Good morning to all,
I am looking at changing my old MacBook Pro for a new system. I cannot justify the price for a new Mac.
I was geared towards this company: https://www.scan.co.uk/3xs
Anybody has any feedback? Would be very much appreciated.
Thanks 
I used to have a 3XS system years ago. It was a great machine and solid as a rock.
I must have bought it 10-12 years ago and donated it to my nephew who used it as a gaming pc. It was still going strong until last year until an unfortunate accident with some beer.
I went the other way onto Mac and I’m sucked into the eco system too much now. I purchased a Mac mini last year to upgrade my MacBook Pro but would have used Scan if I could go back to windows.
Great service and really knowledgable staff too.
@Rokki21
Thanks for your input. Much appreciated.
Just can’t justify the $$$ on a new MBP. Furthermore bearing in mind the issues people are encountering with the new machines…
Again thanks a lot,
V
What do you mean “…if I could go back to Windows…”?
Hardware looks great…but Windows is the weakest link in comparison to OSX. Ive been using a Mac mini too since 2014 and its been rock solid.
@Naboo
Thanks for that…
Windows itself is the only worry for me…
Used to work under XP as latest OS and although I had a reliable/stable setup, the overall impression was NOT as good as Mac.
Same here but MacBook Pro (i5 8Gb) since 2014.
Stable but lacking more Ram and/or faster CPU.
Still ok but have to bounce to audio quite often…
Exactly. Thinking to upgrade but still don’t feel like I really need to. I’m using more hardware these days so its also taking the pressure off CPU with less softsynths etc.
I bought a Laptop from them in (possibly) the last year.
I’ve not taxed it as heavily as I would like (I have been using external effects more than ITB these days) but it’s been rock solid.
When I was looking the main issue I found with consumer brands was how they seem to want to push high power chips into smaller and smaller forms without adequate heat dissipation and with more and more use of glue. (That’s what bricked my Surface Pro3) - that’s what prompted me to look further afield.
I went for a 17" model as it’s role is more desktop replacement - I don’t gig, so I don’t gig it.
I don’t use the keyboard/trackpad often as I’ve a KB/Trackball hooked up permanently, but when I have used they’ve seemed fine.
It’s not small and it’s not trying to be -I therefore have no concerns about heat dissipation/cycling.
Running mainly ableton 10 with a motu 828es over USB.
My understanding is that they do a fair amount of testing on their audio systems - I don’t know if they provide results on perf. tests so it might be worth seeing if you can find some.
I believe they are also reasonably active on all the normal mus-tech forums.
If I was looking for a new laptop, they’d probably be my first port of call. There are a few other specialists it might be worth checking out, depending on where in the world you live though.
As for the jump to windows, I couldn’t comment. I’ve never found windows (since XP) to be problematic as an OS - a previous MB-Pro purchase was driven by hardware (firewire chipset) requirements and I ran XP via bootcamp on that with no issues.
Thanks for that @wriggy_b
Do you by chance have any other manufacturers in mind?
Looking at the prices of a 17 laptop with 32Go Ram is stunning.
I do prefer OSX, but what I mean is my audio interface is Thunderbolt (I know you can get it working on windows but not sure I want to take the risk)
I know all my software works perfectly. I have a MacBook as a back up plus iPad and iPhone etc. I’m just too far into the apple ecosystem to get out.
I know I could get all this working back on PC, but I can’t be bothered with the hassle to be honest.
It was the debate I had with myself when going for the mini. Convinience won out against overall specs and power.
I didn’t go for thunderbolt, so significantly less ouch!
I’m probably showing my age if the first word that springs to mind is Carillon - I know they closed down many years ago but I’m pretty sure I’ve seen the brand resurrected - I don’t know what they are pedalling these days.
Same with Red-Sub (I think they are owned by gear4music - which would make me a little wary)
I’d also look at Inta-Audio
With all of the above I’d be looking on places like GearSl…tz to ascertain how people are getting on with them.
I’ve only actually bought kit recently from Scan though, so I can’t comment on the others in terms of their customer care/value for money/build quality.
If I was in the states, I’d probably be looking at
@Rokki21
Thanks for taking the time to elaborate
Much appreciated.
I do not have the use of Thunderbolt therefore not an inconvenience for me.
Also using a MOTU UltraLite Mk3 on USB port and all good.
Decisions, decisions…
@wriggy_b
Thanks a lot for the detailed info.
Will look into these ASAP.
V
I use both Windows and MacOS professionally, and in general I would recommend against switching from MacOS to Windows when you’re not ready familiar with the latter.
When money is an issue, but second-hand, or look into the now once again pretty excellent value-for-money Mac Mini.
there’s always the hackintosh route. built my own in nov 2018 and it works great, but it took work to get it right and can be a pain if youre not into rolling your own.
if you’re not using gfx-intensive stuff, as t said above, the new mac mini is a pretty good deal. buy from john lewis and get 2 years warranty included instead of 1 year elsewhere
@t and @garf
Thanks both for your inputs.
Used to work with WinXP so this is not complete unknown territory
The Mac Mini could be an idea as I do not mind laptop or workstation.
Hackintosh not an option for me.
Will definitely look into Mac Mini.
Again thanks to all
V
XP has been obsolete for nearly a decade! Even windows 7 is no longer getting updates. 10 has some annoying features but generally it’s reliable for audio work.
I know 
Stopped using it in 2004
Hi.
I am in a similar situation to you as I am looking to replace my 2013 imac.
I started the new year off with a dell inspirion, but it was terrible. I was able to remove most of the dell junk from the machine, however installing my Allen and Heath PX5 mixer and machine MK3 was a massive headache.
When I finally got it working, a windows update messed with drivers and I was back to square one, luckily I was able to return it.
Reset the mac up on the desk, up and running in 30 minutes.
I am considering a MBP and justifying the price against not needing drivers.
I am aware that you can disable updates in windows 10 pro, but this latest experience really put me off.
I am considering a laptop from these people who apparently install a custom build of win 10 in the machines. They also use 15watt processors. (price is in euros)