Ableton Forum

I'm planning to purchase this computer, exactly as described here, except I will swap out the HD for a SSD. Would any of you be so kind as to weigh in on whether this would be a reliable computer to run medium to large ableton sessions on with all the trimmings? I.E. recorded audio, vst, fx devices?? Any input would be appreciated.

Apple MacBook Pro "Core i7" 2.6 15" Mid-2012 Specs

Identifiers: Mid-2012 15" - MD104LL/A - MacBookPro9,1 - A1286 - 2556*

Apple MacBook Pro 15-InchThe MacBook Pro "Core i7" 2.6 15-Inch (Mid-2012/USB 3.0) features a 22 nm "Ivy Bridge" 2.6 GHz Intel "Core i7" processor (3720QM), with four independent processor "cores" on a single silicon chip, a 6 MB shared level 3 cache, 8 GB of 1600 MHz DDR3L SDRAM (PC3-12800) installed in pairs (two 4 GB modules), a 750 GB Serial ATA (5400 RPM) hard drive, an 8X DL "SuperDrive", dual graphics processors -- a NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M with 1 GB of dedicated GDDR5 memory and an "integrated" Intel HD Graphics 4000 graphics processor that shares system memory, as well as an integrated 720p FaceTime HD webcam.

The standard configuration of this model has an LED-backlit 15.4" widescreen TFT active-matrix "glossy" display (1440x900 native resolution), but also was available via custom configuration with a "high-res" glossy or antiglare 1680x1050 display for an additional US$100.

Connectivity includes AirPort Extreme (802.11a/b/g/n), Bluetooth 4.0, Gigabit Ethernet, a Firewire "800" port, two USB 3.0 ports, a "Thunderbolt" port, separate audio in and out ports, and an SDXC card slot.

This model uses a "Unibody" aluminum case design -- milled from a single piece of aluminum -- and has a backlit keyboard, a "no button" glass "inertial" multi-touch trackpad, and a non-swappable battery design that provides an Apple estimated 7 hours of battery life.

Compared to its predecessor, this model essentially is identical externally with the exception of the aforementioned USB 3.0 ports. Internally, however, it has a faster processor, architecture, graphics, and RAM.

I use the basic 13 inch model from 2012 with a dual-core i5 CPU and it's fine, so the 15-inch with a literally twice as powerfull quad-core i7 should be pretty damn sweet, even for larger, heavier projects.

This MBP is what i use and its working very well.

One tip: you don't have to replace HDD with SSD but add it in the optic bay (thats what i did). So you'll have 2 drives, more space..

This is pretty much the exact same machine I have. It's rock solid and can handle heavy projects.

Non-retina, 480GB main SSD and a spinny 750 HDD in the optical bay, 16GB. Drives a Thunderbolt monitor beautifully.

Was looking into buying either a new 13" MBP or a new retina 15"...but, aside from some power saving, the specs are still too close to bother, even 3-1/2 years later.

Awaiting data.

alpertt wrote:This MBP is what i use and its working very well.

One tip: you don't have to replace HDD with SSD but add it in the optic bay (thats what i did). So you'll have 2 drives, more space..

i did this and you should too. such a crucially important upgrade. my computer is 4 years old and i wouldn't trade it for a new one today

Thanks, everyone. I ended up purchasing this unit along with a 1tb samsung SSD. I'm going to take your advice and replace the superdrive with the original 'spinning rust' hard drive (which is ~750gb). Oh yeah.

xXUKCXx wrote:Thanks, everyone. I ended up purchasing this unit along with a 1tb samsung SSD. I'm going to take your advice and replace the superdrive with the original 'spinning rust' hard drive (which is ~750gb). Oh yeah.

1tb ssd??? damn im jealous

here's the kit i used to replace the optical drive http://www.mcetech.com/optibay/index.html it was pretty easy to do even with no experience but if you have questions im happy to help

Hi everyone,
I was wondering if anyone had any experience with putting sample libraries on a second hard drive. I have a Mid 2012 Macbook Pro I replaced the original drive with a Samsung 850 Pro SSD and the RAM with a 16Gb Crucial set. I don't have really have trouble running Ableton and my plug-ins, however I do have a lot of samples. I mainly use Omnisphere 2 and Kontakt 5 so a lot of sample based synth parts. I believe my sample libraries are upwards of around 300 Gb and I want to upgrade to Komplete Ultimate 10 which I believe is like another 200Gb or something. Although, I will probably get rid of some of the piano libraries and others I don't use. I was considering replacing the optical drive with another SSD and putting all the sample libraries on it. My only concern is that the optical drive is SATA 2. Right now everything is fine, unless I go crazy, using SATA 3 speeds. Does anyone have any experience and or advice if this would have positive or negative affects. Thanks.

Instead of managing two separate drives in my OS X, I configure them myself the SSD and the HDD into a Fusion drive. In that way, it is the OS which put the most used files to the SSD, and let other in the HDD.