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Kevin Worley
Jun 26, 2022
Hey all, this is my first time posting on here, however I could really use as much advice as I can get on this subject from people who hopefully know more than me about this topic. I currently have an early 2015 model MacBook Pro(that I got long before I knew anything about mixing). It has a 3.1 GHz Processor, and 16 GB of memory. With this in mind, what should I be looking for when it comes to a computer to use for mixing(in terms of memory, processing speeds, and whatever else would be important to need to know in terms of computer specs)? Is my MacBook soon gonna be too old where I would need to replace it, or would I have a good amount of time still left on it where I could use it for several years? I'm not needing a full fledged professional mixing computer(as in the highly expensive full fledged Macs used in full fledged pro recording studios), just something that I can have and take mobily to work on projects. As of now with my computer, I've been able to work on projects in Logic Pro X pretty comfortably seemingly without any problems. I had tried to get into video editing at a certain time, but didn't/couldn't really do that too well(didn't have the time to figure it out for the specific project, also wasn't sure if my computer could fully handle it or not). My main concern here is that I would want to try to replace my computer sooner than later if it is either currently outdated, or if it is going to soon become outdated(so I can get ahead of the curve if you will instead of having to respond later if something happens). However, I really don't have a good enough sense of what I should be looking for, or how MacBook pros age from a usage and yearly model standpoint. Any advice on this would be welcomed; and I'll be happy to provide any additional information or context as needed or requested.
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Tyson Boorman
Jun 26, 2022
Hey Kevin. Just my two cents here.

1) I have some friends who do produce professionally who are still rocking 2011 macbooks that are upgraded to about where yours is at the moment. It works just fine for everything you need. You may need to print more tracks so you keep your CPU load down, but definitely doable if you maintain best-practices to not overload your computer too quickly or you use too many CPU-heavy VST's in your productions.

2) That said, if you WANT a new computer, I usually get as much CPU and RAM as possible in whatever model I want and have the budget for. EVERY computer will be out of date within a decade (usually, the macbooks referred to above have been upgraded over time, when you could still do that.) No computer will last forever, and it's nice to make it last as long as possible. The new M1 and M2 chips are also great for processing and is not comparable straight-across as far as RAM goes. But you don't need to unless you simply want a new computer at this time. The longer you wait, the cheaper and better computers get for your budget, so I would hold out as long as you can with your current machine.
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Bruce Hoppe
Jun 26, 2022
I would also recommend an external hard drive for a place to save your files.
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Vincent Reichmann
Jun 26, 2022
Hi Kevin,

Last Year I decided to sell my 2015 Macbook Pro (16GB RAM) and took an upgrade to a Windows Tower,wich i buided myself just because of the bang for the buck. So I read a lot and as you mentioned there are many things to considere here.

As Tyson mentioned computertech is developing pretty fast and the prices on CPU's , GPU's are unproportional high at the moment.

However if you need to edit film your Macbook will not be enough for a well rounded workflow because much more GPU-Power is needed for that. I spent plenty of time with scoring and made the experience that you realy cant compensate much.

For musicproduction your CPU needs high single-Core Speed (serial working on tasks) and for editing you need multiple cores for parallel processing. So to cover bouth of that you need to spend quite a lot of money (espacialy if it needs to be Apple and a portable solution).

If you got the money my advice would be to go for the newer Machbbok with the M1 chipset. It seems to be optimal for your use.

If videoediting will not be your mainfocus in the near future just stick to your current macbook for now and wait till the prices will settle a bit again.

Hope that helps and please excuse my bad english. :)
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Kevin Worley
Jun 30, 2022
Thanks y’all!
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Fab Music
Jul 01, 2022
I would change only if you are stuck. But 16go is already something.
I also work with a laptop and havy orchestra VSTs. I hate that then the fans start to make a super heavy noise. So i would advise considering a silent desktop instead (I will make the shift when my 2020 laptop will die)