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New Haswell rMBPs & Logic Pro/Final Cut

J

Jum

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Oct 1, 2013
5
0
Hi guys, hoping you can help out a new switcher here!

I'm wanting to buy my first Mac ever, and since I'll be travelling a bit I've decided on a 13" rMBP.

My question is; What specs would best suit my needs? App wise I'll be using:
  • Logic Pro X
  • Mainstage 3 (for keys/synth in a live band situation)
  • Traktor Pro 2 (live DJing)
  • Photoshop
  • and on the rare occasion; FCPx

As I've never owned a mac before, or used Logic/Final cut I'm really not sure how demanding these apps really are. I've read the minimum specs for both apps but minimum is not optimum so I'm hoping someone with real world experience can chip in here.

I currently have a 2.6/16gb/256 13" on order, but I'm wondering whether this is overkill. If these apps are more than happy with the 2.4 CPU and 8gb of RAM i'd be happy to save a few bucks and get that model. HDD space is not so much of an issue as I have a 2TB external drive.

Thanks in advance! ;)
 
Jum said:
Hi guys, hoping you can help out a new switcher here!

I'm wanting to buy my first Mac ever, and since I'll be travelling a bit I've decided on a 13" rMBP.

My question is; What specs would best suit my needs? App wise I'll be using:
  • Logic Pro X
  • Mainstage 3 (for keys/synth in a live band situation)
  • Traktor Pro 2 (live DJing)
  • Photoshop
  • and on the rare occasion; FCPx

As I've never owned a mac before, or used Logic/Final cut I'm really not sure how demanding these apps really are. I've read the minimum specs for both apps but minimum is not optimum so I'm hoping someone with real world experience can chip in here.

I currently have a 2.6/16gb/256 13" on order, but I'm wondering whether this is overkill. If these apps are more than happy with the 2.4 CPU and 8gb of RAM i'd be happy to save a few bucks and get that model. HDD space is not so much of an issue as I have a 2TB external drive.

Thanks in advance! ;)
Click to expand...

If you want to keep that computer for many years that is a great setup, I do suggest getting an external drive because I use a ton of space on final cut pro projects! That is similar to my setup minus the retina & SSD. Its a great setup!
 
you should get a 15' , i travel ALOT, (gone half of the years) and the 15´is perfectly fine, and a bigger screen is so much worth it
 
I have to +1 that.

Could not imagine working in Logic in a serious capacity on a 13" screen.
 
johnnylarue said:
I can't imagine working from bed (since this is how hotel tvs are oriented), but I suppose a person could do it...
Click to expand...

True. I've never used a 13" - just tested it out at the apple store, but I think it's a bit too small for me. Then again, we adapt so easily.
 
Thanks for the replies. I'm really after a 13" - The base 15" with 8gb of ram is another $300 on top of the system I've ordered, which was already stretching the budget.

I went in to the apple store (before the haswells were released) and had a good play with Logic on both 15" and 13" and while the extra inches are nice on the 15", I was happy with the size of the 13" and compromising with a scaled UI.

My question is more directed to whether or not I'm in the sweet spot for cost/performance for the particular apps.
 
Jum said:
Hi guys, hoping you can help out a new switcher here!

I'm wanting to buy my first Mac ever, and since I'll be travelling a bit I've decided on a 13" rMBP.

My question is; What specs would best suit my needs? App wise I'll be using:
  • Logic Pro X
  • Mainstage 3 (for keys/synth in a live band situation)
  • Traktor Pro 2 (live DJing)
  • Photoshop
  • and on the rare occasion; FCPx

As I've never owned a mac before, or used Logic/Final cut I'm really not sure how demanding these apps really are. I've read the minimum specs for both apps but minimum is not optimum so I'm hoping someone with real world experience can chip in here.

I currently have a 2.6/16gb/256 13" on order, but I'm wondering whether this is overkill. If these apps are more than happy with the 2.4 CPU and 8gb of RAM i'd be happy to save a few bucks and get that model. HDD space is not so much of an issue as I have a 2TB external drive.

Thanks in advance! ;)
Click to expand...

I'm running a 2009 MBP with 2.53 ghz and 8gb of ram. Logic X runs well with this setup and I usually have Reason open at the same time.

Photoshop has no problems with my old Macbook either.

I would recommend however to get a 15" screen. Logic is a pain with only 13" and I don't use FCP, but I do use Premiere Pro and 13" is also too small for me. It may just be because I'm used to working on a 27" screen at work and the retina display will probably create some more space but I'm not sure how much.
 
Jum said:
Thanks for the replies. I'm really after a 13" - The base 15" with 8gb of ram is another $300 on top of the system I've ordered, which was already stretching the budget.

I went in to the apple store (before the haswells were released) and had a good play with Logic on both 15" and 13" and while the extra inches are nice on the 15", I was happy with the size of the 13" and compromising with a scaled UI.
Click to expand...

While I trust you to know what you want/need better than I do, I would urge you to reconsider unless you're already accustomed to working on a 13" display. The base 2012 15" is available as a refurb for a "paltry" (relative term) $1599, and you can fit virtually everything you need at once on the screen when scaled at 1920x1200.

If you're okay with 8GB RAM and are using an external drive for tracking (as I assume you are), that refurb deal is pretty hard to beat considering the negligible performance boost Haswell brings.

Sorry if this only serves to confuse you further--I've been stuck working on a 13" screen myself for the past two months and the PITA factor is through the roof. (For me.)
 
I am also interested in this. Screen size aside, can the new 13 rMBP (mid base-model) handle Logic Pro, with say 40 tracks and a bunch of plugins, or am I going to get that dreaded overload error and everything stopping.
 
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