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  #1  
Old 06-10-2018, 08:15 AM
Flickerman Flickerman is offline
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Default iMac Questions

New to the forums, though an "avid" reader. (Cue groans.) I'm getting back in the game and will be getting new HW/SW. Audio only, no video. Unlikely to exceed 8-16 tracks on most sessions. Thanks in advance for guidance/patience as I work through choices. First set of questions:

1. I will likely go with a new iMac. My space will be very small and thus I will be sitting quite close to the screen. Will a 21.5" version (rather than 27") be adequate? I'm hoping so, because it will allow me to put my $$ to other key features like i7, internal SSD and more RAM.

2. I plan to run PT2018 on the internal SSD and have the session/audio files on an external SSD. Can I get away with 512 GB on the internal SSD and even 256 GB if I'm not using the iMac for any other functions other than running PT?

Thanks everyone!
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Old 06-10-2018, 09:31 AM
grayter1 grayter1 is offline
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Default Re: iMac Questions

Quote:
Originally Posted by Flickerman View Post
New to the forums, though an "avid" reader. (Cue groans.) I'm getting back in the game and will be getting new HW/SW. Audio only, no video. Unlikely to exceed 8-16 tracks on most sessions. Thanks in advance for guidance/patience as I work through choices. First set of questions:

1. I will likely go with a new iMac. My space will be very small and thus I will be sitting quite close to the screen. Will a 21.5" version (rather than 27") be adequate? I'm hoping so, because it will allow me to put my $$ to other key features like i7, internal SSD and more RAM.

2. I plan to run PT2018 on the internal SSD and have the session/audio files on an external SSD. Can I get away with 512 GB on the internal SSD and even 256 GB if I'm not using the iMac for any other functions other than running PT?
I would think the 21.5" and an external SSD should be fine, given your session sizes. I'd always er on getting on getting as much memory and the biggest SSD you can afford (you'll thank yourself later). This is even more important if you're using (or plan to use) VI's.

tg
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Old 06-10-2018, 09:35 AM
Flickerman Flickerman is offline
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Default Re: iMac Questions

Thank you, grayter1. Wise advice. I would be interested in knowing if some view 256 GB on the internal SSD as too much of a skimp? I'm also vacillating between 16 vs. 32 MB RAM....
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Old 06-10-2018, 11:34 AM
Flickerman Flickerman is offline
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Default Re: iMac Questions

Thank you, grayter1. That's very helpful. My plan is to go at least 16 MB of RAM, but perhaps 32 MB is a smarter play. I will go as big as practical on the external SSD. I probably will use VI's. Given that, should I also go at least 512 GB on the internal SSD (i.e., forget about 256 GB)?
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Old 06-10-2018, 11:37 AM
Flickerman Flickerman is offline
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Default Re: iMac Questions

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Originally Posted by Flickerman View Post
My plan is to go at least 16 MB of RAM, but perhaps 32 MB is a smarter play.
Oops. I mean "16 GB of RAM, and 32 GB ..." Doh!
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Old 06-10-2018, 05:02 PM
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SigFriedChicken SigFriedChicken is offline
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Default Re: iMac Questions

Much depends on the plugins, to be honest. If you're going to be using the latest fancy hardware modeling plugins, you may have to freeze tracks quite often. If you'll be sticking mostly with stock plugins or relatively low-CPU stuff, you should be fine.

I have a 2015 iMac retina (i5) and was constantly running into CPU overloads when using stuff like Abbey Road Plates and various all-in-wonder signature series stuff from Waves, unless I boosted the buffers to 2048. More recently, I've been using mostly simple, older stuff like the old Waves Ren series. The difference has been tremendous. I now rarely run into CPU overloads unless I'm doing something sketchy.
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Old 06-10-2018, 07:58 PM
wwittman wwittman is offline
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Default Re: iMac Questions

I would definitely go for the 500g internal.

that space goes fast
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Old 06-10-2018, 08:20 PM
Flickerman Flickerman is offline
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Default Re: iMac Questions

Thank you for the guidance.
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Old 06-11-2018, 06:58 AM
skizzo skizzo is offline
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Default Re: iMac Questions

If you are using the SSD as just a drive to boot the OS and have your applications on it, and if the apps are only going to be Pro Tools & Audio related then 250GB is going to be plenty. You will only have about 30GB of space utilized after installing the OS and Pro Tools. This recommendation assumes you will use separate SSD's or HDD's for other requirements such as your sessions and audio files, samples for VI's, and backups.
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Old 06-11-2018, 08:54 AM
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EGS EGS is offline
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Default Re: iMac Questions

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Originally Posted by skizzo View Post
If you are using the SSD as just a drive to boot the OS and have your applications on it, and if the apps are only going to be Pro Tools & Audio related then 250GB is going to be plenty. You will only have about 30GB of space utilized after installing the OS and Pro Tools. This recommendation assumes you will use separate SSD's or HDD's for other requirements such as your sessions and audio files, samples for VI's, and backups.
+1.
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