Need help buying mac

[graememartin]

hello there,
i am [bleep][bleep][bleep][bleep] with computers, basically want to know.
will this spec be enough to run pro tools..

Baring in mind i dont have a lot of money this is kinda the only one i can afford atm. any opinions would be great thanks


Model ID MacBookPro8,
Processor Type Intel Core i5
Processor Speed 2.3 GHz
Number of Cores Dual-Core
Motherboard
DMI (Direct Media Interface) 5 GT/s
Display
Display Technology LED
Display Size 13.3"
Display Max. Resolution 1280 x 800

Hard Drive
Hard Drive Capacity 320 GB
Hard Drive Rotation Speed 5400 RPM
Storage Controller Type Serial ATA
Memory
Installed RAM 4 GB
RAM Technology DDR3 SDRAM
Max Supported RAM 8 GB
RAM Speed 1333 MHz
Installed Cache Memory 3072 KB

[wvdklee]

Check here:

http://avid.force.com/pkb/articles/e...pple-Computers

Pro tools can be sensitive to what it is running on and what it connects with.

[John_Toolbox]

Hi Graememartin, welcome to the Duc.

The biggest drawback of this machine is the 5400 rpm drive. I would recommend upgrading it to an SSD. I would research how easy it is to replace the hard drive in this model, because you will definitely want to do that. A really good resource to use when shopping for used macs is www.everymac.com.... They have a complete list of specs for every mac made.

[VRW]

You may try it of course but actually there are crucial parts not really meeting
the requirements for PT11 unfortunately.

1. your MBP has an i5 Dual Core processor, but PT11 officially requires an i7
Quad Core processor to work as it should (some people seem to use i5s anyway,
that´s why I meant you could try it...? But it´s up to you if you want to risk buying
PT11 for this particular MBP).
2. the hard drive of your MBP is too slow (5400rpm) for the use with PT11, you
would at least need a 7200rpm hard drive or better a SSD.
3. although Avid says minimum 4GB Ram you would definitely need at least 8GB Ram
to run PT11 flawlessly (16GB are recommended).
4. if not buying one of the latest MacBooks Pro which got those super fast PCie SSDs built in,
you also would probably need a 2nd separate hard drive for your Pro Tools session including
your audio files with again at least 7200rpm and if being an external one with a FW800,
Thunderbolt or USB3 connection (no USB 2 which is too slow again).
Such a 2nd separate drive for your audio files is still another official requirement for PT11 by Avid.

So that´s probably not the best news actually, I know.
If you could afford one of those new i7 Quad Core MacBooks Pro, this would be cool of course
and would solve all your problems at once.
The most affordable variant would be
http://store.apple.com/us/buy-mac/ma.../A&step=config
The only downside with these is that they are not cheap unfortunately.

An i7 Quad Core Mac Mini could be an affordable alternative but you would have
to replace the original HD again as it comes also with only a 5400rpm HD and
you would have to put in at least 8GB Ram, 16GB would be really better for a
good PT11 performance though.
http://store.apple.com/us/buy-mac/ma.../A&step=config

As mentioned before you of course also could take the risk to buy PT11 anyway and keep your
MBP but there´s no guarantee that it will work properly.
In this case you should at least replace the 5400rpm drive, put in at least 8GB Ram
and get a 2nd drive for your audio files.
This could be an external 7200rpm drive with FW800, Thunderbolt or USB3 connection (no USB 2)
or you could replace your optical drive with a 2nd internal drive.
In this case a SSD would be recommended as to the power consumption of 2 drives in a Macbook
(a SSD needs less power than a HD) but if this would be too much money you also could use a 2nd
7200rpm HD for it.
http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Weste...al/WD7500BPKX/
http://www.amazon.com/Western-Digita...+Black+Scorpio

A good yet affordable SSD (usable for the OS drive as well as for a 2nd internal audio drive)
http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-Electr...amsung+840+Evo

Additionally you would need to get this adapter to mount the 2nd drive (no matter if SSD or HD)
in the place of the former optical drive.
http://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/DDAMBS0GB/
http://www.amazon.com/Doubler-Conver...er+macbook+pro

Anyway, you might have to check out if you will able to afford the required stuff PT needs to work properly.
If you would not want to invest this certain amount of money you could check out Logic Pro X instead.
Logic would work with your current set up (although a faster HD and at least 8GB Ram would provide a better
performance for Logic too but Logic works well with i5 processors, doesn´t need a 2nd separate fast drive
for the audio files and can be even used with a 5400rpm HD for small to middle sized sessions).

Whatever your decision may be, wishing you the best of success,


VRW





Mac Mini i7Quad, 16GB Ram, MBP Mid 2012 2,5GHz i5, 16GB Ram, MacOS 10.9.5, Apogee Quartet+Duet 2, Genelec Active, Yamaha NS10,
Pro Tools 11.2.1, Logic 10.0.7, Waves, MCDSP, Duende Native, Softube, HOFA, IK Multimedia, NI etc.

[Dre2580]

Certain MBP i5 are supported....I wish people would stop saying it's not....go to the avid website, all of the supported macs and models are listed.

[wvdklee]

The i5 chip is compliant for some configurations and the i7 is not in others (see the link I posted above).

Some setups - my own included - are known to produce random 6101 CPU errors. I get these on my i5 MBP, even though this is technically compliant for USB (it is a 2012 i5 13" MacBook pro Retina Display 2.5 GHz with 8MB RAM running OSX 10.8.5 using MBox 3 via USB 3 with La Cie 7200rpm via thunderbolt). These errors happen on sessions with 1 track of pure audio with no inserts and a 512 playback buffer size.

Given Pro Tools is quite expensive, if you want to run it and not be disappointed I would source a fully compliant set-up and heed VRW's advice. I would add further that you should connect USB devices directly to the computer and not via a USB hub.

[kb2112]

Sorry if this is a daft or answered question (newbie here!).
I see lots of comments that i7 is the way to go. That much I'm clear on. But on the avid page, the mac mini's that it says it supports are only the 2012 models.
Will PT11 run on a NEW mac mini? Looking at the 3.0 i7, with 8 gb RAM, and upgrading to the 256 flashdrive. Don't want to buy it if it won't run!

thanks!!!!!

[John_Toolbox]

Originally Posted by kb2112

Sorry if this is a daft or answered question (newbie here!).
I see lots of comments that i7 is the way to go. That much I'm clear on. But on the avid page, the mac mini's that it says it supports are only the 2012 models.
Will PT11 run on a NEW mac mini? Looking at the 3.0 i7, with 8 gb RAM, and upgrading to the 256 flashdrive. Don't want to buy it if it won't run!

thanks!!!!!

It will probably run fine on the new mac mini.. its most likely not listed because AVID hasn't tested on the latest mac mini. That being said, keep in mind that the now discontinued quad core i7 mac mini is actually superior to the current model. The new version is a dual core and designed to use less power, it is not as powerful as the previous quad version.

[kb2112]

Thanks!
Better deal available for me on the new ones... sucky they're not as good as the 2012 versions!!!!
blah!

[albee1952]

Correct me if I am wrong, but the new Mac Mini i7 is a DUAL core, and not a quad core. These days, I would get a quad as the minimum