Macbook Pros
Macbook Pros
So I'm looking to upgrade my current laptop setup to a new mbp. I'm willing to spend up to 2200, but I just want to know when the tech upgrades start providing diminishing returns. I definitely want CPU power, but I'm doing mostly bedroom production stuff -- a few midi devices, maybe a guitar/amp every now and then, some decent monitors, usually 1 device at a time, two at the most. My compositions can get fairly intensive on the number of effects/clips/samples, but I'm not writing symphonies here. That being said, which mbp would offer me the most optimal power -- enough to make my workflow fluid and seamless, but not something with a bunch of specs that I will use for nothing more than bragging rights.
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oblique strategies
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Re: Macbook Pros
Some tips:
If I were you I'd start researching what's currently happening in laptop land & what's coming next (& when it's due to arrive). Some changes are incremental, while others are game-changers. As is so often the case in life, timing is everything.
MacRumors Buyer's Guide is helpful:
http://buyersguide.macrumors.com/
Many people swear by Apple's Refurb machines, which can save you money or allow you to purchase a more powerful machine, or one with better features.
AppleCare is your friend, but you have a year to buy it, so it doesn't have to be part of your initial costs.
One thing's for sure: Don't buy RAM from Apple! They charge way too much.
If I were you I'd start researching what's currently happening in laptop land & what's coming next (& when it's due to arrive). Some changes are incremental, while others are game-changers. As is so often the case in life, timing is everything.
MacRumors Buyer's Guide is helpful:
http://buyersguide.macrumors.com/
Many people swear by Apple's Refurb machines, which can save you money or allow you to purchase a more powerful machine, or one with better features.
AppleCare is your friend, but you have a year to buy it, so it doesn't have to be part of your initial costs.
One thing's for sure: Don't buy RAM from Apple! They charge way too much.
Re: Macbook Pros
Thanks for the link. From what I can tell, it is a relatively neutral time to buy since we are in the middle of a product cycle. What I can't find the answer to, though, is when all of the impressive specs stop being useful for my purposes. That's what I want to know... I'm more than willing to drop 2200 if I will notice the extra power in my music production, but I don't want to have a machine with a bunch of power I'll never notice.
Re: Macbook Pros
If your getting one of the new 2011 models with a sandy bridge processor then you should notice quite a performance boost in Live.
OTOH, if its choice between say an old i7 and a new i5, I would still guess the new I5 would be better, but TBH I don't know.
Best best is to try and find the models you are interested in in the live 89 performance test thread on here and compare to the results you currently get. For machines with up to 8 physical or virtual cores, it does seem to roughly reflect the kind of CPU performance difference get in real projects, but of course it does not test storage performance.
For me, Ive found DAW performance of the new 2.3GHz high end quad core i7 you can get in the MBP17 is roughly comparable with my old 4GHz quad core i7 PC desktop.
OTOH, if its choice between say an old i7 and a new i5, I would still guess the new I5 would be better, but TBH I don't know.
Best best is to try and find the models you are interested in in the live 89 performance test thread on here and compare to the results you currently get. For machines with up to 8 physical or virtual cores, it does seem to roughly reflect the kind of CPU performance difference get in real projects, but of course it does not test storage performance.
For me, Ive found DAW performance of the new 2.3GHz high end quad core i7 you can get in the MBP17 is roughly comparable with my old 4GHz quad core i7 PC desktop.
Nothing to see here - move along!