MacBook Pro or Air with Logic Pro

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My son is studying sound production etc at college and his old MacBook has packed up so I have a need to replace it. I was just about to pull the trigger for the earlier model Pro on either the Apple Store or amazon (not the most recent release) when I saw the most recent Air. I see it has a slower processor but is it up to the task of running Logic Pro X without issue? I'm probably just being a bit tight and run the risk of a pee'd off son but I could feasibly save a couple of hundred quid.

Also not sure about the smallish Ssd but I guess he can use cloud storage or an external drive to back up files etc.

Pro spec - https://www.amazon.co.uk/d/Laptops/Apple-MacBook-13-inch-Laptop-Intel-Core-Graphics/B00UY2U93W/ref=sr_1_1?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1495197582&sr=1-1&keywords=MacBook+Pro


Air spec - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Apple-MacBook-MMGF2B-13-3-Inch-Laptop/dp/B01ELG6B38/ref=sr_1_1?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1495197677&sr=1-1&keywords=MacBook+Air
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Comments

  • sweepysweepy Frets: 4158
    edited May 2017
    I'd go for a 2015 15" MacBook Pro tbh, works perfectly with Logic and has the connectivity you'll need, also 8gb is not enough for Logic X if you like to use a lot of plugins or soft synths etc
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  • guitarfishbayguitarfishbay Frets: 7953
    Have you got an idea of what he does need?

    The main issue I can think of is ram, as noted 8gb isn't a lot these days if you're using big sample libraries. IIRC you can't upgrade ram on an Air, not sure on the pro


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  • BudgieBudgie Frets: 2099
    I think the MacBook Pro he has at the moment has 4gb and works okay if nothing else is in the background. So really 16gb is more optimum? I'll check if it's possible to add memory to it. I really don't fancy spending much more than the Pro in the link and Apple charge rather a lot for increased memory and storage.
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  • JezWyndJezWynd Frets: 6021
    The Air is a good machine but when you run processor intensive tasks the fan kicks in and makes quite a bit of noise. May be a problem if recording.
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  • BudgieBudgie Frets: 2099
    Good point. I'll avoid the Air and go for the Pro and stop being tight then :)


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  • StuckfastStuckfast Frets: 2393
    JezWynd said:
    The Air is a good machine but when you run processor intensive tasks the fan kicks in and makes quite a bit of noise. May be a problem if recording.
    Does this not happen with the Pro too?

    I use a 13-inch Air and have never had the fan kick in during recording, only when I'm absolutely caning the CPU at mixdown.
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  • BudgieBudgie Frets: 2099
    edited May 2017
    I ended up getting him a reconditioned  2015 pro with AppleCare until 10/19...  2.9 Ghz i5, 256gb Ssd but has 8gb so will have to see how it goes. Fingers crossed it's a decent buy.
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  • JezWyndJezWynd Frets: 6021
    edited May 2017
    Stuckfast said:
    JezWynd said:
    The Air is a good machine but when you run processor intensive tasks the fan kicks in and makes quite a bit of noise. May be a problem if recording.
    Does this not happen with the Pro too?

    I use a 13-inch Air and have never had the fan kick in during recording, only when I'm absolutely caning the CPU at mixdown.
    I haven't heard the fan since I upgraded to a Pro from my old 11" Air. My experience is more with video than audio but the fan kicked in fairly regularly on the Air.

    Budgie said:
    I ended up getting him a reconditioned  2015 pro with AppleCare until 10/19...  2.9 Ghz i5, 256gb Ssd but has 8gb so will have to see how it goes. Fingers crossed it's a decent buy.
    That spec should be fine, in the remote case that he exceeded the Ram then a swap file on an SSD shouldn't cause any problems I would have thought.
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  • BudgieBudgie Frets: 2099
    Cheers Jez, I'll look that up. He makes Atlanta trap and dance stuff mainly but is just getting into synths etc. Still quite early days for him in terms of experimenting but the stuff he makes sounds ace to my ear... I think it'll be fine for the duration of his course. Anything beyond that he can use the gear and studios at college. Interesting stuff.
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  • octatonicoctatonic Frets: 33725
    edited May 2017
    Ideally you want a quadcore MacBook to do proper work in Logic.
    Dual core is fine to a point but I'll eventually over when doing complex mixes.
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  • stonevibestonevibe Frets: 7080
    2015 15" MacBook Pro all day long.

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