Buying a MBP after buying a 1 year-old PC notebook. Bad idea?

[MusicEnthusiast]

Well I bought an HP dv3t 13" notebook last May for college to start my studies. I didn't think I needed too much, though I spent $1100 on some pretty good specs like a 500 GB hard drive, fingerprint reader, 2.4 Core 2 Duo, a 9 cell batter, bluetooth, etc. It's running pretty well, but I have been considering starting a band. It would just be a fun "thing on the side", but we have invested in quite a few instruments like some new acoustics, an electric, and a keyboard. For now, we're making demo videos with an older camcorder (no mics or mixers) with firewire 400 on a PC. However, I just don't think this would be really effective if we want to get our word out with that kind of setup.

Do you think investing in a MBP would be a good idea? That means I would have 2 notebooks: one for school and the other for music production. I'm really contemplating because MBPs are more expensive and money is a bit tight for me. I am not sure if I should wait another couple years if I should upgrade to a MBP for all my needs (school and production). Ideas?

 

[alust2013]

One idea is to buy a Mac mini. they are considerably cheaper than the MBPs, although if you need the portability, that's out. Either way, it wouldn't be a bad idea to get, and I would recommend just selling the PC if you do. Not much sense in having two laptops, and it wouldn't cost you a ton that way. If you do get the MBP, I would recommend going with the 13, especially since that's what you already have. Or, you could get yourself a bit older model MBP, and it wouldn't be nearly as expensive.

 

[MusicEnthusiast]

One idea is to buy a Mac mini. they are considerably cheaper than the MBPs, although if you need the portability, that's out. Either way, it wouldn't be a bad idea to get, and I would recommend just selling the PC if you do. Not much sense in having two laptops, and it wouldn't cost you a ton that way. If you do get the MBP, I would recommend going with the 13, especially since that's what you already have. Or, you could get yourself a bit older model MBP, and it wouldn't be nearly as expensive.

Yeah it'll be going around since I usually do recording at both my place and my friend's. I wonder how much I could sell my PC for despite it being a year old. A part of me says I don't want to lose money off this notebook... but it's something to consider. Thanks for the tip. I also like the 13", but I was looking into the 15" more closely because my HP's 13" screen is a bit cramped at times.

 

[TiffanyBee]

I got a laptop last year as well (Dell XPS M1530) & I really want to sell it & buy the new MBP.

It's up to you. Do you want to be stuck with the PC notebook for a while or do you want to sell it & use that money towards a new MBP that will probably handle the software for making music better?

 

[7thMac]

The last post is spot on. Let your choice be dictated by the software that you want to use.

 

[TheAnoyingApple]

Any other thoughts?

For music production you might wanna get the hi res 15 inch macbook pro. You will 'need it' for music production. And i say need it because it is anoying to lack space while producing.

Plus, it is not about what computer you have, its about how you play and im sure that you will be able to make a decent song that u can sell on itunes and make some profit on your hp. If money i tight, don't do it.

 

[MusicEnthusiast]

Thanks for your input. I'll see about setting a price on my notebook and make a judgment from there, because I don't want to see myself spending more than $500 on an upgrade, since I'm already planning on spending a little over $350 on a new acoustic electric guitar.

 

[mrsir2009]

Macs are generally better at handling video/music editing. They come with software for it (garageband, iMovie, iDVD etc...) and the MacBook Pro's were made to do that kinda thing. I use my 13" MacBook Pro for internet, basic stuff, and also flash developing sometimes. And I must say, it handles flash developing well

 

[gaselectric]

Well I bought an HP dv3t 13" notebook last May for college to start my studies. I didn't think I needed too much, though I spent $1100 on some pretty good specs like a 500 GB hard drive, fingerprint reader, 2.4 Core 2 Duo, a 9 cell batter, bluetooth, etc. It's running pretty well, but I have been considering starting a band. It would just be a fun "thing on the side", but we have invested in quite a few instruments like some new acoustics, an electric, and a keyboard. For now, we're making demo videos with an older camcorder (no mics or mixers) with firewire 400 on a PC. However, I just don't think this would be really effective if we want to get our word out with that kind of setup.

Do you think investing in a MBP would be a good idea? That means I would have 2 notebooks: one for school and the other for music production. I'm really contemplating because MBPs are more expensive and money is a bit tight for me. I am not sure if I should wait another couple years if I should upgrade to a MBP for all my needs (school and production). Ideas?

The only difference between your HP laptop and a MBP will be the software that it can run. Unless there's a must-have application that only runs on mac, your PC will be fine.

Get a MBP for the right reasons.

 

[MusicEnthusiast]

The only difference between your HP laptop and a MBP will be the software that it can run. Unless there's a must-have application that only runs on mac, your PC will be fine.

Get a MBP for the right reasons.

I'm a bit unsure if there are programs only for Mac that are superior for music producing. I know Adobe Audition just came out but that was already available for Windows users.

 

[upsbrown]

lol

Go for the MBP if you can afford it.
I just purchased my first Mac and love it. I've also got a Sony Vaio and Acer Netbook. Getting used to the Mac is a little easier than I was expecting. I just need to get used to not having the right click on the mouse. Can anybody help me with that? Such as for names of photos etc.?
I'm going to be mainly using my MBP for editing photos and other media.
I'd highly recommend one though if you can afford it man. I love mine.

 

[mikeo007]

I'd have to say that the macbook would be a waste of money in this case. Your laptop is working fine, and you won't get much out of switching to the mac. Spend some money on good software and you'll be further ahead. Garage band is fine for just messing around, but it's not as powerful as (semi)professional recording and mixing software.

The whole thing about Macs being better for video/audio recording is almost entirely related to software. If you were starting from scratch with nothing, a mac may be a good choice since there's some basic recording software already included. But you've already got a computer, so a few $$ for software is a much better investment.

 

[MusicEnthusiast]

I'd have to say that the macbook would be a waste of money in this case. Your laptop is working fine, and you won't get much out of switching to the mac. Spend some money on good software and you'll be further ahead. Garage band is fine for just messing around, but it's not as powerful as (semi)professional recording and mixing software.

The whole thing about Macs being better for video/audio recording is almost entirely related to software. If you were starting from scratch with nothing, a mac may be a good choice since there's some basic recording software already included. But you've already got a computer, so a few $$ for software is a much better investment.

You do have a good point, I was thinking along this line too. I'll do some research. Perhaps when this notebook is seeing the last of its days I'll switch to a MBP to continue my production. And I'm sure by then SSD drives will be most likely mainstream which will be nice for sure. Just hope that software can make a switch from Windows to OSX okay if I decide to purchase one that is made for both OS's.

In the meantime, is there any software you guys recommend?

 

[TZRaceR6]

Keep your computer, partition your drive, load Snow Leopard and the software you need (garageband, etc...) Done. (And I'm sure you can get the software you need from friends.)

My MBP is both a Mac and a PC. You can do the same setup with your PC and save yourself time and money in the process.

 

[aethelbert]

In the meantime, is there any software you guys recommend?

As previously mentioned, Audition 3 is very capable. That $350 investment would blow whatever software that would be pre-installed on a Mac out of the water. You should also check on getting academic pricing on it since you're a university student.

Good luck.

 

[HLdan]

As previously mentioned, Audition 3 is very capable. That $350 investment would blow whatever software that would be pre-installed on a Mac out of the water. You should also check on getting academic pricing on it since you're a university student.

Good luck.

Well for a ridiculous price of $350 AA SHOULD be better than Garageband, considering that GB is free on a Mac.

 

[Reapur]

If you are doing audio processing, this is the best in the business and only on the mac!

http://store.apple.com/us/product/MB795Z/A?mco=MTY3ODQ5OTY

 

[aethelbert]

Well for a ridiculous price of $350 AA SHOULD be better than Garageband, considering that GB is free on a Mac.

What's your point? The OP is a student in a situation where money is tight. Finding high-level software on Windows will present a much better value considering the group's finances.

 

[HLdan]

What's your point? The OP is a student in a situation where money is tight. Finding high-level software on Windows will present a much better value considering the group's finances.

And I wasn't disputing that, but you're very defensive. . I was responding to the fact you said paying $350 for AA would blow away anything on the Mac built in. You made it sound like Garageband is junk which isn't true. Regardless, if you're gonna pay an atrocious price of $350 for AA when the OP is just starting out it better darn well be better.

 

[aethelbert]

And I wasn't disputing that, but you're very defensive. . I was responding to the fact you said paying $350 for AA would blow away anything on the Mac built in. You made it sound like Garageband is junk which isn't true. Regardless, if you're gonna pay an atrocious price of $350 for AA when the OP is just starting out it better darn well be better.

You're reading way too far into things.

But whatever. Hopefully this post doesn't come off as too defensive. I'll put in a for good measure.

 

[MusicEnthusiast]

If you are doing audio processing, this is the best in the business and only on the mac!

http://store.apple.com/us/product/MB795Z/A?mco=MTY3ODQ5OTY

Well the problem I see with this is that if I choose to produce my music on my PC for now, I would have to go with AA, and then I would want to easily move to a MBP when time goes on. That means I would avoid having to adapt to a new learning curve and save money because AA is both Windows and OSX capable.

As previously mentioned, Audition 3 is very capable. That $350 investment would blow whatever software that would be pre-installed on a Mac out of the water. You should also check on getting academic pricing on it since you're a university student.

Good luck.

Sounds like a plan. I checked out Adobe's AA website and the learning curve looks tough, yet so sophisticated. I'll look into it.

And I wasn't disputing that, but you're very defensive. . I was responding to the fact you said paying $350 for AA would blow away anything on the Mac built in. You made it sound like Garageband is junk which isn't true. Regardless, if you're gonna pay an atrocious price of $350 for AA when the OP is just starting out it better darn well be better.

I agree garageband isn't junk because I have used it before without any problems. And like I mentioned above, if I'm going to do some serious production, there's really no other way to go cheaper than AA for $350 than buy a whole new MBP with preloaded software like garageband or having to buy a MBP and Logic Studio.

 

[kny3twalker]

Thanks for your input. I'll see about setting a price on my notebook and make a judgment from there, because I don't want to see myself spending more than $500 on an upgrade, since I'm already planning on spending a little over $350 on a new acoustic electric guitar.

I doubt you are going to get $1300 for your year old $1100 HP notebook, so you might start considering the 13".
I furthermore would be surprised if you could get $700 for it, which is what you would need if you plan to only spend $500 on the MacBook Pro out of pocket.

I suspect you will get about $400-$500 for your DV3t at best.

 

[MusicEnthusiast]

I doubt you are going to get $1300 for your year old $1100 HP notebook, so you might start considering the 13".
I furthermore would be surprised if you could get $700 for it, which is what you would need if you plan to only spend $500 on the MacBook Pro out of pocket.

I suspect you will get about $400-$500 for your DV3t at best.

Yeah. With some thought I've decided to use this HP till it's unusable and migrate my software to a MBP in the future. Probably in 3 years best.

 

[Big Alsie]

Go for the MBP if you can afford it.
I just purchased my first Mac and love it. I've also got a Sony Vaio and Acer Netbook. Getting used to the Mac is a little easier than I was expecting. I just need to get used to not having the right click on the mouse. Can anybody help me with that? Such as for names of photos etc.?
I'm going to be mainly using my MBP for editing photos and other media.
I'd highly recommend one though if you can afford it man. I love mine.

if you want to right click simply tap with two fingers. if this does not work, go to the track pad section under system preferences and enable two finger tap for right click.

 

[kny3twalker]

if you want to right click simply tap with two fingers. if this does not work, go to the track pad section under system preferences and enable two finger tap for right click.

OR you can configure a corner of the trackpad to be right click. OR you can use a mouse. OR you can click the trackpad with two fingers.