how much memory to buy for pro tools?

[dksellou]

Hello,
I am buying a mac book pro and I have a few questions.
for Pro tools is 8GB mmeory enough? No video will be used. Only audio.
I checked Pro Tool 12 and says 16gb memory recommended but for earlier versions (e.g. Pro Tools 11) it says 8GB memory is fine. Is that true?

Also, besides the memory , is the processor a big factor too? will an Intel q5 @ 2.3 GHz be very different in performance than an Intel i5 @ 3.1 GHz.

Also what about the hard drive? I am thinking of 256SSD with an external regular hard drive. Is my approach right?

But this post is mostly a question about the memory.
Anything else I should know before buying the mac book pro?

THANK YOU SO MUCH

[jryser]

Maximize your memory as much as possible. Both my MBPRos have 16.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[albee1952]

Indeed, 32GB seems to be the sweet spot, and 16GB is minimum(and i7 is better than i5)

[TOM@METRO]

I would go with 32 on any new system.

[musicman691]

Originally Posted by TOM@METRO

I would go with 32 on any new system.

Agreed but the op is looking at a MacBookPro; max ram is 16 gig (which isn't anything to sneeze at).

[junkgear]

Originally Posted by dksellou

Hello,
I am buying a mac book pro and I have a few questions.
for Pro tools is 8GB mmeory enough? No video will be used. Only audio.
I checked Pro Tool 12 and says 16gb memory recommended but for earlier versions (e.g. Pro Tools 11) it says 8GB memory is fine. Is that true?

More memory is always better, but it really depends on how you plan to use Pro Tools. 8GB is fine for smaller sessions where you are not using a lot of sample libraries. If you can afford it, get 16 and it will give you room to grow as you get more and more into PT.

Also, besides the memory , is the processor a big factor too? will an Intel q5 @ 2.3 GHz be very different in performance than an Intel i5 @ 3.1 GHz.

You probably won't see much difference when in PT between 2.3 and 3.1 Ghz and again, it comes down to how you use PT. Plug-Ins use CPU and editing audio uses CPU. If you plan on high track counts with a good number of audio processing plug-ins, you might want to go for the faster processor. If most of your projects have less than 10 audio tracks and all bus to one or two plug-ins, you'll most likely be fine.

Also what about the hard drive? I am thinking of 256SSD with an external regular hard drive. Is my approach right?

Get SSD wherever you can. It is a good idea to record your sessions to an external drive. SSD would be better, but if you do use a mechanical external drive, make sure it is 7200 RPM.