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Macbook replacement
I have an ageing Macbook (2009) running Ableton Suite (and Logic 9 which gets little usage). I'm thinking about updating early in the new year, but the new macbooks are overpriced. So far I've thought about the Dell XPS13, Surface Book 4 (i5) or an ASUS Zenbook. Anyone else had a similar dilemma recently?
Are there any downsides to running IOS apps into windows rather than MAcOS?
Comments
I went for the pre-update Macbook Pro (early 2016 model) instead. Performance is fine, they still have those comfy USB ports and the awesome Magsafe - which to me is one of the hallmarks of Apple brilliance. The new Macbook Pros are a step back in more ways than just price.
@brambos Agreed it's not just price. Must admit to trepidation jumping back into the windows arena - no Core Audio, Antivirus software etc. Nevertheless the older models haven't seen any discounts so madly overpriced in comparison to what the money will get you. My 2009 was ram updateable too - maybe I will stick an SSD in it and make do! Frustrating Apple
I had a similar dilemma after losing my macbook retina, was thinking buying the xps or the zenbook, but i think those are overpriced too (due to the slim form factor)
I ended up putting a ssd into an old asus on its way out and i very happy with it, its my dedicated music machine
it might be worth cleaning and upgrading your macbook
ps: if you install Asio4all driver on a windows machine (and choose it in the preference in ableton) you wont get midi or audio latency problems
Wanted to replace my 2009 MacBook too, very disappointed with the new offerings. However I dislike Windows so much (and with good reason) I'm going to hang on another year and see if next years offerings are better, the old MB will still be usable for another year, though just barely, RAM is becoming an issue.
Bad times for laptops...
From my perspective there are many issues of longevity at the present time. May be just a feeling, but it's like whichever way we jump at the moment, you feel like you may be backing the wrong horse.
I have little faith in Apple to deliver what I want long term in the laptop space. I have little faith in Microsoft either. Seems none of the companies have a firm plan where this space is going and what people will back in the future.
I think personal computing tech is in a transitional period and may be for some time.
The new 2016 MacBook Pros are a damn disgrace. The only good points I see of the new MacBook Pro is that it looks sexy, runs slightly faster and the build quality is superb but other than that it's a huge disappointment. Getting rid of the MagSafe, SD card slot and USB ports was a huge mistake by Apple. At the moment hardly any peripheral on the market connects to the new USB-C ports unless you are happy carrying a load of wires and adaptors to make it work. The Surface Pro and Studio look like better options even though it runs Windows.
This seems to be Apple taking advantage of their current market position to dictate hardware standards.
The SSD will make a big difference - that's what I'm planning for my 2012 MacBook Pro update.
This is no small detail. As soon as you put in a SSD, you'll feel like you are more than making do. Then you'll wonder why you didn't do it sooner.
I am one of the fools I went for buying the new MBP. I had waited for long time for the promised CPU update and my DAW of choice is Logic so I have no other place to land than Mac. Once I get it I tell how it flies. Maybe not the best choice, time will say, at least the waiting is over.
Agreed! I had an early 2010 model. I changed to a 1TB SSD and expanded ram to 8 from 4. Massive difference. Runs smoother, quieter and a lot more space.
I bought a secondhand 2012 MacBook Pro 13inch with intel core i7 and 8GB of ram. I went to my local Maplin and bought a 500GB SSD and installed it into my MacBook Pro and it runs like a champ. I'm planning to install 16GB ram. I use this machine alongside my top of the range 2015 MacBook Pro 15inch.
Time will tell what the market thinks of the new MacBook Pros. Personally I'm surprised at the animus towards going all in with USB-C. I'd been waiting for USB-C to turn the page before buying any more computer stuff. Glad to see it finally come to pass. I was actually surprised it took Apple so long to do this. Though the integration with Thunderbolt probably explains it, and glad they went all the way to that in one go. In a few years time I'd rather have a laptop with USB-C and Thunderbolt 3. Another future proofing to keep in mind is that the new USB-C ports are capable of USB 3.1 gen 2 (up to 10 Gbit/s)1. While USB-A was a huge design improvement over it's predecessors (serial, parallel, and ps/2 ports), I think USB-C will prove a worthy supplanter, and be the next 20 year standard. I won't miss the 30pin dock connector either.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USB_3.1 ;↩︎
"losing your macbook retina"...............do tell
Please do come back and let us know
If you can pull yourself away from the thing 
Things I'd be very curious about:
Keyboard (travel is shorter, but stability is better, improvement?)
Touchbar (how does using it for function keys when using the Terminal app (vi, emacs, etc) work?)
Speakers (how's the sound, big improvement?)
One thing that concerned me was the choice of last year's skylake processors for this year's big MacBook Pro update. Turns out it wasn't much of a choice, Intel doesn't have quad cores of the newer stuff yet.
http://appleinsider.com/articles/16/11/14/review-apples-late-2016-15-macbook-pro-with-touch-bar
Having USB-C ports isn't the problem. Not having regular USB ports is the issue (and abandoning magsafe). Omitting extremely useful features on a premium product for no good reason is really lame.
I have about 60 devices with a regular USB plug around the house. And 0 with a USB C plug.
I have one device with USB-C (Nexus 6p). However, that alone has made me wish everything else did, has made me never consider another usb power pack featuring only ordinary USB-A socketry, and similarly never consider fitting those twin wall sockets with built-in USB-A power sockets. I'm technically impressed by USB-C.
Same here. I picked up a 1TB SSD and 8Gb RAM on sale. Installed it in my 2011 Macbook Pro and now I have twice the storage, twice the RAM and it runs way faster than when I purchased it.
Can anyone recommend a good 1tb SSD (internal, or external) for a MacBook Pro? I've been putting this off for months but think I'll make this a priority project next year for my 2012 MBP.
It got stolen while I was moving along with an iPad mini2 and a mini keyboard (the whole bag)
New Macbook Pro outsold every competing laptop in just five days.
Anecdotally there has been a move in the high end video/sound world towards PCs (desktop, rather than laptops). Macs don't cut it for power or reliability anymore apparently.
The Samsung evo 850 is generally well regarded. I know that my macbook air that I bought used a few months ago (2011 model, 11.6") really flies, I can't believe how much of a difference an ssd makes. Even with 4gb ram I'm not running into any issues at all with performance. I'm not doing terribly heavy music lifting on it though. But reaper and harrison mixbus both run really smoothly on it mixing live recordings (11-16 tracks typically, and not a ton of plugins needed).
I'm interested to note now (didn't notice at the time) that the only 13" MBP available on the Apple Store app for the Black Friday deal (£120 Apple Store gift card thrown in for no extra charge) was the early-2015 model with Magsafe and Thunderbolt2/USB2/SDXC. That worked out really well for me, fortunately. I'm so glad I didn't get a newer one by mistake! Phew.
I see that this model is available for purchase new from the Apple Store app, still, but now alongside its two newer siblings. It looks like Apple are still manufacturing the early 2015 one, does anybody know, are they? Or could they possibly have that much stock of it sitting around that they'd have to shift? Steve Jobs would have heads rolling, eh? So weird to see so many models sold at once. It's getting more like choosing regular unbranded tech. So sad.
Mine is still sitting in the shipping box it came in, glaring at me reproachfully, waiting for me to muster the energy to get it up and running and connected and customised and app'd out. So looking forward to having that be over and done and woot.
Oooh, iOS device backups, it'd be so nice to have, y'know, like, at least one.
@MonzoPro I'm still running a mid-2012 MBP. I maxed it to 16GB RAM, and put the Samsung evo 850 SSD @mrufino1 referenced. I've been running it since June with no problems. Even running latest Sierra. Night & Day, like a new machine and faster than it's ever been.
Brilliant, thanks guys, I'll put one on my Xmas list!