Macbook Pro for Audio Production, upgrading to 16 inch - 16 vs 32 GB RAM?

[worldfever]

I currently own one of the whack 2018 Macbook Pros and wanna upgrade to the new 2019 16 inch one with i9.
I use Ableton and Logic with sometimes really big file sizes, but my project sizes never really go beyond 4-6 gigabytes, but I use alot of processing and vst instruments and effects.
The configuration with 32 Gb RAM costs a whopping 500€ extra.
My question now is, is it worth going for the extra RAM for music production? I cant really tell if it would make an improvement, seems like 16 Gb is plenty, but im no expert.
Also, is it worth going for the 2.4 i9 over the 2.3 GhZ CPU? my guess is no

 

[ApfelKuchen]

No specific recommendations; I haven't done that sort of work on a Mac since the mid-1990s. My observation is a bit more global; considering this is a combination of musical instrument and recording equipment, 500€ isn't a lot if you're earning a decent sum in that business. When I think of the kind of money we spent back in the (mostly) analogue 1980s and '90s on synths, tape machines, mixing boards, etc., 500€ is pocket change. If you are stacking up many dozens of tracks in a production, and considering the expected life of the machine, if the extra RAM saves you 5 minutes an hour in better execution, you have a very profitable investment.

 

[worldfever]

That is a very good observation, makes alot of sense.I too have worked with alot of hardware in the past and it often does a fraction of what my computer is able to do now, so it makes sense that it would be a worthwile investment.

 

[kidchop3]

I’m switching from a 13” MacBook Pro 2017 i5 to a Mac mini 2018 i7.

ideally you need all the multitasking resources available.6 cores, hyperthreading, upgradable RAM at a much lower cost.
The biggest annoyance is having to plug my laptop into my monitor, interface and external MIDIs through a dongle.

I feel the core of my work is done sitting at my desk rather than anywhere else where a laptop would be better.

If you have the cash, get the i9 2019 16” pro but for half the price, you will get the same setup.

 

[worldfever]

I’m switching from a 13” MacBook Pro 2017 i5 to a Mac mini 2018 i7.

ideally you need all the multitasking resources available.6 cores, hyperthreading, upgradable RAM at a much lower cost.
The biggest annoyance is having to plug my laptop into my monitor, interface and external MIDIs through a dongle.

I feel the core of my work is done sitting at my desk rather than anywhere else where a laptop would be better.

If you have the cash, get the i9 2019 16” pro but for half the price, you will get the same setup.

I hear you. Its the same for me, most of my work is indeed done at my desk, although I do need a laptop because im also playing live shows (well, at the moment not bc of corona...). But I've been thinking about getting a desktop setup - but I'm not really sure where to look for that. I need to be on Mac because of Logic Pro, and the 2013-2019 trashcan mac pro even seems to benchmark lower than i9 16 inch mbp, and the new Mac pro costs about 5k. Do you have any suggestions?

 

[RogerWilco6502]

If I may offer my experience, I can use up-to-date Ableton software with Arturia synthesizer plugins on 4GB of RAM with my 2009 MacBook running El Capitan. I'm not sure memory is much of a concern if you're not dealing with massive amounts of audio at any one time (and even then, I'm not sure how much work Logic Pro does in memory and how much it does directly on the hard disk). I have never run out of memory even when using many instances of the Arturia plugins (which are very resource-heavy). Processing power is what my computer struggles to provide some of the time.

So, in the end, it really depends on your scenario. If you feel that more RAM could help you in the long run, then go for it. I have found that RAM is not the limiting factor in my setup, but that could also be because there's another bottleneck that affects things more.

 

[kidchop3]

I hear you. Its the same for me, most of my work is indeed done at my desk, although I do need a laptop because im also playing live shows (well, at the moment not bc of corona...). But I've been thinking about getting a desktop setup - but I'm not really sure where to look for that. I need to be on Mac because of Logic Pro, and the 2013-2019 trashcan mac pro even seems to benchmark lower than i9 16 inch mbp, and the new Mac pro costs about 5k. Do you have any suggestions?

Depends on your budget really.

What software do you use on the live shows? Can your current laptop handle the load?

 

[sebdaflou]

Hi,

Did you make your choice ?

I'm on the same boat and i'd be happy to know what you did !

Thanx
Seb