On a budget what Macbook to run latest Logic Pro

[kencapps]

 

Hi there friend, a total beginner here looking for a pros advice)

I want to create my home studio, I am on a budget, I want to buy a macbook to run latest logic pro with full  sound 72 gb library..

but couldnt decide on macbook,

 14 inch 16 inch are way out of my budget, which i am indecisive between macbook pro 13  m1 2020 and macbook air, so

these are my budget affordables, but other than these if you suggest anything else even if you suggest older models thats okay with me as long as I will run logic smoothly with full sound library, therefore using all the vsts and plug-ins.

my primary usage of macbook will be music production, and I will not have any work loads othrr than logic pro projects and music, I really need your help, What macbook would you suggest to run logic pro the latest version without any problems while running vst, plug-ins to avoid freezing

 

[FLH3]

My feeling about this subject: Buy the more you can, especialy with the more RAM you can.

And add a big external SSD (the biggest you can afford, 1To, 4To...). You think a 72gb library is enough but no, it will not be enough for all the other libraries/sounds, etc... you will get.

As an example one of my folder for Kontakt libraries is more than 300go. And this is the folder only for the free stuff and personnal sounds, I've an other drive for the paid libraries. For Decents Sampler (free stuff too) it's a folder of, let me check, 180go and for .sfz / .sfo it's a tiny 80go folder.

And I guess I'm a little player.

And I don't talk about a dedicated drive/partition for your time machine (500Go seems OK in my opinion)

Edited September 10, 2022 by FLH3

[kencapps]

So which one do you suggest me to buy for the time being? 

[triplets]

Just spec' the Air and the MBP 13 out in the Apple Store with the Ram and HD space you want and go with the more affordable one.

[Atlas007]

Depending of your production, I believe that soon or later (read sooner than later) you will need a bigger display, as working with reduced screen asset gets pretty challenging pretty fast…

Here is an interesting article to read before committing…

Mentioning about your actual budget could help…

Edited September 11, 2022 by Atlas007

[MikeRobinson]

I have bought [almost ...] every one of my many Macintoshes in the Refurbished and Clearance Section of apple.com. 

(There's a section for every type of equipment – I linked to the "Mac" subsection.)

These are the computers that you lusted-over last year.  Having now spent their year in retail-store or school-classroom purgatory, they have now been completely cleaned of their fingerprints and bubble-gum and refurbished by the manufacturer to "as new" condition.  They can now be purchased with the same full-duration AppleCare® warranty that is extended to "brand new" equipment.  However, since in the eyes of the law they are not now "brand new," the prices are sometimes considerably less. 

Of course the inventory there changes constantly, sometimes within hours.  "Move quickly."

"Yes, you will pay sales tax, VAT, whatever."

"They are now legally 'used,' but to you they are not."  In a few days they arrive at your doorstep in a delightfully plain-looking cardboard box.

Of course I purchase the AppleCare® warranty in the maximum available duration, and more-or-less keep it until the warranty expires.  I never accept "retailer warranties" as an alternative, since AppleCare® is honored anywhere in the world.  (And, I have actually had to take advantage of that ...)  Even the computer that I am using right now "one day went bat-sh&t crazy," and I spent nothing to fix it.

Edited September 12, 2022 by MikeRobinson

[FLH3]

The refurbished section can be interesting but, a big but, is it's dependent of your country.

For instance when I log to apple and I chose my country the only mac minis I get are intel ones and there's nothing in the Mac Studio area. Idem with Imac. You can get "M1" models only for some laptops (12 of them, the others are intels)

[David Nahmani]

On 9/11/2022 at 11:56 PM, Atlas007 said:

Depending of your production, I believe that soon or later (read sooner than later) you will need a bigger display, as working with reduced screen asset gets pretty challenging pretty fast…

Challenging but doable, I have worked for years with a 13" MacBook Air, which was supposed to be a shorter temporary situation but ended up lasting a few years, and I got used to it. 

When considering the MacBook Air vs MacBook Pro I would recommend the MacBook Pro though, which has fans to cool down the CPU when you're doing a prolonged intensive usage, vs the MacBook Air which uses thermal throttling, meaning you'll lose power if the CPU heats up. 

 

[MikeRobinson]

I've encountered several situations where the "Air" and "Mini" models had heat problems.  For example, when I was doing a contract for Apple I was working in a room where a set of "Mac Mini" servers were sitting on a set of shelves with forced-air cooling.  I also worked at a music festival where the "Airs" were sitting on top of another forced-air cooling device at the box office.  "Intensive" applications like Logic might generate heat that the devices really aren't prepared to get rid of.