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Comment by wrigby | Hacker News Reader

> Any iMac or MacBook Pro from the last 5 years is sufficient for any pro audio workflow.

Just a few days ago, Pro Tools popped up the annoying "A CPU Overload Has Occurred" dialog box while I was working on a mix. Mid-2015 rMBP, 2.5 GHz.

It was a pretty simple session, too - nothing that breaks any rules, like reverbs on inserts. 12 or so tracks and three stereo effects (on their own busses).

I'm amazed every day at how much capability my MBP puts into my hands, but it is not without limitations. To say it's sufficient for any pro audio workflow is a bit of a stretch.

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The problem with the ultrathin MBP, like all ultrabooks, is that it is not designed for sustained CPU use. It overheats quickly and the CPU will be throttled. You will be better off with a proper mobile workstation like the Lenovo Thinkpad P50 or P70 with Xeon CPUs and better cooling.

Agreed, which is my main complaint: the older (non-retina) MBP was better at sustained CPU usage (at least in my experience - this is 100% anecdotal and non-scientific). Apple used to produce a machine that was suited for the things I do, but the rMBP doesn't feel as capable as the thicker, older vanilla MBP.

It makes me consider buying a Mac Mini or Mac Pro for audio work, but I can't justify the cost right now, since audio is mainly a hobby and my MBP works fine for most of what I do (multi-track recording live events with Dante).

I was drawn to the MBP when I switched in 2009 because of the build quality, the OS, and its ability to handle professional workflows, but it seems that they're abandoning that use case. My favorite machine of all time is still my '09 Core 2 Duo MBP.

The extra portability is nice, but if I wanted portability over power, I would have bought an Air (or I suppose a Macbook now).

Right. You can get a Dell Precision 15 7000 (which yes, weighs 6lb versus 4.5lb) that isn't comparable to the rMBP 15, but beats it up:

* CPU up to i7 6920, or Xeon E3-1575M v5

* memory up to 64GB, ECC or non-

* Thunderbolt 3

* up to 2 x NVMe SSD

* 4K display

Nice. Those specs would make a great mobile DAW.

We should be boycotting Lenovo for their absolutely abhorrent business practices, not promoting them.

I use them only as an example I'm familiar with. What abhorrent business practices are you referring to? I find Apple's 0.005% European corporate tax arrangements abhorrent personally.

EDIT: the HP ZBook Studio G3 also looks quite good

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superfish

“On February 20, 2015, Microsoft released an update for Windows Defender which removes Superfish.”

Microsoft has to uninstall the malware that Lenovo had put on the computers it had sold. Lenovo did not remove it on its own. Let that sink in.

Lenovo didn't really understand what they were bundling with their cheapest zero margin machines. Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity.

Fine. Dell. HP. Etc. All offer workstation class laptops.

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