question about 8th gen intel i3

[GeorgieC]

Hello,

I am looking into buying an iMac for use for Pro Tools Standard 2019

On the Avid system requirements page it says reads that an intel core i5 processor is needed.

The iMac I am looking at has an 8th gen i3. Is that suitable? From what i understand the iMac with the 8th gen i3 is better than the one with the 7th gen i5?

Many thanks
G

Mac 21 inch (2012) 2.7 GHz Intel Core i5 12 GB 1333 MHz DDR3
Mac OS High Sierra (10.13.6)
MBOX mini
PRO TOOLS 2018

[Darryl Ramm]

Originally Posted by GeorgieC

Hello,

I am looking into buying an iMac for use for Pro Tools Standard 2019

On the Avid system requirements page it says reads that an intel core i5 processor is needed.

The iMac I am looking at has an 8th gen i3. Is that suitable? From what i understand the iMac with the 8th gen i3 is better than the one with the 7th gen i5?

Many thanks
G

Mac 21 inch (2012) 2.7 GHz Intel Core i5 12 GB 1333 MHz DDR3
Mac OS High Sierra (10.13.6)
MBOX mini
PRO TOOLS 2018

Can you just paste all the specs of the system you are looking at? CPU is not the only thing to worry about. You can run Pro Tools on a wet noodle...ut it won’t do much... so you have to give us some idea what you are doing, session size, how many tracks, sample rates, what plugins, especially VIs and how many plugin instances. You committing/freezing lots of tracks to offload the CPU? Trying to run lots of stuff with small IO buffer while tracking?

Why are you upgrading... what problems are you trying to solve?

[albee1952]

Just an opinion....any way you slice it, the i3 is a "budget" cpu, and you want "power" for an audio recording setup. Certain things just should not be skimped on(like cpu, RAM, cooling, hard drive space/speed) Look at it another way. Buy a "budget" computer for $1K and out-grow it in 3 years. It cost you $333.33 for each year and now you need to buy again. Buy a "power" computer for $2K and its still meeting your needs in 6 years. Your annual payout is the same at year 6, but each following year, the annual cost goes down

[GeorgieC]

Hi Dave, apologies for my really late reply. Thanks so much for the message, George.

[GeorgieC]

Originally Posted by Darryl Ramm

Can you just paste all the specs of the system you are looking at? CPU is not the only thing to worry about. You can run Pro Tools on a wet noodle...ut it won’t do much... so you have to give us some idea what you are doing, session size, how many tracks, sample rates, what plugins, especially VIs and how many plugin instances. You committing/freezing lots of tracks to offload the CPU? Trying to run lots of stuff with small IO buffer while tracking?

Why are you upgrading... what problems are you trying to solve?

Hi Darryl, thanks for your message and apologies for my late reply.

Session size : 10- 15 tracks, roughly on average 10 plug ins. sample rate 24bit
2-3 VI's. No committing or freezing of tracks. i use a bigger IO Buffer when tracking with lots happening.

Looking at either Mac Book Pro
2.4GHz quad-core 8th-generation Intel Core i5 processor
Turbo Boost up to 4.1GHz
Intel Iris Plus Graphics 655
8GB 2133MHz LPDDR3 memory
256GB SSD storage¹
Retina display with True Tone
Touch Bar and Touch ID
Four Thunderbolt 3 ports

or iMac
2.3GHz dual-core 7th-generation Intel Core i5 processor
Turbo Boost up to 3.6GHz
8GB 2133MHz memory, configurable to 16GB
1TB hard drive¹
Intel Iris Plus Graphics 640
Two Thunderbolt 3 ports
1920x1080 sRGB display

Thanks for your time
George

[albee1952]

I wouldn't touch any computer without at least an i7 and 16GB of RAM On any Mac, make sure you are not getting a "Fusion" drive(unless they have improved them) If you are going to only run with a single drive, get an SSD(Solid State Drive) or performance will suffer. Buying refurbs from the Apple store is a great way to get more for your money.

[GeorgieC]

Hi Dave,

Awesome, thanks so much for all the info! Much appreciated - have a great day man.
G