Upgrade to Macbook pro 2015

[Chuku]

Hey all,

I am planning to switch from windows to Mac os which i will be mainly using for my music production purpose and Abelton live as my main DAW.
I have just the enough budget to get a Macbook Pro 2015 model with 2.7 ghz i5 processor, 8 gigs of Ram and 128 GB SSD ( the base model)..
This is only the thing that i can afford right now. So do you guys think that this much specification will be enough for the music production purpose?
I know having higher specs will perform better but i want to know if my CPU will lag or it would be unproductive having this much specs??
I also cannot afford higher specs this time because it's too too much expensive..

I am currently using a windows 7 Dell Laptop with 1.6 ghz i5 processor with 4 gb Ram and 500 GB HDD.. My CPU struggles sometimes after a heavy use and some time it crashes ...Also i frequently format my Laptop for better performance ( then runs fine for some weeks) and by now i am really tired and i have decided to switch to Mac.

Thanks

[Stromkraft]

It makes much more sense to get an older Macbook Pro 15" with a quadcore i7. Avoid 2011. The performance improvement per year in practice until 2015 is within 10%.

You also want SSD. I think 2012 is the last year where you can replace the SSD. Go for the biggest new SSD you can afford. If second hand SSD, make sure to back up daily. I run mine three times a day.

[Chuku]

I have made my mind to switch from windows to mac os...
I was just wondering if 2015 pro model with 8 gigs of ram and 128 gb ssd would be enough for the music production.. and obviously i would be getting an external hard drive

[struknes]

I have made my mind to switch from windows to mac os...
I was just wondering if 2015 pro model with 8 gigs of ram and 128 gb ssd would be enough for the music production.. and obviously i would be getting an external hard drive

Depends on what kind of productions you're going to do. If you're recording live audio (as opposed to working with MIDI clips) then you're going to want more rather than less processing power and RAM. I wouldn't go any lower than 8 GB. Better to spend the extra $$$$ so when you're inspired and making music in the future, you never run into systemic problems that bring your most creative moments to a standstill. The couple hundred you might save today will add up in lost time over the next 3-5 years of being slowed down by a sub-par machine.

I don't know how wedded you are to getting a laptop, but you might actually consider going with a desktop model. From what I understand, music production uses a great deal of processing power (due to the program itself, the plug-ins, the audio clips being retrieved and played back, etc.) so it can get your computer components quite hot. Better to work on a desktop model, where the components are further spaced out in a tower/chassis. That way the heat can dissipate, and your computer lasts longer rather than slowly cooking itself over the course of a year or however long it takes.

[struknes]

According to Bloomberg, new MacBook Pro-s are just around the corner, so maybe wait few weeks and you'll be able to afford a higher-spec current model on the sale?
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles ... ers-market

Also, I'd consider sticking to Windows because with Apple you pay 25-40% extra for the brand. You can easily get a better equipped PC laptop for same price or less, although it won't look as great Or you can get a Surface Pro 4 for similar price, but it's portability is much greater and looks sleek.

Lastly, consider what is the root of your problems with stability of your current Dell machine? It's a good practice to not use your music production laptop for anything else, because general-purpose computers get clogged up pretty fast with cached files, background processes, leftovers from 'uninstalled' programs, etc.

Yes I agree with this fellow about sticking with a PC. Macs are overrated. I've got a Macbook Pro 2013, but I like my PC better. I just built my first audio PC a few weeks ago using pcpartpicker.com, and it's excellent. i7 6700K, 16GB of RAM, Z170-P ASUS motherboard, Windows 10, Gold Standard 750 Power Supply, two SSDs at 250GB each (one for the OS, other for audio files), and the entire price tag? $1300.

[Tarekith]

The 128GB SSD would be the biggest issue for me I think. The main benefit of the SSD is how fast it is when working with all your files. So while you could use an external HD to supplement this, having to constantly shuttle files back and forth from that would eliminate some of that benefit. The i5 would be the next bottleneck, certainly the i7 is going to give you a lot more power for music making.

Though we've been making music on much less powerful computers for years too. It just doesn't sound like the most future-proof way of approaching something like you main music computer IMVHO.

[nori.lam]

If you are set on on switching to mac, I would suggest looking for a second hand macbook pro. This way you could probably afford to get a 15" with a quad core i7, 16 gigs of ram and at least a 256 ssd.

FYI, the same family of processors is used in 15's since the late 2013 rMBP to the 2015 model (Haswell). the 13's are a different story though.

So if you can find a late 2013 or mid 2014 15" that is in good shape with decent specs, I would go that route. I'm not sure what your budget is but I would guess that is about the same price as the mac you are looking at.

Another thing to think about is that the rMBP only have 2 usb ports, so an external drive may be a PITA when you have other stuff connected.

[joefrost01]

You could add an external SSD connected to the Thunderbolt port (Lacie make one). That would give you very decent disk speeds without using up a USB port.

[Tarekith]

The refurbished section of the Apple site also has deals, basically brand new laptops with full warranty at cheaper prices.

[struknes]

Good point, Tarekith. Most people are scared of refurbished stuff, because they feel they can't rely on the seller to make good if the device has a problem. But with the warranty offered on the refurbished Macbook, you're good to go. Guitar Center has a similar policy for refurbished equipment. They don't sell macbooks, of course, but--good place to look if you're trying to save on any other gear.

[TomKern]

The refurbished section of the Apple site also has deals, basically brand new laptops with full warranty at cheaper prices.

This, absolutely!!!

I would go at least for an i7 (because of the HT and four cores), a 256GB SSD (better 512) and 16 GB RAM.

Now those specs are gonna be expensive with the new Apple no matter what, but you can save a pretty penny going refurbished without the dangers of going second hand.

The only way you can get the above specs for cheap is if you can still find a refurbished mid 2012 (non retina) model of the MBPro.
These were the last models that you could open up and that used standard parts you could easily exchange yourself and as Stromkraft correctly pointed out the increase in speed of the Intel CPUs since 2011 has been quite stagnant.
I would go with the absolute lowest specced i7 for those and just update the RAM and the SSD yourself. (from a non-Apple source)
These also still have the slot DVD drives, that you would probably never use, so you can just get one of those (ca. 100 USD) kits that let you install a second SSD/HDD for extra storage space and internal back up in there.

You'd give up the better retina screen and get a comparably heavy machine, but that thing is an indestructible and powerful workhorse and I still bless the day I got mine

And ignore the Anti-Apple hipsters, it's a religion for them

[nori.lam]

Good call on the refurbishrd shop!

Totally forgot about since Apple doesnt offer that luxery here in Europe

[TomKern]

sure they do

Here for instance in Germany under "Generalüberholt": https://www.apple.com/de/shop/browse/home/specialdeals

The first one on offer for instance is a 2015 model with specs that were suggested in thread:
https://www.apple.com/de/shop/product/F ... na-display

16GB RAM, 256 GB SSD, i7 Quad Core

1909 €

Not a bad deal me thinks

[nori.lam]

Thanks!

I guess I should have said 'here in Sweden'

[TomKern]

are you sure you checked correctly?

They hide it a bit.

You have to scroll down all the way do the very bottom and then look under whatever word could mean refurbished in swedish