Macbook pro 13"?Good enough for serious mixing?

[Iliketapping]

Hi

I've intrested in buying this mac:

http://www.apple.com/macbookpro/specs-13inch.html

2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo

4GB 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 2x2GB

250GB Serial ATA Drive @ 5400 rpm

SuperDrive 8x (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)

Would this mac be enough for mixing with pro tools or logic with about 30 tracks running smoothly?Without experiencing any problems?

Also, would it be useable for some videoediting( not advanced)?

Thanks!

[LensOfMadness]

The short answer is yes.

The slightly longer answer is that you always run out of hard drive space on a laptop and would need a nice big external drive if you're actually doing a lot of stuff. Similarly, you can get by with 4 gig of ram, but more isn't just better in the sound and video world, more is exponentially better. I don't recall off the top of my head how much ram the new MBPs support, but your best bet would be to max it out.

[re-animator]

you should be ok with 30ish tracks, as long as you aren't loading them with softsynths/samplers, and you don't have too many VST plugs running. plugins are often more resource hungry than a ton of simple audio tracks. i really don't know about video editing though.

[retro]

Can't predict problems but you should be fine for audio and video.

2k Red cam proxies might slow things down a bit lol. But...I've done a lot of editing on a less powerful MBP with 2GB.

Apple charges way too much for ram so might as well get it stock.

You can use the Activity Monitor utility to see how much ram is being accessed by your apps. You may feel for your needs 4GB is fine or you may wish to max it out to 8GB.


(OWC offers rebates for your ram and at a much lower price then Apple if you do decide to opt for more).

Typical to stream audio to an external faster rpm drive. And for scratch/media for video.

It's a nice machine...I think...

[Rusty G.]

It depends on the reverb you're using. Reverb is a DSP hog! Also, I agree with the above poster about getting an external hard drive. It's a must have.

[Realfi]

Originally Posted by Iliketapping

Hi

I've intrested in buying this mac:

http://www.apple.com/macbookpro/specs-13inch.html

2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo

4GB 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 2x2GB

250GB Serial ATA Drive @ 5400 rpm

SuperDrive 8x (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)

Would this mac be enough for mixing with pro tools or logic with about 30 tracks running smoothly?Without experiencing any problems?

Also, would it be useable for some videoediting( not advanced)?

Thanks!

I don't know about the new solid state drives that are available in the new 13" Mac Book Pros but one of the reasons I went with a 15" was the ability to have a 7200 RPM internal drive.

Faster internal drive + a good external I would think might lead to better performance.

[Amp360]

I have used a MBP for a long time (replaced my Dual Processor G5) but to be honest given the choice I would go with a MacPro just because you get expansion slots and you can add more drives, RAM and also have the option to add cards (I have UAD and Duende).

The laptop is fine, but you're limiting your options in the future.

These days I use a MBP at work and have a MacPro in my studio.

[kludge]

I completed two albums on one.

Here's a recommendation, though... buy it at Best Buy rather than Apple, and get the Geek Squad coverage (which covers mechanical damage, unlike Apple). Then buy a 500GB 7200rpm laptop drive from Best Buy ($90 or so) and pay Geek Squad $50 to install it for you - it won't void your warranty with them or Apple if they do it. You get more space and more speed for not a lot more money, and the disk drive is the #1 performance issue you'll have doing music.

Also, get yourself an external drive that can power off USB, and use it for Time Machine backups. When I did the Geek Squad upgrade thing, I just restored from Time Machine, and all was well.

My next major studio investment will be a really serious set of headphones I can do all but final mixing on, something comfortable and non-fatiguing. Then I can mix anywhere.