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Old 04-16-2010, 08:59 AM
Larryboy Larryboy is offline
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Default New MacBook Pros

I was hoping to get some advice about purchasing one of them.

Now I've got a 2 year old MacBook 2.4 GHz model (I guess I was one of the few to get one). I basically trade in a computer after two or three years and am thinking about doing so now but, when I look at the new models, I'm not really sure that I would be getting that much of a speed boost. At first I was thinking about one of the 13" units (briefly) until I read the specs - same C2D processor as my 2-yr old model - what's up with that. And then I noticed that they don't have digital inputs (if I'm reading it right). I sometimes like to do stereo recording direct from a converter - great sound and I don't have to worry about software funkyness.

So this leaves me with going with a 15" 2.4 i5. Let's see, faster processor, faster ram, more ram, bigger hard disk, L3 cache. Bigger screen sounds nice but will this really be much of a speed boost from what I currently have? I don't play games at all so I think the extra graphics capabilities are not important to me.

Also, is anyone out there using a Mac fitted with an SSD card and using Pro Tools?
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Old 04-16-2010, 01:47 PM
nst7 nst7 is offline
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Default Re: New MacBook Pros

Others who know more will probably chime in here, but everything I've heard indicates that the I5 or I7 processors are significantly better than any of the Intel Core 2 Duos. Even Apple states on their site about the new Macbook pros that they can be up to 50% faster than just the previous generation (and that's later than even the one you have). That's huge. They also have hyperthreading which helps even more (you can read up on that).

As for the solid state drives, you'll still need an external to record audio onto, and external ssd's are pretty expensive, but if you can swing it, I've heard good things about having ssd's for the basic system drive. Programs load faster, more responsive, etc. Less moving parts so they hold up better, etc.

There's been some threads on the forum about ssd's in general so you may want to look them up.
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Old 04-18-2010, 06:52 PM
barters81 barters81 is offline
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Default Re: New MacBook Pros

I would opt for the 15" model purely for the express card expansion capability. I'm running my firewire interface through the FW800 input, but have my external HD running through the express card port. Works well.
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Old 04-18-2010, 08:53 PM
nst7 nst7 is offline
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Default Re: New MacBook Pros

Actually, only the 17" model has the express card slot.
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