MBP 2015 vs 2017 aka USB3 vs. USB-C

The Lounge Other Gear
#1

As my studio macbook pro is from 2011 i feel it would be time to upgrade to a newer and faster computer. The enclosure is getting really hot when working on hot tracks :wink: and the computer begins to struggle when working with more plugins that not run on UAD cards.

In 2016 Apple intruduced USB-C on all computers. It gives you fast speed … hell yeah! But when I look at USB ports on my soundcard, synths or the overhub … looks like buying tons of adaptors or an usb-c-hub too and alltogether is basicly >180% of 2011 MBP price back in the day.
Has anyone a recommendation for an usb-c hub? How does overhub works with usb-c? It would be plug a hub into a hub into the computer.

But there are still 15" MBP 2015 available, which cost around the same as 13" MBP 2017 + adaptors and hub. I know it`s not the newest electronics inside and it´s not as fast as MBP 2017. But way faster and more powerfull then a MBP2011 plus it has 2 usb 3 ports, 2 thunderboldt (which 1 I need for UAD cards), a good old sd card reader and hdmi port … oh well and a seperate power port :slight_smile:

So what do you guys think will bring USB-C for studio use in the future? Will we see it on some gear one day? Like soundcards? Would it give lower latency like thunderboldt? Or just don’t we need it for studio use? I’m still very happy with usb 2.0 for my soundcard.

#2

Great. Just get the right cable. See Overhub not registering as USB 3.0 hub? Only supplying 2.0 (420mb/s) speeds

#3

Yes, yes, and yes. Please note that the USB-C ports on the new Macs do both USB 3.1 and Thunderbolt 3.

USB-C is also backwards compatible with all your existing gear, no matter if it has USB-A or B connectors, or uses Firewire or Thunderbolt 1 or 2.

Just make sure to get good cables instead of those ugly dongles. Finding out what cable you need can be confusing. That really is the only downside of USB-C.

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#4

There you ´ ve got the answer :wink:
I would recommend to go for the 2015 - you could upgrade the processor.

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#5

I picked up a 15" 2015 mbp last year brand new… for music and design, still an entirely respectable computer, with proven reliability. Has 90% of the processing power of the 2017 (minus the graphics card update which is irrelevant unless video/gaming/3D). Saved a lot of cash and kept all the ports for my current stuff, plus personally didn’t like the keyboard or the charging port on the new ones.

My advice, get that, or else hold out for a little to see what the 2018 model brings to the table.

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#6

The 2015 MBP is still a perfectly fine choice for music production. A benefit of getting the quad-core 15" over a dual-core 13" is that most music setups really benefit from those two additional cores, even if they’re running at a slower clock rate. This is because most DAWs have gotten pretty good at distributing their workload across the available cores, especially when you use a lot of plugins.

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#7

This, more cores is where it’s at. In the past few years the main progress has been in efficiency, battery life and integrated GPU speed.

#8

If you don’t NEED a laptop, a Mac Mini could save you some serious money.

My question is, will a Mac with USB 3 give better performance with Overbridge USB audio and the Analog Rytm MK1 or the Digitakt ?

#9

Upgrade the processor in the Macbook?

#10

It is possible to choose between 3 different options while buying (2.2, 2.5 or 2.8GHz), thatˋs what i meant.

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#11

No.

#12

It might help to check the Geekbench Mac Benchmarks to compare those options in terms of performance differences. In some cases, upgrading to the highest processor speed doesn’t give that much performance increase for sustained workloads because of thermal constraints, and you might decide it’s not worth paying the upgrade price for.

#13

Macbook Pros are getting shittier and shittier… fewer ports with each iteration, and more BS. They even removed the power button?? :face_vomiting:
Not sure sticking to the Mac is as necessary anymore, as Windows is catching up. My Mac does some things faster when running Windows 7!

#14

Ahh, ok. I thought you meant upgrading the cpu after purchase, which sounded like wizardry to me :smiley:

#15

I’m on a macbook pro late 2011, and my next upgrade sure as spit won’t be a macbook. Really want to get out of the apple ecosystem. Gonna miss that trackpad though.

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#16

stay away from a new mini, they haven’t been updated in 3 years

2015 or 2017 (or 2016) either is great. And will be quite the upgrade. I use an OWC hub, one cable in to laptop and all peripherals (and power) through one cable. It’s nuts. Just be sure to get as big an SSD as possible. Max RAM can’t hurt either. Not cheap

#17

By now there’s got to be other brands offering similar trackpads…

#18

Apparently not. The dell xps is supposed to be good, but not on par with the macbook. It seems like such a minor thing, but after using that thing for years I dread using something different :smiley:

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