Worth selling stuff off for Macbook?

[mopppish]

Hi. I'm a college student that uses my ibook on campus daily for class as well as a mobile recording studio. I've got a bit of a dilemma right now. My imac G5/ibook G4 combo is suiting me pretty well. Occassionally when doing music work with the laptop (usually in Logic Pro 7) I run into some hiccups or pokey performance, but seeing as to how it was a cheap, convenient way to do location recording and I had an imac at home with more juice, I was happy with what I had. Now, with the Macbooks, I'm starting to wonder if it mght make more sense for me to sell off my computers and get the middle white model. I would expect to break even this way. My main concern is how a 2.0 ghz core duo compares to a single 2.0 ghz G5 (in my imac). If the core duo can meet or exceed the G5, then why the heck would I need 2 computers? Plus, if the Macbook is just as powerful using Logic as my imac, it seems like it would be very nice to be able to take that kind of juice on the road with me. FWIW, I never play games and would probably buy a used LCD monitor to span with at home. Anyone have experience running Logic on a Macbook? How's the core duo vs. the G5? Any advice?
Thanks!

 

[mopppish]

I should add that I use a huge external Lacie firewire drive for recording audio and storing itunes music, so hard drive speed and size isn't really a concern.

 

[Demon Hunter]

Is Logic a Universal binary yet? That's a big part of your decision. Remember, your setup is getting 'er done for now, so be weary of "new gadget happiness syndrome."

That said, I bought a 1.83 GHz today, and it's absolutely amazing in every way. I can't even load both cores to 100%!

 

[Eniregnat]

Is Logic a Universal binary yet? That's a big part of your decision. Remember, your setup is getting 'er done for now, so be weary of "new gadget happiness syndrome."

That said, I bought a 1.83 GHz today, and it's absolutely amazing in every way. I can't even load both cores to 100%!

Yes, Logic Pro is a universal binary, and you can cross grade for $50 U.S.

Best audio practice is to have a separate scratch drive, primary media drive, and application drive. You might think about 2 Laci drives. A refurbed Laci drive can be quite affordable.

 

[GimmeSlack12]

Although the problems with the MacIntels are not huge, I would say to ride out the transition to Intel until 2007. I mean, you might find better performance with a new machine, but how big of a difference? Not much I suspect.

You're machines right now are only a year old, so I say go with another year with them and when you are graduating college or graduated think about new machines. I would stick with what you got.

 

[Nate4747]

The core duo will stomp a single G5.

You have to keep in mind screen real estate though. The iMac has a much larger screen with higher resolution than the MacBook. If you are going to be doing recording, sequencing etc you are going to want an external display that has a higher resolution to work with. That will add to the cost.

Your current desktop setup seems to be doing fine. If I were you I would just continue saving money and wait a bit, then look into the low end MacBook Pro. It has both a higher resolution and a bigger screen; which are much better suited for a desktop replacement.