Yet another i5 v i7 question!

[chrislewisdrums]

Hi all. I'm going to buy a macbook pro to run PT10. I've been trawling around reading threads about i5 v i7, but I'm still a little confused as to which is going to be best for my situation, so I thought I'd give you my scenario to receive the best advice...

I want to buy a 13'' Macbook Pro. The reason I want 13'' is because I work on cruise ships a lot and want the portability. I know some people say 15'' is better, but my mind is pretty much made up on this.

The two machines I've been looking at are the 13'' 2.5GHz Dual-core Intel Core i5 with 4GB Ram, and 13'' 2.9GHz Dual-core Intel Core i7 with 8GB Ram. The i7 also comes with a slightly bigger HD (750gb as opposed to a 500gb). I use a Focusrite Pro 40 with 8 pre amps (looking to upgrade in the near future to 16 pre amp with the addition of an Octopre) for tracking live drums. I want to be able to track drums at home, then take the macbook with me on the ships for mixing and editing. I'm thinking of going with the i7 with the extra Ram.

Is there any input anyone can give me? Perhaps there's a machine that would be better that I haven't seen, or maybe I should get the i5 and upgrade Ram or something? Any advice gratefully received!

Chris

[Darryl Ramm]

Get an i7 but get a quad core. Just no reason to get an i5 anything. Hard to say much more without knowing what you are doing, your budget etc. edit: But I like to buy laptops that have a technological chance of lasting around three years or do and won't seem like a slow boat (or cruise ship) anchor tomorrow.

The 13" MBP only have integrated graphics IIRC so formally does not meet minimum Pro Tools specs. 4GB is a bit low for a new computer, but you could always upgrade the RAM later (in the MBP models not the MBP Retina model).

An SSD is very nice, I would not buy any new computer without an SSD drive. If you are careful and don't go crazy you can even record to an SSD system drive. (Not hauling an external drive around is way nicer than 13" vs 15" case -- so I would get the 15" MBP and install two SSD inside it.)

Rumors of a new 13" MBP Retina coming soon. Personally today I would get a 15" matte screen MBP. You can stick two SSD and 16 GB inside it, has thunderbolt, FW 800 and USB 3 and it's internally user upgradable unlike the MBP Retinas. And importantly it is quad core i7 that usually works out as 2-3x the compute power for plugins or VIs as a dual core i7 laptop. I just don't see a dual core laptop having a very long life because of its weak processing power. And I could not imagine trying to mix on a 13" display. The 13" retina might make that more tolerable, if you have good eyesight... I have travelled lots with a 17" MBP and similar large laptops and it's not much more than lugging around a 13" MB, except trying to open it on airline trays, and once it's open the bigger screen is wonderful.


Darryl

[Dism]

Originally Posted by Darryl Ramm

Get an i7 but get a Quad core. Just no reason to get an i5 anything. Hard to say much more without knowing what you are doing, budget etc.

An SSD is very nice, I would not buy any new computer without an SSD drive. If you are careful and don't go crazy you can even record to an SSD system drive.

Rumors of a new 13" Retina coming soon. Personally I would get a 15" matte screen MBP. You can stick two SSD and 16 GB inside it, has thunderbolt, FW 800 and USB 3 and it's internally user upgradable unlike the MBP Retinas. And importantly it is quad core... that usually works out as 2-3x the compute power for pkugins or VIs as a dual core laptop. I hst don't see a dual core laptop having a very long life because of its weak processing power. I could not imagine trying to mix on a 13" display. The retina might make that more tolerable. I have travelled lots with a 17" MBP and similar large laptops a d it's not much more than lugging around a 13" MB except trying to open it on airline trays.


Darryl

Everything he said.

In the audio world, CPU is still king. If you can afford the i7, get the i7.

[chrislewisdrums]

Thanks. The reason I said 13'' is because being a drummer, I have a bunch of stuff I have to carry around in the airports. If I'm using the machine at home, I'd probably use an external monitor if poss. I don't really have a budget in mind, and I may consider going up to the 15'' if you think mixing on a 13'' would be so bad... A question about the SSD: when you say if I'm careful I can record to it, what do you mean? I'm tracking drums, so recording a minimum of 8 tracks at the same time. What are the advantages of SSD?

[Dism]

Originally Posted by chrislewisdrums

Thanks. The reason I said 13'' is because being a drummer, I have a bunch of stuff I have to carry around in the airports. If I'm using the machine at home, I'd probably use an external monitor if poss. I don't really have a budget in mind, and I may consider going up to the 15'' if you think mixing on a 13'' would be so bad... A question about the SSD: when you say if I'm careful I can record to it, what do you mean? I'm tracking drums, so recording a minimum of 8 tracks at the same time. What are the advantages of SSD?

SSDs are several times faster than even high-end traditional spinning platter HDDs. They also use less energy, generate less heat, and are completely silent. However, they are still new, and there isn't much real world data on long term reliability yet. So what he says be careful, he means keep backups.

[chrislewisdrums]

Oh ok. I've been looking around to see where I can buy my machine from. I'm in UK, but even the Apple store doesn't seem to have a machine with that spec listed. Is there somewhere I can select my own spec such as SSD's, Ram, processor etc? Like I said, I'm in the UK. Do I need a custom built macbook?

[bradch00]

http://www.apple.com/uk/mac/

You should be able to spec one out here.

[CME]

I'll also agree on getting the 15" with a quad-core i7. It will have a lot more power than a dual-core. That said I can still get by with my almost ancient c2d MBP. But if I were to buy a new one today it would absolutely be a quad-core i7. The fastest I could afford. Then I'd upgrade to an SSD and up the ram myself.

[chrislewisdrums]

You've all been most helpfull. Thankyou very much!

[chrislewisdrums]

If I do any upgrades myself, does this affect any Apple warranties?