Need to buy a new mac asap - should I risk an M1?

[Riquier]

Hey there folks,

I know a lot has been talked about regarding this topic but I found myself in the middle of a conundrum. My old iMac just died (GPU) and I don't think it'll be worth to repair it. That leaves me the option to either buy an intel-based mac (more expensive and soon to be outdated) or a new M1, even though PT isn't yet supported officially.
I work mostly (90%) in music. Is anyone ACTUALLY using an M1 as their main machine without any major hassles?

Cheers

R.

[Sardi]

The big question, what interface are you using? If drivers aren’t available, then no, it’s not going to work.

PT is unsupported but working. Plugins? Some yes, some no.

You could buy a cheap second hand machine to keep you running until everything is supported and then buy an M1 machine.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[JFreak]

Big question here would be: how long you are prepared to wait until your new system is operational? If you need to work on it next week, you better buy some old Intel hardware. Apple Silicon is not there yet

[Obsidian Dragon]

The amount of RAM is also an issue. The M1's currently only come with 8 or 16 GB of RAM and cannot be upgraded. If you are heavy into VI's then the current crop of M1 machines are probably not a viable option.

[Riquier]

Thanks for the input folks.
All valid points.

So the interface(s) are an Apollo 8XP and an Apollo Twin MK2. I'd buy the 16GB model and no, I'm not into a lot of VIs - I'm mostly mixing.

[Obsidian Dragon]

Originally Posted by Riquier

Thanks for the input folks.
All valid points.

So the interface(s) are an Apollo 8XP and an Apollo Twin MK2. I'd buy the 16GB model and no, I'm not into a lot of VIs - I'm mostly mixing.

If you have a decent monitor, keyboard, and mouse, the 16 GB M1 Mac Mini might be a the least expensive way to go. The 16 GB M1 MacBook Air and 16GB M1 MacBook Pro are more expensive but have a laptop form factor (including keyboard, trackpad, and monitor). Again, make sure the plugins you use are compatible with Big Sur and the M1 processor. I haven't kept up with the Universal Audio Apollo and UAD plugins for compatibility recently.

[Mark Ziebarth]

Originally Posted by Riquier

Thanks for the input folks.
All valid points.

So the interface(s) are an Apollo 8XP and an Apollo Twin MK2. I'd buy the 16GB model and no, I'm not into a lot of VIs - I'm mostly mixing.

AFAIK Universal Audio drivers for M1 are not ready yet.

Best

Mark

[gives]

Originally Posted by JFreak

Big question here would be: how long you are prepared to wait until your new system is operational? If you need to work on it next week, you better buy some old Intel hardware. Apple Silicon is not there yet

That's what I would do as JFreak mentions here. Maybe just grab an inexpensive trash can as I see more of them around. I am still running mine with Dolby Atmos and have no problems at all. Waiting to see what the year bring us with M1 compatibility and new Mac Pro design etc. A new M1 is just too risking with ProTools at this time if you business is dependent on it.

G

[Riquier]

Originally Posted by Sardi

The big question, what interface are you using? If drivers aren’t available, then no, it’s not going to work.

PT is unsupported but working. Plugins? Some yes, some no.

You could buy a cheap second hand machine to keep you running until everything is supported and then buy an M1 machine.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

The 'cheap' option here would be fixing my iMac's GPU and carry on for a few more months or however long it's going to take until the M1s are 100% compatible with PT and the majority of plugins.

[musicman691]

Originally Posted by Riquier

The 'cheap' option here would be fixing my iMac's GPU and carry on for a few more months or however long it's going to take until the M1s are 100% compatible with PT and the majority of plugins.

What exact iMac do you have? I ask because I went down the road of trying to fix/replace the GPU in my old 2010 27 inch iMac that's in my profile. Spent quite a bit of time trying and eventually gave up. Took it to a shop and they tried reflowing the solder on the GPU chip - didn't work. They then replaced the card with a supposed new one and that only lasted about a week. Eventually pulled the plug and have the machine stowed away.


There's heat issues with those old iMacs so any fix won't last long.