Which Macbook/MBP model?

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flextone

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Hi

I want to get a Macbook or Macbook pro to act as my main DAW. As my budget is limited to a little more then 1000$ I am basically thinking of either a 2.4 black macbook or a 2.16/2.33 MBP. I know Apple change the specs a bit every few months, like the firewire chipset last year that didn't work with a lot of Interfaces. What should i look out for and do you have a preferred model?(like late 2006 MBP, that's the terminology apple use...)

Thank You

FLEX
 
I have the last release of the macbook 2.1 ghz white model. Get one they have Firewire. the new macbooks don't.
 
I know about the new macbooks not having fw, thanks. My question refers to the "old" gen macs
 
If you have the money, I'd pick the current MacBook Pro. From what I've read, the new cases should make them like tanks. AFAIK, all the recent MBP models are TI FireWire, which is a plus. There was a run for a while that didn't, though. I would NOT recommend buying a used MacBook Pro (any model) because of the NVidia GPU problems. It's nice that Apple is extending the warranty to cover it, but if NVidia hasn't redesigned the part, no number of repairs will ever really cure it....

If you can't afford a current MBP, I'd go with the 2.4 GHz previous generation MacBook or the current white MacBook (the cheaper one that still has FireWire). They have Agere FireWire, which though less than ideal, works fine for me with all of my interfaces, at least in my limited testing. (I mostly record on a quad G5 desktop.)
 
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I'm worried that editing on the 13" screen will be a pain, I will probably be uding Logic 8. Why do you prefer the previous gen macbook over the previous gen MBP?
 
flextone said:
I'm worried that editing on the 13" screen will be a pain, I will probably be uding Logic 8. Why do you prefer the previous gen macbook over the previous gen MBP?
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See my comments about the previous MBP (which I probably added while you were composing your reply). The only used MBP I would consider is the second generation model---the Core 2 Duo model with the ATI graphics chip. I didn't realize there was such a beast, but after further digging, there is a C2D with the ATI chip. A used MBP is reasonable if and only if you can get that specific used model.

I wouldn't get the Core Duo model of MBP because it isn't 64-bit-capable.
 
what problems can the nvidia graphics cause for Logic/Audio software?

btw, shouldn't be too hard, according to wikipedia, all late 2006 MBP's are c2d and ATI chipset (2.16/2.33)
 
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flextone said:
what problems can the nvidia graphics cause for Logic/Audio software?
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More background reading:
http://www.theinquirer.net/gb/inquirer/news/2008/07/09/nvidia-g84-g86-bad

It doesn't cause problems for an app. It just dies and suddenly you have no internal video. The external video apparently fails over to the Intel integrated video, but the flat panel just displays a black screen. When it happens, you're down for two weeks while you get the guts of the machine swapped out... so long as it happens before the end of the warranty extension period. Otherwise, you have a doorstop. :)
 
But are all the nvidia mbp's faulty? is it just a mater of time? because i have read that the 2.4 is better in terms of not only processor speed but also ram can be expanded to 4gb instead of 3, front side bus is 800, it runs cooler etc...
 
flextone said:
But are all the nvidia mbp's faulty? is it just a mater of time?
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The only people who can answer that question with certainty all work at NVIDIA, and they're not talking (and their rate of disinformation in the recent past suggests that we shouldn't trust what they said even if they were).

The way I look at it is this: if the board fails outside warranty and/or warranty extension, a single logic board repair is about as much as buying the current white MacBook. With that in mind, the extra cost of a new machine suddenly looks very appealing even if the odds of failure are fairly low. :)
 
I'd love to get the new macbook, but I need firewire for my rme fireface400. The new pro is just to much.

Anyway, thank you for opening my eyes.
 
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