Advice on MacBook Pro purchase

[Banana]

I need some advice on a Macbook Pro I am considering. I need to know if it can run my sessions smoothly, as I am sick of wrestling with my PC.

I can get a fairly new 15" Macbook Pro 2.53 GHz at a reasonable prize, and I need to know if it's capable of running my typical session:

Pro Tools LE through an Mbox 2 Pro
One Midi track with Superior 2.0
Up to six guitar tracks with Amplitube Metal
One bass track with Amplitube Metal
Up to four tracks with audio only

I am also planning on using my Glyph Firewire drive for audio.

Can this machine run this session smoothly? Should I look for a 2.66 GHz machine instead? Should I wait for the new Macbooks to be released?

Any input greatly appreciated.

[Darney]

Originally Posted by Banana

I need some advice on a Macbook Pro I am considering. I need to know if it can run my sessions smoothly, as I am sick of wrestling with my PC.

I can get a fairly new 15" Macbook Pro 2.53 GHz at a reasonable prize, and I need to know if it's capable of running my typical session:

Pro Tools LE through an Mbox 2 Pro
One Midi track with Superior 2.0
Up to six guitar tracks with Amplitube Metal
One bass track with Amplitube Metal
Up to four tracks with audio only

I am also planning on using my Glyph Firewire drive for audio.

Can this machine run this session smoothly? Should I look for a 2.66 GHz machine instead? Should I wait for the new Macbooks to be released?

Any input greatly appreciated.

It will smoke. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised at the performance.

[Monaco]

I'm sorry, but I don't think any MacBook can properly accommodate any pro tools session. I would take a pimped out G4 / G5 over any MBP, but that's me personally.

It can be done with a lot of configuring and the right hardware peripherals. I own a unibody and went through HELL to get it to run PT8.

I recommend 8GB (2x4) RAM and this enclosure with a seagate barracuda for audio drive. my glyph gave me nothing buy hell.

[Banana]

So, two conflicting answers. It seems the positive one has first hand knowledge judging from the signature, though. In my experience, the Amplitube plugin is very demanding, and my sessions on the PC went to about 80% on the CPU meter. Compatibility issues put the final nail in the PC coffin, as I could not get the Glyph HDD to work during recording.

I need to have a portable solution, so a laptop is the only alternative right now.

Is there any other differences between the 2.53 and the 2.66 GHz versions?

Edit: seems both answers have first hand knowledge, now that I look closely. Kinda makes it hard to properly judge.

[Monaco]

actually, both of us have G5's and mbp's. ultimately it comes down to preference but I'm pretty sure we both agree that desktops are better in a studio environment... I'm not going to try to convince you of something that everyone already knows. let me just say that if I was forced to chose one or the other, it would be my G5 with 16GB ram, 2x1TB hdds and my nVidia 7800. think about it

[Banana]

Originally Posted by Monaco

actually, both of us have G5's and mbp's. ultimately it comes down to preference but I'm pretty sure we both agree that desktops are better in the studio.

No doubt. But I can not have a desktop right now (due to space restrictions and several recording locations), so I need to know if the 15" MacBook Pro 2.53 GHz can fulfil my limited needs.

[Monaco]

Originally Posted by Banana

No doubt. But I can not have a desktop right now (due to space restrictions and several recording locations), so I need to know if the 15" MacBook Pro 2.53 GHz can fulfil my limited needs.

the only thing I'd worry about is your 6 guitar tracks with Amplitube. You might have a chance if they're mono.

[Banana]

Originally Posted by Monaco

the only thing I'd worry about is your 6 guitar tracks with Amplitube. You might have a chance if they're mono.

They are indeed mono.

[CME]

Fwiw my MacBook Pro could easily hang with, and in some ways outperform, my 2.0 dual core G5. However having said that you are using a lot of amplitudes. Amp sims are some of the most processor hungry plugs out there. I personally would wait until they update the MacBooks to either i5 or i7 procs. IMO more cores will do you better than higher clock speed.

[Banana]

I see. There is no question the new versions will be way better when they first arrive, but as mentioned I am considering a used machine, which will probably be half the price of a new one. If problems with the performance is expected, it's no use considering it, though.