Macbook Education needed

[breamster]

As a committed PC user I'm now considering a Macbook to run Logic Pro

Any recommendations on spec, where to buy, what to watch out for?

Is a Macbook Pro preferable for Logic or will a Macbook Air be OK.

I have a technical background, I'm not a numpty and have used many Macs over the years but never had the desire/need to own one.

No budget has been set but I do need to keep it cheap. I'm not a fan of 2nd hand laptops as you never know how they have been (mis)treated but I don't mind buying older discounted models if the savings are good.

[thebraketester]

The new MacBook Air are brilliant. They will run logic fine unless you’ve got hundreds of tracks and plugins running.

[bunchofkeys]

See my previous thread OP

https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

Ended up buying a refurb from Back Market. Would recommend 16GB RAM as a minimum.

[danb79]

breamster said:

As a committed PC user I'm now considering a Macbook to run Logic Pro

Any recommendations on spec, where to buy, what to watch out for?

Is a Macbook Pro preferable for Logic or will a Macbook Air be OK.

I have a technical background, I'm not a numpty and have used many Macs over the years but never had the desire/need to own one.

No budget has been set but I do need to keep it cheap. I'm not a fan of 2nd hand laptops as you never know how they have been (mis)treated but I don't mind buying older discounted models if the savings are good.

Current M4 MBA is all you need - I’d go for the 24/512GB model if you can; best prices are on Amazon currently

My brother has that one (as did I but my needs changed so went back to a Mac Mini instead); he uses it for his photo editing and video stuff and it’s lightning fast

[mmm-five]

Depending on how heavy your workload is, remember to take account of the number of efficiency cores and the number of performance cores.

The lower models (i.e. MacBook Air and basic MacBook Pro) have only 4 P-cores + 6 E-cores, and Logic Pro works much better on the P-cores...so if the budget is £2k I'd go for a MacBook Pro with 10 p-cores.

For example - Apple Refurbished 14" MacBook Pro M4 Pro 14-core (10P / 4E) 24GB / 1TB, 3 x Thunderbolt 5.

But if the budget is closer to £1k then it'll have to be a lower performing model.

For example - Apple Refurbished 13" MacBook Air M3 8-core (4P / 4E), 24GB / 1TB / 2 x Thunderbolt 4.

I'd also agree that 24GB RAM and 512GB SSD is the minimum I'd want, unless you've already got fast external SSDs that you're going to use (and there are some very fast TB4/TB4 enclosures available now).

Edited by mmm-five on Thursday 21st August 19:19

[breamster]

Thanks.

Good to hear the feedback. Budget is a focus so probably need to stay nearer the £1k. Interesting to read about the p cores. Not something I'm familiar but will read up on.

[thebraketester]

breamster said:

Thanks.

Good to hear the feedback. Budget is a focus so probably need to stay nearer the £1k. Interesting to read about the p cores. Not something I'm familiar but will read up on.

What’s your logic usage?

[breamster]

thebraketester said:

breamster said:

Thanks.

Good to hear the feedback. Budget is a focus so probably need to stay nearer the £1k. Interesting to read about the p cores. Not something I'm familiar but will read up on.

What’s your logic usage?

Amateur. Very very amateur.

[thebraketester]

breamster said:

thebraketester said:

breamster said:

Thanks.

Good to hear the feedback. Budget is a focus so probably need to stay nearer the £1k. Interesting to read about the p cores. Not something I'm familiar but will read up on.

What’s your logic usage?

Amateur. Very very amateur.

MacBook Air... perfect. Base spec one will be more than capable.

[breamster]

thebraketester said:

MacBook Air... perfect. Base spec one will be more than capable.

Thanks.

[Magnum 475]

I recommend this on every Mac thread.

Visit the Apple UK Refurbished store. You'll get more Mac for your £££s

https://www.apple.com/uk/shop/refurbished/mac

Stock changes all the time, so you need to check regularly. But you can get a higher spec that you will buying new. Still has the same warranty as a new product, but costs less.

[bitchstewie]

Amazon tend to be cheaper for "brand new" than Apple direct these days, at least for "out the box" configurations.

And you often get the option to spread payments via that Amazon thing they do which isn't a credit agreement - which is handy.

[wyson]

Can you not just run a Mac Emulator on your current machine?

Haven’t tried it but the below seems comprehensive:
https://techpp.com/2024/02/12/how-to-run-macos-on-...

I mean why become a minion of the evil empire if you don’t have to? Just far too many Apple fanbois in this sub.

Edited by wyson on Friday 22 August 11:59

[breamster]

wyson said:

Can you not just run a Mac Emulator on your current machine?

Haven’t tried it but the below seems comprehensive:
https://techpp.com/2024/02/12/how-to-run-macos-on-...

I mean why become a minion of the evil empire if you don’t have to? Just far too many Apple fanbois in this sub.

Edited by wyson on Friday 22 August 11:59

I did have a quick look at running it as a vm.