portblueten Posted May 24, 2017 Share Posted May 24, 2017 I'm looking to upgrade. My budget is £1500. I write film / tv scores, usually large cues, 50-70 tracks. Unfortunately my current set up isn't cutting it. The two machines I am torn between. 1. Macbook Pro 2014, i7, 2.8ghz, 16gb, 500gSSD 2. Mac Pro Tower 2012 3.2ghz, quad core, Intel Xeon, 32G Ram any other recommendations for my budget please assist. Thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skijumptoes Posted May 24, 2017 Share Posted May 24, 2017 Much depends on whether a MacBook would be more suitable if you need portability or not, i'd rather run a Mac Pro Tower continuously under strain than a MacBook - Particularly in summer months, and of course you can run more displays from a Mac Pro if that's of interest. However, the newer generation i7 in the 2014 MacBook is going to give you more raw CPU power, and greater future proofing. Two different beasts really, but that i7 MacBook is considerably powerful. The Mac Pro's really come in to their own when you start looking at the 6,8,12 core machines. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
triplets Posted May 24, 2017 Share Posted May 24, 2017 Exactly, quad-core Mac Pro's are a not worth it. You can find an 8-core from 2009 for 800 bucks used. Or an upgraded CPU Mac Pro from 2009-2010. Go to www.everymac.com and look at the Geekbench 3 SC and MC scores of all your candidates. For SC you want 2000 and up For MC you want 11000 and up Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
portblueten Posted May 25, 2017 Author Share Posted May 25, 2017 I really would like the MacBook due it's portability. I'm just nervous in investing and it not being able to run the tracks id need it to. I have an extrernal ssd which I will be streaming samples (thunderbolt connected) and writing on Logic Pro X with around 50-70 tracks. Do you think there's a decent chance of everything running smoothly, along with freezing Thanks guys! Appreciated! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
triplets Posted May 25, 2017 Share Posted May 25, 2017 Did you look at the Geekbench scores of the MBP? Since you have a TB drive then it makes more sense to go for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
portblueten Posted May 25, 2017 Author Share Posted May 25, 2017 Just trying to find the scores now. Once I get past the confusion Thanks triplets Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skijumptoes Posted May 25, 2017 Share Posted May 25, 2017 The MacBook absolutely walks over the Mac Pro you've compared it to, due to it's newer CPU. It's significantly 'faster', if the benchmarks are to be trusted. To look at this sensibly, what's your current machine specs? And how is that dealing with things so far? 50-70 tracks is quiet meaningless without context of what they are. Individual scores for the MacBook are here:- https://browser.primatelabs.com/v4/cpu/search?page=1&q=model%3A%22MacBook+Pro+%2815-inch+Retina+Mid+2014%29%22+platform%3A%22Mac%22+processor%3A%22Intel+Core+i7-4980HQ%22+frequency%3A2800+bits%3A64 Mac Pro here:- https://browser.primatelabs.com/v4/cpu/search?q=model:%22Mac%20Pro%20(Mid%202010)%22%20platform:%22Mac%22%20processor:%22Intel%20Xeon%20W3565%22%20frequency:3200%20bits:64 All user submitted via the geek bench utility. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
portblueten Posted May 25, 2017 Author Share Posted May 25, 2017 Thanks very much for that. Interesting! Current machine is MacBook Pro 2011, 2.4 i5, 500g HD. Doesn't come close to what I want to do. It just allows me to get quick ideas down then I go to the university studio. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skijumptoes Posted May 25, 2017 Share Posted May 25, 2017 This must be your current machine:- https://browser.primatelabs.com/v4/cpu/search?q=model:%22MacBook%20Pro%20(13-inch%20Late%202011)%22%20platform:%22Mac%22%20processor:%22Intel%20Core%20i5-2435M%22%20frequency:2400%20bits:64 Those benchmark scores do not always directly relate to real world performance, however, that gives you some statistics/facts behind your purchasing, Having double the cores in that i7 will see great improvements on it's own. plus it has improved Single Core speeds too. Could be looking at 300% increase in power compared to your current Mac, whether that's a enough, who knows?! Sounds a lot, but you need plenty of headroom to ensure that Logic doesn't overload, particularly on high track counts. Seriously consider looking at an older Mac Pro with 8x (2x4) core CPU's or more as a comparison. Here's how the majority of Mac's stack up:- https://browser.primatelabs.com/mac-benchmarks You need to click the 'Multi-Core' button on there, as Logic will use any available core, so is a better indication. You can see the MacBook i7 sits quite well, surprisingly well actually. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
portblueten Posted May 25, 2017 Author Share Posted May 25, 2017 Wow thank you! I appreciate all of that! I would've considered a Mac Pro defineltey but I wanted portability really, that why I think I'm going to go with the MacBook Pro. Fingers crossed it will serve me well! Thanks again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolfie2112 Posted May 25, 2017 Share Posted May 25, 2017 What libraries do you intend on running? If it's resource hungry VI's, 16GB Ram won't be enough. I can get fairly high track counts on my 2013 MacBook Pro, but for bigger templates I connect to a windows slave to handle all the "heavy lifting". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
portblueten Posted May 25, 2017 Author Share Posted May 25, 2017 I plan on using Kontakt 5 running mostly orchestral sample libraries, spitfire audio, cinesamples, 8dio etc.. What track count's are you currently getting? & when does it struggle? Do you use sample libraries? I don't know about slaves? Please could you explain? Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
portblueten Posted May 26, 2017 Author Share Posted May 26, 2017 What libraries do you intend on running? If it's resource hungry VI's, 16GB Ram won't be enough. I can get fairly high track counts on my 2013 MacBook Pro, but for bigger templates I connect to a windows slave to handle all the "heavy lifting". I plan on using Kontakt 5 running mostly orchestral sample libraries, spitfire audio, cinesamples, 8dio etc.. What track count's are you currently getting? & when does it struggle? Do you use sample libraries? I don't know about slaves? Please could you explain? Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skijumptoes Posted May 26, 2017 Share Posted May 26, 2017 Slaves - you can sync Logic to other audio software (Plugins/DAWs etc.) hosted on different machines, so that they play in time, and follow the song position. So basically, the other machine you're syncing too can do the processing for each plugin, and just returning the sound however you want, i.e. bus it back into a stereo return into Logic. Some plugins also allow this to be done via the plugin itself, i.e. Vienna Ensemble Pro is well reknowned for doing just this (And a whole lot more). If you keep your current machine you could very well make use of that if Vienna could be included in your budget. However, it's a lot of messing around as you have to go via the slave machine to adjust plugins etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
portblueten Posted May 26, 2017 Author Share Posted May 26, 2017 Thanks. The Mac Pro's seem to be a lot better for what I'm doing. thats what I'm going to buy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
portblueten Posted May 26, 2017 Author Share Posted May 26, 2017 The machine I've settled on. Mac Pro 2010, 5.1, 3.6GHZ, 12 Core, 64G, 500GSSD, USB3 Should be perfect for film scoring! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
triplets Posted May 26, 2017 Share Posted May 26, 2017 Looks powerful Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
portblueten Posted May 26, 2017 Author Share Posted May 26, 2017 Looks powerful Thanks Triplets. Let's hope so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolfie2112 Posted May 26, 2017 Share Posted May 26, 2017 Except there's no Thunderbolt or USB 3 on that 2010 Mac Pro Regarding my libraries, use many different VI's. The most demanding ones are EastWest Hollywood Strings and Brass. If I use the lighter patches, I can load 50+ tracks and score to picture no problem. But typically I host the VI's on the slave via VEPro. I highly recommend VEPro to host VI's even on a single machine, as it distributes the loads more evenly in Logic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
portblueten Posted May 26, 2017 Author Share Posted May 26, 2017 Except there's no Thunderbolt or USB 3 on that 2010 Mac Pro Regarding my libraries, use many different VI's. The most demanding ones are EastWest Hollywood Strings and Brass. If I use the lighter patches, I can load 50+ tracks and score to picture no problem. But typically I host the VI's on the slave via VEPro. I highly recommend VEPro to host VI's even on a single machine, as it distributes the loads more evenly in Logic. It'll have USB 3 fitted. Then I should be able to connect my external hardrive for samples. I'll look into it. Thanks Wolfie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
triplets Posted May 27, 2017 Share Posted May 27, 2017 You can add USB 3 via PCIe card on the Mac Pro. I have it and it's great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
portblueten Posted May 27, 2017 Author Share Posted May 27, 2017 You can add USB 3 via PCIe card on the Mac Pro.I have it and it's great. That's the plan triplets. I wanted to know how it is? Does it work well? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
triplets Posted May 27, 2017 Share Posted May 27, 2017 No probs. I bought this one: https://www.amazon.com/Inateck-Ports-PCI-E-Express-Version/dp/B00I027GPC/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1495868215&sr=8-2&keywords=inateck+usb+3.0+pcie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
triplets Posted May 27, 2017 Share Posted May 27, 2017 Also, if you can, try to avoid Sierra and install El Capitan. Works better for these older machines. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
portblueten Posted May 27, 2017 Author Share Posted May 27, 2017 Also, if you can, try to avoid Sierra and install El Capitan. Works better for these older machines. I'll check the card out. Thanks triplets. Appreciate it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.