Macbook Pro w/Core 2 Duo or Asus U43F with i5 for Mbox 3?

[benton netty]

Hi,

I've been puzzling over how to spend about a thousand bucks I have to spend. I want to get a laptop to do fairly simple recording on, and I'm having trouble deciding. Seems like everyone has radically different experiences.

Currently, I'm running an Mbox 1 with PT 7.4 LE on a PC from 2003, and I really like this setup. My thinking was, I'd sell the Mbox, get an Mbox 3 Mini with PT 9 LE and then a new laptop to run it on, but I'm not sure which way to go.

For about $970, I could get:

Refurbished MacBook Pro 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo

Originally released April 2010
13.3-inch LED-backlit glossy widescreen display
4GB (2 x 2GB) of 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM
250GB Serial ATA @ 5400 rpm
8x double-layer SuperDrive (DVD?R DL/DVD?RW/CD-RW)
NVIDIA GeForce 320M graphics processor with 256MB of DDR3 SDRAM shared with main memory

But I've recently checked out this Asus, which is over $200 cheaper, and has a newer processor and more power:

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/ASUS+-+Lapt ... Id=1773105

i5 processor, 6GB memory, more storage, $750.

My goal is to just get the best, most dependable machine I can afford, something that is most likely to last the longest. I'm doing mostly simple recordings without going over 20 tracks, not using tons of effects or plug-ins. Keeping it pretty basic.

I've had people tell me Mac is the way to go. Others say no. Some say it's only what's under the hood. Others say to stay away from PC. I'm confused!

Any advice?

[sir hills]

I think you needn't worry about Mac vs. PC...just get the best for what you can afford. Also, it sounds like you're perfectly comfortable working on a PC! I've been doing location recording with a 15" Lenovo T61 for the last 3+ years & recently stepped up to a 17" Mac Book Pro which has been fantastic. The Lenovo is super tough, built like a tank & served me very well. It was a little over 2 years in before I had to start wiping it & reinstalling Windows XP every 6 months or so (along with all the recording programs, plugs, anti virus & such)...total pain but I got efficient at the process & always came out the other side clean & fast. Anyhow, any issues I've had with it seem to be Windows related & not the hardware. If you go with a PC laptop I can't recommend Lenovo enough..."T" series in particular. I just did a quick search & found this:

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications ... CatId=4965

You might be able to find better deals searching a little more but the specs would work well for what you want to do.

One thing I might point out (regardless of what brand) is you should look at comps with a 7200 rpm hard drive...size doesn't matter so much & if you keep it free of clutter/files & reserved for (or a partition for) the OS it will keep things running smooth. Also, if you don't have one or two, you should consider investing in portable external drives for recording to...leave the internal drive alone when recording. Since the Mbox 3 mini is usb you'll be able to use a firewire external drive & again, you should look at 7200 rpm drives for better speed/efficiency. I've had good luck with these for location work:

http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Other%20 ... U7500GB16/

tough, small & quiet.

Okay, so there's my 2 cents...there's much more advanced folks here who might have more/better recommendations. Use the search function & you'll likely find fairly recent questions/suggestions that might also help in your research. Good luck!