Macbook purchasing question

Discuss music production with Ableton Live.
Hypomixolydian
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Macbook purchasing question

Post by Hypomixolydian » Wed Dec 24, 2014 6:19 am

Hello,

I hope you don't mind helping me out with Macbook related questions.

I plan on getting a MacBook Pro . I know nothing about them as I have been a Windows user.

My personal preference is the 13" Retina, 2.8 GHz with 512 Gb flashdrive, 8Gb Ram i5 processor., dual core
Within my budget is 15" 2.2 GHz but that has a 256 Gb drive, 16 Gb Ram and i7 processor quad core.

I plan on using it for both music and video, though music production is my main use, running Live 9 plus various soft synths ( Zebra, Sylenth, Komplete package (Native Instruments), Synthmaster, and Camel Audio stuff, among others. Will probably buy Logic Pro too.

This new machine will be my main unit for about five years, so I want to buy wisely.

I hope the experts out there can help.

Thanks

ohigetbywithalittlehelpfrommyfriends
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Re: Macbook purchasing question

Post by ohigetbywithalittlehelpfrommyfriends » Wed Dec 24, 2014 7:14 am

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Last edited by ohigetbywithalittlehelpfrommyfriends on Mon Jan 12, 2015 3:08 am, edited 1 time in total.

TomViolenz
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Re: Macbook purchasing question

Post by TomViolenz » Wed Dec 24, 2014 7:35 am

get the i7

More RAM and four cores is gonna make you happier for longer.
Also if you do video, the video card should be rather beefy. I imagine the one is the i7 is more powerfull too.

BTW none of this is really specific to Mac

M-bition
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Re: Macbook purchasing question

Post by M-bition » Wed Dec 24, 2014 8:37 am

Check the ableton performance tests in this forum to see the results for these CPU's in a macbook
Checking and comparing some CPU benchmarks might help.

M-bition
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Re: Macbook purchasing question

Post by M-bition » Wed Dec 24, 2014 8:38 am

Maybe you can take your project to the shop and try the performance on those two macbooks.

TomViolenz
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Re: Macbook purchasing question

Post by TomViolenz » Wed Dec 24, 2014 8:47 am

M-bition wrote:Maybe you can take your project to the shop and try the performance on those two macbooks.
How many Apple stores have you seen that have Live and a countless number of plug-ins installed on their show room machines?! Yeah... :wink:

Hypomixolydian
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Re: Macbook purchasing question

Post by Hypomixolydian » Wed Dec 24, 2014 8:56 am

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Last edited by Hypomixolydian on Wed Dec 24, 2014 9:00 am, edited 2 times in total.

Hypomixolydian
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Re: Macbook purchasing question

Post by Hypomixolydian » Wed Dec 24, 2014 8:57 am

so like, what is the question? 8)
I didn't realise my question was so implicit.

In essence, which Macbook Pro do I go for?
The 13" or 15"?
TomViolenz wrote:get the i7

BTW none of this is really specific to Mac
Oh? Sorry. I know nothing about Macs so assumed it was related.

I am not sure if the 13 inch model processor and larger drive counterbalances the smaller drive and less powerful ( I think) processor of the 15 inch despite it having more RAM and 4 cores.

I can't take a project to a shop to try out because I am currently in a different country to where I live. Plus I doubt any shop would let me. Prices here in Australia are cheaper than Holland so I am taking advantage of this while here. It is a substantial saving.

Thanks for the responses so far.

M-bition
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Re: Macbook purchasing question

Post by M-bition » Wed Dec 24, 2014 9:00 am

TomViolenz wrote:
M-bition wrote:Maybe you can take your project to the shop and try the performance on those two macbooks.
How many Apple stores have you seen that have Live and a countless number of plug-ins installed on their show room machines?! Yeah... :wink:
:mrgreen: hehe you are right. But how obvious is that ?

So also bring at least a copy of ableton and max for live to the shop.
Last edited by M-bition on Wed Dec 24, 2014 9:10 am, edited 1 time in total.

M-bition
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Re: Macbook purchasing question

Post by M-bition » Wed Dec 24, 2014 9:07 am

Hypomixolydian wrote:
I can't take a project to a shop to try out because I am currently in a different country to where I live. Plus I doubt any shop would let me.
Thanks for the responses so far.
I do not know about that too. But I would certainly try it. I really think an Apple shop should give this service and let you try testing them.

TomViolenz
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Re: Macbook purchasing question

Post by TomViolenz » Wed Dec 24, 2014 10:30 am

Hypomixolydian wrote:
TomViolenz wrote:get the i7

BTW none of this is really specific to Mac
Oh? Sorry. I know nothing about Macs so assumed it was related.
What I mean is these specs would apply equaly to a Windows machine
I am not sure if the 13 inch model processor and larger drive counterbalances the smaller drive and less powerful ( I think) processor of the 15 inch despite it having more RAM and 4 cores.
Hard drives can be external and if you produce a lot you will probably need one no matter which model you go with.
The i5 has less GHz but, that doesn't necessarily make it less powerful than a i7. Also don't forget that they can both boost the performance intermittently.

But Live is also a multicore capable program and quad core often means you can run twice as many tracks as on a dual core.
Also more RAM means larger (and more) Kontakt libraries you can run at the same time.
If mobility is not of utmost importance, working on a 15" is also much nicer than on a 13".

ohigetbywithalittlehelpfrommyfriends
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Re: Macbook purchasing question

Post by ohigetbywithalittlehelpfrommyfriends » Wed Dec 24, 2014 4:50 pm

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Last edited by ohigetbywithalittlehelpfrommyfriends on Mon Jan 12, 2015 3:08 am, edited 1 time in total.

Tarekith
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Re: Macbook purchasing question

Post by Tarekith » Wed Dec 24, 2014 8:28 pm

Aren't the HDs built into the motherboards of the apple laptops? My vote would be for the 15" too, though try some other retailers other than the Apple Store too. Often you can find holiday deals on places like Amazon, perhaps it will be enough to let you upgrade the HD when you buy too.
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ohigetbywithalittlehelpfrommyfriends
Posts: 405
Joined: Mon Nov 03, 2014 2:54 am

Re: Macbook purchasing question

Post by ohigetbywithalittlehelpfrommyfriends » Wed Dec 24, 2014 11:59 pm

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Last edited by ohigetbywithalittlehelpfrommyfriends on Mon Jan 12, 2015 3:09 am, edited 1 time in total.

Stromkraft
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Re: Macbook purchasing question

Post by Stromkraft » Thu Dec 25, 2014 8:12 pm

Hypomixolydian wrote:
My personal preference is the 13" Retina, 2.8 GHz with 512 Gb flashdrive, 8Gb Ram i5 processor., dual core
Within my budget is 15" 2.2 GHz but that has a 256 Gb drive, 16 Gb Ram and i7 processor quad core.
5 years? Just max out EVERYTHING on i7, also the CPU speed IMHO. Most important is the SSD though. To not get a 1TB SSD is just false economy. Just do what you have to to be able to afford it. Sell records you love, work extra. Don't skimp!
Make some music!

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