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Buying a new laptop

Hey guys whats up?

Im buying a new laptop (a Macbook Pro) for Producing, Recording my DJ sets, and a little bit of video editing.

Here is what i need to run on it:

Logc Express 8
Final Cut Express 4
Cubase 5
Microsoft Office 2007 Home and Student editon - for Mac

do u guys think this computer will run all that really well? or do i need something more?

Computer specifications:

2.53GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
4GB 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 2x2GB
250GB Serial ATA Drive @ 5400 rpm
SuperDrive 8x (DVD�R DL/DVD�RW/CD-RW)
MacBook Pro 15-inch Glossy Widescreen Display
Backlit Keyboard (Local) & User's Guide (Local)

Will that work for everything i want to run on it? and will it be fast enough?

Thanks a lot
Chris

It's about what can be expected for a laptop. The Core2Duo is powerful enough for most tasks, but if you use a lot of Software Instruments and Software Effects, the CPU will max out fairly quickly. That's just the nature of notebook computers. In order to achieve portability, you sacrifice power. If you really need power you should be looking at a Mac Pro Tower, which has quad core XEON processors. Those will pretty much handle anything.

quote:

Originally posted by Eric J It's about what can be expected for a laptop. The Core2Duo is powerful enough for most tasks, but if you use a lot of Software Instruments and Software Effects, the CPU will max out fairly quickly. That's just the nature of notebook computers. In order to achieve portability, you sacrifice power. If you really need power you should be looking at a Mac Pro Tower, which has quad core XEON processors. Those will pretty much handle anything.

Thanks for the reply. Well right now i have a core duo running vista and it dosent even handle Cubase (it runs but it lags a lot). I def get what ur saying about getting a tower but i travel so much that i need a laptop, and im pretty set on a mac as well haha. Do u think the comp specs listed above will work for what i need?

quote:

Originally posted by chris harrington Thanks for the reply. Well right now i have a core duo running vista and it dosent even handle Cubase (it runs but it lags a lot). I def get what ur saying about getting a tower but i travel so much that i need a laptop, and im pretty set on a mac as well haha. Do u think the comp specs listed above will work for what i need?

Well that's entirely dependent on what you do. If you are the kind of producer that records a lot of outboard hardware, and composes using mainly audio tracks, then it'll work fine. If you are the type of producer that sources nearly all your sounds and effects from virtual instruments, you are going to be bouncing a lot of tracks. A typical song of mine contains anywhere from 30-50 tracks and probably 60-80 plugins. My MacBook Pro definitely could not handle that with lots of bouncig.

The thing is, thats about as powerful a laptop as you are going to find on the market today. As I stated before, laptops are just not as powerful as desktops by nature.

Re: Buying a new laptop

quote:

Originally posted by chris harrington 2.53GHz Intel Core 2 Duo

This baby is fast! i have the equivalent power on my stationary, it can handle a lot.

i just bought the cheapest new 13" macbook pro and i couldnt have been happier. If i had more money id get the bigger CPU though but i dont really have any CPU problems yet (2,26GHz) and as im working more and more with loops i dont think i will have CPU probs either, maybe more RAM but it supports 8GB so i can upgrade anytime. Its so cool that they have lowered their prices drasticaly on the Pros and finaly they look solid too. Screen has become ALOT better. Backlight keys is really helpfull if u produce during night. I just love everything about this machine.

the cheapest 13" macbook will destroy all of those programs so buy whatever you want they'll all get the job done

quote:

Originally posted by Eric J The thing is, thats about as powerful a laptop as you are going to find on the market today. As I stated before, laptops are just not as powerful as desktops by nature.

I'm pretty sure the Mobile Q9xxx series (Quad cores) are alot more powerfull than those duo cores.

How bout those i7s? How are those things holding out processingwise?

2.5 duo core is fast. Unless you're getting into heavy samply libraries (ie. East West products or Spectrasonics) most things should fly with ease. I even run East West stuff on my 2.4 duo core and have no issues until i start getting over maybe 15-20tracks. You just need harddrives because the one in the computer won't suffice - plus you want to keep your music stuff seperate anyways, get either one or 2 seagate freeagent external harddrives and you'll be set.

decide on screen size first: 13 or 15?
then decide between the two cpus avaliable for the size u chose: normal or high
then decide wether u need more ram or not, u can add this later.
then decide wether u need more HD or not, u can add this later too, i choose 250gb from start with as this wasnt much of a raise in price.
the 3GHz 15 inch will be a monster of a laptop

I'm in the same market, getting one for school (production/etc).

Would

2.66GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
4GB 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 2x2GB
320GB Serial ATA Drive @ 5400 rpm
SuperDrive 8x (DVD�R DL/DVD�RW/CD-RW)
NVIDIA GeForce 9400M + 9600M GT with 256MB

be worth $250 more in the long run?

I have a MacBook Pro with the same specs as the one you want and I love it!!! I do a lot of video editing, and honestly, I like editing on the MacBook Pro a lot better than on my MacPro Tower!!!

That laptop is just a beast, and I never realized how easy video editing would be with a multi-touch trackpad as compared to the regular mouse. Scrolling/Scrubbing with the trackpad is just awesome and QUICK!!! Just swipe your fingers and it scrolls!!! hahaha

And for some strange reason, it renders my movies a lot faster than my desktop.

I'ma wait for a Dual 3.0 GIgahertz

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