I'm an EE with a background in DSP but haven't touched audio DSP algorithms or their implementation in software (plug-ins, etc.). Lately I've become very interested in delving into this stuff and also have to buy a new laptop soon since my old Macbook Pro died. I'm a guitarist and have used Reaper and Garageband for some simple recording of my own music but want to go further and start programming my own plug-in effects for these and/or other DAWs. I like OSX and would prefer a Mac, but am also open to a Windows laptop if there is sufficient reason.
A few quick questions:
- I naturally prefer a light laptop with good battery life. The latest Macbook Air with full specs (1.7 GHz dual-core Intel i7, 512 GB, 8G ram) achieves that, but I'm not sure if it's generally powerful enough to handle most DAWs and multiple plug-ins running, as well as adequately support plug-in development. Any thoughts?
- Another option is a refurbished retina display Macbook Pro from late-2013 (2.6 GHz dual-core intel i5, 512 GB, 8G ram). I'm guessing that this will be up to the job, but I'm wondering if it's overkill and if I'm paying for more than I need in terms of a heavier laptop and worse battery life. Any thoughts?
- OR, is the best route definitely to just go with a Windows laptop of some sort? Is either Windows or OSX generally more useful for working with audio software and developing audio plug-ins, etc.?
- Does running Windows on a Mac using Bootcamp or some other virtual machine software adequately allow for development in Windows, or does this often lead to various headaches?
Thanks a bunch!
Michael
laptop recommendation for audio dsp development
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- KVRist
- 439 posts since 7 Mar, 2011 from Pleasanton, CA
My brief thoughts: any quad-core i7 Mac and 16 GB RAM is a good starting point.
Seasoned IT vet, Mac user, and lover of music. Always learning.
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- KVRer
- Topic Starter
- 3 posts since 26 Feb, 2014
Hi Wesleyt. Thanks a lot for the comment. I agree that that's probably a lot more ideal than what I'm thinking of, but to get that I'd have to get a 15-inch Macbook Pro so I'd be looking at a much heavier and expensive setup, more than I think I'm willing to take on at this point. The 2 options I explicitly mentioned are laptops that I'm able to purchase within my budget and are reasonable portable, etc.
Still wondering if those two options I mentioned are up to the job of this kind of development...
Any thoughts, anyone?
Still wondering if those two options I mentioned are up to the job of this kind of development...
Any thoughts, anyone?
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- KVRist
- 159 posts since 24 Oct, 2006
You should buy a Mac, because then you can test your plugins on both Windows (Bootcamp or VM) and OSX (native).
I've only done some basic DSP myself, but pretty much any current generation Mac should be more than sufficient. Even if your code was poorly optimised during development, it's not like one instance will exhaust your entire computer. Also keep in mind DSP is very algorithm heavy and most of your testing will be in the form of unit tests, not manual tests by running the actual software. Performance is somewhat irrelevant in that context, because it doesn't need to be realtime.
I've only done some basic DSP myself, but pretty much any current generation Mac should be more than sufficient. Even if your code was poorly optimised during development, it's not like one instance will exhaust your entire computer. Also keep in mind DSP is very algorithm heavy and most of your testing will be in the form of unit tests, not manual tests by running the actual software. Performance is somewhat irrelevant in that context, because it doesn't need to be realtime.