New MacBook for Finale: Air or Pro?

[cindyharp]

Hi all:

So glad to find this forum! Thanks to everyone who’s keeping it running.

Unfortunately, my venerable MacBook Pro (late 2011) has probably given up the ghost. I’m going to the Mothership (new Apple Store in Chicago) to try a nuke & pave with my Time Machine backup, but I know it’s a last-ditch effort.

So... if/when I need to replace my MacBook, can I run Finale on the most recent Air, or should I definitely stick with a 13” MBP? I think I know the answer, but I need to get hard data/feedback to present to the co-purchaser.

Thanks again for your help!

Cindy Shelhart
Finale 2014.5 or v25 (I don’t remember if I’ve upgraded yet - and I can’t check the Mac!)
Mac

[David Ward]

I have one of the 12in Retina MacBooks with 8GB memory and 512GB storage. It seems to work very well with Finale 25.5 and can be connected to a large portrait orienting monitor, an Apple Superdrive and various other peripherals. However, it does need adaptors to connect to almost anything, and through trial and error I've discovered that the somewhat overpriced Apple adaptors produce more reliable results than the cheaper ones one can find on Amazon etc.

It is not my only Mac computer in the house, but for going out and about it is wonderfully compact and apparently powerful enough for all I do. If you are involved with serious Audio, DAW and Video it might not be adequate, but it is considerably more able than the Air.

[cindyharp]

Thanks, David! I hadn’t even thought about the 12” MacBook. It’s priced about the same as the 13” MBP. It would be easy to haul about. However, if the prices are the same, I think I would opt for the MBP and its slightly larger screen, as this will be my only Mac. This does sound, though, like you’re recommending something with more power than the Air, either way.

Anyone else: can a new Air run the latest version of Finale (and BTW Adobe InDesign, for book design), or should I definitely stick to a MBP? (My guess is the latter...) Thanks! C xo

[bobsax]

Everything that I read says the MacBook pros are extremely overpriced.
My MacBook Pro 15 inch is also running very slow. I am thinking of going with the 21 inch iMac ,it’s around the same price with more features. You can haul them around if You have to.

[MikeHalloran]

Everything that I read says the MacBook pros are extremely overpriced.

So what? If that's what you need, then there it is and if it's the right machine, it's not overpriced. I don't see how an MBP is better for Finale than an Air but it might be for other apps — we aren't you. I don't get to touch my daughter's Pro (even though I bought it) but I do have 2014.5 and 25 loaded onto my wife's 2013 Air and they work fine. Do consider that the Air has a lot less available storage than a Pro but that's not usually an issue for Finale unless you use certain VI Libraries — and then the Air won't do it.

My MacBook Pro 15 inch is also running very slow. I am thinking of going with the 21 inch iMac — it’s around the same price with more features. You can haul them around if You have to.

Uh... No idea how old your eyes are but the thought of using my other daughter's 21.5 iMac ever for anything... no, no, no, no...

I really like my 27" iMac and can't imagine using anything else for the 12 or so hours I do every day.

[BuonTempi]

FWIW, I loved my old 13" 2012 MBP -- with an SSD, it coped very well with Finale, Creative suite and the rest. However, I recently decided to replace it with a 2014 Retina 15" MBP on eBay, and the difference is staggering.
Not only is the screen super-crisp, showing staff lines really nice and thinly; but it's super-fast as well. Samples load in a blip, and general scrolling around is much more responsive. The extra size of the larger screen is very useful, and the speakers are surprisingly decent.

There's not that much difference in spec between the newest MBPs and a 2014 or 2015 model. You may be able to get one secondhand for considerably less than the full price of a brand new one.

There's no reason that a old Mac should slow down "with age" just because it's old. If the system disk is too full (or failing), that will slow things; as will having some older software (usually background processes) that cause problems on a newer OS. Some newer apps might make greater demands of it. But the same software continually being used shouldn't slow down.

(I also bought a 512 GB SSD pulled from a 2015 MBP, which gives me twice the speed and storage of my original unit (over 1200 Mbps read/write!), all still less than a brand new MBP. And Apple have just replaced the screen for free because the lamination had worn off.)