Hey guys! quick question! (Before anyone suggests building or buying a PC, I have looked into it for this but will be buying a mac over PC for gigging).
So my 2008 MBP (2.4ghz core2duo 8gb ram and dual ssds) is starting to slow down slightly on me and I really want to start playing with stems with my sets but dont want the audio lag and hiccups I am currently getting on my machine.
have a few options…
the baseline $1099 macbook (w superdrive) - hack that sucker open and put dual 1tb ssds in with <16 gb of ram… problem is the processor is from 2012 (dual core i7). Add in cost of aftermarket parts and were looking ~$2k
Maxed out 13 in MBP retina w dual core i7 ($2500) or the maxed out quad core i7 15 in mbp retina ($3200).
my main question is will i get a noticible performance boost from the more expensive MBP retinas with the newer i7 chips and would it be worth the money to go quad core over the dual core processor or would the older chip with more RAM be more beneficial to me as I am only running a single program on it while gigging.
Any i7 dual core with more than 2Ghz is fine for Traktor. As for the RAM, Traktor itself doesn’t use more than 4GB. People are used to add 8GB and more when they want to MIDI sync Traktor to Maschine or Ableton.
I know as far as min specs all the machines I listed would work fine for it. Just trying to get the most bang for my buck and If the quad wont show me a large boost speed wise it seems to be better to go for one of the user upgradable stock Macbooks.
Bear in mind You’ll also be dealing with 2012 graphics cards, 2012 screen resolution and slower SATA speeds in one of the bays.
If the screens and graphics aren’t an issue for you and you plan on keeping it for a few years - yep it sounds like a 2012 model will do the trick nicely.
They are still insanely fast machines the newer core processors focused more on power savings and heat dispersion than raw power boosts.
Don’t buy the old Macbook, they’ll be discontinued in a few months (WWDC) and the entire line will be retina.
As mentioned, the specs will be fine for both, but the retina is the far better machine, you’ll be getting the better display and faster SSD… the SSDs in the retina’s are small chips hooked straight into the motherboard, rather than a separate SSD and cable… they’re really fast.
That being said, it’s a bad time to buy a mac, period. The new mac book pros will be out in a few month with Skylake CPUs, we’ll have faster processors, and excellent GPU boosts and battery utilisation… and probably even faster SSDs.
But you can get 4x SSD storage and same amount of ram into a 2012 model for ALOT less cost than a new retina- which is more important than screen resolution or graphics to some peeps.
It’s what uses you have for it outside of gigging that I’d be concerned about - even some websites are starting to look weird on screens lower than 1080p, how DJ apps will fare on the lower resolutions in a year or two remain to be seen. Traktor sure looks crushed once you expand all the deck features.
IMHO, I’d go for a lower spec i5 - there isn’t “that much” of speed jump between them anyhow, certainly not when it comes to Traktor - even my 2010 i3 imac runs it flawlessly no matter how many FX or decks I use.
Well then he’ll just have to weigh up whats more important to him. There is more to RAM than the amount, 8GB is enough but may have higher bandwidth, newer models, etc..
If he has a MASSIVE mp3 library it wouldn’t be worth wasting them on an SSD anyway and buying a decent USB 3 would be sufficient.
Retina’s are also good for screen real estate as you get some amazing resolution options to fit more on screen.
I personally just don’t see the point in buying an old Macbook Pro, they’re big, bulky, heavy, have horrible displays, really old tech and are due to be discontinued.
That being said, to answer his question, if he throws an SSD in it, it will be more than suitable.
get the 2012 if you are a DIY type person. You can mod it the way you want, and upgrade as your needs change. Try doing that in a newer model where the hardware is soldered in place…
I probably should have made that more clear. My current MacBook is hacked that way (dual hard drives. More ram than Apple says it can handle) and held in by a tactically placed piece of duct tape (I’ll post a pic when I get home).
I would put dual ssds in the 2012 model or would go maxed for the 13 in or 15 in retina. I use the thing multiple times a week for gigging so I want a fast reliable machine that won’t be obsolete in the next year or so.
More my question was would I get a better machine going the DIY way or if the new quad cores were really that good. Most people I’ve talked to on the issue are giving me the “well the retinas are pretty” as a reason to buy the newer machine. Not good enough in my book, I care about what’s under the hood. I’m really having a hard time seeing the justification in having to spend $3800 (considering the way Apple price rapes you on components) unless the difference in speed was was staggering.
It might be time to brush up on my soldering skills. Haha. Maybe I’ll just buy the cheaper MacBook and mod it myself and buy a maschine or set of xdjs and the djm900nxs2 with the savings.
You are only going to notice a noticeable difference between the i5 vs i7 in quad core, even then you will only notice the real world differences if you are utilizing multiple applications at once.
If I were in your shoes right now, I would buy a 15 Refurb i7 Retina with 512SSD for just over 2k.
And then start trimming my audio library.
And definetly get Applecare before the first years warranty is up.
If storage is your “must have”
I would get a 2012 model and:
Buy the fastest model you can.
512 SSD,for the OS
A 2tb Non-SSD for my music library
Max out the ram.
And expect to replace it sooner due to the screen resolution and low end graphics card - which I reckon may cause problems in the next few years with apps designed for larger screens.
the dual core should run perfectly fine.
