Looking to purchase New Mac for pro tools, help!

[Willin2reck]

Originally Posted by musicman691

Thanks for the clarification. Still it's going to get to you with High Sierra on it and not Sierra. Given what your current machine has and the new one it's not that much of a jump in tech except for Thunderbolt 3 versus the original Thunderbolt you have now. If you really want to save some money put in 16 gig of ram for $158. Swap in a 500 gig ssd again from OWC for $225 to $260 depending on the exact drive in that nominal size. Total $418 plus maybe a bit extra for the tools from OWC and you've saved yourself about $1200 which is no small change for a student. Any reasonably adept person should be able to do the swap out - see the videos on the OWC site.

$1200 will buy a LOT of beer & pizza.

haha!
thanks bro, you're the man.

[aslamamin]

Also a quick question do people here,I run pro tools from their external hard-drive? I just had any songs i created saved on the external with the program itself on my Mac?. Is this ok? Also I havnt set it up yet because i need more connections which Im working on (USB inputs etc), but from what I read a 5400rpm won't work for me and I need a 7200rpm? Does it need to be a SSD drive? Im really trying to save as much as possible , so if anyone has any links to the best possible price one thats suitable for me ? I would be grateful.Thanks a million

[musicman691]

Originally Posted by aslamamin

Also a quick question do people here,I run pro tools from their external hard-drive? I just had any songs i created saved on the external with the program itself on my Mac?. Is this ok? Also I havnt set it up yet because i need more connections which Im working on (USB inputs etc), but from what I read a 5400rpm won't work for me and I need a 7200rpm? Does it need to be a SSD drive? Im really trying to save as much as possible , so if anyone has any links to the best possible price one thats suitable for me ? I would be grateful.Thanks a million

What do you mean when you say 'run PT from an external drive'? Do you mean pulling the session from that drive? That's the preferred way to go Unless you have a roomy ssd as a system drive. A 5400 rpm drive is a total bust with regards to recording in any program, especially PT. 7200 rpm is good if you can't afford a roomy ssd. If you get a spinner make sure it's not a so-called green drive that has energy saving features like speed changing, etc.

[aslamamin]

Yes sorry, I have a macbook pro i7, 2.6ghz, 16gb, 1600mhz, with 500gb flashdrive, retina, late 2012/13 model I think. Yeah I pull saved sessions from the external drive, but have pro tools installed on my mac. I'm very new to music production so appreciate the advise. So I need a 7200rpm? and is it better having pro tools installed on my mac and just pulling the saved sessions from this 7200rpm external drive?

[VRW]

Originally Posted by aslamamin

Yes sorry, I have a macbook pro i7, 2.6ghz, 16gb, 1600mhz, with 500gb flashdrive, retina, late 2012/13 model I think. Yeah I pull saved sessions from the external drive, but have pro tools installed on my mac. I'm very new to music production so appreciate the advise. So I need a 7200rpm? and is it better having pro tools installed on my mac and just pulling the saved sessions from this 7200rpm external drive?

To work with Pro Tools you will have to use two seperate drives.

1) the internal Flash drive of your MacBook where you will have all your programs installed on (incl. Pro Tools) and where you can install small sample libraries like the AIR Instruments
or other smaller libraries on too (for larger sample libraries you will have to use a third separate drive).

2) an external hard drive with at least 7200rpm or any SSD where you will have your Pro Tools sessions (incl. all your audio files) on and where you will have to record on all your stuff
you will do in Pro Tools finally.

With Pro Tools you might not use the internal drive of your MacBook to record your Pro Tools sessions on. Sooner or later problems may occur on doing this.

So, what you need will be an external HDD with 7200rpm or an SSD connected to your MacBook via USB 3 or Thunderbolt. There you will have to put on your Pro Tools sessions (incl. all
audio files) and you always will have to use this one for any recordings in Pro Tools.
Means, whatever you will be doing in PT, first open Pro Tools app and then open and work on any sessions directly from your external drive. Same thing if you create new sessions.
Open Pro Tools app, create a new session and save it directly to your external drive. No Pro Tools sessions and audio files on your internal Flash drive and no working on/recording Pro Tools
sessions to your internal drive. Always use a seperate, external drive for it only.

As you said to be on a budget the most affordable solution for you will be to buy this 7200rpm HDD
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Western-Dig...ital+black+2.5

and put it in that USB 3 enclosure.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00KW4T6..._t2_B015FMBPAQ

This USB 3 enclosure is capable of housing any 2.5"/Laptop drive and you can change/replace the drive yourself very easily. Means if you need a larger drive in the future or you just want
to upgrade to an SSD later it´s easily done. Just buy the new drive and replace your current one with it.

As for your question you do not necessarily need a SSD for your Pro Tools recordings. A good quality 7200rpm HDD will do the job. SSDs are nice and fast and there is absolutely no noise
from it which might be useful if you are recording very silent stuff in front of your Macbook and your external drive. Anyway, you see, the 7200rpm HDD will last out for your needs for sure.

By the way, you didn't tell us which audio interface you are using with Pro Tools. If it is any USB audio interface you will have to get a powered USB 3 hub additionally. Just because of the
lack of enough USB ports on your MacBook. This one should be useable though.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0192LVM..._t4_B01FS9Q01K

If you have any Thunderbolt audio interface you will not necessarily need an additional USB hub.

If you haven't got any audio interface yet let me recommend you this one. It´s really great for the price.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Focusrite-C...ce+thunderbolt
If this would be too much money you can go with this one as well.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Focusrite-S...=focusrite+2i2

Both are the best options in their price range as for audio quality and reliability and both will work with Pro Tools.

Hope this all will help you further in a way.

The best of success to you.

Cheers.

[Obsidian Dragon]

To the OP and others interesting in getting a new MBP for Protools, please note that currently, none of the 13" MBP's have a QUAD core i7. In general they come with an DUAL core i5. You can get one configured from the factory with a DUAL core i7 (notice not a QUAD core i7).

Having said that, the consensus among all the experienced folks here is that the QUAD core i7 is the best for Protools (along with 16 GB of RAM). Therefore the only new MBP's that meet this criteria are the 15" MBP's. Protools has always needed intensive hardware to perform well. It is a part of the investment required. I don't want to sound snobbish, but if you want to use Protools, please don't skimp and get lesser hardware such as an i5 or 8GB of RAM. Even the DUAL core i7 is less than optimal. If you can't afford it now, I suggest waiting until you can, rather than buying something you regret because it is not up to the task. Each person's needs are different and therefore some may get by with an i5 processor or maybe a DUAL core i7 will be enough for some, but currently the sweet spot is a QUAD core i7 with 16 GB or ram (the maximum configured in any current MBP). Be warned that you cannot upgrade it as both the RAM and the SSD are soldered on to the motherboard, so buy what you need up front.

The caveat is that now Apple only ships all of their new machines with High Sierra. Some folks have it working successfully with Protools 12 but, as of this writing, it has not been officially certified yet. If you purchase the MBP at another retailer (Best Buy, etc.) you might still get a unit with Sierra (not High Sierra) and that is certified for PT12.

Keep in mind there are some 2016 model that looks exactly like the 2017 models (including function key and touch bar models). The difference is the 2016 models have the older 6th generation "Sky Lake" processor from Intel, while the 2017 models come with the newer 7th generation "Kaby Lake" processor. It is just a minor bump in speed but there are significant power efficiencies and better discrete graphic processors in the 2017 15" MBP models. You may save a couple hundred dollars ($100-$300) by getting the 2016 models but keep in mind the differences mentioned above.

I hope that helps clear things ups for people interested in purchasing the latest model (or almost latest model) MBP.

[Sugarnutz]

I’d agree with some posters above and go the upgrade route to 16 Gb of RAM and a 512 Gb SSD. The quad core i5 can perform quite well, my PT HD4 is in an i5 system with no issues. Currently my native system is a 2015 MBP Retina with i7 quad, 16 Gb RAM and 512 Gb flash drive. All of my external drives are in USB 3.0 chassis including a BluRay RW, all super fast using Anker 3.0 USB hubs. Save yer’ money and just upgrade.

[DannyB_KY]

My back up/take anywhere MBP is an early 2011, 15 inch with I7quad core 2.0 Ghz. I installed 16gb and a 500gb SSD from OWC. It felt like the power doubled. I also added an OWC Thunderbolt dock so I could have USB3.

It's plenty of horsepower for native PT 12.

[Southsidemusic]

Originally Posted by DannyB_KY

My back up/take anywhere MBP is an early 2011, 15 inch with I7quad core 2.0 Ghz. I installed 16gb and a 500gb SSD from OWC. It felt like the power doubled. I also added an OWC Thunderbolt dock so I could have USB3.

It's plenty of horsepower for native PT 12.

Why do you need a "really understanding spouse" ???

[musicman691]

Originally Posted by Southsidemusic

Why do you need a "really understanding spouse" ???

Sure helps