Help choosing a macbook.

[Randict]

Knowing most of the internet has a bit of a disdain for Apple and Mac products I am expected this to get few responses but I feel like a macbook is the best option for what I need and I need some help

I am looking to use the laptop for a portable music production station for university as well as video editing and some light gaming on the move (Diablo, SC2 etc.)

I have the chance to get an as new 2011 Macbook Pro 15" 2.4ghz i7 for around £1100 (was £1799 retail at time of release) or a as new Macbook Pro 15" 2012 model (top range) for about £1500.

My question is how much difference will the updates like Ivy Bridge and USB 3 make to me for what I want to do?

If the software my work and uni required me to use was available for PC I would just use my current laptop which is a Asus N55s.

The window for these purchases is small as you can see because both my friends that are looking to sell are obviously getting a fair few people interested.

Thanks guys, have a good day.

[CaptainSi]

Ivy bridge is a huge improvement in integrated video/graphics performance over the previous gen Sandy bridge. Video editing strains your CPU so it will be a big advantage to invest in the Ivy bridge model. USB 3 will only improve your experience if you have other USB 3 devices, like thumb drives, external hard drives, etc. If you get USB 3 you'll have the capacity to upgrade to these faster external storage solutions, and USB 3 will help with large file transfers (raw and uncompressed video, etc). Now, some personal advice on buying a Mac. I work in the industry, and if you're buying it because you're learning on Mac exclusive production programs like Final Cut, etc, then you'll be wasting your time and money. You can't rely on studios using Macs, and if you instead learn on (eg.) Premiere Pro (it's awfully similar to Final Cut) you will then have the capacity to move between Windows and Mac operating systems. Moreso, investing in a Windows Ultra book will afford you a much more powerful machine, which will actually improve your work experience and quality of work (you won't take shortcuts to save time due to processing constraints). Furthermore, Apple glaringly overstates the colour profiles on their displays, which means works which look fantastic on your screen may look bland on others, as well as details being lost in dark areas. Some people say it can be adjusted with software, and it certainly can, but the argument I make is; how can you know when you've got the display calibrated correctly with nothing to compare it to and only your eye to judge it by? If you're settled on the Mac, go for it, it will be great, however I think a much wiser move would be to invest in a higher spec Windows Ultrabook with a more tame display, and buy Adobe softwares with your savings. Best of luck!

[Guest]

I will mention this - in the retina models of the MBP's they have removed the ability to modify the hardware which means no adding SSD's or more RAM extra. What annoys me the most though is the loss of the CD drive and FireWire support - both of which I need. Most audio recording applications are made for Mac and interface with devices by FireWire which is going to be a huge problem now.

[Randict]

Ivy bridge is a huge improvement in integrated video/graphics performance over the previous gen Sandy bridge. Video editing strains your CPU so it will be a big advantage to invest in the Ivy bridge model. USB 3 will only improve your experience if you have other USB 3 devices, like thumb drives, external hard drives, etc. If you get USB 3 you'll have the capacity to upgrade to these faster external storage solutions, and USB 3 will help with large file transfers (raw and uncompressed video, etc). Now, some personal advice on buying a Mac. I work in the industry, and if you're buying it because you're learning on Mac exclusive production programs like Final Cut, etc, then you'll be wasting your time and money. You can't rely on studios using Macs, and if you instead learn on (eg.) Premiere Pro (it's awfully similar to Final Cut) you will then have the capacity to move between Windows and Mac operating systems. Moreso, investing in a Windows Ultra book will afford you a much more powerful machine, which will actually improve your work experience and quality of work (you won't take shortcuts to save time due to processing constraints). Furthermore, Apple glaringly overstates the colour profiles on their displays, which means works which look fantastic on your screen may look bland on others, as well as details being lost in dark areas. Some people say it can be adjusted with software, and it certainly can, but the argument I make is; how can you know when you've got the display calibrated correctly with nothing to compare it to and only your eye to judge it by? If you're settled on the Mac, go for it, it will be great, however I think a much wiser move would be to invest in a higher spec Windows Ultrabook with a more tame display, and buy Adobe softwares with your savings. Best of luck!

Thanks for the advice.

I currently use a PC I built myself earlier last year mainly using adobe software such as premiere. The only problem is the production company (I am mainly a sound engineer and studio worker) use macs and use Logic for a majority of the work though we all use pro tools as well so being able to have both is a real help.

I completely agree with the ultra book idea it just doesn't quite fit into what i need at this current time but you never know a few years down the line it may be my next upgrade.

The video production side is more of a hobby for my spare time but that will probably still mainly be done on my desktop. I should have made it a bit more clear on that sorry.

Thanks again, I will look into ultrabooks and see what I can find against the macbook pro.

[Randict]

I will mention this - in the retina models of the MBP's they have removed the ability to modify the hardware which means no adding SSD's or more RAM extra. What annoys me the most though is the loss of the CD drive and FireWire support - both of which I need. Most audio recording applications are made for Mac and interface with devices by FireWire which is going to be a huge problem now.

I completely agree, That is one of the reasons I was looking to go for the 2012 MBP without retina, it is just missing a few vital features which I would want.

[CaptainSi]

It sounds like you can justify the purchase well, so I say go for it! It will be an awesome little computer. If you're interested in some extra reading, look into a dual boot system with Hackintosh. It could be a solution to let you get the beasty Windows ultrabook and still have the capacity to work with your Mac exclusives. The set up would be - Windows 7 as primary boot partition + Mac OSX as a secondary OS. When starting your computer you will be given the choice between which operating system you want to boot in, as well as a timer which will automatically choose one if you aren't present after a customisable amount of time. Each operating system can access the files of the other. It's effectively Boot camp, but with Windows as your initial installation. If you want me to explain it further, let me know!