New Mac - M1 vs Mac Pro 2019
 

I’ve seen a few MP 2019 refurbished or second hand, and that seems to be a safe route to take during the transition to full Apple Silicon compatibility for Pro Tools with Avid hardware (S3, Dock etc) and third party software.
I’m basically looking for the pros and cons for a MP 2019 vs a M1 iMac or Macbook Pro with an expansion chassis for HDX cards and SSDs/HDDs.
(Or maybe even a trashcan with a chassis)
Besides the release date for an M1 Mac Pro - what are the main issues that need to be resolved for full compatibility between the Apple Silicon Macs and PT/plugins/etc?
Any thoughts appreciated.

Re: New Mac - M1 vs Mac Pro 2019
 

Even macOS Monterey is not yet fully Apple Silicon, part of the process run on Rosetta. That is strike #1. Then comes PT software, which is not even supported on Monterey, let alone being Apple Silicon native build. That is strike #3. Count in iLok licensing software that runs on Rosetta, and plugins that are not yet updated. That is strike #3, yer out!

Mind you, I am testing this crapware on fully loaded M1 mac mini and know something about this environment. I had better success on Big Sur, but as only M1 compatible with BS is this M1 model, most Apple Silicon users are using Monterey, which has so severe memory leaks it reminds me of the Windows days when daily reboot was absolutely necessary.

Re: New Mac - M1 vs Mac Pro 2019
 

There's about 10 threads already on this subject, but as I have a Mac Pro 7.1 16-core and a 16" MBP M1 Max, I'll write it again.

The CPU processing power of the two platforms is about the same. I'd say the 16-core Xeon just edges it, but who knows how good (or bad) a native version of PT might be. The Xeon feels more solid, but again, that may have more to do with Monterey than the processor or machine.

PT doesn't run well on Monterey (which is compulsory for the M1 Max).
PT runs just fine on a Mac Pro 7.1 with Catalina 10.15.7

Lots of things are flaky on the M1 Max.
Most stuff works well on the Mac Pro 7.1

If you want to carry something around easily, you need a laptop. If you don't, sticking with the Mac Pro 7.1 is a good idea.

If you use Logic and only native plugs, you can probably get away with an M1 Max. If you want to use PT, or you have any non-Apple Silicon native plugs, you are going to have to wait. It might be a month, it's probably nearer a year.
Under Monterey - Eucon doesn't work, Avid complete bundle doesn't work, looks like Kontakt doesn't work. iLok needs to be native before PT can go native.

I paid £8000 for my Mac Pro a year ago. It's now worth about £4000, if I can sell it at all.

The Xeon uses no less than 90watts of power and hits 150-200w under load with no problem. The M1 Max (with internal screen closed and with a large external screen) uses 6 watts idle , 9 watts in normal use and 35-40w under heavy stress testing. So, running costs are way lower if you leave your machine on.

If I was making money making records, I'd stick to the 7.1
As a hobbyist, the laptop is far more convenient.

Dominic

Re: New Mac - M1 vs Mac Pro 2019
 

Thank you, Janne and Dominic - lots of great info/advice!

Being on a MacPro5,1 macOS 10.13.6, I guess a MP 2019 would be a big step up and serve me well for a few years.
Still a bit tempted getting a new generation machine, but I guess there’s no reliable info on configurations for PCIe and other expansion slots etc for the coming Mac Pro?

Also, do you have any experience with the newer generations of expansion chassis (TB)?
I’ve heard quite a few horror stories regarding reliability for earlier models/versions/systems.

Håkan

Re: New Mac - M1 vs Mac Pro 2019
 

I can only add to that one thing. Once the of previous transition from PPC to Intel was out, I bought last generation G5 PowerMac, that was 2005 with 10.4 Tiger. That was one of the best decisions I have ever made, the box got me through the transition, until Apple dropped PPC code altogether in 10.6 Snow Leopard in 2009 -- MP 4,1 was already in good shape, the quirks of early models were ironed and software combination of OSX 10.6.8 & PT 8.1.1 is still at least one of the most stable ones, if not the most stable.

Re: New Mac - M1 vs Mac Pro 2019
 

I’d try to get another year or two out of that 5,1. In fact that’s exactly what I’m doing. You can play it really safe and just get a new GPU and run Mojave and pt2021.10 fully supported.

I’m a bit more out on the edge and running Big Sur through Open Core on my 5,1 with a Thunderbolt card. Pro Tools HDX and external UAD TB device running flawlessly.

Re: New Mac - M1 vs Mac Pro 2019
 

I'm on the fence about apple silicon. I'm expecting to sit on the fence a year or two. I tried a M1 mini early this summer w/Bigsur, fantastic machine, cool, silent and powerful. I returned it. Reasons (that I can remember right now); No running of intel code like Paralells, problems with bootable backups w/CCC, fewer ports, ram limitation, Bigsur did nothing for me. And my intel mini still works great.

Re: New Mac - M1 vs Mac Pro 2019
 

Parallels should run on M1 already, but what you said about bootable drives that is just the way it is from all perpetuity. You can only boot from internal security controlled storage, and if that storage fails you have a doorstep at your hands.

Re: New Mac - M1 vs Mac Pro 2019
 

Parallels does in fact run on M1 but can’t emulate any Intel OS. There is an insider’s version of Windows 11 for Arm available.

From Big Sur on, bootable external CCC clones just don’t show up in the Startup Disk pref. You can hold down the option key on startup (Intel) or the Power Key on M1 to choose that external and it will boot. You can then set that as the startup disk for future boots.

Re: New Mac - M1 vs Mac Pro 2019
 

That's good news. Mike at Bombich (CCC) was optimistic about this being fixed, but I haven't looked into it for a while.