I need a new MAC - questions inside.

[J the TyranT]

Alright guys, as some of you know, my G5 shit itself back in May or June...

I need a new MAC to do some recording on. Im not a pro at this at all, although I'd like to be able to grow into something and MAYBE in the future get good enough to make a few bucks helping some locals with demos, etc etc.

I also need a laptop at some point, so Im wondering if I can kill two birds with one stone... in that if a Macbook Pro is going to be powerful enough to run shit like Pro Tools 8 and EZdrummer, Waves PI's, etc etc. You get the point.

So can I get away with just running all that from a laptop or do I need a Mac Pro, and, does anybody know where/how to get -somewhat- of a deal?

LASTLY. On my G5, its the logic board that's dead, not the hard drive... Im assuming I'd somehow be able to transfer all my data from the HD to an external to use with a laptop?

Thx in advance.

- J

PS. Im officially selling the Les Paul for this shit... its just got to be done. Oh well.

 

[JBroll]

You'll be able to transfer the stuff on your HD to any computer that can read the files (so a Mac would do) - just plug it in and you're done.

One 'deal' I'm aware of is through the Apple Developer Connection - you should be able to get a bunch of stuff cheaper if you sign on for the Student membership (note: may require being a 'student' of some sort, but that's easy to work around), which will cost around $100 and should easily save you much more than that. Unless you're willing to go used, that's all I'm aware of.

Jeff

 

[JeffTD]

I'd find an older model MBP - with the FireWire 400 & 800 slots. Mine is still going strong and I use it all the time, for daily computing and recording alike.

The new ones are gay on multiple levels, though, and the older ones can be had super cheap! Check in Apple's 'refurb' section of their online store, they might have some. I know when the newer models first came out, the exact MBP (2.4ghz, 15") I purchased 6 months prior for $2k was down to $1,250.

 

[-Noodles-]

I'd find an older model MBP - with the FireWire 400 & 800 slots. Mine is still going strong and I use it all the time, for daily computing and recording alike.

The new ones are gay on multiple levels, though, and the older ones can be had super cheap! Check in Apple's 'refurb' section of their online store, they might have some. I know when the newer models first came out, the exact MBP (2.4ghz, 15") I purchased 6 months prior for $2k was down to $1,250.

+1

Mine is a March 08 model, and it's awesome. I don't like the new ones..

 

[James Murphy]

i'm on the fence about the new mbp myself... they definitely made some choices i wouldn't have made. some of those choices don 't bother me too much... not too bothered about the battery, though i wouldn't have chosen a non-removable design. the new keys feel fine, but seem like they'd have to be taken in for service if one fell off, whereas i can fix the previous design myself... so i'm 50/50 on that one.... i'm also a "gimme everything and never take any of it away" kind of guy, so i can't say i'm pleased about the lack of a FW400 port, even though the FW800 port is compatible, you just need a 400<>800 cable which is provided... i just like to have it all. if any other mac user here has any thoughts on the pros/cons of the new mbp, hit me up on AIM, since it might lead to OT territory here.

 

[-Noodles-]

I also need a laptop at some point, so Im wondering if I can kill two birds with one stone... in that if a Macbook Pro is going to be powerful enough to run shit like Pro Tools 8 and EZdrummer, Waves PI's, etc etc. You get the point.

So can I get away with just running all that from a laptop or do I need a Mac Pro, and, does anybody know where/how to get -somewhat- of a deal?

To answer the original question..

I use a MBP to do all my location tracking, and so far it's handled 12 tracks simultaneously without any problem (to FW800 drive).
I use EZ drummer DFH expansion with NO problems. Even on a pretty heavy session, it still reacts and plays fine.

I've not used Waves stuff, because I don't like it - but I shouldn't see why it would struggle. My uni computers run the Waves stuff, and one of them is a mid-range iMac.

And +1 to the Mac Refurb.

If you know any students, .. ask them nicely to purchase it for you! [you give them the cash though ]

 

[J the TyranT]

Thanks for the answers, gents. Looks like Ill be going MBP this time around as Im looking to do a fair bit of traveling in my mis-adventures [more on that later] and would definitely like the flexibility.

If I didnt have to buy a desktop at all, that'd be grand.

Also, I knew about the refurbs.. thats what my G5 was... shoulda bought the applecare though.. DOH!

My question about transferring the HD was because my current G5 is dead.. without the logic board working.. I'd suppose I'd have to remove my HD and put it in something else or... god knows how the hell its done, actually.

ALSO: My OS was Tiger... and now they're using Leopard... anybody know if my old PI's are gonna be shit as a result of the switch? I certainly fucking hope not.

Thanks again

 

[JBroll]

I assume the drives are the usual 3.5" desktop drives - if that's the case any enclosure will work, as will any other Mac. If you have access to another Mac, or some UNIX-type box (Linux, Solaris, and BSD should be able to read the files), you'll be able to copy things over to anything.

Jeff

 

[rcg]

Latest version Leopard 10.5.6 works great. Laptop macbook (pro) with external firewire sound card and external 1TB HDD drive (Time machine for backup) looks good.

 

[digitaldeath]

Hell I'm using the black Macbook (non-pro) and have no problems running Addictive Drums, Superior 2.0 etc.

 

[rcg]

try upgrade memory to 4GB.

 

[Carcass29]

Mine is a March 08 model, and it's awesome. I don't like the new ones..

+1

 

[ze kink]

I got an older MBP too (15" 2,5ghz model). I just waited until the new models came out, and then bought it for a shit ton cheaper. It was completely new, not refurbished. All the nice stuff like the matte screen, TI firewire chip, both FW400 and FW800 etc. so it's just what I wanted. Haven't yet really got any plugins in it, but I run DFHS with it (from an external Usb 2.0 HDD, gotta buy a bigger and faster asap though) and it's super solid with Reaper. So +1 on an older MBP from me. I also updated the ram to 4gb straight away. I don't like the new ones either, they just look a little bit nicer.

 

[Zack Uidl]

yeah, older macbook pro would be fine for what you want to do.

 

[::XeS::]

I bought an "old" MBP 2.4 2Gb ram 2 months ago...for 1400&#8364; (I waited until the new line came out) and it works great.
2 days ago I update the memory with 4Gb ram.
It works very well but I'm thinking to update the hd also....5400rpm drives are really slow and the whole system suffers. A 7200rpm hd definitelly gives a boost...but I have to choose the right drive. Some hd's vibrates a little too much

 

[Carcass29]

Thats what I have...the 7200 HD with the 2.5 and the matte screen...pretty damn fast

 

[J the TyranT]

Thread resurrection, as now Im only a few weeks away from finally buying this fucking thing.

There's all kinds of shit on the refurb site... so any help would be appreciated.

Some of them say "Aluminum"... was there something Im missing? Thought they were all aluminum???

Also, how beneficial, if at all, is it to get the glossy screen or the LED or the high res?

Lastly: Solid state HD? WTF?

 

[guitarded88]

Thread resurrection, as now Im only a few weeks away from finally buying this fucking thing.

There's all kinds of shit on the refurb site... so any help would be appreciated.

Some of them say "Aluminum"... was there something Im missing? Thought they were all aluminum???

Also, how beneficial, if at all, is it to get the glossy screen or the LED or the high res?

Lastly: Solid state HD? WTF?

Let me try to clear some things up. The old mac book pros were partially aluminum, but when they say aluminum on the site they mean the new Unibodied Aluminum macbooks. They&#8217;re made out of a single cut piece of aluminum and are extremely durable.

I dunno if it&#8217;s what you need&#8230; but for me I think theyre amazing. My girlfriend has the non pro aluminum macbook and its awesome.

I liked it enough that I&#8217;m saving for an aluminum version as an upgrade to my current white intel macbook. Just make sure you get a &#8220;pro&#8221; aluminum because the non-pro aluminum macbooks don&#8217;t have firewire anymore (stupid move on apples part)

And a solid state HD is a hard drive that has no moving parts. Think of it like a really really big flash memory card, as appose to a 2.5&#8221; hard drive that has a spinning &#8220;hard disk&#8221; ;-). Theyre a lot more expensive and don&#8217;t have as much capacity as a regular hard drive&#8230; I don&#8217;t really see it as worth it but that&#8217;s your call.

 

[_Protoss_]

I can run 25 audio tracks with at least 2 inserts in each, and 1 instrument track with superior 2.0 in my white macbook with logic 8, and the computer works flawlessly.

 

[spioraid]

My co-worker has the latest generation of MBP, that thing renders full HD footage (1920x1080) in Final Cut Pro faster than the company's previous generation Mac Pro tower(s).

The speakers are quite decent too...obviously they aren't flat frequency response monitors, but I'd still watch movies on there without hooking up external speakers.

If I hadn't just got myself the latest 24" full spec'c iMac I would have gotten a MBP.