Macbook Advice...

[asm]

So my 15" Macbook Pro has died and for a variety of reasons I've been given £500 credit towards a replacement Mac. Its only valid in an Apple store (so a refurb is not an option).

I've got kids and xmas is upon us, so I'm feeling the pinch and can't really justify the expense of a machine I'd really want.

The base level 15" MBP (non-touchbar) looks to be the best value for a performance machine. The base level 13" MBP has 8GB RAM and 128GB SSD, which may be ok (if I upgrade the RAM+SSD on this it starts approaching the price of the 15").

The new Macbook looks pretty, but I expect that the single usb-c port will be problematic.

The Macbook Air is the cheapest, but it is a bit old and about to retire, and the weakest performance wise. Makes the most sense in terms of immediate cash flow.

Would I regret buying the cheapest Macbook Air? Should I just suck it up and find the money for a MBP? Go all out for the 15"? Sell one of my kids?

Given the machines that I have worked with in the past, anything _should_ have the power. But all software seems to need more power year upon year so that doesn't always hold.

First world problems!

[Críoch]

I'm in he same boat. My kick ass 2011 mbp died cos the lead free solder in the fancy graphics card went rogue. I had to let it overheat in th laptop bag so it would shut down & boot up in safe mode. Now it's completely dead.

Bought it 2nd hand.. so no comeback regarding recalls. That s the worst about buying used. Excellent machines become vintage before they're ready to be put out to grass. I was quoted 900e for a repair job then told that they didn't have the parts anymore lol. Nnnnnrrrgh

I could sell some of the bits I've accumulated, but it's taken me a long time to do so, hence why I'm preferring to do without a computer for the time being & save up. After all I've said, I'll be buying 2nd hand again. A 2012 or 13 Mac mini that belongs to a friend. It's a monster of a machine. They changed them after that version & they lost some of their bang. It's maxed out & super fast. I'll also be able to put a ssd into it & it's got FireWire for my motu soundcard. It'll be worth waiting for. It'll have a 27" monitor too hopefully.

I know what you mean about connections. You have to look at it from all sides. I wanted a good few usbs & FireWire as I only bought a new soundcard last year. I think even if I didn't have this Mac mini coming.. I would have bought a 2nd hand one & pimped it out.

And ive kids too man. I know what the pain feels like. I'm happy to get my pressies in early-ish 2018

[Markus Wolf]

Im currently Running the studio of an MBP 2012 15" i7 Intel 2.2ghz w 8g Ram and 250ssd. It connects to a 42" TV that I use like a monitor. I use a USB hub with the setup for all my MIDI Hub and, Interface, Sequencer etc. Im running I believe 10.7 or 10.8 Mac OSX and this is the reason ive been able to run this setup. I refuse to upgrade my Operating system to the latest FREE one because it will slow down the computer due to the demand on resources. All that being said my computer works fine. As for you these days the minimum I would buy when looking at a Mac is i7 w/16g ram and 500g ssd drive. These specs will be more than fine. You might want to look at the Mac mini's, they will have the above specs at less than the MBP's. If you cant get a fast enough machine then I would wait save a few $$$ and then get a faster system. I think if you compromise on the specs eventual you will regret it especially with the new OSX's and the demand they put on resources. Is youre credit good for Apple's refurb section?

[Críoch]

Yeah.. i never upgrade now.

[asm]

Re 2011MBP GPU... I haven't tried it (yet), but you might want to look at this or this. Not much to lose other than time and sanity!

[asm]

Not valid on refurb .

I feel I'd regret a Macbook Air, so somehow I'll have to find the extra for a better machine.

But the whole ports thing pisses me off. My interface is Firewire. I mean, not including a normal USB port WTF?

[rsntr]

I think the answer to your question really depends on whether you want to use the latest software. As I just wrote in another thread, I'm still on a mid 2009 MacBook Pro and Live 9 runs quite fine on it. It might have something to do with me not using many softsynths but rather audio. Therefore the Air might be sufficient for you. With regards to USB-C port I once checked whether old MOTU FireWire interfaces still work with it (via an adaptor) and found positive anwers on the interwebs.

[Markus Wolf]

Effects like reverbs and delays, VST's and AU's will eat up resources....

[rsntr]

Effects like reverbs and delays, VST's and AU's will eat up resources....

It depends what you use, how you use it and how much of it you use. I personally don't need the latest shiny CPU-hungry VSTi. If you do then, well, you better get a fast computer.

[Amøbe]

Not a big expert on the subject, but I know a guy, who just bought and Air, and he returned it after two weeks, because - according to him - it was a strange middle ground between a tablet and a workhorse (he said for the price of it, it was very underwhelming, when you use heavier programs). So I wouldn't recommend that!

[asm]

Its going to be a lean lean xmas in my house. lean lean lean....

[Markus Wolf]

Buy an MPC on the used market until you can save for a faster machine, MPC is for life

[sinesnsnares]

My trusty 2011 mbp was getting to her last legs this year (I’ve replaced so many parts on that thing I don’t even remember what exactly it had) and I was looking for the upgrade. I’ve now got a 2015 mbp, 15 inches. I’m very, very happy with it. My only qualm is that the ssd drive doesn’t have quite enough memory, but I plan on grabbing a USB hub and using my external hard drive anyways. Just be mindful that you will be forced to update your software and iOS (if you haven’t been doing that). I was a little miffed that with a new computer worth a couple thousand, I still had to spend $300 on updates to get iback to producing. But hey, Logic Pro x is surprisingly great!

[msl]

I found a good deal and bought a lightly used top of the line 2015 15' MBP in April... 2.8Ghz, 1Tb SSD. I figured the new models were too much of a PITA what with the ports and so on and over priced imo. So I think I'm good now till 2020...

Was on a supped up 2011 15' MBP before, it was on its last legs... depends on how much you use yours (I use mine all day everyday and gig with it regularly), these machines tend to start breaking around the 5 year mark, bu this point mine have paid for them selves by then a few times over.



.

[winston]

i'd been kind of looking at this too. my hdd died last month and i just replaced it. my brother has one too with a faulty hdd and a dieing battery which i am going to take and replace both of those parts and use that solely for music as i use my mac for work and internet stuff. he got a new 15inch touchbar one, but upgraded the hdd to 500gb ssd. it turned out quite pricey as OP says these apple upgrades do, but 128gb is just way too small IMO. isn't the full ableton suite pack around 40-50gb? with background updates and other bs you have no control over, 128gb will be gone in no time. i get you can have external hdd etc, but i'd rather have the convenience of all things on the laptop and ext hdd for backup.
it's a tricky decision, which is why i'm sticking with my 2012 13" macbook and trying to avoid updating.

[Hades]

I'I'll also be able to put a ssd into it & it's got FireWire for my motu soundcard.
...
I wanted a good few usbs & FireWire as I only bought a new soundcard last year.

You bought a new soundcard with FW last year ? I hope it runs on USB 3.0 as well ?
I sold my FW soundcard last year because I had very little choice and got fed up with the situation...
FW was really really reliable. Then Apple decided to ditch the format to promote their Thunderbolt some more,
so the last MBP I bought only had a Thunderbolt connection (apart from 2 USB ports of course).
The cunts at Apogee told me things would run fine with a FW to Thunderbolt convertor piece.
It didn't, the longer I had mine, the more the soundcard started producing glitches all over.
In the end I sold my (otherwise perfectly fine) Ensemble and got a MOTU 16A, now connected via Thunderbolt to that same MBP.
I paid 180€ just for the Thunderbolt cable FFS... though in all fairness it is a 5m cable,
but even then you just know they're ripping you off, and it was that or a 2m cable or less, which was not enough for here in my studio,
and which still costed like 70€ or something...

[asm]

I should probably use it to get the base Macbook Air, sell it on eBay, then spend the money on a PC. But I still remember why I moved off PC all those years back

[Hades]

And ive kids too man. I know what the pain feels like. I'm happy to get my pressies in early-ish 2018

Trust me, you don't even need to have kids to experience X-mas as a massive money-black hole.
My kids are not the ones that are costing me handsful of money at this time of the year...

I got 3 sisters, so I have a godchild from each one of them (you can't really refuse one of them, now can you ?).
Then some years ago my one sister died and my bewidowed brother-in-law's brother hanged himself about 2 years later,
so I heard the youngest of my deceased sister saying "now my mummy and my godfather are both in heaven",
and none of the folks at his part of the family were taking any initiative,
so I couldn't just shut up and have that little girl's heart break like that.
Which means I now have 4 godchildren, even though my paycheck has always been the lowest of my whole family.

Last year X-mas costed me around 400 to 500€, just for my godchildren (there's also 2 of their b-days at the end of the year)
and that's only if I don't ask any presents from others but just ask money instead so I can invest this directly into all the rest of the shit I gotta pay for...

Honestly, I don't want to complain,
like someone said : 1st world problems really,
and after all, I volunteered myself,
but FFS, X-mas has seriously become one big capitalistic event.

I heard Mary and Joseph booked themselves a room at Burj Al Arab this year...
And the 3 Kings sold their camels and are coming to visit in their Ferrari 350GT.

[Hades]

I should probably use it to get the base Macbook Air, sell it on eBay, then spend the money on a PC. But I still remember why I moved off PC all those years back

I was just gonna fucking type that in my next reply, seriously !!
let me find a few minutes to give you my opinion on Apple (and I've been through enough of their laptops during the years)...

[Hades]

With regards to USB-C port I once checked whether old MOTU FireWire interfaces still work with it (via an adaptor) and found positive anwers on the interwebs.

hey, at first I found positive answers as well,
and then I had bought my new MBP and been using the FW to TB adapter, and slowly entered a world of frustration...
I swear I searched for weeks for user stories before I made the switch and bought my new MBP, hoping for the best,
(you can probably even find back the topics on subsekt where I asked if nobody had used the same kind of setup)
however, I wasn't able to find anything at the time,
but sure enough, later on, the interwebs started producing similar stories to back up my experience...

Not saying this will be the case for everyone of course.
But I had nothing but trouble with these convertor pieces (adapters)...