2011 MP 2.2 i7 16 gb ram vs 2012 iMac 2.9 i5 32gb ram

[absoluteelsewhe]

So I do audio production, and use very intense effects. Usually my work in Ableton Live results in being too much for the cpu/ram/etc. Last year I bought a 2010 Macbook pro 2.2 ghz i7 quad core with 16 gb ram, and it worked better than any computer ive had for audio production. However I still take it past its limit, so I am thinking about upgrading to an iMac 2012 that has a 2.9 i5 ivy bridge quad core with 32 gb ram. Is this upgrade going to give me a higher capacity in audio production??

Thanks.

John

 

[thekev]

Your macbook pro is a 2011, not a 2010. If the software can make use of more ram, that could help. The speed of those cpus doesn't differ that much. I mean the imac would be faster, but it matters how much that thing is being overwhelmed and if it's predominantly cpu bound. If it's really bound by memory, doubling ram makes a big difference.

 

[absoluteelsewhe]

Ahh, your right, late 2011 MP. Yeah, well if I freeze tracks, I can still record which is good. I cant upgrade memory on the MP (maxed at 16 gb). The recording program is 64 bit so it can handle more memory. So do you think the upgrade would be worth it then if I can double the ram? I don't think I would have to spend much, maybe nothing at all if I sell the macbook.

 

[thekev]

I don't have enough info to say for sure. Note that the i5 has hyperthreading disabled, but I don't know whether it will make a difference in that application. Ram is typically a function of how much stuff is being cached. You probably need someone who has worked with that specific software in a similar workload capacity. You should at least glance at activity monitor for a rough reference. I don't know how that specific application manages memory or the size of your projects. Even if I did, my advice might still be limited. I just wanted to ensure you were at least declaring the correct hardware comparison so as to minimize incorrect advice.


Edit: blah I must not be awake today. I did want to mention that freezes of any kind are typically hardware, drivers, or software imposed bugs. By far the most common is a hardware issue, and ram is one of the most common there. In that sense you might be on to something. My suggestion there would be to look at activity monitor first for how much ram is free and overall pageouts when you experience such freezes. Even though OSX should be able to dump inactive memory, it doesn't always work as well as I would like. If you were getting random crashes I would say to test the ram. I don't think an upgrade is a bad idea either way. That notebook generation has been experiencing logic board failures.
Everyone would like theirs to be the exception. I would like the same thing as I own one of the 17" ones of that generation, but it will probably happen at some point.