Macbook Air Sufficient?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Minuk21
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Minuk21

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I'm Looking for a new laptop. I understand that macs are overly priced, but thats based off of personl preference. I just want to know is the Macbook Air sufficient enough to record on?
 
From the looks of the specs, it should be perfectly adequate.
 
Does firewire matter? I'm going to be recording me and my guitar for these next couple of years (4+)
 
As much as I like the Air (and particularly the little one), I wouldn't recommend it for recording. For several reasons:

1. Because the case is so thin, the fans have a hard time keeping the CPU cool. If you're doing something that stresses the CPU continuously (e.g. multitrack audio), you're going to get it hot enough that the fans won't be able to keep it cool enough. When that happens, the CPU power management throttles the bajeezus out of the CPU.

2. It doesn't have nearly enough internal storage, so you're going to be tethered to an external hard drive anyway, hence the portability isn't really a win.

3. It doesn't have FireWire. USB sucks for disk performance (high CPU overhead) by nature, and without a big enough internal disk, you're really going to hate that.

4. Doubly so if you're trying to use a single USB port for both your hard drive and your audio interface.

Just don't go there if you value your sanity. I love the Air for what it is designed to do—to be an ultraportable machine for tasks that are only sporadically CPU intensive. But a multitracking box, it is not, and can't feasibly be without making it several times as thick.
 
It sounds like his ambitions are fairly modest, though.
 
I would just get the pro, it will be better, cheaper and lets face it it isnt that much less portable.
 
You need Firewire. A laptop's internal hard drive is going to fill up quickly, and a external USB drive is too slow. Most of the better interfaces are firewire.

If a MacBook Pro is too expensive, consider the Mac Mini.

Also, think of the future. You say you're going to be using this for 4+ years. Things change, life happens. You might be recording a full band with drums next year. :)
 
geekd said:
You need Firewire. A laptop's internal hard drive is going to fill up quickly, and a external USB drive is too slow. Most of the better interfaces are firewire.

If a MacBook Pro is too expensive, consider the Mac Mini.

Also, think of the future. You say you're going to be using this for 4+ years. Things change, life happens. You might be recording a full band with drums next year. :)
Click to expand...

Spot on. When I bought my first recording laptop, I fell into the oooo! thats small and pritty trap. thinking it would be more then enough, which it is so recording a couple of guitars and vocals but. . . . The recording/production disease soon kicks in and you want to do more and more, then the small and pritty laptop that was brilliant for the first 2 months is now a redundant investment
 
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