Dumb question - Can I run PT Ultimate on a Macbook Pro?

[innerbooty]

Hey,
Long time Pro Tools MIX, HD Accel and now HDX user. Very little experience running PT in a portable environment, although I did run PT 10 LE on a Macbook Pro using Built-in audio many years ago.

I may need to do some work while traveling this summer, so I'm wondering if I can run my copy of PT Ultimate 2021.6.3 on a Macbook Pro (which I have yet to buy). If "yes", can I run it off Built-In Audio, or will I need an interface, and if so, does it have to be Avid, or any Core Audio?

Thanks for the info!!

[Darryl Ramm]

You can run Ultimate on any computer with a suitable interface. On Macs the Build-In Output/Speakers/Headphones count as a suitable interface, fine as long as that's all the IO you need.

You just need to install the software and connect your iLok... or at least in principle. Any new MacBook Pro you purchase is going to be running ~Monterey on Apple Silicon, and you will want to be on Pro Tools 2022.5 or later for at least the critical Aux performance bug fix and you will need to install the latest Avid Plugin bundles, and you will need to check compatibility with any third party plugins.

Pro Tools on Apple Silicon based Macs is still an Intel binary that runs under Rosetta 2, and all the plugins it uses today are also Intel binaries. That will change some time in the future when Apple releases Apple silicon support in Pro Tools, and at that time you'll likely need to move to Apple silicon ports of your plugins. So you are moving to an Apple MacBook Pro now you are signing up for some instability here, a likely need to track latest releases, and a little more work at times. But this *is* the future and even already the current situation on Apple Silicon is working well for many users. But all that _might_ be a good thing for you to look at on a laptop before it will eventually come at your HDX studio systems.

Be careful not to under-configure a MacBook Pro with memory or SSD. I would max out the internal SSD as much as you need/can afford and have macOS, samples, and sessions all on that internal super fast NVMe SSD. And have at least as much memory as you would configure on an equivalent Intel Mac for the work you want to do (and maybe pad it to let the MBP last a number of years). Neither SSD or memory can be upgraded by you.

[innerbooty]

Thanks for the super detailed response! I'm actually just looking to get kind of a "beater" little travel rig, and it will be for basic podcast / audiobook editing while I'm traveling, so does not need intensive DSP or IO. Also is not intended to replace my home HDX rig. Looking at used 2015 Macbook Pros, running Mojave, which I am running now, and find to be very stable.

[Darryl Ramm]

Originally Posted by innerbooty

Thanks for the super detailed response! I'm actually just looking to get kind of a "beater" little travel rig, and it will be for basic podcast / audiobook editing while I'm traveling, so does not need intensive DSP or IO. Also is not intended to replace my home HDX rig. Looking at used 2015 Macbook Pros, running Mojave, which I am running now, and find to be very stable.

OK that's the other direction, pick up a used Intel MBP, go with the macOS you are using now and keep things simple. My only caution with some of those MBP is the damn butterfly keyboards. I owned several, all awful to type on, let alone having the stupid TouchBar. I had one butterfly keyboard start to glitch, Apple had trouble repairing it, ended up having to do a deal with me for a whole new MBP.

See https://www.macrumors.com/guide/butt...issor-keyboard

I'm expecting the transition to Apple silicon to be fairly rapid, I expect Apple is going to keep embarrassing Intel with how bad the Intel processors/roadmap is. A wild ass guess but say after Avid ships apple silicon support in Pro Tools I'm guessing that Avid will end new updates for Intel platforms. It's more QA costs, but as Apple stops issuing new macOS version on Intel and keeps plowing ahead with aggressive macOS changes on Apple Silicon that forces the products on each platform to diverge. But you are not buying the MBP for long term use...

[bradch00]

"let alone having the stupid TouchBar"... oh that's being kind....

[Darryl Ramm]

Originally Posted by bradch00

"let alone having the stupid TouchBar"... oh that's being kind....

I know it's take a lot of therapy sessions to get here. I'm a software developer/heavy vi user. That escape key sucks, even once they put it back in the touch bar. Just WTF were they thinking with the butterfly keyboard or touch bar... Oh I know... "we know better than users, no need to market test stuff and listen to negative feedback".

[innerbooty]

Thanks again! Yes, that's why I've homed in on the 2015 MB Pro. I read that the keyboards for the 2016-2018 models were finicky. And the 2015's can run OS X up to Big Sur, and they are cheap, so it seems ok. I am assuming that at some point in the not too distant future my whole rig will upgrade to an M1 based chip, but I'm going to try and wait for the right time to do that. This current MB Pro rig is just the bide the time for now

[dominicperry]

My 2015 i7 MBP was not really suitable to run PT on - sessions would get too big very fast. Fans would come on and stay on. I'd prefer a M1 Air over an old intel MBP personally, as long as it ran my plugins.

Dominic

[daeron80]

I second everything Darryl said. I have used 2021.x versions on an older MBP/Mojave with only 16 GB RAM for editing spoken word, and for small music demo mixes. I used it daily for five weeks last summer while out of the country. It worked great, even with heavy plugins like Neutron and SuprEsser. It even worked great in tandem with RX 7 via Connect/RX Monitor.

I relied on the built-in headphone jack, though I must admit, the quality difference between HBP headphone and HD Omni, for example, is night and day when considering detailed imaging and solid low end. You might consider a hifi USB headphone amp if you're concerned.

[innerbooty]

Thanks, this is all a big help!