MacBook Pro with 32GB of RAM

[ShadowzPower]

Hello everyone, so, I know this is a bit of strange topic but in a few days I'll be ordering a 15" MBP for music production with Logic and other general stuff and I configured it to have the i9, Vega 20 and 1TB SSD.

 

My doubt was about the fact that I'd like this computer to be at least somewhat future proof since it's not cheap and I actually need it for work and Uni and other stuff; so my real question was:

What would you chose? The 16GB RAM/ 1TB SSD or the 32GB RAM/ 512GB SSD config? I already have a 4TB external drive for my backups and personal junk.

 

I mainly record live instruments with effects and EQs etc, sometimes I use VSTs like Keyscape...

 

Thanks in advance!

[Fasauceome]

For music production you chose the most powerful CPU and graphics? I feel like it would be reasonable for you to get an i7 and Vega 16, and also there's no future proofing with Mac.(well, there's no future proofing with anything because you can't see the future.) I recommend a lot of ram and a decent CPU, but you're definitely going overkill on everything else.

[ShadowzPower]

Just now, fasauceome said:

For music production you chose the most powerful CPU and graphics? I feel like it would be reasonable for you to get an i7 and Vega 16, and also there's no future proofing with Mac.(well, there's no future proofing with anything because you can't see the future.) I recommend a lot of ram and a decent CPU, but you're definitely going overkill on everything else.

Well I forgot to mention that I'd like to game on this machine since it's replacing my gaming desktop, I don't want a beast, just something that can run older games and new stuff at a decent pace

 

The Vega 16 is 100 euros less so I think it's worth the upgrade

[Fasauceome]

Just now, ShadowzPower said:

I don't want a beast

You will be paying for a beast, since you've selected the most powerful MacBook possible (and also the hottest and most expensive)

[johanneslol11]

1 minute ago, ShadowzPower said:

Well I forgot to mention that I'd like to game on this machine since it's replacing my gaming desktop, I don't want a beast, just something that can run older games and new stuff at a decent pace

 

The Vega 16 is 100 euros less so I think it's worth the upgrade

You can forget about gaming on a mac... it sucks horrible for that. I would go for a XPS then. What type of school stuff do you want to do?

[ShadowzPower]

Just now, johanneslol11 said:

You can forget about gaming on a mac... it sucks horrible for that. I would go for a XPS then. What type of school stuff do you want to do?

I mean, gaming on the Mac whilst using Windows with Bootcamp.

I need macOS for Logic and since I go to music school, I basically use Logic all the time there too.

[johanneslol11]

1 minute ago, ShadowzPower said:

I mean, gaming on the Mac whilst using Windows with Bootcamp.

 I need macOS for Logic and since I go to music school, I basically use Logic all the time there too.

Still a Macbook is not designed for gaming...   anyway regarding your question I have a 32 GB laptop using Windows but that is not needed for now. Maybe in 8 years or so you might need it... I would go for 16 GB then, and maybe stream your games with Geforce now or so. What games are you planning on playing? 

[ShadowzPower]

1 minute ago, johanneslol11 said:

Still a Macbook is not designed for gaming...   anyway regarding your question I have a 32 GB laptop using Windows but that is not needed for now. Maybe in 8 years or so you might need it... I would go for 16 GB then, and maybe stream your games with Geforce now or so. What games are you planning on playing? 

Nothing super demanding, Black Ops 1, 2 and 3, possibly 4.

Destiny 2, PayDay 2, GTA V, BF4 and stuff like that.

 

I've seen the benchmarks, the Vega 20 isn't that bad to be honest, that's why I was thinking about it.

On the other hand, I've read that Logic likes to suck up on RAM when having a lot of tracks and whatnot.

 

[johanneslol11]

6 minutes ago, ShadowzPower said:

Nothing super demanding, Black Ops 1, 2 and 3, possibly 4.

Destiny 2, PayDay 2, GTA V, BF4 and stuff like that.

 

 I've seen the benchmarks, the Vega 20 isn't that bad to be honest, that's why I was thinking about it.

 On the other hand, I've read that Logic likes to suck up on RAM when having a lot of tracks and whatnot.

  

1

I think those games will not run great though, maybe if you lower the resolution and play on low it might work a bit. 

https://www.quora.com/Is-8GB-of-ram-enough-to-run-Logic-Pro-X-if-I’m-not-using-a-bunch-of-plugins-or-samples

 

 

16 GB is more then enough. 

[ShadowzPower]

1 minute ago, johanneslol11 said:

I think those games will not run great though, maybe if you lower the resolution and play on low it might work a bit. 

https://www.quora.com/Is-8GB-of-ram-enough-to-run-Logic-Pro-X-if-I’m-not-using-a-bunch-of-plugins-or-samples

 

16 GB is more then enough. 

Oh, ok then, thanks for the link, I'll definetly get the bigger SSD then!

 

Yeah, as I said, I don't care if they run at 144FPS all maxed out, 1080p (or 1200p actually) mid settings is fine with me, I'll get an eGPU later.

 

Thanks!

[johanneslol11]

1 minute ago, ShadowzPower said:

Oh, ok then, thanks for the link, I'll definetly get the bigger SSD then!

 

Yeah, as I said, I don't care if they run at 144FPS all maxed out, 1080p (or 1200p actually) mid settings is fine with me, I'll get an eGPU later.

  

Thanks!

Yeah the bigger harddrive might be useful as destiny 2 takes up 70 GB of storage ...  Also don't forget that mac-os takes a lot of space, also you lose storage because of what they actually have after formatting. Finally you also lose storage because of updates and so. 

[ShadowzPower]

1 minute ago, johanneslol11 said:

Yeah the bigger harddrive might be useful as destiny 2 takes up 70 GB of storage ...  Also don't forget that mac-os takes a lot of space, also you lose storage because of what they actually have after formatting. Finally you also lose storage because of updates and so. 

Yep, I forgot about that crap...

[SeraphicWings]

From my guess you are looking at a four grand Macbook Pro (that's a lot of money !). Here is how I would spend it:

 

1. CPU: i7 8850H 2.6GHz (The cooling solution on the MBP is not adequate for the power-hungry i9, as a result it will throttle hard, making the upgrade cost not worth it at all)

2. 16GB of RAM (Logic Pro X's requirement is 4GB, your machine has four times more than that, only reason to get a 32GB ram is for virtualization, heavy-duty video / photoediting, I'd love 32GB since my 16GB always capped out when I do photoshopping)

3. 1TB of SSD (1TB should be plenty enough for your daily app plus Logic Pro X and all of its plug-ins and downloadables)

4. GPU: Vega 20

 

If you already purchased LPX, then this will costs $3550. If you initial budget is around $4k, spend the rest buying accessories that you don't have, or go on a vacation or something like that.