My 2011 Macbook Pro is dying. I wore out the trackpad; the keyboard is falling apart; HD is dying. It's time for a replacement. I need to find a new Mac that works well for music production, but it must be well under $2k. Any thoughts . . . .

 

I suppose you are aware of the Apple store prices for new macs so here's my take: I am not very familiar with second hand market, but soon Apple will launch a new generation of MBP - rumour is as soon as this late autumn. Perhaps worth waiting for people to upgrade and search the second hand market in your area for a used i7 MBP Late 2013 for instance? Should have a price well under 2K, and you will get retina screen and SSD drive. The battery (is degenerating fast after 1000 cycles) could be as good as dead (and replaceable only at Apple) but that's really about how/where you are using it.

 

You can expect current macbook pro retina prices to be divided by 2 as it is basically 2012 technology.
In my country Apple is already getting rid of large stocks of old-line (2015) MBPr at around 55% of the Apple Store price to wholesalers (which price you can get if you know one or your know a company who makes large orders like a telco and have a friend working there).

But the new line may be a huge improvment, so you may regret your purchase afterwards even at 50% of the face price...

 

I'm gonna have to be the devil's advocate here. Have you considered a Windows laptop? Much more power for the $. If you're on a budget, a Mac may not be the best idea.

 

My take:

If your old computer is a 15" (->Quad processor) MBP: Replace trackpad and keyboard, max out memory (16GB) and exchange your HD and DVD drives with big (1-4TB, depending on your sample library's size) SSDs.
If it's not: Get a used 2012 15" MBP, preferable with HiRez non-reflective display and do the same.

The 2011/2012 basic models will be about 20-30% slower as today's basic models for music production, so get an used high end model, if you need those percents. If your old Macbook is seriously lacking performance, a new macbook won't change that. A current high end model will be out of your budget anyway.

If for any reason you prefer a thin, expensive, not-upgradable machine and don't need to connect anything with it, wait for the latest-and-greatest offer Apple will provide us soon.

I've been ready to buy new Apple hardware for years, but now I resigned myself to bravely using my 2008 Mac Pro and my 2012 MacBook Pro, hoping that fruit company will rediscover pro users one day. At least the machines are very well built, and processor development is slow, so I can wait for years.

 

"New Mac" and "budget" sounds like an oxymoron to me

 

Which new Mac is best for music production on a budget?

Cruise Craigslist and see what used one you find for no more than half of what it had cost new.

 

This guy is dead on. I just upgraded my 2012 MBP to a ssd. Works wonders.

 

not have any interesting mac for music production these days they add 5k screens etc but for music production we don't need and that things make the mac overprice, I recommend you to make a hackintosh, these days is not much difficult

 

I am way too investing in using a Mac to switch . . . a zillion apps and been a user since 1985. I was hoping to upgrade from my 2011 i7 . . . buying another used machine doesn't excite me. I may need to wait. Also, USB is gone and I'd need adapters, right?

 

do you need a macbook?
why not try a mini.

sure, macbooks are great for portability but you'd have 2 options and you already know that.

minis are great for the price new

other than that secondhand market is always great
you can often pick up a 2 year old macbook for £500-700 with great specs because people spend tons of money on them and realise they aren't a fan.

saying that you have a 2k budget.

why not try a second hand mac pro 5,1 easily upgradeable.
or you can get a brand new imac for that (or a second hand one with all the specs upgraded)

 

was searching for this... XD

 

The last Mac Mini was weaker than the one it replaced.

http://www.macworld.co.uk/review/im...l-comparison-review-specs-which-best-3590185/

 

I'll sell my macbook pro late 2012 13 inch intel i7 quad core 8GB ram 750GB HDD 2.9GHz with a cracked screen & broken camera for $600. Comes with original box & manuals & cables & loaded with state of the art music software & I'll throw in my iLok2 dongle with plenty of software on that, too.

 

A broken camera is very desirable in these days of rampant government surveillance

 

Yours is in about the same condition as mine, but mine is a 2011.

Would a new Mini be more powerful than my 2011 i7? If so, I don't mind losing portability. In fact, I'd like to have a stationary system . . . but streamlined if possible.

 

It should be far more powerful. I just bought a brand new mac mini. Honestly it's way more powerful than my laptop.

 

I just looked up the Mini:


2.8GHz
2.8GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 (Turbo Boost up to 3.3GHz) with 3MB on-chip shared L3 cache

Configurable to 3.0GHz dual-core Intel Core i7 (Turbo Boost up to 3.5GHz) with 4MB on-chip shared L3 cache.

It seems like what I'm looking for . . . small, powerful, and more flexible than a MacBook. I already have a Magic TrackPad. I'd need a keyboard and a screen. Do these things take standard screens or will I need to buy through Apple?
Does the MacBook have any advantage over the mini other than portability?

 

Last edited: Aug 25, 2016

The one I just got has an Intel i7 quad core 3.6 GHz with 16GB RAM & 2TB fusion drive. I paid $1,478 for it, but that's because I got the keyboard & a mouse with it.
Yeah, the god damn keyboard alone was like $80. Gotta love Crapple & their crusty assed dog-eating employees. I'm weary of letting my cat alone near my mac because I'm afraid when I come back in, I'll find an eggroll & a pair of chopsticks laying there instead of my cat.
The only beef I have with my new mac, is it came with El Capitan. Which is the most horrendous mac os I have used since Lion back in 2011. I miss Mavericks, honestly. Honestly if you think walking in on your grandpa & grandma "burying the cane" is horrifying, wait till you use el capitan. I swear to god, this halloween I'm not even gonna go to a haunted hayride. I'm gonna grow some heavier balls by going to the apple store to see them advertise the new mac OS. I better bring a few extra pairs of underwear because it's gonna be terrifying.

 

Last edited by a moderator: Aug 25, 2016

Impressive, Did you name one of your cats Maverick and the other El Capitan? ;-) Did that $1500 include a monitor? Do you feel you have more power than a MacBook Pro . . . $ for $ wise?