Shopping for new Laptop - Looking for opinions...

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Shopping for new Laptop - Looking for opinions...
Posted on: 16.12.2012 by Sammy Merritt
I'm downsizing from a MBP 15" which has become way to big to lug around. I have a few different options I'm looking at:

MBP 15" retina 2.3ghz - still big but weighs less, SD slot (a must). Almost a desktop replacement.
MBP 13" retina 2.9ghz - nice size, decent power, SD slot. Price to power ratio is the least attractive.
MBA 13" 2.0 - my favorite choice, SD slot.
MBA 11" 2.0 - very portable, no SD slot. Price to power is the best.

Running Traktor exclusively with an S2, F1, MidiFighter 3D.

What does everyone believe??
Ming Devis
17.12.2012
Originally Posted by deevey
Hate to tell you but the MPA has 2 usb ports, one on either side
haha really? Oh well it wasn't the only reason.
Rolanda Clodfelder
17.12.2012
Originally Posted by LoopCat
One main reason I didn't get the air over the 13 mbp is the lack of usb ports. It only has one so if you are using a Traktor Audio Interface and a controller like an X1 you will need a hub.
Hate to tell you but the Air has 2 usb ports, one on either side
Fidel Hakimian
17.12.2012
Originally Posted by Emery
Thats what I'm seeing. Does this mean the S4 won't work with any USB 3.0 or will it just run at 2.0 speed on the USB 3.0?
This means that it will only work on USB 2 ports. You will have to install a patch that will make the usb 3 ports read as 2.0 ports.
Geri Jarra
17.12.2012
Originally Posted by mashko1

Clarify on the last comment. The S2 does work well with USB 3.0?
Thats what I'm seeing. Does this mean the S4 won't work with any USB 3.0 or will it just run at 2.0 speed on the USB 3.0?
Fidel Hakimian
17.12.2012
Originally Posted by mashko1
Food for thought...

The 15" retina weighs the same as a 13" non-retina (which was suggested). It's at least one pound less then the current 15" non-retina. 13" Air is 1.5 pounds less then the 15" retina but also half the power. I really do keep going between the 13" air and 15" retina.

Clarify on the last comment. The S2 does work well with USB 3.0?
I went through the exact dilemma that you are going through now. I thought about "what will I use this for and how much processing power will I really need to get what I need done?" The Quad processors in a Pro are incredible, but if it's just for DJing than its overkill. I was running 4 full decks with lots of fx on my White Macbook Core 2 duo, I also ran logic pro, ableton, an protools without a hiccup. So if the Core 2 duo is fast/strong enough to run all of that, than a core i5/7 will be more than double that power. My factor was the weight, so I went with the Air and will never look else where again. Just keep in mind that it's my preference, you may have your own, so if money isn't an issue you pretty much can't go wrong with either.
Sammy Merritt
21.12.2012		Went with a 13" air, 2.0ghz, 8gb & 256gb. We will see...
Ming Devis
17.12.2012
Originally Posted by deevey
Hate to tell you but the MPA has 2 usb ports, one on either side
haha really? Oh well it wasn't the only reason.
Rolanda Clodfelder
17.12.2012
Originally Posted by LoopCat
One main reason I didn't get the air over the 13 mbp is the lack of usb ports. It only has one so if you are using a Traktor Audio Interface and a controller like an X1 you will need a hub.
Hate to tell you but the Air has 2 usb ports, one on either side
Ming Devis
17.12.2012		One main reason I didn't get the air over the 13 mbp is the lack of usb ports. It only has one so if you are using a Traktor Audio Interface and a controller like an X1 you will need a hub.
Elvin Auda
17.12.2012		dare i say go for the dell xps 13 ultrabook its fast made from carbon fiber witch means it well me hella light and tough looks sleek ohh and try to get it with windows 7 not 8 window 8 sucks massive donkey Wang
Khadijah Bucker
17.12.2012		S4 works perfectly fine on usb 3 now, there were some hiccups at first but the new drivers have sorted it out. i use an S4 with a 2012 mbp
Fidel Hakimian
17.12.2012
Originally Posted by Emery
Thats what I'm seeing. Does this mean the S4 won't work with any USB 3.0 or will it just run at 2.0 speed on the USB 3.0?
This means that it will only work on USB 2 ports. You will have to install a patch that will make the usb 3 ports read as 2.0 ports.
Geri Jarra
17.12.2012
Originally Posted by mashko1

Clarify on the last comment. The S2 does work well with USB 3.0?
Thats what I'm seeing. Does this mean the S4 won't work with any USB 3.0 or will it just run at 2.0 speed on the USB 3.0?
Fidel Hakimian
17.12.2012
Originally Posted by mashko1
Food for thought...

The 15" retina weighs the same as a 13" non-retina (which was suggested). It's at least one pound less then the current 15" non-retina. 13" Air is 1.5 pounds less then the 15" retina but also half the power. I really do keep going between the 13" air and 15" retina.

Clarify on the last comment. The S2 does work well with USB 3.0?
I went through the exact dilemma that you are going through now. I thought about "what will I use this for and how much processing power will I really need to get what I need done?" The Quad processors in a Pro are incredible, but if it's just for DJing than its overkill. I was running 4 full decks with lots of fx on my White Macbook Core 2 duo, I also ran logic pro, ableton, an protools without a hiccup. So if the Core 2 duo is fast/strong enough to run all of that, than a core i5/7 will be more than double that power. My factor was the weight, so I went with the Air and will never look else where again. Just keep in mind that it's my preference, you may have your own, so if money isn't an issue you pretty much can't go wrong with either.
Sammy Merritt
17.12.2012		Thank you
Sammy Merritt
17.12.2012		Food for thought...

The 15" retina weighs the same as a 13" non-retina (which was suggested). It's at least one pound less then the current 15" non-retina. 13" Air is 1.5 pounds less then the 15" retina but also half the power. I really do keep going between the 13" air and 15" retina.

Clarify on the last comment. The S2 does work well with USB 3.0?
Fidel Hakimian
17.12.2012		Believe me, It doesn't make any sense to me either, but The s4 is based off of the a4, it was released I believe a year before the s2, so the s2 received newer audio card and driver support. Google it, you will see that NI officially commented on this issue.

"Native Instruments has conducted compatibility tests with its hardware products connected to USB 3.0 ports of current-generation MacBook Pro and MacBook Air models. Some NI products are experiencing a degraded audio signal caused by USB 3.0 audio driver issues present in recent versions of OS X.

The following products have shown to be affected:
AUDIO 2 DJ / AUDIO 4 DJ / AUDIO 8 DJ
AUDIO KONTROL 1
GUITAR RIG MOBILE
GUITAR RIG SESSION
KORE 1
RIG KONTROL 2 / RIG KONTROL 3
TRAKTOR AUDIO 2
TRAKTOR KONTROL S4

The following products have shown to be fully compatible:
KOMPLETE AUDIO 6
MASCHINE / MASCHINE MIKRO
TRAKTOR AUDIO 6 / TRAKTOR AUDIO 10
TRAKTOR KONTROL S2
NI hardware products without audio interface functionality (KORE 2, TRAKTOR KONTROL F1, TRAKTOR KONTROL X1) have also shown to be fully compatible with the current MacBook Air and MacBook Pro generation.
Native Instruments is currently in contact with Apple in order to find a solution."
Geri Jarra
17.12.2012		Really the S4 can't do USB3, but the S2 can? why?
Fidel Hakimian
17.12.2012		I just upgraded to a Macbook Air 11". I too was sick and tired of lugging around bigger/heavier laptops! I used to own a White Macbook 13" and let me tell you, The 13" was big enough for me when DJ'ing. Traktor full screen was perfect, that being said, I did not sacrifice any real estate when using 11" MBA. The screen resolution is actually higher on the new 2012 MBA 11" than my Macbook 13". So everything fits as it did before but with extra pixels. Again, not all have the same preference, but the Fast 2.0 i7 and 256 SSD on the MBA is a DREAM!!! to work with. I will never purchase anything other than an Air, I literally don't even feel it when I'm carrying it around. One other thing to note, the new Mac computers all use USB 3.0. A number of older NI audio interfaces do not work with it ( S4, A4, A8, Audio 2). But The new stuff (S2, A6, Z2 and A10) work fine. I also have MF3D running without issue.
Geri Jarra
17.12.2012		personally I love the airs. The 11" would be way to small for me, even at home I use an external monitor because the 13" can get a little crammed with 4 decks on the screen. I'm curious to why you are leaning towards the 15" retina? Seems very similar to your current MBP, unless you really want nice display, which I cant see being too important when it comes to DJing
Sammy Merritt
17.12.2012		I already have a SD so that's a non issue plus I couldn't tell you last time I used any type of physical media. I went the route of an SSD and additional HD caddie in my last MBP. That made it last a few extra years. I'm leaning more towards a 2.6 MBP 15" Retina just for the power. I'm now in the practice of selling off my machines after 1 year of use so I don't plan on keeping this portable more than 18 months.

Thanks for the insight.
Eilene Mayall
18.12.2012
Originally Posted by AtgAni
If you absolutely can't manage with a standard 13" pro, get the air. Retina is well overpriced for a bit of a better screen.
Put an ssd in the pro yourself and it will be faster than an air (non retinas are still upgradable, airs and retinas are stuck at the spec you order)

I agree with this. Why are you not considering the MBP13 non-retina? It's much cheaper than the retina, and you can upgrade the SSD and ram yourself.

Also, am I the only one who still rips CDs these days? Surely a DJ can't source all their music from Beatport, and 256kbps itunes downloads (or even worse, Youtube rips)? The Retina and Air Macbooks don't have a superdrive, so you would have to buy an external drive to rip CDs.

After looking into this recently, I went for the MBP13 non retina, put in a SSD myself, and moved the old HD to the Superdrive slot, then bought a
Khadijah Bucker
16.12.2012		If you absolutely can't manage with a standard 13" pro, get the air. Retina is well overpriced for a bit of a better screen.
Put an ssd in the pro yourself and it will be faster than an air (non retinas are still upgradable, airs and retinas are stuck at the spec you order)
Rolanda Clodfelder
16.12.2012		Given the Choice I'd go with a 13' MBA, my GF has the 11' and its ridiculously fast at least twice as fast compared with my 2009 13' MBP (which runs everything perfectly) but the screen size is just a lil too small to use for non-dj purposes comfortably.
Deangelo Boender
16.12.2012		I'm in the market for a new laptop too, I would like to hear if anyone has any input. I'm believeing of getting a MBA, or an older MBP. Would the MBA be powerful enough to run Traktor 2.6 smoothly?

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