Recommended MacBook Pro 16 configuration for Logic Pro X?

[infinitejest]

So, what configurations would you guys recommend for using Logic?
Will the base model with the 2.6GHz 6-core i7 processor and 16 GB RAM be fine or would you upgrade anything?

 

[MrGunnyPT]

If you do 4K is go for the highest GPU available

 

[Howard2k]

Logic is an audio program. You can do audio very comfortable on a single core or dual core from 10 years ago. Or if you're doing a mass of samples and virtual instruments you could totally choke even the brand new 16".

What do you have now and how is it running? That's where I'd start.

 

[infinitejest]

Logic is an audio program. You can do audio very comfortable on a single core or dual core from 10 years ago. Or if you're doing a mass of samples and virtual instruments you could totally choke even the brand new 16".

What do you have now and how is it running? That's where I'd start.

I currently have a 2015 MacBook Air with 8 GB. Needless to say it's not performing really well. I have to use many workarounds like freezing tracks, bouncing midi tracks in place, which is not a fun way of working. And I still get a lot of system overloads and the activity monitor shows that it uses my entire 8 GB of RAM when it happens on larger projects. But I don't know if I will be fine with 16 GB or if 32 GB would be a better choice.

 

[simplysly]

@infinitejest im a full time sound engineer and ghost producer. I currently am using a 2019 MBP i9, blah blah 15 inch spec'd out. My projects currently hover anywhere between 25-60 channels of audio and AU's. My sessions are stacked to the ****. My advice is this; Upgrade your 2015 to what you need, not what you want. If you can find a refurb 2015 get it. The peripherals are a god send still for what you will need. If you can get a well priced 2019 15 inch then do so. Mine has not skipped a beat.

Just keep in mind for audio work, especially in Logic Pro which is optimised for Apple products, it can literally sail along on single core or dual core machine as @Howard2k just explained. Don't buy into the hype.

Just my 2 cents

 

[royalgfx1]

Tacking onto this:

I use Ableton, and have at least 20+ tracks at a time. All running plug ins (Waves and others).
@simplysly
What is more important to have a BUNCH of plug ins? Ram or CPU?

Would it be better for production: the base i7 with 32gb of ram, OR the base i9 with 16gb of ram?

 

[CE3]

Tacking onto this:

I use Ableton, and have at least 20+ tracks at a time. All running plug ins (Waves and others).
@simplysly
What is more important to have a BUNCH of plug ins? Ram or CPU?

Would it be better for production: the base i7 with 32gb of ram, OR the base i9 with 16gb of ram?

That's tough. I went with the i9 & 16GB, but the i7 with 32GB is also a great option and probably the better balance. If I didn't have a desktop that's what I'd choose. If you're coming from a 2011 MacBook Pro, you'll see a huge difference with either configuration, and in a few days there should be lots of videos and articles showcasing performance differences between the CPUs and GPUs. Do you keep your sample libraries on an external SSD? I think that helps keep things snappy too.

 

[infinitejest]

@infinitejest im a full time sound engineer and ghost producer. I currently am using a 2019 MBP i9, blah blah 15 inch spec'd out. My projects currently hover anywhere between 25-60 channels of audio and AU's. My sessions are stacked to the ****. My advice is this; Upgrade your 2015 to what you need, not what you want. If you can find a refurb 2015 get it. The peripherals are a god send still for what you will need. If you can get a well priced 2019 15 inch then do so. Mine has not skipped a beat.

Just keep in mind for audio work, especially in Logic Pro which is optimised for Apple products, it can literally sail along on single core or dual core machine as @Howard2k just explained. Don't buy into the hype.

Just my 2 cents

Thank you, you made some good points.
I think it makes sense to go with the base model and see how it handles my biggest projects.
And if I'm not happy with its performance, I have 30 days to return it and get a better spec'd machine.
I think that's the way to go. Like you said, it's not about what you want but what you need. And as a musician you can always use the money for your infinite studio equipment wish list 😄

 

[royalgfx1]

how do you read activity monitor?

im running a big file in ableton live on my existing mbp from 2015, it says 13GB of 16GB used.

the cpu tab in activity monitor says Ableton live itself is using on average 300% of cpu.

the audio of the project is stuttering on playback noticeably, even when changing buffer options. beyond that, the inbuilt cpu meter in ableton is jumping wildly between 60% to over 110%

i just want to get a laptop that will let me throw on as many plug ins as possible without it bottlenecking and stuttering like my current mbp does. my current 2015 turns on its fans within 2 minutes of running a project, and then i feel like i need to put it in the fridge to cool it down.

 

[maplingstorie]

Basically this:
1)More RAM if your project is huge and long (many tracks, big samples)
2)More CPU if your project is requiring to playback a lot tracks simultaneously and a lot of audio units/plugins.

For my case, I'll be maxing both CPU and RAM as my current projects have 200-300 tracks but not all playing simultaneously and is 30 minutes to an hour long.

Learned a painful lesson when RAM is not enough, all the freezing and bouncing especially when dealing with many tracks can slow productivity and waste a lot of time.

When swapping memory was too much too handle, the app will crash and there goes your work if you didn't save. And time wasted loading the project especially those big projects. Gives me chills when I think about it.