Upgrade Mac Question

[Mark1971]

Hi,

 

So, I have a mid-2012 MBP (I have attached a pic of my system specs) and

I'm considering upgrading because my sessions are getting bigger. Maybe

to a 2014 or 2015. I do have an external SSD which holds all my samples and

virtual instruments.

 

Question is: Should I go with a more powerful processor with duo cores or

a slower processor with quad cores?

[triplets]

Always go quad-core.

[Mark1971]

Yeah, that's what I'm seeing online too. Quad core i7. Thanks!

[Mark1971]

Oh! Does it matter if it's an i5 or i7 processor?

 

I see a bunch of 2012's with quad cores. Are those just too old now?

[triplets]

Oh! Does it matter if it's an i5 or i7 processor?

 

I see a bunch of 2012's with quad cores. Are those just too old now?

 

Depends on the year, certain i5 quad-cores chips didn't allow for hyperthreading, so Logic would only see 4 instead of 8 cores.

 

Also, you want multi-core benchmarks to be at least above 12000 on Geekbench 4 for Logic purposes. You can check that here:

 

www.everymac.com

[John_D]

Don't forget the add-on that does for your computer what oil does for your car: RAM. You're working with 16 GB now, so load Activity Monitor and check out the Memory tab to see how you're using it now. Load your biggest session and see how much swap you're using. Then extrapolate your target session size, and buy enough RAM to keep it all in memory.

You can sell your car and buy all the RAM from Apple, or buy appropriately-specified RAM elsewhere.

[MikeRobinson]

As I suggested elsewhere, surf to the "Refurbished Equipment" section – https://www.apple.com/shop/refurbished

 

This is where I always go to buy [recent ...] Macintoshes.

 

Here you find the computers that were out there last year in classrooms and in retail stores. In the eyes of the law, they are no longer "new equipment." Therefore, Apple has now taken them back and fully restored them to "as new" condition ... and they will back them up with the same bumper-to-bumper AppleCare® warranty that they would have offered you had you bought the thing one year before. (Yes, you pay sales tax.)

 

Just like buying an "off-lease used car" from a dealer ... only even better because computers don't "wear out."

 

It arrives at your doorstep in a couple days, in a "delightfully anonymous" cardboard box, and away you go!