Wanting mac pro quad pro but might have to get macbook pro

Question

I am wanting to build a home studio and my funds that I had thought would be coming in are not as much as anticipated. I really want a desktop but they are 2499 and one of the macbook pro's is 1000 less. I will be getting logic studio and want to have absolutely no problems running it and I also want enough space on my computer that I don't even have to worry about it if let's say I start making mini movies and using logic for the soundtrack. Should I still hold out and just take my medicine and practice patience then get the macpro at 2499 or is there a macbook pro that can handle all that I need. As I said before I really want the desktop and if anyone could let me know if it would be wise to wait til I've got the funds or if there is a macbook that would do just fine for much less. My current laptops on it's last legs and dropped twice which is my why I'm wanting a desktop to keep it stationary and also it just seems it would be so much more powerful. Any help would be tremendous. Thanks so much

Answer 1

seattlecal,
Well, we first need to talk about which Macbook Pros would be suitable for your usage. The 13" Macbook Pro could and would run Logic, but there are some additional considerations that would make it less than ideal. IMO, its display is too small to accommodate the Logic interface. With all of the Toolbars, etc. you'll need to have open, the 13" display will be too limiting. Also, any of the lesser Macbook Pros without the discrete GPU will present a problem. You won't necessarily need the graphics processing power of the discrete GPU, but the use of a shared-memory integrated GPU could place a damper on what you can do in Logic. While it would work, I would recommend against any of the integrated GPU-only models.
So this leaves us with the $1999 model as your best "lower-end" choice for a Macbook Pro. Honestly, I wouldn't want to run any "pro" apps on anything less than a top-end 15" or a 17" Macbook Pro, myself. Again, it's a matter of scale and what would be most "usable," not one of meeting minimum requirements (All current Macs meet the minimum requirements).
Placed in this light, the iMac provides way more value for the money. What it doesn't provide is portability. If portability isn't an issue, the iMac is undoubtedly a better choice. The integrated graphics issue still exists, so my recommendation would be for the $1799 model (2.93 GHz). There would be no need to upgrade to a larger hard drive, since external storage will still be almost mandatory for audio work.
One more time, I'm going to stress that audio (and video) work always involves storage somewhere other than your startup volume/drive. Put another way, audio files are always created and stored on an entirely separate hard drive. With a Mac Pro, this can be a separate internal drive. Any other machine that will not accommodate multiple internal drives will require an external drive. Period.
Scott