Anyone Using iMac?

[Bryancole412]

Hello everyone!

It's time to upgrade to PT12 and unfortunately a new(er) Mac. I've always used towers, however after reading the system requirements for PT12, I see the i5 and i7 processors are recommended. I found a few iMacs at macofalltrades.com, that are in my price range, but before I make the jump, I wanted to see what others have experienced. Does the iMac run as well, or am I best to use a tower?

Thanks in advance for any guidance you can give me!

[Southsidemusic]

i5 Mac is not the recommendation here but i7 is so skip i5 and go for a i7 100%

And make really sure you don't get a fusion drive if you get a iMac i7 machine. The fusion drives are not working well with audio and especially PT12. So if you are going for a used iMac get i7 and either a 7200rpm drive or better yet a SSD drive.

[Bryancole412]

Thanks so much! I've never owned a iMac before, but I'll check on the i7 for sure!

[Bryancole412]

Here are two machines I've been considering.... Any thoughts?

https://www.macofalltrades.com/Produ...27%2D34%2DM11A

https://www.macofalltrades.com/iMac-...5-l13-1tbf.htm

The second one has a fusion drive installed. However, does that matter if I'm using an external firewire drive for audio?

[TrentWilliams]

I have a fusion drive in mine, except I run all my session off of an external drive.

At the minute with my current configuration it has never been more stable.

[Southsidemusic]

Originally Posted by Bryancole412

Here are two machines I've been considering.... Any thoughts?

https://www.macofalltrades.com/Produ...27%2D34%2DM11A

https://www.macofalltrades.com/iMac-...5-l13-1tbf.htm

The second one has a fusion drive installed. However, does that matter if I'm using an external firewire drive for audio?

I would stay away far far away from Fusion drives as this forum is full of problems related to fusion drives so even if one or two people have not got issues yet I wouldn't bet on it. And yes It will matter even if you use an external drive for recording.

What drive are you thinking of to run recording sessions off of? Model and make very important.

Between those two macs i would get the first one all day.

[PMF Media]

Please, please, please don't go for a Fusion Drive, you're opening the door on a world of potential hurts and constant problems! There are heaps of post regarding the pit falls on an FD in both Mac Minis and iMacs. I have 2 iMacs and both came with FD's and were the fist things I swapped out for Samsung SSD's, the 2nd thing I did was to bump up the ram to 32gb, both machines run 12.7.1 just fine with hardly any crashes, I also have a 4 crore nMac Pro - now THIS is my most reliable machine, if the budget stretches, I'd grab one.

NO FUSION DRIVE!

[TrentWilliams]

Originally Posted by PMF Media

Please, please, please don't go for a Fusion Drive, you're opening the door on a world of potential hurts and constant problems! There are heaps of post regarding the pit falls on an FD in both Mac Minis and iMacs. I have 2 iMacs and both came with FD's and were the fist things I swapped out for Samsung SSD's, the 2nd thing I did was to bump up the ram to 32gb, both machines run 12.7.1 just fine with hardly any crashes, I also have a 4 crore nMac Pro - now THIS is my most reliable machine, if the budget stretches, I'd grab one.

NO FUSION DRIVE!

I guess i've just never run into any problems in the four years i've had my iMac with a fusion drive. All my issues seem to stem from my own ignorance i.e. not knowing how to use/set up something correctly, or having out of date plugins. In my experience i've never had any issues with fusion drives.

[PMF Media]

Originally Posted by Trent W.

I guess i've just never run into any problems in the four years i've had my iMac with a fusion drive. All my issues seem to stem from my own ignorance i.e. not knowing how to use/set up something correctly, or having out of date plugins. In my experience i've never had any issues with fusion drives.

You're a lucky man

[SigFriedChicken]

I'm running PT 12.7.1 on an 2015 iMac, with both an i5 CPU and a fusion drive. Apparently, I should be in a world of pain, but it seems to be working. 24 GB of RAM helps. Granted, I'm mostly a hobbyist, doing small potatoes stuff, but I've been able to record two simultaneous tracks at 24/96, without having to freeze any of the other tracks, which is all I really need.

I should note that I briefly had to remove 16GB, due to a failing memory stick, leaving me at 8GB for a few days. This made a noticeable difference. PT was barely useable at 8GB on this system. In my experience, adding more memory makes a larger difference in performance than spending a similar amount on a better CPU.

That being said, I kinda wish I had sprung for an i7. They really are better for CPU-heavy applications.