monitor. This would really tax the integrated video and caused an immense amount of heat.

I think a quad core with dedicated graphics would have been a vastly better choice despite the extra cost.

For this reason alone, I won't probably go for a macbook unless it has dedicated video...

As for controllers and an audio interface, coreaudio is great as compared to ASIO, so if you aren't concerned about sound capture, you'll get decent output from the built-in soundcard with acceptable latency. This would be totally impossible in Windows hardware.

-S

-edit: Nathannn says that a low end mac has no advantage over a windows computer other than running osx... This is true, but that is the true advantage to a Mac. Coreaudio is where it's at, and coreaudio is not to be found anywhere near a windows computer! I mostly use softsynths, so the reduction in latency is critical to me being able to perform with the machine as opposed to programming my music...

[pencilrocket]

Coreaudio is same technology as Asio. Actually, Coreaudio technology is inferior to Asio.

[stringtapper]

Coreaudio is same technology as Asio. Actually, Coreaudio technology is inferior to Asio.

So which is it?

[H20nly]

i use Arrange view in Live. a 13" anything would drive me bananas.

i switched to an iMac from Windows in September. i like a lot of it. i hate other parts... at least when compared to alternatives. it's a 27" screen though so that makes me

i have to agree with Semuta that CORE Audio is the where it's at. that part is the easiest feature to love if you're into audio stuff like we are.

if it were me... i'd wait to see what Apple is going to release as suggested... but not necessarily because i would want to buy any of their new stuff... no, because you might be able to get a deal on the older stuff. they are notorious for removing ports and features only to add them back later. so be mindful of USB and other connectors that you will need in the near future when combing the specs on Apple's tech sheets.

one last piece of info... i have a Lenovo T500 laptop and that thing is tuff as nails and will run the shit out of Live. the reason i mention it is because... not all PCs are created equal.

good luck. i hope what ever you buy kicks ass.

[3dot...]

fugly.. but great build quality and specs..

14"
http://rog.asus.com/notebook/14-2/g46vw/