Purchasing MacBook Pro for Music Production- Is This MBP Good Enough/Good Deal?

[Goalyguy33]

Here's another one of these threads: buying a MBP and so torn on the options. Very confused on dual core vs. quad core. I've done a lot of reading before posting this but I'm still confused so figure I'll just ask. Going to be doing lots of music production on GarageBand/Logic- here is the MBP I found:
————————————————————
-Late 2010 or Early 2011 model
- Intel i7 2.6 GHz Processor w/3.2 Ghz TurboBoost (PRETTY SURE IT'S DUAL CORE)
- 256GB Solid State Hard Drive (Is this critical for faster speeds?)
- 8 GB of 1600Mhz DDR3 SDRAM
- Upgraded 15.4-Inch Display to High Resolution Matte w/Antiglare
- Dual Graphics Processor - GeForce GT 330M w/512MB VRAM
$1500
————————————————————
I'm uncertain because of the hard drive size, the fact that it's not retina like the new ones, and more than anything because I'm pretty sure it's dual core. Any advice from the experts on here if this will work for music prod. and also if its a good deal? Thanks!

 

[B...]

Pretty poor deal.

 

[Goalyguy33]

No good huh?

 

[tgi]

Not for that much. You can get a way better deal. SSD is the most critical component to the speed of cMBP's.

Do you have your heart set on a cMBP? Have you considered the Retina models?

For instance,

Originally released June 2012
15.4-inch (diagonal) Retina display; 2880-by-1800 resolution at 220 pixels per inch
8GB of 1600MHz DDR3L SDRAM
256GB Flash Storage
720p FaceTime HD Camera
NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M with 1GB of GDDR5 memory

A lot newer, Quad core, better dGPU, better screen, direct from Apple, 1 year manufacturer warranty, same RAM and SSD for only $99 more.

http://store.apple.com/us/product/FC975LL/A/refurbished-macbook-pro-23ghz-quad-core-intel-i7-with-retina-display

 

[DaCurmudgen]

Pretty poor deal.

I have to agree. You can get a refurbished 2012 15" rMBP 2.3 GHz i7 quad-core with 8GB RAM, and 256 SSD for $1599: http://store.apple.com/us/product/F...-23ghz-quad-core-intel-i7-with-retina-display

As for what you need re: music production, quad core would be better, but dual is also fine (even MB Airs can handle Pro Tools and Logic). Definitely want a min. of 256 SSD and you can use an external drive for your recordings.

I shared my other lessons learned using my 2012 cMBP for audio recording here: https://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=17698890#post17698890

The one nice thing about the cMBP is that you can boost it to 16GB when you're ready vs. needing to do that Day 1.

----------

Not for that much. You can get a way better deal. SSD is the most critical component to the speed of cMBP's.

Do you have your heart set on a cMBP? Have you considered the Retina models?

For instance,

Originally released June 2012
15.4-inch (diagonal) Retina display; 2880-by-1800 resolution at 220 pixels per inch
8GB of 1600MHz DDR3L SDRAM
256GB Flash Storage
720p FaceTime HD Camera
NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M with 1GB of GDDR5 memory

A lot newer, Quad core, better dGPU, better screen, direct from Apple, 1 year manufacturer warranty, same RAM and SSD for only $99 more.

http://store.apple.com/us/product/FC975LL/A/refurbished-macbook-pro-23ghz-quad-core-intel-i7-with-retina-display

Totally agree and these will get even cheaper when the new MBPs are released in the next few months.

 

[Goalyguy33]

That sounds way better! A little concerned about the fact that it's refurbished... I work in wireless and refurbished phones at least are absolute pieces of junk. But my co-workers are telling me that is not the case with computers?

 

[tgi]

That sounds way better! A little concerned about the fact that it's refurbished... I work in wireless and refurbished phones at least are absolute pieces of junk. But my co-workers are telling me that is not the case with computers?

Apple refurbished products are regarded as better than new by most people.

All items undergo quality inspections before being re-sold and you will be covered by warranty as with a brand new laptop.

Some people say the only difference between Apple refurbished and brand new is the box.

 

[Goalyguy33]

Just saw you mentioned it comes with warranty. I'm thinking this refurbished route may be the way to go... Definitely want the retina screen too

 

[tgi]

Just saw you mentioned it comes with warranty. I'm thinking this refurbished route may be the way to go... Definitely want the retina screen too

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/713578/

Read through this thread a little bit if you are still doubtful about refurbished. It's a 346 page thread dedicated to people buying refurbished Macbooks.

 

[Goalyguy33]

Nice! Thanks for all the information guys, it really helped me make my decision!

----------

That link was for one with Flash Storage though. How is flash storage compared to solid state drive?

 

[B...]

Nice! Thanks for all the information guys, it really helped me make my decision!

----------

That link was for one with Flash Storage though. How is flash storage compared to solid state drive?

It's the same thing, just Apple's marketing term.

 

[Goalyguy33]

And yet another question... I was all but set to buy the one in the link for 1599 but the hard drive's too small (I'll probly just get an external) but mainly it's only 2.3 ghz. Everything else on there has more ghz, is 2.3 ghz quad core enough to handle music production? I'm assuming yes... but wondering what the differences are with the higher ghz processors. Thanks again.

 

[Goalyguy33]

Is this one worth it for another $420? 2.6 ghz instead of 2.3 and 512 flash storage instead of 256.

http://store.apple.com/us/product/F...-26ghz-quad-core-intel-i7-with-retina-display

 

[tgi]

Is this one worth it for another $420? 2.6 ghz instead of 2.3 and 512 flash storage instead of 256.

http://store.apple.com/us/product/F...-26ghz-quad-core-intel-i7-with-retina-display

It's definitely worth it if you need the faster processor and extra storage. But most can get by with a external hard drive and base processor.

 

[Ayeazza]

Here's another one of these threads: buying a MBP and so torn on the options. Very confused on dual core vs. quad core. I've done a lot of reading before posting this but I'm still confused so figure I'll just ask. Going to be doing lots of music production on GarageBand/Logic- here is the MBP I found:
————————————————————
-Late 2010 or Early 2011 model
- Intel i7 2.6 GHz Processor w/3.2 Ghz TurboBoost (PRETTY SURE IT'S DUAL CORE)
- 256GB Solid State Hard Drive (Is this critical for faster speeds?)
- 8 GB of 1600Mhz DDR3 SDRAM
- Upgraded 15.4-Inch Display to High Resolution Matte w/Antiglare
- Dual Graphics Processor - GeForce GT 330M w/512MB VRAM
$1500
————————————————————
I'm uncertain because of the hard drive size, the fact that it's not retina like the new ones, and more than anything because I'm pretty sure it's dual core. Any advice from the experts on here if this will work for music prod. and also if its a good deal? Thanks!

I just bought this pretty much same spec MBP Mid 2010 for $450
for video editing... I wouldn't pay $1,500 for it I've seen them on Ebay for 6-900