General MAC Laptop Question...

[SparkyCanada]

Hey there.

I'm looking at picking up either a Macbook or Macbook Pro - but wonder if the extra cost for the Pro version is worth it?

Most likely just going to be doing basic stuff with it - nothing too taxing music wise (but having said that - you know what will happen )

Also - since I plan on schlepping this thing around a lot - do you people find that the sacrifice in a smaller screen as with the Macbook is worth the smaller footprint - or do you wish you had bought a 15" screen?

I currently have an older 17" Macbook G4 with a single 1.5 GHz processor - which I really like - but work demands are squezing me into using some Windows applications - and I really don't want to haul 2 laptops around...

Thanks for any guidance...


SparkyCanada

[bassmutant]

Well I've got the older 15" 12week pro version and a friend has the regular mb. I really like the regular, but my primary reason for purchasing this laptop was to setup a basic homestudio that would be portable so I could record gig's and practices with a few of the folks I play upright and electric with. The macbook is going to have a worse graphics chipset, and if you want to dual boot to windows to play games, get the pro. Otherwise, I can't really see a huge performance difference if your just running normal audio recording and not the huge track count heavy plugin sessions. I'm sure some of the more "pro" users here could comment on the requirements for something outside of the 8 simultaneous track recording setups and macbook vs. mbp performance.
As to the smaller screen, I wish a 12" had been available personally. I've got a nice external display at home, and when I'm at college or recording practices It's not like I need the huge screen realestate.

[Igotsoul4u]

It really depends on how hard you are going to work the computer. The 2gb memory limitation and lack of ports on the macbook would make me opt for the lower level macbook pro. The ports is not such an issue as you can buy some hubs to work all that out but its just more crap to carry. The memory issue is one that can bite you in the ass and shorten the usefull life of you computer as apps become more and more power hungry. I am just running hitting the ceiling of my 1.25 G4 powerbook and I have had it for 3 years. if i had purchased an ibook I would have maxed it out about a year ago. My rule is to always buy the fastest possible.

[jgrif08]

Just got the 2 ghz macbook with 2 gigs of RAM. LOVE IT

IGotSoul's rule about always going with the fastest possible is perfectly valid. However, you do have to consider that even the macbook pro will be dated in the not-so-distant future.

My advice: Go with the macbook and spend the cheese you save on something that may actually hold some value, mics, pres, comps, you get the idea...

[jonutarr]

I would get a macbook with a 22" external screen if the apple Intel laptops weren't so loud

MBP are a rip off

[blaugruen7]

Originally Posted by jonutarr

I would get a macbook with a 22" external screen if the apple Intel laptops weren't so loud

MBP are a rip off

they are loud?
i have heard that you only barely hear it when you are 5 cm in front of it?
maybe are you having a lot of bus powered devices strapped to it?

[Dr.Wu]

got the macbook and am happy with it.
glad i didnt spend the extra money for the pro.
videoperformance is absolutely decent even when doing VJ stuff.
fan comes on more often than with my ibook but given the fact that the macbook is a LOT faster than my ibook i am not complaining.
performancewise its in the same ballpark as my G5 so theres lots of power for audio apps like logic.
the 13 inch screen is a bit small but big enough for hotelroom sessions and at home i can always plug in an external monitor.

i had several ibooks and powerbooks in the past and always felt that the ibooks were the better bang for the buck.
cheaper, longer battery times and mostly only marginally slower than the pro version.

[Spectacle]

Check what I say about this on this parallel thread (posts 8 and 9):

http://gearslutz.com/board/showthrea...=1#post1106569


Spectacle

[johnjm22]

Originally Posted by bassmutant

Well I've got the older 15" 12week pro version and a friend has the regular mb. I really like the regular, but my primary reason for purchasing this laptop was to setup a basic homestudio that would be portable so I could record gig's and practices with a few of the folks I play upright and electric with. The macbook is going to have a worse graphics chipset, and if you want to dual boot to windows to play games, get the pro. Otherwise, I can't really see a huge performance difference if your just running normal audio recording and not the huge track count heavy plugin sessions. I'm sure some of the more "pro" users here could comment on the requirements for something outside of the 8 simultaneous track recording setups and macbook vs. mbp performance.
As to the smaller screen, I wish a 12" had been available personally. I've got a nice external display at home, and when I'm at college or recording practices It's not like I need the huge screen realestate.

You can't dual boot with a regular Mac Book?

[Spectacle]

Originally Posted by johnjm22

You can't dual boot with a regular Mac Book?

You can run Windows through BootCamp or Parallels, no sweat.

The problem is, no dedicated graphics on the MacBook = bad news for gamers. If gaming is something you'll want to do, then you want the MBPro.

The MBPro is a sweet gaming laptop when running PC games through BootCamp.

[FFTT]

If you are just learning to run DAW applications, a MacBook 2.0 GHz with 2 GB RAM is more than enough.

IF you need more screen real estate for big projects, buy an external display.

If you're planning on fairly intensive audio/video/photography work, then the MacBook Pro is the better choice with dedicated graphics, F/W 800, and PCI-e expansion slot.
The matte display option on the MBP is generally preferred for video and photography work.

Either model will dual boot Mac OSX, Windows/Vista or Linux
In order to run Windows natively under BootCamp,
you'll need a full retail copy of Windows XP Home or XP Pro INCLUDING SP2.
You should also consider a larger HD or a larger faster external F/W HD if you're planning to run more than one Operating System.

In some cases, the user may be better off buying a well equipped iMac for their primary workstation and then going for a MacBook for basic portable needs.

[Sky]

One potentially important feature of the Macbook Pro for audio applications is the ExpressCard slot. At NAMM '07 Apogee announced their new Symphony Mobile system which supports up to 32 i/o channels via ExpressCard. Universal Audio likewise has announced their ExpressCard audio DSP expansion system. So it appears that having a slot available may be advantageous in the near future.

Sky

[Henchman]

Originally Posted by Sky

One potentially important feature of the Macbook Pro for audio applications is the ExpressCard slot. At NAMM '07 Apogee announced their new Symphony Mobile system which supports up to 32 i/o channels via ExpressCard. Universal Audio likewise has announced their ExpressCard audio DSP expansion system. So it appears that having a slot available may be advantageous in the near future.

Sky

I wouldn't buy any laptop that doesn't have at least an expresscard slot.

[FFTT]

If you can afford Apogee, then the cost of a well equipped Mac Pro Tower or MacBook Pro
is just the cost of doing business.

I'm not sure if this poster will be recording on that level or if he's just getting started.

I think it's important to plan for a complete workable system rather than blow your budget completely on a high end computer, then having nothing left over for
a good interface, mics, cables, software, nearfields and maybe a few buck leftover for
some blank CD's and a cheeseburger.

If money is tight and you don't qualify for Apple's education discount, then your best
option is to watch the refurb listings for a C2D MacBook Pro.

In many cases Apple ships their refurbs with extra goodness at no additional cost, like additional RAM or larger hard drives.

Of course there's a balancing point where the money you're spending on a Laptop starts getting a bit extreme and you might be better off going for a Mac Pro Tower
with full workstation expandibility and then use your current laptop for basic portable needs.

Right now I strongly recommend PATIENCE!

Once the next models are released, you'll have a much better choice of options,
either going for the new models or taking advantage of closeout prices on the
current line-up.

The money you save buying on closeout can help you afford lots of extra RAM
or other important needs.

[Sky]

Fair enough. I just re-read Sparky's original post and saw his comment about doing "basic stuff". I guess my point is that more useful applications for the slot may well appear during the life of the machine. The UA product, for example, is one way to add plug-in power to the MacBook Pro if necessary.

Right on about planning for a complete workable system if possible.

Sky

Originally Posted by FFTT

If you can afford Apogee, then the cost of a well equipped Mac Pro Tower or MacBook Pro
is just the cost of doing business.

I'm not sure if this poster will be recording on that level or if he's just getting started.

I think it's important to plan for a complete workable system rather than blow your budget completely on a high end computer, then having nothing left over for
a good interface, mics, cables, software, nearfields and maybe a few buck leftover for
some blank CD's and a cheeseburger.

If money is tight and you don't qualify for Apple's education discount, then your best
option is to watch the refurb listings for a C2D MacBook Pro.

[ambo]

MacBook pro can run outboard display as a second monitor, not mirrored. Indespensible for graphics, video etc.... great for music apps as well.

[ambo]

MacBook pro doesn't have the glossy screen option, that is the regular macBook.
Oops, spoke too soon, this is available as an option on MBP, as is different sized hard discs.

[blaugruen7]

what are the pros and cons of the glossy displays?

[jbuzz]

glossy display
pro: nice to watch films / and nice in the dark
very bad con: as soon as theres ligth where u work, u will get reflections.

I tried a glossy but it didnt work IMHO. I started to turn display constantly just to get rid of reflections

[Henchman]

I hate the glossy screens.
They only look good when the computer is turned off.

[Spectacle]

This is clearly a personal thing. I have posted recently on a bigbluelounge thread where a couple of guys were actually psyching themselves into thinking that they were getting a much better laptop with the the MacBook because they thought the only option available on the MBPro was the Matte, and they felt it was unusable. One guy actually bought the MBPro, then returned it, then was posting to see if the MacBook wasn't just as powerful an option, and his only concern was the screen.

I don't like the Matte either, though I know many people swear by it for photo and video work (about which I also respectfully disagree), and I don't find the Glossy's reflections to be an issue at all unless you're outside in really bright sunlight. This Glossy screen is gorgeous, on or off.

[Spectacle]

SparkyCanada, our original poster - what did you end up getting?