Music recording: 2.53 vs. 2.8 ghz

[ccamire]

Here’s my question…

I’m buying a MacBook Pro this week, and I can’t decide whether to get the 2.53 ghz model or the 2.8 ghz model. I don’t play games, but I will be recording a lot of music. I’ll be using some sort of audio recording program, producing songs with as many as 20 tracks each with lots of effects like reverb, compression, etc.

I also want this to be the only computer I use (for internet, photos, word processing, maybe some video) for at least the next six years.

So what do you think? Is it worth the extra money to upgrade to the 2.8 ghz model, or is the 2.53 ghz model a better value?

This will be my first Mac. Any input is greatly appreciated. Thanks.

 

[Drumjim85]

1) whats the price difference?
2) i don't think the processor speed is really going to make that big of a difference, but what will is:
3) make sure you max out the ram (3rd party of course), this is where a lot of plugins get their power.
4) you put reverb on each channel? and actually on the channel its self?
5) also, you're gonna wanna make sure you install a 7200 rpm drive, or faster (SSD maybe.). OR, get a external eSata drive and a eSata express card adapter... having a fast drive will allow you to record and play back more tracks easier.

 

[Theturk]

Definitely go for the stronger CPU. If you can afford it go for it. Always go full blast when ordering a laptop. Being an audio engineering student and working with with tens of channels and over 150+ effects believe me you NEED the full CPU and RAM that you can buy.

 

[Battlefield Fan]

1) whats the price difference?
2) i don't think the processor speed is really going to make that big of a difference, but what will is:
3) make sure you max out the ram (3rd party of course), this is where a lot of plugins get their power.
4) you put reverb on each channel? and actually on the channel its self?
5) also, you're gonna wanna make sure you install a 7200 rpm drive, or faster (SSD maybe.). OR, get a external eSata drive and a eSata express card adapter... having a fast drive will allow you to record and play back more tracks easier.

Ok first off look into the product before you just post like that. The 2.53 already ships with the max amount of 4gbs of ram. Second off last I checked and heard was apples ram is actually cheaper than 3rd party(surprise).

Anyways I would say yes go for it. It's $300 to upgrade for 300mhz. If you are serious about keeping this laptop for 6 years your going to need every little bit of power to help it from showing it's age. In my opinion if I get 4 years out of a computer I'm happy. Sometimes I'll push it to 5 years then. But I respect you for trying to be resourceful and trying to keep it for 6 years

 

[Drumjim85]

Ok first off look into the product before you just post like that. The 2.53 already ships with the max amount of 4gbs of ram. Second off last I checked and heard was apples ram is actually cheaper than 3rd party(surprise).

Don't be a jerk...
4gb isn't the max it can support... people have found that it can run 6gb and still be stable...

 

[bmcgrath]

Faster hard drive would be better for music recording IMHO.

 

[Battlefield Fan]

Don't be a jerk...
4gb isn't the max it can support... people have found that it can run 6gb and still be stable...

yes but then you can't run dual channel ram. Plus it's pointless because I doubt any one would currently buy a 4gb dimm considering it cost over $500.

 

[Drumjim85]

yes but then you can't run dual channel ram. Plus it's pointless because I doubt any one would currently buy a 4gb dimm considering it cost over $500.

sure it won't be dual channel, but i don't think the stuff he would be doing would benefit from that anyways... and yes, 4gb cards a pretty expensive...

 

[Sammio2]

Hello There,

I speak as a current student of Music and Audio Technology, with years of experience recording, mixing and mastering. I don't profess to be an expert, but i am in the situation you described...

So, i went with the 2.5Ghz model, and use it to run Pro Tools, Logic, Final Cut Studio, etc (Pretty much any DAW software). I have found the 2.5Ghz processor more than adequate, and regularly mix with over 25 tracks, with multiple effects and MIDI tracks with VST's. I have yet to run into a single problem as far as processing speed goes. It may be worth noting, i went for the slower HDD as well.

As mentioned above, the main consideration is the amount of RAM you have, I maxed mine out to 4GB, and suggest you do the same. VST's and Effects etc mostly use the RAM, rather than the CPU.

Saying all of the above, I would agree with posters above who say that if you can afford it, you should always buy the best you can, especially in a laptop.

Hope this has helped, if you have anymore questions feel free to PM me!

Sam

 

[Shawn Parr]

300 Mhz isn't going to get you a whole lot more tracks or plugs, but $300 can get you a decent Lexicon Reverb unit, which will sound significantly better than most plug-in reverbs, and free up a lot of system resources.

Reverb plugs tend to suck up the most juice in a system, so offloading that is a good thing.

(This comes from a guy with a 002 and a MPX550 sitting in front of him)

 

[Firefly2002]

Ok first off look into the product before you just post like that. The 2.53 already ships with the max amount of 4gbs of ram.

Fail. They can comfortably support 50% more than that.. 6GB.

Second off last I checked and heard was apples ram is actually cheaper than 3rd party(surprise).

Epic fail. Next time maybe you should look into the product you're talking about first. Apple's RAM is WAY more expensive.. often more than twice as much as third-party RAM. Both common sense and empirical evidence indicate this.

Anyways I would say yes go for it. It's $300 to upgrade for 300mhz. If you are serious about keeping this laptop for 6 years your going to need every little bit of power to help it from showing it's age. In my opinion if I get 4 years out of a computer I'm happy. Sometimes I'll push it to 5 years then. But I respect you for trying to be resourceful and trying to keep it for 6 years

More fairly poor advice. 300 MHz will never make a difference, to be honest. Unless you're paid by the minute, it's not worth it, because you'll never notice the difference.

yes but then you can't run dual channel ram.

Your point? Dual-channel memory has a performance increase of... next to nothing.

Plus it's pointless because I doubt any one would currently buy a 4gb dimm considering it cost over $500.

If no one would ever buy it, they wouldn't bother making it.

 

[Drumjim85]

300 Mhz isn't going to get you a whole lot more tracks or plugs, but $300 can get you a decent Lexicon Reverb unit, which will sound significantly better than most plug-in reverbs, and free up a lot of system resources.

Reverb plugs tend to suck up the most juice in a system, so offloading that is a good thing.

(This comes from a guy with a 002 and a MPX550 sitting in front of him)

the issue i have with external reverb is (easy) recallability. a plug in you can easily automate and it recalls instantly with the session...
yes, i know some of the lexi verbs have a plugin to run the hardware, but it doesn't work that well in my experience.
and there are plenty of verb plugins that will out preform a $300 hardware. But then again, I'm running a HD4 protools rig, so ....

 

[Shawn Parr]

the issue i have with external reverb is (easy) recallability. a plug in you can easily automate and it recalls instantly with the session...
yes, i know some of the lexi verbs have a plugin to run the hardware, but it doesn't work that well in my experience.
and there are plenty of verb plugins that will out preform a $300 hardware. But then again, I'm running a HD4 protools rig, so ....

Session management and recall-ability are things that must be learned if one wants to be successful. There is plenty of equipment around that you might need to use session to session that has absolutely no recall potential. A reverb unit has presets, MIDI sysex, and as you mentioned the newer ones have USB control as well.

And comparing what is being discussed here to HD plugins is a bit disingenuous as you basically do have a hardware reverb unit at that point as you are dedicating a hardware DSP chip to doing the reverb work. Native reverb plugs don't touch what an HD system can do, nor do they touch what dedicated hardware can do, even at the mid-range level. And yes, I would consider a $300 range Lexicon mid-range, and not low end, as there are plenty of crap $99 or so units you can find that can't even touch what the D-verb can do. Of course you are discussing what can be done with a multi-thousand dollar DSP setup, which would also make the CPU requirement a non-issue since with an HD4 you have at least 36 dedicated DSP chips to handle your processing.