Sold a Mac Pro for a Macbook Pro?

[Yurtal]

I have owned an early 08 2.8Ghz 8-Core Mac Pro for nearly 2 years now. I have upgraded it with a 3rd HDD and 8 gigs of ram and everything has been smooth as silk. I use it primarily for audio production. Pro Tools tracking and mixing often using lots of plug-ins.

The only real concern I have had with this machine is that it's not portable. I know that it is an absolute powerhouse desktop but I have at times really been put out by not being able to transport my sessions to another location for work.

My question is if anyone has replaced a desktop machine similar to mine with a top-of-the-line Macbook Pro? Would I get the same performance experience I had been getting with the desktop? I often think that I'm only using a small fraction of the Mac Pro's power when working with audio.

Anyway I'd love to hear some thoughts of current laptop users or desktop users. Cheers.

P.S I have posted this both in the Mac Pro section and the Macbook Pro section.

 

[Bennieboy©]

macbook pro performance wont be even close to a mac pro, ( are you running quad or octo? )

and have you thought about a external usb device? i know it seems daft but it could be a good idea for carting about various bits and bobs from one place to another

 

[Yurtal]

Thanks for the reply. It's an octo.

The problem I face is that when I need to transport a Pro Tools session the other computer I will be using never had the same plug-in software as I have and need.

 

[applebook]

This really depends on how "intense" your audio applications are. It sounds to me like you don't really need all of the power in your MP. A higher-end MBP would likely be fine for what you do, but you would be making a big performance downgrade, no doubt about it.

 

[Yurtal]

This really depends on how "intense" your audio applications are. It sounds to me like you don't really need all of the power in your MP. A higher-end MBP would likely be fine for what you do, but you would be making a big performance downgrade, no doubt about it.

Cheers for that. I thought that would be the case. I think my best bet is to try and save for an additional laptop that will sever my portable needs. Plus I would have to sell my Mac Pro and I have no idea even where to begin with that!

Thanks for your help.

 

[nanofrog]

Cheers for that. I thought that would be the case. I think my best bet is to try and save for an additional laptop that will sever my portable needs. Plus I would have to sell my Mac Pro and I have no idea even where to begin with that!

Thanks for your help.

I'd thin the combination of both would be the best solution, though the mose expensive as well. I've come across a few people that have had to do that (audio + video production work), so they needed power (heavy editing) and portability (location work).

 

[Yurtal]

I'd thin the combination of both would be the best solution, though the mose expensive as well. I've come across a few people that have had to do that (audio + video production work), so they needed power (heavy editing) and portability (location work).

Exactly. Oh well, better get my save on. Thanks for all the help.

 

[seisend]

Save your money and buy a MacBook Pro. I need my macs for audio too, had for two years a MacBook Pro at home and on the road. It's nice on the road and fast but at home, it's too small for me and hasn't enough power to record low latency with very high quality so I bought a Mac Pro this year. Create your projects at home on your mac pro and drag them on your laptop if you need them on the road.

If you record 44.1khz/ 24 bit low latency, MacBook Pro will do fine.
With 48khZ and higher/ 24 bit and a lot of channel strips, my MBP burns.