Mac Book Users: MB or MBP?

[hduncan]

Who out here has owned, or at least played extensively with both of these machines in an audio environment? I am in the market for a new DAW and am thinking about giving Apple a try (have been a long time Windows advocate, but for whatever reason, Apple is starting to look good).

I don't know whice would be better for me. I use a lot of MIDI and VST tracks, and a few audio tracks.

The MBP allows for 4 GB of RAM. Is there a huge improvement in performance with twice the amount of RAM? other than that, it doesnt seem like the macbook pro is TOO much faster/better than the macbook right?

[lowfreq33]

Get the pro. You'll want the extra ram.

[zuso]

Yeah, I'd def. say go with the pro. it's def. worth your money and it's just honestly a better built computer.

[Sensenel]

i have one of these new Macbooks, which i use to make Music, edits and create Sounds outside my Studio.2 GB of RAM and the Performance is just awesome! but i have to say that i dont make complete Productions on it. if you want to do complete Productions then i think that you should go for a MacbookPro ...Cpu's are the same, only the biggest Modell has the fastest CPU, but costs way more, anyway , but things like higher Bus Speed , bigger Cache, more RAM makes it more Suitably for Big Projects ... so when it is not about budget, go for mbp

greetz

[TonyBelmont]

Macbook PRO!

[mds]

MB Pro is great. I put 2GB of RAM into it and it hasn't blinked at anything I've thrown at it. The bigger screen is a big plus, and the video RAM helps keep the system stable under pressure.

[Eigenwert]

The Macbook already isn´t recommended for the current Liverig-Software that comes with logic (lacks a graphic card with dedicated RAM) and the maximum config of 2GB is already the minimum you should install for some of the sampled instruments. The time has come where apple distributes programs that do not run flawlessly on this computer so you should get something with PRO in the name or an iMac

[hduncan]

I'm SOLD!

now, I will definately get 4 gb of ram, is there any benefit to buying their ram, or would it be better for me to buy the 2 gb version and then buy extra ram cheaper somewhere else later?

I wonder if they use all the slots when you choose 2gb... can anyone confirm this?

ok next question...

15" or 17"???????

I love me some screen real estate... but is the 17 too big? its pretty large.

[Blindside]

Excellent choice! My MB Pro is butter.

[Eigenwert]

If you don´t want them to load all of the slots you need to ASK. They put a single RAM module into anything that doesn´t require the memory to be installed in pairs if you asked them to do in former times so I think they should still do that.

Crucial is highly recommended on gearslutz. There are not many things that have not been bashed over here - as far as I remember memory by Crucial is one of them!

[Thetics]

dont buy their ram, ripoff. you may be forced to buy 4 gigs cuz of compatibility issues, try it out though. kingston is a good choice.

[zuso]

15" man, the 17" is a bit too big for me...if you want a screen that big, get a mac pro and a good monitor. the 15 is perfect for me, and has made my life so much happier...haha

[mixerguy]

get ram from crucial.com

[TonyBelmont]

Cheapest place for RAM is OWC:

4.0GB (2GB+2GB Kit) PC2-5300 DDR2 667MHz... (53IM2DDR4GBK) at OWC

$195 for 4GB upgrade.

[hduncan]

is that OWC RAM comparable in performance to the crucial RAM? I do want cheaper, but I would rather pay even another 100 bucks for the best RAM for my macbook...

[TonyBelmont]

Originally Posted by DarkEcho

is that OWC RAM comparable in performance to the crucial RAM? I do want cheaper, but I would rather pay even another 100 bucks for the best RAM for my macbook...

It looks to be the same specs...

I've always used them for ram in my Mac's.

[duckyboard]

ditto on the owc ram

[hduncan]

I went to the apple store today and played around with the MacBook Pros. Very nice laptops, they had Logic Pro 8 installed so I got to play around with that a bit. I noticed that in Logic, the 17" was way nicer with all of the space for tracks and the mixer can be fully visible and you still have room comfortable for about 3-4 tracks up top.

the only problem is that the text IS a little bit tiny, but I am 20 and have a few good years of good eyesight left in me, I figure its not going to be that bad, It was totally readable, but the 15" would be a little easier on my eyes.

the 17" was also a bit louder with the built in speakers, not sure how often I'll be using those but it is a positive attribute.

what would you get? this is my desktop replacement and I will take it everywhere with me. weight isnt too big of a deal, but size might be since I will need to carry it in a backpack of some sort... are there any backpacks that fit the 17" and provide good support?

[Osumosan]

Another consideration is having the express card slot on the Pro. If you have a firewire interface with a hard drive or UA or Focusrite firewire box, you'll pretty much need it.

[neilio]

Originally Posted by duckyboard

ditto on the owc ram

ditto owc for anything, by the way.

[zuso]

I would DEF. say go with the 15 if you are considering taking it around in a backpack or laptop sling bag. I have the 15" MBP and I've also got a 15" HP dv4000, both of which weigh very little but the 15" size alone fits very snug with most any laptop bags. a back pack that'll accommodate a 17" laptop will not be a typically comfortably size pack, it will def be oversized and most likely a tad awkward.


I still push hard with my recommendation for a 15" for ya. I love mine, and I'd never go any smaller, nor bigger.

[hduncan]

Hmmm, I appreciate the opinion. I like the 15 in every aspect, except that the 17 just seems way better for having the mixer window open and the better speakers in the laptop... does the 17 have any other features over the 15?

[NotVeryLoud]

Looks like you've already made your decision, but just to get in my $0.02:
I opted for the MacBook, and absolutely love it. I run Digital Performer and Kontakt 2 extensively for orchestral composition, and do a moderate amount of audio recording/mixing. However, knowing that I'll never be able to expand to 4gb of RAM or use an ExpressCard compatible audio peripheral is a constant reminder that I should have gone the Pro route.

[TocaLaGuitara]

Speaking of RAM, I have a question. I bought my MBP in June of 2006, but being my first Mac, I purchased the 3-year AppleCare plan. Now if I purchase some 3rd party sticks and install them myself, will I void my AppleCare policy?

[mds]

Originally Posted by TocaLaGuitara

Speaking of RAM, I have a question. I bought my MBP in June of 2006, but being my first Mac, I purchased the 3-year AppleCare plan. Now if I purchase some 3rd party sticks and install them myself, will I void my AppleCare policy?

No....RAM is user serviceable through the battery compartment.

[composer]

Originally Posted by Osumosan

Another consideration is having the express card slot on the Pro. If you have a firewire interface with a hard drive or UA or Focusrite firewire box, you'll pretty much need it.

Not only that - with a card from FIRMTEK, eSATA (express card) then two Lacie HD's with eSATA you will have two RAID external HD's for video and or samples at 1500RPM, and faster than FW800, cool thing though is these HD's have firewire 400 or 800 slots and you can plug a video camera in and poof, your camera shows up.

Now if someone would only make a EXPRESS BOX so you could add say one express card and add apogee and esata, GPU updates, LOL.

[hduncan]

I am thinking I want to get the 17". I went to the apple store yesterday and on the 17" with the 1920x1200 resolution (the hi-res option for $100), the mixer pane could be fully open and there was still room for 3-4 tracks up top (depending how zoomed in you are). I did find the text on the mixer sliders to be JUST barely visible. any smaller would be too small for that super high resolution. but otherwise its not too horrible. I have good eyesight at 20 years of age, I am thinking, "why not take advantage of my youth and get the high res one if my eyes can handle it, and get more real estate from my screen?"

the 17" is 2 inches larger diagonally, that really doesn't seem like much. and a healthy 20 year old (or any human being, really) should be able to deal with the extra pound of weight.. come on, one pound, thats nothing.

I am curious how it will fit on my lap in my semi-cramped college seats, or if it will be too large, I need to get into the apple store and some how detatch it from all of the connectors and sit down on the ground with it or something, I need to feel that beast on my lap.

anyone have any experience with the 17" on your actual lap? and what about resolution wise? too many pixels for anyone?

[drumzy]

for $150 more than the $300 difference in price between the 15 and 17, you can get the mbp15 and a 24" 1920x1200 monitor and have nice dual monitor setup. ...better portability, and with the 24 you wont be squinting. best of both worlds