New Mac - M1 vs Mac Pro 2019

[JFreak]

Do not get confused here. The thing since Big Sur has been your internal storage has been split into two parts (disregarding the recovery partition here for simplicity).

The system part is read only, and when you do OS update the process updates the read only system part of your container. And then there is the data container, which as the name implies holds your read and write data.

In case the so called corruption means your read only system partition is non-bootable you may be able to recover the system without internet connection, but for a "wipe everything clean and start over install" you obviously need internet connection.

[Ben Jenssen]

Originally Posted by JFreak

Provided the internal storage AND internet connection works, then yes. The recovery partition is in nerd terms "just an EFI that gets the thing booted into recovery mode" and after that you need a way to reinstall, and with the current computers it means internet connection.

I really think you can restore from recovery partition without internet. I never did it myself, but a little googling reassures me.

[Ben Jenssen]

Originally Posted by JFreak

Do not get confused here. The thing since Big Sur has been your internal storage has been split into two parts (disregarding the recovery partition here for simplicity).

The system part is read only, and when you do OS update the process updates the read only system part of your container. And then there is the data container, which as the name implies holds your read and write data.

In case the so called corruption means your read only system partition is non-bootable you may be able to recover the system without internet connection, but for a "wipe everything clean and start over install" you obviously need internet connection.

I know about data and system volumes, on catalina, I already mentioned that.
The size of my system volume is about the same as the invisible recovery partition, so it's likely to contain files for a complete system volume restore, although os version being the original.

[JFreak]

Do some searching about "container" and "volume".

In short...

If your "container", say 2TB, looks like it has everything, it has those two mentioned "volumes" (and the recovery partition which I always omit for the sake of keeping it simpler). And if your data corruption is in the read only system "volume", you either have luck restoring it or not, depending where the corruption happened. You do not have complete system image on the restore partition, and whenever you need it you need internet connection.

[Ben Jenssen]

Let's stop.
We've derailed the thread.

[JFreak]

Originally Posted by Ben Jenssen

Let's stop.
We've derailed the thread.

Well done. Ttis is still good solid info for someone interested. I have only done one clean install of M1 computer, but needed internet for it. Skål and then sleep


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[Ben Jenssen]

Skål for Kongen.

[stargazer]

I’ve started looking for a 2019 MP.
Found one with a AMD Radeon Pro Vega II 32 GB graphics card.
I guess it’s overkill for me, syncing the occasional lo-res video.
Do you think I (or my CPU) would benefit from the extra power/features in some other way?

[dominicperry]

Originally Posted by stargazer

I’ve started looking for a 2019 MP.
Found one with a AMD Radeon Pro Vega II 32 GB graphics card.
I guess it’s overkill for me, syncing the occasional lo-res video.
Do you think I (or my CPU) would benefit from the extra power/features in some other way?

The Pro Vega II is overkill but it does have a lot of TB ports - four.
The only downsides are (1) it takes up 4 slots so if you have a lot of cards (UAD, HDX) you've limited how much space you have left and (2) it will burn more power even at idle than a smaller card.

Most machines came with an Apple 580X MPX which is 1 slot and more than adequate for 3 big screens for audio applications. It has 2 TB ports. Many of these were sold off on ebay for $200-$300.
The Apple 5700X MPX is probably the sweet spot for price vs performance - 4 slots, 4 TB ports, lowish power drain. But $1000 new from Apple.
Selling the Pro Vega II will probably get you $1000-$1200 so you haven't gained much by replacing it with a 5700X.

If the machine has the right CPU for you (12-16 cores is the sweet spot really unless you are doing mental orchestral stuff) and the right amount of RAM and SSD, and is the right price, then the Pro Vega II is neither here nor there. You can swap it for a 580X at some future point and sell off the Pro Vega II if you need the cash.

[stargazer]

Originally Posted by dominicperry

The Pro Vega II is overkill but it does have a lot of TB ports - four.
The only downsides are (1) it takes up 4 slots so if you have a lot of cards (UAD, HDX) you've limited how much space you have left and (2) it will burn more power even at idle than a smaller card.

Most machines came with an Apple 580X MPX which is 1 slot and more than adequate for 3 big screens for audio applications. It has 2 TB ports. Many of these were sold off on ebay for $200-$300.
The Apple 5700X MPX is probably the sweet spot for price vs performance - 4 slots, 4 TB ports, lowish power drain. But $1000 new from Apple.
Selling the Pro Vega II will probably get you $1000-$1200 so you haven't gained much by replacing it with a 5700X.

If the machine has the right CPU for you (12-16 cores is the sweet spot really unless you are doing mental orchestral stuff) and the right amount of RAM and SSD, and is the right price, then the Pro Vega II is neither here nor there. You can swap it for a 580X at some future point and sell off the Pro Vega II if you need the cash.

Thanks a lot, that’s very good to know!
Actually, I’m doing orchestral work, but also use a slave Windows machine, so hopefully 16 cores will be more than enough.