Need help with first purchase....

[Ides of March]

I am wanting to purchase a 15' macbook pro but not sure of the 3 choices on the Apple site which to get. I am a musician, so seeing Garageband coming with the MBP was a big selling point. I am not a photography or video guy. My wife does that, the only thing I would use video for would be to record something and put it on youtube. I am not computer savy, so I don't know how big the difference is between the 2.53 GHz and the 2.66 GHz. Or if there is a big difference between the i5 or i7 Processors. Or the mb storage between 256 and 512. If I am going to spend over 2 grand I just want to make sure I have enough storage and memory for what I intend to use it for.

 

[skiltrip]

I am wanting to purchase a 15' macbook pro but not sure of the 3 choices on the Apple site which to get. I am a musician, so seeing Garageband coming with the MBP was a big selling point. I am not a photography or video guy. My wife does that, the only thing I would use video for would be to record something and put it on youtube. I am not computer savy, so I don't know how big the difference is between the 2.53 GHz and the 2.66 GHz. Or if there is a big difference between the i5 or i7 Processors. Or the mb storage between 256 and 512. If I am going to spend over 2 grand I just want to make sure I have enough storage and memory for what I intend to use it for.

Im a musician too. And it was my sole reason for getting my first MacBook Pro back in April. I got the base 13", because it was all I could afford at the time. Even the base 13" does pretty well. I use Pro Tools 9 with it. However, the CPU can get bogged down when I use too many midi instruments or too many guitar sim plugins.

So I'd definitely recommend any of the 15". Just watch the hard drive space. If you're going to want to put any sample libraries for other DAW software on there, get the 2.53ghz so you get the 500gb drive. If not, the difference in CPU power between the 2.4 and 2.53 is not really a big deal.

If you can afford it and just want a CPU ceiling as high as you can get, get the i7. But I'm not sure you'll need it. Like i said, the base 13" is ALMOST good enough for moderately heavy sessions, so any of the 15" should serve you well.

Another thing to keep in mind is the 2011 models will be out within a few months. So if you can wait a bit, you might get more bang for your buck. But if you need it now. Just get any of the 15" models. Just remember the hard drive size and vet more than you think you need.

Oh, and if you're going to be recording a good amount of audio tracks, get an external FireWire drive too. I use a G-drive Mini. They sell them at the Apple store.

 

[Ides of March]

Thanks so much for the reply. Is it confirmed or just a rumor that the new MBP's will be out in a couple months. Cause I can wait. I am not a gamer on the pc or laptop, I have an xbox and psp for that stuff. But I prob will have to get a firewire cable for the Garageband. Are the prices gonna increase with the new MBP's? I mean how much more are they gonna add in the new one's that the 2010 models don't have? I know about the Sandy Beach thing or whatever it's called. I just want a stellar laptop for the money I am spending and for what I am going to use it for.

 

[skiltrip]

Thanks so much for the reply. Is it confirmed or just a rumor that the new MBP's will be out in a couple months. Cause I can wait. I am not a gamer on the pc or laptop, I have an xbox and psp for that stuff. But I prob will have to get a firewire cable for the Garageband. Are the prices gonna increase with the new MBP's? I mean how much more are they gonna add in the new one's that the 2010 models don't have? I know about the Sandy Beach thing or whatever it's called. I just want a stellar laptop for the money I am spending and for what I am going to use it for.

No one knows specifics. But I think it's fair to say the upgrade isn't going to change your life or anything. I love the current lineup, and if it were me, I'd just buy now. The most useful thing you might get is a slight bump in CPU speed. But the current 15's are more than capable audio workstations.

Again, I'm getting by with the base 13", and the 15's are much faster than mine.

 

[Ides of March]

Thanks so much for the help, I think I am sold. And I was told I can do upgrades on it in the future anyway. I have heard nothing but good things about the Macbook pro i7 I am looking at so.

 

[skiltrip]

Thanks so much for the help, I think I am sold. And I was told I can do upgrades on it in the future anyway. I have heard nothing but good things about the Macbook pro i7 I am looking at so.

Cool. Definitely let us know how you make out. I was recently considering selling my 13" and getting the i7 myself.

 

[ECUpirate44]

The only reason why I would hold off for a few months is because of the possibility of better battery life. Apple has consistently been able to improve the battery life on all of their notebooks with every refresh.

As for Sandy Bridge goes, it's not really going to make a difference for you. Theres a lot of talk about Apple replacing the HD with an SSD on all models, but I don't see that happening. It's just too expensive right now. Yes, there are cheaper and lower capacity SSD's but then it's not a "pro" model.

I would buy the 2.4 Ghz model with the smallest HDD and then buy a 640 or 1TB HD from OWC. It's dead simple to swap a hardrive.

 

[skiltrip]

Thanks so much for the help, I think I am sold. And I was told I can do upgrades on it in the future anyway. I have heard nothing but good things about the Macbook pro i7 I am looking at so.

Regarding upgrades. Yeah, you can get a bigger/faster hard drive and more RAM. I did both on my 13" and it couldn't be much easier to you.

The first mac is a special one. You're going to love it, especially for making music. After recording music for 9 years on PCs I was thrilled to move to Mac and osx. Still am.

 

[Ides of March]

Cool. Definitely let us know how you make out. I was recently considering selling my 13" and getting the i7 myself.

I sure will. Can't wait!