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Out With The Old, Help Me Find My New


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So I had a,

 

Early 2015 13" MacBook Pro

2.7ghz intel i5

16gb RAM

256gb SSD

 

The problem I had with it was that I got a system overload error quite frequently with Logic. It drove me nuts. I spent a lot of money buying a computer and upgrading the ram because I thought thats what I needed to do some recording within Logic but it proved to be a huge hassle and very frustrating. I could get about 6 guitars tracks going, and run ezdrummer but One I got about 2 mins of a song recorded it liked to start popping up the error. I also noticed that while trying to learn a song with guitar pro 6 Logic would give me an error when running both programs at once. All I had running in logic was a guitar track for my playing, and a mp3 of the song I was learning. I tried cleaning the hard drive to free up some space as I was at about 20gb and got ti to 99gb free and that did not change anything. So, I had enough and decided to bite the bullet and sell the MacBook. I miss it but thats it. Time to move on. You have no idea how annoying it is to buy something for a sole purpose only to realize it can't keep up to your needs.

 

With that said I plan to buy a new Mac. Id like to go with a MacBook because I like having the option of relaxing in the recliner and browsing the net, etc. 

Here are a few builds I like regarding MacBook Pros. I still have to stick with 256gb SSD because Id rather upgrade the processor as I can always use a External HD for storage.

I could possibly upgrade the HD on the cheaper MacBook  but I really like the price of that one at $2600. Im not fussy on the new models and there lack of connection ports however the toucher is pretty cool :) . Do you think either of these computers would be a good choice for Logic, and avoiding the system overload error ? I could also look at iMac options for around the same price and I can alway upgrade the ram on my own later.

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Would the non touch ar processor handle logic significantly better than my old 13"? I want to avoid system overload errors. Atleast for the small projects I do. Couple guitar tracks, bass, drums, vocals. Rock music. Shouldn't be to much in terms of synths.

 

Or should I look into iMac with a bigger processor or Mac Pro?

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My personal opinion is that sometimes what causes spikes is not Logic itself, it's the third party plugins. We have to remember that all Logic stock plugins are created by the same company that does Logic, the hardware and the OS, that's why most Logic stock plugins are very cpu friendly. I remember having problems with Sylenth on my old Macbook white and Logic Pro 9, even though everyone used to say it was a super light synth. Since I upgraded to a MacBook Pro mid2010 and Logic Pro X, those messages are gone. Sometimes it can be a specific project that is having issues. There are a lot more variables before we even consider buying a new computer to solve our problems. I can play dozens of tracks now with processing plugins and it does the work and it's an old laptop. So my take on this is: any computer you buy, will do the work. The problem is maybe on some plugins you use that cause that problem, maybe they are not compatible or something. 
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The i ky third party plugin I ever used was EZDrummer.

Hmm. I don't have experience with EZ Drummer, I use Addictive Drums instead. But anyway, I'm using a 2011 MacBook Pro 2.3 Hz i7 and I don't have CPU spikes unless I'm using multiple instances of Serum, Omnisphere or Alchemy. 

I would recommend the non Touch Bar version, definitely. Watch the video below if you're still leaning towards the Touch Bar version.

 

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Would having a 256gb hard drive suffice or should I save for a 512gb?

I would recommend a 256GB internal. You can always use external drives if you need more storage. In fact, it's good practice to spread your samples across several different drives so you aren't stressing out your internal hard drive.

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All the Logic sounds take up 50 gigs, so that's 1/5th of a 256 GB SSD.

Before you know it, it's full with other things.

 

Yea I hear ya there. I'm hoping to get away with a 256 just because it's the only place I can really save money. If I should really go 512gb than I will . If I can get away with using external than I will do that. Not sure if it's wise to work on projects from an external.

 

Triplets do you think the MacBook Pro non touchbar would help with my system overload issue ?

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Triplets do you think the MacBook Pro non touchbar would help with my system overload issue ?

To be honest, the non-touch bar computer is a waste of money. Why? it has 1600 Mhz Ram speed. That's the same as a non-retina 15-inch MBP from 2012, which you can find used for less than 1000 dollars and where you can upgrade the HD yourself to a 1 TB SSD if you wanted.

Why pay 2600 bucks for an older architecture? The TB MBP has 2133 Mhz Ram speed, a significant improvement.

I would really think about all your options.

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Triplets do you think the MacBook Pro non touchbar would help with my system overload issue ?

To be honest, the non-touch bar computer is a waste of money. Why? it has 1600 Mhz Ram speed. That's the same as a non-retina 15-inch MBP from 2012, which you can find used for less than 1000 dollars and where you can upgrade the HD yourself to a 1 TB SSD if you wanted.

Why pay 2600 bucks for an older architecture? The TB MBP has 2133 Mhz Ram speed, a significant improvement.

I would really think about all your options.

Trust me Im thinking it all through. As much as I want to have the latest and greatest I don't think my budget will allow :(. For me to buy a new MBP with apple care is roughly $3750CDN . Where as I can buy the older architecture with the maces out processor that it allows me to select with apple care for $3300. If it would make an absolute night and day difference than I will wait it out and buy the new one but if 1600 - 2133mhz ram is not that big of an improvement than maybe thats where I can save. Either way what Im trying to avoid is making the mistake I made with my 13" and having a severely underpowered machine for what I wanted. What do you think ? 

 

Keep in mind my main concern is "system overload" errors. Coming from my old 13" 2.7 ghz i5. 

 

Also, the other place I could save money is Apple Care but thats a gamble not having that :)

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I have the exact 2015 model you're considering and bought it this year. I would absolutely go with the 2017 touch bar model.

 

The 2015 doesn't have a dedicated graphics card, and gets very HOT. The fans are louder, and run more often. Despite the different CPU clock speeds, performance is identical. If you're running long sessions the new model will be faster because it will run cooler, whereas the 2015 throttles the speed back down when it gets hot.

 

Refurb models are bulletproof. If you'd like to save money, check the refurb list often.

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Either way what Im trying to avoid is making the mistake I made with my 13" and having a severely underpowered machine for what I wanted. What do you think ? 

 

Keep in mind my main concern is "system overload" errors. Coming from my old 13" 2.7 ghz i5. 

Your "old" i5 is a dual-core. That's not enough for Logic.

For laptops you need a quad-core. Either i5 or better i7.

Like I said, a 2012 non-retina 15-inch 2.3 or 2.6 ghz i7 (which is what I use for laptops) can be found on craigslist for 600 bucks.

Then you add an SSD and more ram and you have a killer machine. Because those 2012 laptops are the last user-upgradable machines Apple sold.

Every laptop from 2012 on with a retina screen has no user upgradable parts anymore.

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Ok I will keep my eye out for a used MBP. Seems like EBay has quite a few. Quick question. Can you upgrade the ram to more than 8gb and is the processor quad core? All I see is Intel Core i7. Doesn't state quad or dual. Otherwise thou if I can't find it both those machines would run Logic well but the Touch Bar would be a bit better.
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Hrmmm, yea I checked them on the 2015 and current MBPs and the scores were almost double of what I had. I'll. check the 2012 when I get home.

 

So all i7s are quad core on the 2012. 2.3ghz, 2.6ghz, and the 2.9ghz ?

 

Thanks for all the help to everyone as well. I appreciate your input and patience. I realise I ask a lot of questions but I like to cross my Ts and dot my I's.

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So all i7s are quad core on the 2012. 2.3ghz, 2.6ghz, and the 2.9ghz ?

No, only the 15-inch models. The retina versions are non-upgradable.

As far as I know, the 13-inch models always had a dual-core, either i5 or i7.

You want the 15-inch Mid 2012 i7 quad-core with 2.3 ghz, 2.6 ghz and 2.7 ghz (non-retina). These are user-upgradable.

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So all i7s are quad core on the 2012. 2.3ghz, 2.6ghz, and the 2.9ghz ?

No, only the 15-inch models. The retina versions are non-upgradable.

As far as I know, the 13-inch models always had a dual-core, either i5 or i7.

You want the 15-inch Mid 2012 i7 quad-core with 2.3 ghz, 2.6 ghz and 2.7 ghz (non-retina). These are user-upgradable.

 

 

Sweet I'll check the geek bench results. I seen a bunch of 15" 2012 MBP on eBay. I'll look for the fastest processor. They don't seem to indicate that it's quad core in the "about my Mac" screen . Just sais speed of the processor basically. So good to know that all 15" are quad. Now, is there a limit to the amount of ram and HD size I can put in this machine ? I'd like atleast 512gb and 16gb ram. More ram if possible but not necessary.

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Now, is there a limit to the amount of ram and HD size I can put in this machine ? I'd like atleast 512gb and 16gb ram. More ram if possible but not necessary.

This is for HDs:

https://eshop.macsales.com/shop/ssd/owc/macbook-pro/2012

This is for Ram:

https://eshop.macsales.com/shop/memory/Apple_MacBook_MacBook_Pro/Upgrade/DDR3_1600MHz_SDRAM

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To be honest, the non-touch bar computer is a waste of money. Why? it has 1600 Mhz Ram speed....

The TB MBP has 2133 Mhz Ram speed, a significant improvement.

Have you seen a benchmark on that? The consensus at Vi-Control is that RAM speed has no bearing on DAW performance, or sample loading.

Anecdotally, I had a 1333 Mhz MBP at the same time as a 2400 Mhz DDR4 PC. Both loaded the same libraries from 850 EVOs and I could never tell if one was faster than the other.

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I was looking around on Ebay and there pretty plentiful. Do they still pop up on Apple Refurbished site. I like the idea of having Apples warranty when buying used from them. They seem to start around $600CDN and for roughly $1200CDN I can get one with 16gb of ram and 512gb - 756gb SSD. There seemed to be a few upgraded models already on Ebay. My biggest concern is since this is a 2012 MacBook. How long can I expect it to last before the mainboard, processor, screen or other hardware that is not upgradable to start s#!+ing the bed ?
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A little bit off topic but is it really important for you to buy the Beats headphones now? You might want to wait till Black Friday to get those. You can save quite a bit of money.

You can also save ALL the money by not buying those radically overpriced and overhyped headphones at all, ever. Shop Sony, shop Sennheiser, anything but Beats.

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