Mac Book Pro

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Route 49 Studio Brighton

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Apr 21, 2021, 4:16:57 PM4/21/21
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Hi I run an audio mixing and recording business and am looking to move from an iMac to a MacBook Pro to give me more portability. 

I'm currently using a late 2012 iMac with 16gb ram, I upgraded the hard drive to a solid state and despite running some fairly large projects with lots of plugins on logic X it's still running pretty well. I do need more portability though.

I'd like to go for a 16" obviously for screen size but I believe they are also more powerful? My max budget is £2000 although less would be great, if buying new, it seems I can either choose between having 32gb ram or the 8 core processor. Which do people think is most important for audio processing, my research seems to suggest RAM but that doesn't seem conclusive. Am I right in thinking new macbooks can't have ram upgraded? 

The Macbook I'm looking at seems to have the Intel chips, does anyone know if any of the macbooks have the apple chips and are they worth waiting for if not?

If I go for new are there any models I should avoid? 

I'm considering going secondhand, does anyone know of any reliable secondhand dealers or have something to sell? I'm anxious about buying online but if anyone has had positive dealings with a company that would be good to know. Are there any models or specific years I should avoid? I know certain models have had problems over the years. 

Sorry for the mass of questions! Any help on any of the above would be greatly appreciated. 

Thanks

Ben

Sam - MacAmbulance

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Apr 21, 2021, 4:30:38 PM4/21/21
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Hi Ben

See below

_

Regards
Sam Mullen

+44 (0)7747778022
in...@macambulance.com
www.macambulance.com

MacAmbulance

MacAmbulance Ltd.

Providing Affordable Mac/PC Support and Web Development

MacAmbulance Ltd. is a registered company in England & Wales, registration number 8466597

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On 21 Apr 2021, at 21:18, Route 49 Studio Brighton <route4...@gmail.com> wrote:


Hi I run an audio mixing and recording business and am looking to move from an iMac to a MacBook Pro to give me more portability. 

I'm currently using a late 2012 iMac with 16gb ram, I upgraded the hard drive to a solid state and despite running some fairly large projects with lots of plugins on logic X it's still running pretty well. I do need more portability though.

I'd like to go for a 16" obviously for screen size but I believe they are also more powerful? My max budget is £2000 although less would be great, if buying new, it seems I can either choose between having 32gb ram or the 8 core processor. Which do people think is most important for audio processing, my research seems to suggest RAM but that doesn't seem conclusive. Am I right in thinking new macbooks can't have ram upgraded? 

Any MacBook/Air or any MacBook Pro from 2013 onwards will have soldered ram so can’t be upgraded. 2016 onwards the storage is also soldered.

The Macbook I'm looking at seems to have the Intel chips, does anyone know if any of the macbooks have the apple chips and are they worth waiting for if not?

Currently the Air and 13” MacBook Pro have the M1 chip. They seem to be extremely fast when compared to similar intel macs. 

The 16” MacBook Pro has a very powerful graphics card, so it’s mainly designed for visual apps, though the i9 processor will work very well for audio. Unfortunately a 16” MBP with 32GB RAM and i9 quad core will be way over £2k even 2nd hand.

If I go for new are there any models I should avoid? 

Currently I’d choose the MacBook Pro 13” over the MacBook Air, but there are rumours of a 14” M1 MacBook Pro in the wings. I imagine it will be faster than the current 13” M1 MacBook Pro. Ideally wait until WWDC in June to see if Apple release those. They’ve just released the iMacs so laptop’s should be next

I'm considering going secondhand, does anyone know of any reliable secondhand dealers or have something to sell? I'm anxious about buying online but if anyone has had positive dealings with a company that would be good to know. Are there any models or specific years I should avoid? I know certain models have had problems over the years. 

hoxtonmacs.co.uk are very good, excellent customer service. eBay will be cheaper but sometimes a bit risky buying 2nd hand from randoms. The 2016 onward MacBook Pro is very fast but make sure you get the highest spec affordable, it can’t be upgraded later on

Sorry for the mass of questions! Any help on any of the above would be greatly appreciated. 

Thanks

Ben

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Route 49 Studio Brighton

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Apr 22, 2021, 1:37:22 AM4/22/21
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Many thanks for your reply Sam, really appreciate it. 

If.you had to choose between this 


And a new 13" 16gb macbook pro with the M1 chip which would give you go for?

It doesn't say in the Hoxton ad how many cores I don't think? 

I guess I want something that's going to keep going for as long as possible!

Many thanks

Ben


Sam - MacAmbulance

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Apr 22, 2021, 1:46:34 AM4/22/21
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The intel chips aren’t going away anytime soon, so a 2018 MBP with 32GB RAM would be fine. It also depends on your audiobook software and plugins if they’re Apple silicon compatible, if not they’ll be translated through Rosetta with a slight performance hit.

It’s a tough choice, the M1 is more future proofed but might not be better in the short term until software catches up. The 2018 will likely have a quad core i7 and the 32GB RAM will be useful.

I’d check your software and see if it’s Apple silicon compatible, that will influence your choice. The developer’s website should list compatibility.


_

Regards
Sam Mullen

+44 (0)7747778022
in...@macambulance.com
www.macambulance.com

MacAmbulance

MacAmbulance Ltd.

Providing Affordable Mac/PC Support and Web Development

MacAmbulance Ltd. is a registered company in England & Wales, registration number 8466597

This email is intended solely for the addressed recipients and may contain privileged or confidential information.

If you have received this email in error please notify the sender and delete the email immediately.



On 22 Apr 2021, at 06:38, Route 49 Studio Brighton <route4...@gmail.com> wrote:



Ben Rubinstein

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May 4, 2021, 11:56:59 AM5/4/21
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On 21/04/2021 21:14, Route 49 Studio Brighton wrote:
> I'm considering going secondhand, does anyone know of any reliable secondhand
> dealers or have something to sell? I'm

FWIW, I find CeX (online, Western Road in Brighton, George St in Hove)
excellent for second-hand kit: apart from anything else they offer a two-year
warranty, which I have several times tested and confirm they do honour. I've
bought quite a few phones, and some laptops from them.

If you order online you get 14 days no-questions-asked change your mind
(AFAIK this is because of consumer law) - with CeX, you can do so by returning
the item to a shop, rather than having to deal with packaging etc. This is handy.

HTH,

Ben

Pat Wilson

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May 4, 2021, 12:06:54 PM5/4/21
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Same for me. Folkestone shop has been fantastic for second hand iPad and MacBook Air.

> On 4 May 2021, at 16:57, Ben Rubinstein <benr...@cogapp.com> wrote:
>
> 
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