Thinking about buying a new macbook pro...

[charlie]

Any advice? : )
More specifically, I seem to remember some back & forth here or on another Logic forum about the benefit of a 7200rpm system drive... Is this right? Is a 7200rpm sys drive better than the 5200rpm?

I like the portability of a laptop (I still use my G4 PowerBook with L7 Pro,) any feelings positive or negative, about these current MacBook Pro's with L8 Pro?

I will be installing L8 Pro on the new MBP. I have read of the "Install Horror stories" since it came out... I saw the Forum FAQ which addressed a couple of known issues... Any other feedback before I pull the trigger will be appreciated.

I am also considering an Apogee Duet FW interface but, don't know if it's really that necessary with all the money I'm about to throw around... ; )
I might wait on that & just use my old interface for the time being...

I saw the recent threads here about the MacPro Towers but the MBP's are quite different & not as powerful so, I feel it worthy of this thread.
What can I say, I'm a nervous buyer.

Thanks in Advance!

charlie

 

[Orren Merton]

Any advice? : )
More specifically, I seem to remember some back & forth here or on another Logic forum about the benefit of a 7200rpm system drive... Is this right? Is a 7200rpm sys drive better than the 5200rpm?

I got a 7200rpm drive for my MBP. It has been trouble free for me, records well, and as an added bonus, since it spins faster, it's quieter.

any feelings positive or negative, about these current MacBook Pro's with L8 Pro?

Works great here, although I always do my heavy lifting on my Mac Pro, but I've never had any trouble running LP8 on my MBP.

Orren

 

[Markdvc]

I like the portability of a laptop (I still use my G4 PowerBook with L7 Pro,) any feelings positive or negative, about these current MacBook Pro's with L8 Pro?

The current Mac Book Pros are a lot faster than the original 2006 Core Duo I am using, and I'm often amazed at how well it copes with projects recorded and mixed on my 8 core, especially after having replaced DSP Plugins from UAD and Powercore with native, thus increasing the CPU load on my "little" Mac. BTW, if track counts are important to you, they are hugely improved in 8 compared to 7.

I will be installing L8 Pro on the new MBP. I have read of the "Install Horror stories" since it came out... I saw the Forum FAQ which addressed a couple of known issues... Any other feedback before I pull the trigger will be appreciated.

I presume you are referring to reports of samples missing and other issues arising after installing 8? I have done around 12 - 15 installs since L8 came out, never had a a problem. I hope your fate will be the same

HTH, kind regards

Mark

 

[charlie]

I like the portability of a laptop (I still use my G4 PowerBook with L7 Pro,) any feelings positive or negative, about these current MacBook Pro's with L8 Pro?

The current Mac Book Pros are a lot faster than the original 2006 Core Duo I am using, and I'm often amazed at how well it copes with projects recorded and mixed on my 8 core, especially after having replaced DSP Plugins from UAD and Powercore with native, thus increasing the CPU load on my "little" Mac. BTW, if track counts are important to you, they are hugely improved in 8 compared to 7.

I guess that is my big question. I understand how the Mac Pro Towers blow the doors off any lap-top because of their engines and powerful capabilities, but I can't spend that much right now.
But it sounds like both L8 Pro and the MBP's will "do" what I need, yes?
Let's say a heavy project for me might be 40-ish tracks total. Say Audio tracks with assorted plugs (frozen if need be,) and instrument tracks with plugs as well; -a few busses for summing with plugs there too.
I know I am being vague with the type of plugs...
There might be a couple of Space Designers on the busses; EQ's and compressors on the tracks and some hogs like SoundToys and PSP V-Warmer for example... Other hogs are ReFX Vanguard synth, FF Twin 2 synth, Absynth and the EXS24 or Ultrabeat with split processed channels... (Though I usually bounce out Audio of grouped drum channels to process further.)
Right there, that's enough to make my G4 PowerBook send smoke signals and choke with L7 Pro. Oh, and I usually run projects in either 44.1 or 48k at 24bit.

Still think the MBP w L8 Pro is the way to go?
I appreciate your opinion...

 

[Markdvc]

I would have thought that a current Mac Book Pro should be able to deal with that sort of project quite well. In fairness, I'm not familiar with SoundToys, ReFX Vanguard synth and FF Twin 2 synth, so please bear that in mind. Make sure to put enough RAM in, keep pro app support, drivers etc. up to date.

kind regards

Mark