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Apple introduces first 8-core MacBook Pro

I'm not here to spit on Apple or its users; I just have a question: what's the point of a $6500 laptop with such low specs? (And I'm not mentioning the fact that Apple tells users to turn off multi-threading to reduce security issues with their chip)

While i also find the Apple products a bit overpriced in general people seems to say something like this everywhere.
First the most part makes the 4TB space here.
Low specs is also relative.
Also some problems are dramatized (but they exist).
Then you pay for customer service which i must say is really good from my experience compared to other companies. Of course that can vary a lot.
At the end....Logic is my DAW. Best bang for buck so far for me.
 
By low specs I was referring to the high price for such a spec. Performance is not that far from a $2000 laptop from another brand.
I do agree about the issues. It's mostly dramatized. I was pointing out the fact Apple is using unsecured components. It should be considered in the final price from my point of view.
Thanks for your reply! That's what I was looking for.
 
I'm not here to spit on Apple or its users; I just have a question: what's the point of a $6500 laptop with such low specs?...

First things first, my $.02 is that the sweet spot is more like $4500 since you can easily avoid Apple’s premium for a 4TB or even 2 TB SSD in favor of an external. That said, yeah, I won’t apologize for some of Apple’s decision making - frustrating to say the least.

As for the rest of it, it simply comes down to preference for Mac OS and/or Logic, I suppose. Personally, I happily pay the “Apple tax” to stay in the ecosystem I’ve used and loved (for the most part!) for 30 years... and/or avoid having to look at Windows all day. Again, just my $.02!
 
First things first, my $.02 is that the sweet spot is more like $4500 since you can easily avoid Apple’s premium for a 4TB or even 2 TB SSD in favor of an external. That said, yeah, I won’t apologize for some of Apple’s decision making - frustrating to say the least.

As for the rest of it, it simply comes down to preference for Mac OS and/or Logic, I suppose. Personally, I happily pay the “Apple tax” to stay in the ecosystem I’ve used and loved (for the most part!) for 30 years... and/or avoid having to look at Windows all day. Again, just my $.02!

I do agree. Everyone is free to choose what suits them the best!
 
Well, as usual with Apple: the base models are not even that bad price-wise! It is the the memory and internal storage that is expensive beyond crazy. In the past that meant, I bought the base model and later upgraded memory and storage for normal prices (instead of paying 4x the amount with Apple ...). Now, with soldered SSDs and glued monitors (iMac) - with components that are hard to impossible to update yourself, you can't do that any more, so ... no Mac Book pro for me! I might consider buying a base model just for media and simple stuff like typing text or doing very basic stuff like notation. Just because I still prefer the OS. But for that purpose, the quad core would already be overkill! :)
 
If I really wanted to get a notebook, that can really handle DAW tasks with lots of samples, this would make much more sense (sorry ... German!):
https://www.da-x.de/de/pro-audio-notebook-extreme-konfigurator.html
Even specing this Notebook to the max - well beyond the best Macbook pro (64gb of RAM, 10 Tb of internal SSD space and a 17inch screen) you barely scratch 6000€ and this PC builder is well known for proper Audio PC configurations. This would make so much more sense for a professional portable solution for composers, wouldn't it?
 
what's the point of a $6500 laptop with such low specs?

It's not $6500, it's $3200 ($2800 with 16GB; I agree that $400 extra to bring it up to 32GB is too much).

Also, with the potential caveat below (2.3 GHz), I wouldn't call an 8-core machine with 32GB of RAM low-spec.

That doesn't mean I'm going to buy one, just that I think you're a tough crowd!

I do not care much about the 2.3GHz since that says nothing really.

Again, I don't take that as an article of faith - based on nothing but hearsay, but hearsay from people who would know. Our application is a real-time one; to me it makes logical sense that regardless of how efficient the chip is, it still processes x number of instructions in y amount of time.
 
This would make so much more sense for a professional portable solution for composers, wouldn't it?

For you, not for me.

Not if you want to work on a Mac, as for instance all Logic users do.

Macs are never going to compete € for € with a generic machine. You know going in that you're paying a premium for the design and quality - and for being able to work on a machine that's pleasant to work on! And of course for the brand; that is worth something, like it or not.

But with few exceptions in the 34 years since the first Mac, they last a very long time and hold their value.
 
A lot of my video and music friends have made the jump to a 100% laptop rig for the past 6 months... and it destroys their previous tower/trashcan rigs. Truly an amazing time to live in.

The price tag doesn't bother me either. That CPU alone is worth it.

(I can already hear the PC builders marching with their spears at me ;) )

Appreciate your perspective as always Karel. Personally I'd rather have a networked computer with 64 or 128gb ram and then a cheap MBP at the front end to run Logic. Even more than that, I'd LEAP at the opportunity buy an even cheaper "Macbook Faux," that is, a 3rd party laptop that runs OSX with 100% stability and can customize away some of the MBP features in exchange for the same price but more RAM. Logic is really the only thing Apple has left to keep me tied to their computers.
 
First things first, my $.02 is that the sweet spot is more like $4500 since you can easily avoid Apple’s premium for a 4TB or even 2 TB SSD in favor of an external. That said, yeah, I won’t apologize for some of Apple’s decision making - frustrating to say the least.

As for the rest of it, it simply comes down to preference for Mac OS and/or Logic, I suppose. Personally, I happily pay the “Apple tax” to stay in the ecosystem I’ve used and loved (for the most part!) for 30 years... and/or avoid having to look at Windows all day. Again, just my $.02!
So what did you do with / what happened to the 2014 MBP?

Rob
 
If I really wanted to get a notebook, that can really handle DAW tasks with lots of samples, this would make much more sense (sorry ... German!):
https://www.da-x.de/de/pro-audio-notebook-extreme-konfigurator.html
Even specing this Notebook to the max - well beyond the best Macbook pro (64gb of RAM, 10 Tb of internal SSD space and a 17inch screen) you barely scratch 6000€ and this PC builder is well known for proper Audio PC configurations. This would make so much more sense for a professional portable solution for composers, wouldn't it?

I'll give you one reason, I've never heard of them. I know loads of composers who use Apple. Sometimes, it's that simple. Just like Neve 1073, a Culture Vulture, a Fender P Bass. All well known, well used. It's not something that defines me, it's a tool. I just want the best tools for the job that can be fixed quickly, serviced or worst case scenario, replaced wherever I am.

Next, take a composer, let's say they earn $100k plus a year. Their expenses are maybe $30k per year. Take their computer which is the hub of their work, probably the most important part. The computer company needs to be made accountable if problems happen, be available on the phone, in a store, this computer last 3 years at least easily, it even has a resale value that is often 50% plus of the original purchase cost 3 years later. So then you're talking a saving of maybe $3k split over those minimum 3 years. For me, that isn't worth it not one bit.
 
Reasons why I have made the switch to PC and won't look back at a Mac until they stop selling 'toys'.

1. Whatever they release doesn't seem to matter anymore, because it will thermal throttle and you will not be able to make use of what has been advertised, which brings me to...

2. ... The overall ventilation system is not enough for such powerful CPUs. So technically, it doesn't matter how powerful your machine is. It will be a marginal improvement to what you currently have (unless your machine is 8 years old or more). Warning: Whatever you do to curb the situation will take a direct hit on the life of your motherboard/CPU, and you might end up spending a lot of money trying to repair it.

3. Between 2013-present, I have seriously not seen any massive improvement in each MacBook Pro I have bought. If I knew this was going to happen, I would have had happily stuck to my 2013 machine. I was duped into believing that buying a new MacBook Pro would be a great step up. Nope... Marketing eh?

4. Since Mac OS Lion, I have noticed MacOS turning into iOS (with a lot of features I don't need for music production) each day that goes by - but ok..no biggie.

5. Everything is soldered onto the motherboard. The most ridiculous business practice I've seen so far. You can't change (or ask them to repair) anything inside. Literally - ANYTHING. Pass... SSD fails? Guess what you will end up having to repair...

Since I made the switch to the PC, I realized why many people have switched, and couldn't have been happier. Unless you can't work without Logic (which actually you can), Windows PCs are hands down much better machines for audio production. I'm finally able to actually use the hardware inside without worries.
 
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For most of my work I use a Macbook Pro with 16GB RAM / i7 processor in conjunction with multiple slave VE-Pro PCs but I won't continue to use Macbooks or Apple as my main DAW for much longer. I have two of the same specs/imaging in order to have a backup available in case one needs servicing.

Apple's decision over the years to embrace the closed model mentality all the way into every aspect of their hardware is so restrictive to a point that it is not reasonably scalable on a hobbyist or professional level.

I remember the days when I was able to soup up my Mac Pro with third-party RAM/SSDs for a fraction of the cost that was offered through Apple directly.

I can now custom-build two Windows PCs - if not purchase from name-brands directly with lengthy warranties - as powerful as one Apple computer. What kind of business model is that?
 
Appreciate your perspective as always Karel. Personally I'd rather have a networked computer with 64 or 128gb ram and then a cheap MBP at the front end to run Logic. Even more than that, I'd LEAP at the opportunity buy an even cheaper "Macbook Faux," that is, a 3rd party laptop that runs OSX with 100% stability and can customize away some of the MBP features in exchange for the same price but more RAM. Logic is really the only thing Apple has left to keep me tied to their computers.

I totally get ;)

I'm more of synth and processing guy... as opposed huge orchestral template guy. So I really care more about CPU than anything else.

The ram bothered me a bit... but then I thought: "with the SSD they're putting in the MPB, you might as well read your Kontakt libs direct from disk."

But obviously, I can see how for some people the $6K for 32 non-upgradable ram is sad. Internal SSD seems to be driving the price really high too.

(And yes it's always cheaper if you go PC or Hackintosh... but I dislike windows UI blah blah blah and I can't live with the fear that an update will break my machine)

But I'm not a purist, I'm open to other solutions. Those Macbook Faux look interesting. I would consider that if it's the exact internal hardware. (looked it up, but I'm linked to $50 carboard mbp haha). Do you have any links @NoamL ?
 
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I would not touch an Apple Notebook with a ten foot pole right now. Since 2010 they have had a series of hardware problems which Apple has not rectified or in some cases in even acknowledged. I have a 2010 MBP that started kernel panicking whenever the Nvidia CPU kicked on, about 3.5 years after I bought it, when it was updated to Mavericks. Scoured the internet for answers. Apple had no clue. Most people had no clue. People were being told by apple to buy a $700 replacement logic board, which would go bad again in a few months. AppleCare did nothing about it. For a while people were using a little utility that would disable the Nvidia GPU, but that didn't always work right. Then an electronics engineer figured out that the problem was that Apple used an inexpensive capacitor in a certain place on the logic board, that can have a problem when the CPU speed changes. For a few hundred bucks he can solder in a higher quality capacitor and the problem is gone. This turned out to be the real issue. Someone wrote a little kext hack eventually that basically prevents cpu speed stepping from happening, and prevents the kernel panics, but the GPU is not running at full speed that way. I have been using mine every since using that kext hack, its getting too old to justify a few hundred bucks to fix the capacitor, but I might because I am definitely not going to buy a new Apple notebook anytime soon!

Now is this an isolated incident? Nope. Use google, numerous Apple notebooks came out since 2010 with weird problems that the geniuses at Apple's "Genius Bar" were clueless about and Apple did not ever really fix the problem or acknowledge it, people were just SOL. I will not touch Apple notebooks at all now, until their reputation improves, particularly one as expensive as this one! Mine was $4000+ in 2010 and it turned into nothing but a huge hassle. Lots of people suffered for years with kernel panics and not knowing what to do until that independent electronics engineer figured out it was the capacitor, a $3 part.

Never mind that Apple still refuses to embrace touchscreens and multitouch in their OSX computer products, their notebooks may look nice with a fast CPU and elegant looking case, but they are far behind the competition, priced in the stratosphere and you can expect no help from Apple when it turns out their fancy design has flaws.
 
I would not touch an Apple Notebook with a ten foot pole right now. Since 2010 they have had a series of hardware problems which Apple has not rectified or in some cases in even acknowledged. I have a 2010 MBP that started kernel panicking whenever the Nvidia CPU kicked on, about 3.5 years after I bought it, when it was updated to Mavericks. Scoured the internet for answers. Apple had no clue. Most people had no clue. People were being told by apple to buy a $700 replacement logic board, which would go bad again in a few months. AppleCare did nothing about it. For a while people were using a little utility that would disable the Nvidia GPU, but that didn't always work right. Then an electronics engineer figured out that the problem was that Apple used an inexpensive capacitor in a certain place on the logic board, that can have a problem when the CPU speed changes. For a few hundred bucks he can solder in a higher quality capacitor and the problem is gone. This turned out to be the real issue. Someone wrote a little kext hack eventually that basically prevents cpu speed stepping from happening, and prevents the kernel panics, but the GPU is not running at full speed that way. I have been using mine every since using that kext hack, its getting too old to justify a few hundred bucks to fix the capacitor, but I might because I am definitely not going to buy a new Apple notebook anytime soon!

Now is this an isolated incident? Nope. Use google, numerous Apple notebooks came out since 2010 with weird problems that the geniuses at Apple's "Genius Bar" were clueless about and Apple did not ever really fix the problem or acknowledge it, people were just SOL. I will not touch Apple notebooks at all now, until their reputation improves, particularly one as expensive as this one! Mine was $4000+ in 2010 and it turned into nothing but a huge hassle. Lots of people suffered for years with kernel panics and not knowing what to do until that independent electronics engineer figured out it was the capacitor, a $3 part.

Never mind that Apple still refuses to embrace touchscreens and multitouch in their OSX computer products, their notebooks may look nice with a fast CPU and elegant looking case, but they are far behind the competition, priced in the stratosphere and you can expect no help from Apple when it turns out their fancy design has flaws.
On the other side my late-2012 MBP i7 has been the epitome of reliability. Swapped out the HD for an SSD, upgraded to 16GB. For the tasks I now require it, it still works great. It’s lived in and out of my bag for that entire time, so not exactly a sheltered life.
 
On the other side my late-2012 MBP i7 has been the epitome of reliability. Swapped out the HD for an SSD, upgraded to 16GB. For the tasks I now require it, it still works great. It’s lived in and out of my bag for that entire time, so not exactly a sheltered life.
My 2015 MBP has also been rock solid.

I also wouldn’t want touchscreen at all on my laptop. If it was optional, great, but I certainly wouldn’t want to be paying extra for my next MBP for something I’ll never use.

I do wish they’d stop focusing on making “pro” laptops thinner though!
 
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