Get that Macbook Pro?

DJ Gear & Hardware Hardware: Controllers, Mods and Gear
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Get that Macbook Pro?

Hi there,

I have quite powerfull but very unreliable (cheap) laptop (i7QM, 8GB Ram, SSD…) so I’m looking for a new one. I am considering bying a Macbook Pro because of it’s reliability, but I’m not sure if it’s worth it. I’m running Traktor and Maschine and sometimes Live.

My question is if it’s realy worth it. Compared to a Dell XPS or most other good Windows-laptops I could save somewhat between 500 - 1000 €, so I’ll get a S4 for free so to speak.

I know there are countless similar discussions but Google still didn’t manage to tell me, why spending 500 - 1000 € more would be a good idea. I like working on a Macbook and I have some other Apple stuff here, but getting a “controller for free” with a Windows-laptop is still considerable.

Any opinions? :rage:

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I just switched to a MacBook Pro and I’ll never look back. The benefit is less setup out of the box so you can get to important things like DJing and producing.

I also use Traktor and Ableton as well…my i5 2011 MBP runs it no problem!

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  1. Over the course of its lifetime how many hours are you willing to spend troubleshooting or optimizing a windows laptop.

  2. How much is your time worth in $

My issue with windows laptops is generally not the hardware its the upkeep and lack of efficiency.

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do it.

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Do you use the sample decks and Traktor with Live at the same time?

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I can do that with under 10ms latency on a 2,26 Core 2 Duo. You don’t need THAT much CPU power to achieve what you want.

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since i swapped to a mbp i’ve never looked back. yes, you could get a similar laptop for cheap, but the quality in the build is priceless. and dont get me started on the design. and i’ve never had a single problem with it. not with logic or traktor. i doubt that i would have any problem with live too.

like nike said. just do it

EDIT:
i wonder why so many pros use mbp’s :slight_smile:

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First PC laptop: spent ages optimizing (dual boot to DJ mode), building scripts, etc. Frequently experienced dropouts, crashes, BSODs mid-gig. Screw this.

Second PC laptop: super powerful, about $1000 less than MBP with same specs, bought at the recommendation of others. They’d say “Apple is overpriced and for artsy-fartsy fanboys. PC is just as good.” More optimizing, more scripts, less crashes but same dropouts, latency issues, DON’T YOU DARE USE WIFI DURING A GIG. Constant worrying. Screw this.

First MBP, 2009: plug and play, never crashed, never had a dropout, 1ms latency, WIFI works fine during gigs. Never a worry.

If you can afford it (or finance it) do it. You’ll never wonder if you made a bad decision.

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Windows laptops that worked perfectly out of the box for me w/ Traktor - Asus G-series, Lenovo T-61 series, Lenovo T500 series, Dell Precision series. Basically all of the laptops I’ve owned the past few years.

My favorite laptop to this day was the Precision M6400 by far, with the Lenovos not far behind… Build quality is much better than that of the relatively consumer-feeling MBP’s.

MBP’s are nice, I suppose, but I’d rather spend that money on other gear. But then again, I’m more business-oriented than anything.

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I’m using a lot of different software on my laptop, both for work and for DJing/production (which is obviously not my profession :wink:) and for other stuff. Having to much software in- and uninstalled caused problems ever since Windows 95. That’s why I want to try a MBP.

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One of the best thing that happened for me the last 10 years was to finally get to a company that provided Mac laptops instead of Dell/HP et rest as part of the job.

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I have to convince my boss to grant me one. Last year everyone got an iPad as a christmas gift so a MBP doesn’t seems impossible :wink:

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That’s one of the best things to ever happen to you? I’m sorry… lol.

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Back on topic: Did anyone use a Windows Laptop with much software installed that worked flawlessly? I’m still concerned about the price. Like I said, it’s buying a MBP or a Windows laptop AND a high class midicontroller for the same price.

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never had a problem with my windows laptop and it’s used both for gaming and music. Only thing I had to optimize was installing the drivers and turning off WIFI, if I had the money I’d probably get a MBP just for the ease of it though…

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Thanks for the info, deactivating WiFi is not an option, because I use my iPad as a controller for Live. Ableton Live :wink:.

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Macbook Pro and you won’t ever look back.

During a usual night when DJ’ing where I usually play I have the following on:

Traktor (self explanatory) with audio 8 DJ and an X1. (Latency less than 10m/s)
Audacity for recording the night.
iTunes for browsing.
Finder/spotlight for quick browsing of tracks and loading.
WiFi connected to the bar/club’s internet
Safari in case I need to download a quick few tracks.
Maybe one or two other programs open.

And it doesn’t cause a single issue. Everything runs perfectly. And that’s with a 4GB Mid 2012 Macbook Pro.
I’ve got 2 4GB sticks of ram at home to install, but there just isn’t any need just yet.

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I don’t get problems with my Windows machines.

You have to take the time to learn how to optimise them. There are a MILLION guides on-line.

Start by making a new partition/OS installation for audio work (DJ’ing, production, etc…) and then strip out everything that is not absolutely necessary for audio.

What you end up with is 2 computers on the same machine - 1 for your day-to-day “computering” (shopping, e-mails, surfing, etc… Think of this as your daily runner, in car terms, a people carrier), and 1 for your audio stuff (this is your weekend car - you can’t go shopping in it, or pick up the kids, but it goes like shit off a shovel).

Take your new Audio Partition, uninstall unnecessary software, stop services, disable automatic updates/firewall, disable networking, turn off graphical enhancements/animations, stop system sounds… The list goes on. It all enhances your system, and makes it a more reliable machine.

Because they don’t have to choose between getting a MBP and paying the rent this month.

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And that my friend is the reason to buy a Mac in a nutshell … :stuck_out_tongue:

At the end of the day, you buy a Mac and it’ll last you 3-4 years before beginning to feel sluggish (even without optimization).

A top of the range Macbook pro 13’ with an SSD will set you back appx $7 a week once you factor in the abnormally high resale values which are around double that of similarly spec’d PC’s.

Now I don’t know what your time is worth, but being able to multitask between surfing, audio work, video, web development, and skyping with clients all without a reboot to me is priceless and certainly has made me WAY more money than I would have ever saved buying a Dell or HP.

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Well ok, so even the Windows users agree, that I have to spend work on configurating and maintaining a Windows laptop instead of buying a MBP without having these things to do. Searching guides in the internet and doing this stuff sill consume some time I guess.

So thanks a lot for now, it seems that most of you share my just stated opinion. It’s my turn now to decide what hourly rate I charge for my spare time. I’ll let you know. :wink: Thanks again!