New Macbook vs. Macbook Pro

DJ Life & Community General Discussion
1

New Macbook vs. Macbook Pro

Hi all,

Let me start by saying I’m not a pro DJ or any sort. I love music, and playing with my DJ equipment and the odd djing at parties.

I need to get a new macbook as mine is 4 years old, its the macbook pro 13, with a CD drive. I’d like to save some weight on it too.

So I was thinking, should I go for the new Macbook that just came out?

I’m happy with having to have a hub as part of my set-up (S4 and 1 F1).

All I use is Traktor Pro. Do you think this could run ok, on the top spec new macbook?

I have no performance issues with my current mac (except bloody iPhoto, but that is another story!).

I would get 512gb which would be more than enough for my music.

Sensible opinons welcome!!

Otherwise I use my laptop for web, email and word processing for work.

Thanks so much

->Adam

2

If you’re not having any issues w/ your current one, why would you get the new one? Also the new macbook is not made for djing. Its basically an expensive Chromebook. If you’re going to get a new one, get the latest Pro.

3

Agreed, I want to be able to take advantage of some of the new bluetooth features like handoff. Also save some bulk (the new pro’s are slightly smaller and lighter). I also really want a retina display for photos.
I tend to replace my laptop every 3/4 years to save off it going wrong. Not really necessary nowadays as all my critical stuff is in the cloud, and I back up to a time capsule.

I’m certainly going for the pro at the moment, it is annoying that only the top model can have a 512gb drive.

4

$580 for a 1tb upgrade drive from OCW or $280 for the 480gb

So you could order the lowest spec MBP and upgrade yourself and save $200+, for a few more you can get a caddy for the old 128G drive so you can use it as an external.

5

They will announce new updated Retina Macbook Pro 15" in June at WWDC most likely. The only reason it wasn’t announced was because the more powerful Broadwell processors weren’t quite ready for release yet. when the updated 15" Retina Macbook Pro comes out, spend the money on that, instead of this new ultra thin macbook that was just announced. It’s not the right computer for the tasks you are looking to do

6

I was expecting to wait until June to upgrade, but I thought that the 13 macbook pro has the new processors now.

I prefer the size of the 13’’ to 15’’ - personal taste I suppose.

7

The 15" MBP will have the quad-core Broadwell, which isn’t out yet. the 13" has a duo-core.

8

I’d personally be nervous running the S4 through a usb hub. I always take the stance that your sound card should be plugged directly into the laptop and then run any midi devices through the hub.

9

the refreshed 13" Macbook Air ? I know its not got a retina display like the new Macbook, but it’s 2 USBs and a thunderbolt 2 connection and lighter than a MBP

From what I’ve read I think the flash memory is much faster on this new model and they’ve the new Broadwell processors

10

I think I’ll go for the MacBook Pro 13 Retina with the 512gb disk and 8gb ram.

11

I really don’t know the target market for the new macbook but it certainly isn’t DJs.

I’ve seen lots of discussion around this new mac and DJs which I find odd, it has no ports and is under powered… just because it’s got an Apple logo on it doesn’t mean it’s the best thing since sliced bread although it is thin enough to slice bread.

The new retina macbook pro is the device to wait for.