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Will an i5/8gb be enough...

T

testudoaubreii

macrumors regular
Original poster
Apr 14, 2014
109
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Hello,

I am looking at 13" MacBook Pros and is am wondering how much of difference there is between the different i5 speeds. And, how much of a difference I would notice between 8GB and 16GB of RAM.

I will be doing web design and development (Photoshop/Illustrator/Dreamweaver) and multitrack, live vocal recordings with Garageband.

I just want to know if price increase for each model is worth it, will 8GB be enough for what I do and do I really need to look at a quad-core processor. I mean, should i notice a difference between speed and performance between the 3 models available?

Thank you in advance for all help.
 
testudoaubreii said:
I am looking at 13" MacBook Pros and is am wondering how much of difference there is between the different i5 speeds. And, how much of a difference I would notice between 8GB and 16GB of RAM.
Click to expand...

You won't notice a difference in processor speed on the 13" models. Just pick the storage you need and go with the stock CPU.

As for RAM, unless you're running multiple VMs, 8GB is fine.

I don't know how CPU intensive or RAM intensive multitrack recording can be, so someone else may be able to help you better here.
 
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Closingracer said:
The base i5 will be fine and the 8gb will be good enough 16GB might be worth te upgrade?
Click to expand...

T5BRICK said:
You won't notice a difference in processor speed on the 13" models. Just pick the storage you need and go with the stock CPU.

As for RAM, unless you're running multiple VMs, 8GB is fine.

I don't know how CPU intensive or RAM intensive multitrack recording can be, so someone else may be able to help you better here.
Click to expand...

Thank you for responding.

Most of the time, the MacBook Pro will be hooked up to a monitor(s). When I am away from the desk, I may do some work but most of the time it will be for browsing and media consumption. Is there any real reason why I would need to go with a quad-core instead of a dual-core and will 8GB me enough for my purposes? I know it is only a $180-200 difference, but when the boss lady has you on a strict budget, you know...
 
T5BRICK said:
Quad core isn't an option in the 13" models so you're looking at the $1999 15" models for quad.



8GB is fine for most people.
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Thank you.

I know that the quad cores are only in the 15" models. However, I am wondering if I really need a quad-core in general. I mean, should I hold off and save up to get a quad core or will a dual core be sufficient. Do programs really make use of all 4 cores? I have read that mainly 3D rendering, CAD and the like are the ones that really utilize all 4.
 
It's a tough one, you currently don't really need any upgrades, but if you end up doing a lot of tracks on a recording more Ram is useful and more cores never hurt. To be honest though I would say that any 13 inch pro will do you fine choose on the storage space.

There may be updated MacBook pros in March so you may want to hang on a few weeks and see what happens.
 
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testudoaubreii said:
Thank you.

I know that the quad cores are only in the 15" models. However, I am wondering if I really need a quad-core in general. I mean, should I hold off and save up to get a quad core or will a dual core be sufficient. Do programs really make use of all 4 cores? I have read that mainly 3D rendering, CAD and the like are the ones that really utilize all 4.
Click to expand...
Programs that are CPU intensive usually are programmed to make use of all available cores.

If you use anything that needs to render stuff (CAD, video editing, to a lesser extent photo editing, etc) then yes, a quad-core will make a very large difference.

How much that matters is entirely up to you. If you are making money with that computer and every last second counts, then a quad-core should be the one to get. If you don't mind waiting a bit more, the dual is a very capable processor.
 
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Research your apps, not the CPU.

If the apps you will be using are SMP-aware, then the more cores you have, the better they should perform.

Since you are focused on audio production, I would not pay attention to any apps that rely on a dedicated graphics card to boost performance, like CAD, etc.
 
testudoaubreii said:
I will be doing web design and development (Photoshop/Illustrator/Dreamweaver) and multitrack, live vocal recordings with Garageband.
Click to expand...
For the recording side of things, if you're going to be using a lot of sample-based instruments like Kontakt (strings, pianos, etc) the more RAM the better as those require a lot, especially if using multiple instances of Kontakt.
 
Wait a few weeks until the refresh unless you get a good deal. I have the 15" rMBP and its amazing. nothing do to change it. If you're planning to keep this mac for a long time go ahead with the 15"
 
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For web design, 8 gb is sufficient. For live recording, I wouldn't foresee any issues either. Mixing the audio should be fine too, unless you are working with enormous files.
 
Unless you need to save every dime, or plan to trade the machine for new in a year or two, I think it's a mistake to stop at 8 Gb. I've never seen an OS that used less memory with successive versions (long term), whether OSX, Windows, linux, Solaris, or even TOPS-10. :) Apps are generally the same way. Since memory isn't upgradeable, going with 16 Gb now will help to future-proof the machine.
 
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