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Recommended iMac Specs for Pro Tools 2021.3 (Pro Tools STANDARD) BigSur Compatibility
Hello, all!
Just wanted to ask, for clarification, about the Avid "System Requirements and Compatibility for Pro Tools", particularly the "Supported Apple Computers" section. Apologies if I seem dense about stuff like this, but I'm about to purchase a new iMac (since Pro Tools is already BigSur-compatible) and would just like to really be sure before doing so. I just upgraded my Pro Tools STANDARD and would like to start my transition to PT 2021.3 and BigSur on a new iMac. My question is this: Are these requirements supposed to be strictly adhered to, to the tee, or are these just the recommended specs for the most optimized performance? I ask, because of the "Minimum System Requirements" section which mentions the bare minimum, like Intel Mac, OS versions, i5 processor, 16GB RAM(like Intel® Mac with macOS 10.14.6, 10.15.7, 11.2.3, among others, but which also states, "please find version specific qualifications in the macOS Compatibility Grid below" where the only stated iMac 2020,x specs stated is "2020 Retina 5K 27" iMac20,2 10-Core i9 'Comet Lake' 3.6 GHz w/Radeon Pro 5700 X". I'm honestly a little confused as to what the real minimum requirements are, my apologies. Just in case, can I ask if any of these iMac specs would work with the current Pro Tools 2021.3 (Pro Tools STANDARD)? OPTION 1: (21.5-inch) 3.2GHz Turbo Boost up to 4.6GHz Retina 4K 6-core 8th-generation Intel Core i7 processor 16GB (or Upgrade to 32GB) DDR4 memory Radeon Pro 555X with 2GB of GDDR5 memory 256GB SSD storage OPTION 2: (27-inch) 3.1GHz Turbo Boost up to 4.5GHz Retina 5K Display 3.1GHz 6-core 10th-generation Intel Core i5 processor 8GB (Upgrade to 16 or 32GB) 2666MHz DDR4 memory 256GB (Upgrade to 1TB) SSD storage Radeon Pro 5300 with 4GB of GDDR6 memory Two Thunderbolt 3 ports Retina 5K 5120-by-2880 P3 display with True Tone (optional nano-texture glass available) OPTION 3: (27-inch) 3.3GHz Turbo Boost up to 4.8GHz Retina 5K Display 6-core 10th-generation Intel Core i5 processor 8GB (Upgrade to 16 or 32GB) 2666MHz DDR4 memory 512GB SSD (Upgrade to 1TB) storage Radeon Pro 5300 with 4GB of GDDR6 memory Two Thunderbolt 3 ports Retina 5K 5120-by-2880 P3 display with True Tone (optional nano-texture glass available) OPTION 4: (27-inch) 3.8GHz Retina 5K Display 8-core 10th-generation Intel Core i7 processor Turbo Boost up to 5.0GHz 8GB (Upgrade to 16 or 32GB) 2666MHz DDR4 memory 512GB (Upgrade to 1TB) SSD storage Radeon Pro 5500 XT with 8GB of GDDR6 memory Two Thunderbolt 3 ports Retina 5K 5120-by-2880 P3 display with True Tone (optional nano-texture glass available) Apologies for my lengthy post. Any help/advice would be very much appreciated. Thank you! Last edited by Spoil the Child; 03-28-2021 at 07:00 AM. Reason: I failed to mention which Pro Tools system I use and other options. |
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Re: Recommended iMac Specs for Pro Tools 2021.3 (Pro Tools STANDARD) BigSur Compatibi
Good advice from Darryl One more opinion; I would skip the 21.5" as the larger screen is going to make life much easier. I think any of the 27" models you listed would do a fine job, but you DO want to go with 16GB of RAM at the minimum, and I would double that to 32GB if you plan on using many VI's(Virtual Instruments). Avoid Fusion drives(I think all you listed are good on that detail).
Re the i5 vs i7 debate, in the past I have always been a proponent of the i7. However, with so many folks getting better stability with Hyperthreading disabled, the i5 may make more sense(though this seems to depend on a great many small details) Re Darryl's advice on drives, I agree and recommend at least 2 external drives(or maybe 1 really big one that's partitioned in half). 1 would be for backups of all sessions, and the other would be for backups of your system drive(drive images), and I would also designate a folder to store everything you download(PT installers, plugin installers, etc) This might be overkill to many, but I have never regretted saving installers My preferred use of backup drives is to keep them turned OFF most of the time(turn them ON, copy/backup, then eject and turn them OFF).
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HP Z4 workstation, Mbox Studio https://www.facebook.com/search/top/...0sound%20works The better I drink, the more I mix BTW, my name is Dave, but most people call me.........................Dave |
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Re: Recommended iMac Specs for Pro Tools 2021.3 (Pro Tools STANDARD) BigSur Compatibi
This is pretty much all you need to know. You know your budget. Buy as much internal storage and memory as you can, but otherwise any Mac should serve you well.
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Janne What we do in life, echoes in eternity. |
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Re: Recommended iMac Specs for Pro Tools 2021.3 (Pro Tools STANDARD) BigSur Compatibi
I certainly wouldn’t be buying an Intel Mac at this point, even if it meant waiting a while for full Pro Tools M1 compatibility.
There are rumoured to be M1 iMacs released next month that are potentially 50% faster than a similarly priced Intel equivalent. 32” iMacs are also a possibility.
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Dave Marsden UK |
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Re: Recommended iMac Specs for Pro Tools 2021.3 (Pro Tools STANDARD) BigSur Compatibi
I would, but then again I am a dinosaur. Bought a last generation PPC G5 Quad PowerMac when the earlier transition was going on and could not have been happier about that decision. That machine was good until 2009 when "Nehalem" Mac Pro models were released. Those (4,1) and the following 5,1 were the good ones.
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Janne What we do in life, echoes in eternity. |
#6
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Re: Recommended iMac Specs for Pro Tools 2021.3 (Pro Tools STANDARD) BigSur Compatibi
I just bought a 27" in November. Got the fastest processor available and bumped up the graphics to the max. Ordered it with stock 8GB RAM as I could get 64GB from Other World Computing for $300 (Apple wants $1000), and as Darryl just said, the 27" RAM is accessible behind a door... takes minutes to install or upgrade.
Since there are four RAM slots, my thought was adding 64GB now for total of 72GB, then I can pull the 2x4GB a little later and add another 64GB. Honestly, this machine with 72GB in this configuration seems much snappier than one of the iMac Pros we have at the studio... and less than HALF the price! In my opinion, the cost difference to go BIG now is worth it.
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Eric Seaberg • San Diego, CA A.E.S., I.E.E.E., S.M.P.T.E., S.P.A.R.S. |
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Re: Recommended iMac Specs for Pro Tools 2021.3 (Pro Tools STANDARD) BigSur Compatibi
I'm not quite sure what planet I'm on, but if Darryl is there, I'm okay with it I will willingly bow to his comments on the nuts and bolts(I know he has put in the time to learn that stuff).
One more note on the backups, we(me, anyway) are always on about it because we know a few things; #1-never assume any drive(even brand new) will be great for any assumed amount of time. #2-In my 18 years of DAW use, I have had 2 brand new WD drives fail within weeks, a 6-month old SSD start deleting data by itself(it needed a firmware update) and a quality spinner lose data because my partner kept setting headphones down, directly on the drive(in a USB drive tray). Then there was 1 more drive that was plugged straight into a wall outlet when a power surge hit the house(the computer was on a surge suppressor and the drive SHOULD have been). #3-Anything you hate to lose needs to exist in at least 3 places, and 1 of the 3 should be NOT in the same building
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HP Z4 workstation, Mbox Studio https://www.facebook.com/search/top/...0sound%20works The better I drink, the more I mix BTW, my name is Dave, but most people call me.........................Dave |
#8
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Re: Recommended iMac Specs for Pro Tools 2021.3 (Pro Tools STANDARD) BigSur Compatibi
Quote:
Sorry about not having stated my current (and antiquated) work system. Just to give you an idea: For one, I don't do video, so that's a big load off. Since 2012, I've also (somehow) survived on an iMac mid-2011 with 256GB storage and 8GB RAM, Lion 10.7.3 (I know, really old), MBox2 (another oldie), Pro Tools 10.0 (Standard), and a lot of external SSDs for VIs and back-ups. Basically, believe it or not, I did start much lower than that (with the exception of a former 1TB storage though an HDD then went SSD but with only 256 when I had discovered, the late bloomer that I am, what SSDs were). So, unfortunately, none of these are BigSur and current Pro Tools-compatible. My modest upgrade plan will hopefully include the following (since I wouldn't require the high-end stuff, like PT Ultimate, iMac Pro, and the like as my gear consists of very basic items for my music arrangement and home demo recording needs): - Any of the Macs above, hopefully the cheapest which is in the Option 1 (21.5", Retina 4K range though, based on the replies here, it seems 27" is the way to go for flexibility) - My spare Behringer U-Phoria UMC204HD as my interface - My current Kawai ES110 keyboard as midi controller - My current external SSDs for VIs, recording, and back-ups (separate SSDs for each) Thanks for the tip on PCIe/NVMe based external Thunderbolt SSDs. I'll read up on that as I'm not tech-savvy. But it would be good to learn more. I checked a list of the status of compatibility of different VI, and it seems that almost half of what I use are not yet supported in BigSur. However, it's Kontakt and VSL I am actually primarily concerned with, but I did see they are now BigSur-compatible. Your reply made me aware of some things I had never heard of, so I am actually looking forward to learning more. So, thank you very much for such detailed and thorough information and advice, Darryl. Very much appreciated! |
#9
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Re: Recommended iMac Specs for Pro Tools 2021.3 (Pro Tools STANDARD) BigSur Compatibi
Quote:
Thank you, Albee1952, for your advice! I agree, avoiding 21.5" and fusion drives as well as getting more RAM sound wise. I'm not learned about processors, but I will look into the i5 vs i7 comparison, so thanks for that thought. I agree again, regarding external drives! Speaking fo overkill, I currently have 4-5, for my VIs, back-ups, and recording drives. But yes, overkill in this regard is better than being slowly tortured in regret. Thanks for the reminder! |
#10
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Re: Recommended iMac Specs for Pro Tools 2021.3 (Pro Tools STANDARD) BigSur Compatibi
Thank you, JFreak! It indeed is a good thing to remember!
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