What Apple and surely Apple?

[Popmeise]

Hi,

I have a big, big problem. Please be so kind and try to be empathatic for my emotional problem:

I have got a very good laptop HP Zbook 15 g2, a workstation, from PT supported windows computer. But I don't like windows 10. I like the design of Apple, but I don't have an Apple PC or some other Apple products.

I have finished my little homestudio with an nice Steinberg Interface, good active-boxes and a very good guitar from gibson.

Shall I now finish my homestudio with a delightful apple product? It is a very expensive luxury for me, but I think it could be worth it. I think about an iMac or MacPro, but iMac is more cheap for me. First I thougt about Mac Pro, but it costs 3400 € and then I need a screen. And in other forums I have read, that iMacs are going to be worse after 7 years and Mac Pro too. So I think, iMac is better.

Do you think I can make music with PT the next 7 years with an acutally new iMac with 32 GB?

(What about mac mini? Isn't it to small, to slow?)

Can you give me some little practise informations about your PT 12.8 with the Apple?

Thank you
Michael

[Mark Ziebarth]

Hi Michael,
it depends on what you want to do with Pro Tools to give a reasonable advice on which Apple PC maybe the right one for you. If you buy an iMac with 32 GB of RAM and stay with Pro Tools 12.8 you will be save for a lot of years to come. If you upgrade on newer versions of Pro Tools no one can tell how much more performance is needed.
My main system is a very old PT|HD3 with Pro Tools 10.3.8 on Mac OS 10.6.8 on a Mac Pro Harpertown (made 2008). It works for all of my applications and is still competitive even though the system is eight to nine years old. If software and hardware stay in the same generation they will work until the first components stop working...
Do you work with video? If yes, the system requirements are higher and I can give you more detailed information if you want it.
All in all here is my advice: Think positive and be sure a contemporary Mac works seamlessly with Pro Tools. I use it for more than 22 years now...

Best

Mark

[PMF Media]

My studios have BOTH iMacs(2 x i5 32gb ram) and Mac Pro (nMP late 2013 quad Xeon 32gb ram) the iMacs work pretty much only with audio and occasionally with small video projects, I'm running Sierra and PT12.8 and they hardly ever miss a beat. The nMP does mainly VI and audio, it was at the time the entry level quad core machine with the most basic specs, the only thing I've upgraded is the ram, this machine runs PT 12.8 and Logic Pro and just works flawlessly!

So, in my experience, Bothe setups work a treat provided you set the machine up correctly in the first place and - certainly in the iMac - ensure the hardware configuration is right. The iMacs only have the i5, I was more than a bit sceptical that these would provide enough cpu to do the job but, I've been VERY pleasantly surprised, as I said, hardly miss a beat. That said, if I were to buy today, I'd definitely go for an i7 processor, for the extra $'s much more powerful cpu, also the iMac only offers a Fusion Drive in the standard configuration, make sure to opt for the SSD as FD's can be a nightmare with PT, unfortunately it's best to get this installed and pre configured by Apple (expensive ) because it's not an easy upgrade down the track, ram IS an easy upgrade so skip buying from Apple and go to OWC.

Hope this helps.

[PMF Media]

Also, keep in mind that the new iMac Pro is due in December, on paper it looks FANTASTIC but it's bound to be painfully expensive

[Popmeise]

Oh, okay,

those were really many good informations and impressions. The decision to switch to Apple grows more and more. But it's not easy, cause instead of buying a PC for 1000 - 1500 € (and a additional screen!!) I'm going to buy an iMac for 3000 € ( i7, 8GB, SSD 256) and on OWC 64GB RAM, but I think, it will all in one be: 3500-4000 €.

Perhaps I will work with video (gopro), but until now I not even had the time to work a lot with PT12.8. I hope this will change with Apple, cause that's one reason to switch: Excellence. It's like a good tool: You enjoy and make often good work. Yes, I am planning to make videos, but only video-clips (3-7 min).

What do the abbreviation VI mean? Does OWC mean the "mac upgrades" side I found, when I googled? Are 256 SSD enough? I will use extern hard drives to save the dates.

Can you recommend me, what I comfortely should take for PT12.8, when I buy an Apple: i.e. Mac OS 10, Macig Mouse, Magic Trackpad, garage-band...

[chrismeraz]

If you don't like Windows 10 and you don't like the price of Apple, you have two choices:

Go back to Win7
Get used to Win10

All of these options are good. I'm using PT12.8 and Win7 on a PC that I built 8 years ago for €500. RAM, CPU, and Disk usage never exceed 25% even at 96kHz (most of my sessions have about 20 tracks).

Pick an option that's within your budget and move forward. In my opinion, it's a mistake to spend good microphone money on a computer!

[Mark Ziebarth]

Well, I guess you don’t need a brand new Mac. A used iMac with 16 GB of RAM is enough for many applications. The best extra you should buy in my opinion is a Pro Tools keyboard with colored and named commands on the keys. I bought a used iMac from 2011 in 2014 for 500 Euros and this computer still works well. I guess you don’t need to spend more than 1.000 Euros to buy your first Mac.

Best

Mark

[Popmeise]

Hi Mark, that's an important and new information. Tomorrow I'm going to visit an apple store. I will do so, but if I get an iMac for 500 € (or 800 €) it's an interesting point.

Where did you buy it? Ebay? Or an official Apple-Reseller?

[PMF Media]

2nd hand iMacs are certainly an option, it's a bit of a "double edged sword" in that Apple products hold their value pretty well, which is great if your selling and not so great if you're buying obviously with a 2nd hand used machine, you never know exactly what sort of life span you'll get and the one issue I've always had with both the iMacs and the Mac Mini's (although it's never been a issue for me personally) is heat, both machines CAN get pretty warm which will definitely impact life expectancy. Also, be very mindful of buying a used Mac Mini, only some of the older configurations are truly suited to PT use so do your research! The Apple Store won't be of much use to you in regard to used machines although they do offer re-furbished Macs on their website so worth a look.

VI stands for "Virtual Instrument" (think syncs, keyboards, drum machines etc) that work as plug ins within PT rather than existing as external hardware units and yes, OWC (Other World Computers) and Macsales.com are one and the same.

I've never used PT on Windoze so I'm biased toward Mac which I've been using since 1997, I ALWAYS buy my machines new usually every 5 -7 years and can honestly say I've NEVER had one fail.

When you go Mac, you also have the option of using Logic Pro (if you're a musician) and Final Cut Pro if you do video editing, neither of which is available in the PC world.

Hope this helps.

[Mark Ziebarth]

Hi Michael,
PMF Media is right, second hand Macs can be a risk. But they haven't been in my long time experience. It depends on your budget...
I bought my iMac from a friend and I guess it was a very fair offer. I just wanted to give you an idea of how much less you have to spend if you want to...
I guess for your first Mac experience you don't have to spend too much money... Just give it a trial...

LG

Mark