Hi guys,

Ok, I've had a Powerbook G4 for 5 years and I need an upgrade. The problem is I don't know what to get...laptop or desktop? I know one is portable and one isn't, I'm talking in terms of performance here.

I use Ableton mostly, and my CPU usage is through the roof with not too many plug-ins just now. I would prefer a laptop but if the iMac quad core 27" i5/i7 performance is massive over the Macbook pro 15" i5, then I might go with the imac.

This is just for music production, nothing out of the ordinary.

Thanks for any help!!

sorry your post is confusing me. in your 1st sentence you say it's for performance but your last sentence you say it's just for production... which is it?

He means performance as in speed, not performing live on stage.

i see, well tell us more about your life. are you away from home more than not? do you have downtime away from home?

i have a friend who takes an hour commute via train every day, so a laptop is perfect for him. he works on music on his commute.

surely you know your life better than us, make a decision based up on your needs? how hard is this...

quote:

Originally posted by Zombie0729 sorry your post is confusing me. in your 1st sentence you say it's for performance but your last sentence you say it's just for production... which is it?

you obviously should get iMac if u do not need a portable for any other reasons. i got the 13" macbook pro because i neeeded a laptop and im really happy and havent yet maxed it out, but id like to have a bigger screen though.

btw when were talking about macs, anyone knows any rumors about a new mac pro?

Last edited by Zak McKracken on Jun-14-2010 at 20:27

I'd say if you're not using Logic and need to do a complete upgrade/reinstall/CPU format change why not just get a kickass PC for the £1500 a 27" iMac will cost you?


At least you could upgrade it in a couple of years insted of sitting on an obsolete iMac.

___________________
Soundcloud

quote:

Originally posted by tehlord I'd say if you're not using Logic and need to do a complete upgrade/reinstall/CPU format change why not just get a kickass PC for the £1500 a 27" iMac will cost you? At least you could upgrade it in a couple of years insted of sitting on an obsolete iMac.

Inaccurate advice IMO. I'm on a 2.5 year old imac and nothing is slowing it down or making it obsolete, regardless of what I chuck a it. It's got a good few years left in it at this rate (especially as improvements in processors and computing power has slowed up in recent years).

If performance is key to you and more important than the portability , then hands down go for the imac, but if you need to be portable then it's really no choice: MBP

The imac is one of the best value (all thing considered) computers available, period.

Thanks for the help guys.

Sorry for any confusion. I just meant CPU performance. My Powerbook hits 85% quite often when making tunes in Ableton and I need to address that.

I love having a laptop so was thinking Macbook Pro i5 but wasn't sure if this would max out too, although it would be a massive improvement on what I have now.

I don't want to join the Mac v PC debate. I am no comp expert but I've had a Mac 5 years and really like it, never had anything go wrong with it and it is very easy to use. I also do use Logic occasionally.

Cheers

quote:

Originally posted by Kev Boy Sorry for any confusion. I just meant CPU performance. My Powerbook hits 85% quite often when making tunes in Ableton and I need to address that.

If performance is really the top consideration, then you need to be looking at a Mac Pro first, followed by the iMac, then the Macbook Pro.

That being said, a new iMac should give you plenty of power to work with as long as you are OK sacrificing the portability.

quote:

Originally posted by Kev Boy I love having a laptop so was thinking Macbook Pro i5 but wasn't sure if this would max out too, although it would be a massive improvement on what I have now.

Thats exactly right. Any of the new Mac products will be a massive improvement over what you have now, so really the question is are you willing to sacrifice portability and how much can you afford?

I would suspect, based on the limited information you have given us, that you'll be just fine with the MacBook Pro or the iMac, and its reasonable on a limited budget.

quote:

Originally posted by Eric J If performance is really the top consideration, then you need to be looking at a Mac Pro first, followed by the iMac, then the Macbook Pro. That being said, a new iMac should give you plenty of power to work with as long as you are OK sacrificing the portability. Thats exactly right. Any of the new Mac products will be a massive improvement over what you have now, so really the question is are you willing to sacrifice portability and how much can you afford? I would suspect, based on the limited information you have given us, that you'll be just fine with the MacBook Pro or the iMac, and its reasonable on a limited budget.

I'm just using Ableton with soft synths like V-Station, MiniMoog, Sylenth, and the Novation stuff. I have other plug-ins too, all standard stuff, a few reverbs, vintage warmer.

I've been finding that when I have several synths open that it can't handle it. If I am just programming percussion, kick, snare, hats etc, then it's ok. I'll have compression, EQ etc on those tracks and it's fine. As soon as I start to program leads or bass and the plug-ins start to increase it's bad news!

My mate was running the same Ableton session on his iMac and the CPU was at about 14%, mine was 80-85%. That's my main concern, just don't want to get a Macbook Pro and I hit the same problem again but obviously it would be alot further down the line than I'm currently getting to.

Thanks guys

quote:

Originally posted by DJ RANN Inaccurate advice IMO. I'm on a 2.5 year old imac and nothing is slowing it down or making it obsolete, regardless of what I chuck a it. It's got a good few years left in it at this rate (especially as improvements in processors and computing power has slowed up in recent years). If performance is key to you and more important than the portability , then hands down go for the imac, but if you need to be portable then it's really no choice: MBP The imac is one of the best value (all thing considered) computers available, period.

I can't agree with your statement either!

I didn't mean obsolete as in unusable, more unexpandable as there's no way to increase much in the way of performance on the iMacs.

I think calling an iMac best value is pretty rich too if compared to the option of a PC. In terms of the rest of the Apple range then yeah, and in terms of quality vs a PC then definately.

I wasn't knocking Macs at all, if I could justify the cost of a Mac Pro i'd buy one for sure. I was just trying to offer an alternative choice as the OP is in for a complete re-install anyway.


Edit - i'd also like to add that there are (completely unfounded) rumours of the ipad being the way forward as Apples entry level everything device. I have a sneaking suspicion that it and the iMac will be transformed into little more than an app consumption device and video streamer. That could of course be complete balls, but it's a logical conclusion to come to in some ways.

___________________
Soundcloud

Last edited by tehlord on Jun-15-2010 at 10:23

quote:

Originally posted by Eric J If performance is really the top consideration, then you need to be looking at a Mac Pro first, followed by the iMac, then the Macbook Pro. That being said, a new iMac should give you plenty of power to work with as long as you are OK sacrificing the portability.

An iMac can outperform a 8 core Mac Pro, but that's due to Snow leapord in some tasks. And the quad core Mac Pro is slower than the i7 iMac.

And it's a very bad time to buy a Mac Pro when the 6 core / 12 core Mac Pro will arrive soon.

That being said, an i7 iMac is about 2 times faster than a i7 Macbook Pro.

It's cheaper and faster than a i7 macbook pro. Now, if you only need a mobile device for internet or checking e-mail, consider getting an iPad + iMac combo. If you want to produce at someone else's his studio, an i7 macbook pro seems to be a reasonable choice.

___________________
Fighting for peace is like fucking for virginity