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Advice on which MBP to purchase

J

justboy

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Apr 22, 2011
10
0
Hi

Im just looking for some quick advice before I pick up my new MBP tomorrow.

My main usage will be for recording drum tracks, small album and music production work over the summer and of course college work for next semester.

I have decided to purchase either the baseline 13 or 15 MBP.

Until today I thought I had my head and wallet set on the 13 but would I better going for the 15 for the extra performance and screen estate?

Thanks in advance
 
justboy said:
My main usage will be for recording drum tracks, small album and music production work ...

Until today I thought I had my head and wallet set on the 13 but would I better going for the 15 for the extra performance and screen estate?
Click to expand...

I'm in the same boat as you...(getting mine tomorrow too)...been researching for the past few weeks and I'm opting for the baseline 15...the quad-core i7 sealed the deal for me...
 
How should we know?
I guess you had a notebook before so how did you like its size.
The 13" has enough power to do quite a lot. Some people prefer the small size.
Some wouldn't want to work on such a small screen or they want more pixels to fit their stuff. It really is preference.
 
Sylent Syd said:
I'm in the same boat as you...(getting mine tomorrow too)...been researching for the past few weeks and I'm opting for the baseline 15...the quad-core i7 sealed the deal for me...
Click to expand...

Ya I've been doing the exact same, researching for the last few weeks but constantly changing my mind! Last week I was full set on the 15. I think the 15 might be worth the extra cost in the long run too but if the 13 handles audio just as well then id have a cool 600-700 to put towards new mics etc etc.....hopefully tomorrow I'll make the right choice
 
dusk007 said:
How should we know?
I guess you had a notebook before so how did you like its size.
The 13" has enough power to do quite a lot. Some people prefer the small size.
Some wouldn't want to work on such a small screen or they want more pixels to fit their stuff. It really is preference.
Click to expand...

If someone had either the 15 or 13 for same reasons as me then Im sure they would shine some light on the situation
 
Performance wise, the 13" will be fine.. hell, I'm currently running Logic 8 on my 2006 1.8GHz MacBook and it runs flawlessly. The main upgrade in performance with the 15" is the graphics card - a non-issue when dealing with audio obviously.

Just to give you an example, I recently finished a project recorded a pop/soul choir. My 5 year old MacBook managed to record 10 simultaneous tracks with relatively little strain on the CPU. You won't notice any difference between the new 13" and 15" models.

My advice? Get the 13" and spend the money you saved on a decent audio interface/microphones.
 
Last edited:
I would go with the 15in it'll give you far better performance than the 13in model and the quad core will definitely help with your music production processes.
 
justboy said:
Last week I was full set on the 15. I think the 15 might be worth the extra cost in the long run too but if the 13 handles audio just as well then id have a cool 600-700 to put towards new mics etc etc.....hopefully tomorrow I'll make the right choice
Click to expand...
ah good point with the mics!...(god, this is bloody torture, lol)...

personally, i know I'll regret going for the dual-core i5 probably sooner than later...if it was just a matter of screen size, I could easily deal with the 13" screen (especially for that amount of money)...but, from what I understand, there isn't a noticeable difference performance-wise in the dual-core i7s in the high-end 13" edition.
 
The quad-core is well worth the money and will make the machine feel more future proof. Don't worry at all about the size difference, anyone who acts like the 15 will break your back over the 13 is being overly dramatic. I'd also recommend springing for the hi-res screen, it's extremely worth the added price. Save up and buy yourself 8GB of RAM in a month or so and you'll have yourself a very nice machine.

Enjoy!
 
Thanks for the inputs, very helpful

I have already checked out both sizes and they both appeal to me although the 15 would be less of a strain on eyes and offer more visual display when working in logic or protools.

As you say the graphics card really isn't a dealbreaker purely because I rarely if ever play games etc and its effect on audio production is negligible
 
I've owned both a 13 and 15" 2010 MBP's. In 2011 the CPU upgrades are significant so the 13" will have plenty of power for your needs. So I think your decision should be more about which size fits your needs best, and budget. If you do plenty of moving around then the 13" is a better choice. As a photographer I use an external monitor for serious work but need an external much less with a 15" monitor.

Screen size can really matter so if you are not constantly on the go then I would go with the 15". That's my story, I need portability but mostly stay put and 15" is just a really sweet spot. Upgrading to 8Gb of RAM also really helped with my work.
 
Sylent Syd said:
ah good point with the mics!...(god, this is bloody torture, lol)...

personally, i know I'll regret going for the dual-core i5 probably sooner than later...if it was just a matter of screen size, I could easily deal with the 13" screen (especially for that amount of money)...but, from what I understand, there isn't a noticeable difference performance-wise in the dual-core i7s in the high-end 13" edition.
Click to expand...

haha it really is torture............

I think a you and the previous poster have made an extremely valid point -
Future-proof

Like you said I could get the 13 but what happens if 2-3 months down the line my head starts to wander and I say the same thing. Should have went for the quad and I might not be in the position financial to change whereas I am now.
 
Vantage Point said:
I've owned both a 13 and 15" 2010 MBP's. In 2011 the CPU upgrades are significant so the 13" will have plenty of power for your needs. So I think your decision should be more about which size fits your needs best, and budget. If you do plenty of moving around then the 13" is a better choice. As a photographer I use an external monitor for serious work but need an external much less with a 15" monitor.

Screen size can really matter so if you are not constantly on the go then I would go with the 15". That's my story, I need portability but mostly stay put and 15" is just a really sweet spot. Upgrading to 8Gb of RAM also really helped with my work.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the suggestion very insightful. That does make it a bit clearer, When Im back to college for my final year then there will be minimal moving around. Library would be the furtherest travel and this summer im taking a break from travelling so the MBP would be stationed at one spot.
 
Blipp said:
The quad-core is well worth the money and will make the machine feel more future proof. Don't worry at all about the size difference, anyone who acts like the 15 will break your back over the 13 is being overly dramatic. I'd also recommend springing for the hi-res screen, it's extremely worth the added price. Save up and buy yourself 8GB of RAM in a month or so and you'll have yourself a very nice machine.

Enjoy!
Click to expand...

Have many of you opted for the hi-res screen?
 
xJulianx said:
Performance wise, the 13" will be fine.. hell, I'm currently running Logic 8 on my 2006 1.8GHz MacBook and it runs flawlessly. The main upgrade in performance with the 15" is the graphics card - a non-issue when dealing with audio obviously.

Just to give you an example, I recently finished a project recorded a pop/soul choir. My 5 year old MacBook managed to record 10 simultaneous tracks with relatively little strain on the CPU. You won't notice any difference between the new 13" and 15" models.

My advice? Get the 13" and spend the money you saved on a decent audio interface/microphones.
Click to expand...

Great example Julian that was also very informative.
I know quite a few people running the same set-up as you and it does run great
 
justboy said:
Great example Julian that was also very informative.
I know quite a few people running the same set-up as you and it does run great
Click to expand...

Yeah, performance wise, the new 13" and 15" will be good for many many years to come. I'm considering upgrading to the 13" soon as my laptop struggles in Logic when adding many effects.

In all seriousness though, do you have an audio interface/access to one? This is going to be extremely important when recording multiple tracks such as you will when tracking drums. (sorry to patronise if I've underestimated your knowledge!) :)
 
justboy said:
Have many of you opted for the hi-res screen?
Click to expand...

Not me. I did want the anti-glare but Apple forces you to buy hi-rez to get that option. I am personally not a fan of the higher rez screens. They hurt my eyes and fixed font things, like web images or youtube videos will be smaller. I prefer bigger.

As a side note, I also keep my dock mounted on the side instead of the bottom of the screen. This lets me open my browsers from top to bottom to get the most viewing area. I began this with my 13" and now do this with my 15" and even when I use the full size of the 26" external when doing image editing.
 
go with the i7 13" for the power. If you want a bigger screen then you can buy a cheap 22" full hd off amazon.
 
Honestly, they will both suit your needs. For your situation, I don't see a "right" choice or a "wrong" choice. However, if you can afford it, I think you need to buy the 15". If you get the 13", I feel like down the road you'll regret not getting the "better" machine. Of course, this is assuming you can afford the "better" machine. Nobody should go into debt purchasing a consumer computer. Me for example, I knew I wanted to get a 15" and I thought for a fair amount of time which specific one to get. But being honest with myself, I decided I could only afford the base model. Nothing wrong with that. No regrets. It's a great machine. So basically, to sum this whole thing up, get the 15" if you can afford it. Getting a lower spec machine, while it appears to be the thrifty option, can turn out to be a costly mistake when you sell it 8 months later and buy the one you really wanted to buy the first time round.
 
xJulianx said:
Yeah, performance wise, the new 13" and 15" will be good for many many years to come. I'm considering upgrading to the 13" soon as my laptop struggles in Logic when adding many effects.

In all seriousness though, do you have an audio interface/access to one? This is going to be extremely important when recording multiple tracks such as you will when tracking drums. (sorry to patronise if I've underestimated your knowledge!) :)
Click to expand...

Ha no worries ya In terms of interfaces I have a Roland Octa-Capture and UA-101
 
Getting a lower spec machine, while it appears to be the thrifty option, can turn out to be a costly mistake when you sell it 8 months later and buy the one you really wanted to buy the first time round.

So true with many things - been there done that, including buying a MB + iMac, then selling MB to get a 13" MBP, and in the end I sold everything to get the 15" + high end external monitor which is what I wanted in the first place.

I also think the best value is always in the base models. The price difference between the base and high end is often more than the price of personally upgrading RAM and hard drive, even to an SSD, which offer much better performance advantages for the dollar.
 
Well I sitting here with my new 13 MBP i5. decided to keep the 600 quid in my pocket and put it towards something else. Very happy so far, runs smooth, cool and feels very solid. I'll probably upgrade to 8gb ram in the future. Just ran geekbench after installing a few of my DAW's and got a score of 5989

Cant wait to start laying down some tracks on it. Thanks for everyones help and input much appreciated
 
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