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Need an expert opinion on potential new computer


ykaretheworld

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Hi my names YKARE and I've been making music (rap) for about 2 years now and mixing for 1 year. Currently I use a MacBook Air with 1.1 GHz Dual-Core Intel Core m3 and 8 GB 1867 MHz LPDDR3. At the beginning my mixes were simple, only being 3 tracks with maybe 5 plugins on it. Now I'm doing way more complex mixes with several tracks and way more plugins. I'm now running to many different problems with logic, latency issues, system crashing, constant popping and clicking sounds in my vocals, loss of certain takes in my project. Ive tried all the remedies that this forum has suggested and I think its time for a new computer. I have done some research and I think I'm going to buy an iMac with 3.8GHz 8-core 10th-generation Intel Core i7 processor, Turbo Boost up to 5.0GHz and 32GB 2666MHz DDR4 memory.

 

Provided link to computer: https://www.apple.com/shop/buy-mac/imac-imac/27-inch-3.8ghz-8-core-processor-with-turbo-boost-up-to-5.0ghz-512gb#

 

please click the link and decide what ad on I should purchase and want it unnecessary

 

Is this worth my money? I don't want to spend several thousand dollars to get something that won't keep up with me. With the link provided what are some of the ad ons that I should also purchase for this computer? Hopefully I get an expert response, what would you purchase to comfortably run logic with no issues at all. Should I get the 64gb of storage or is 32 fine? Should I get the better processor, the 3.6GHz 10-core 10th-generation Intel Core i9 processor for $400 more? I just need a second opinion before I buy and don't want to spend money on unnecessary upgrades.

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That iMac is a very good computer. The 8-core or 10-core are both great so get whichever you can afford. Personally, I’d go for the 10-core because it’s barely slower than the 8-core and you get two more cores. Concerning the memory, I believe that generation of iMacs has user upgradable memory and, if so, it would be fine getting the lowest amount from Apple and upgrading elsewhere. But double check this before you commit to purchase.

 

Alternatively, have you considered getting a newer iMac with the M1 chip? I believe that will last you longer since Apple is migrating from Intel chips.

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"Should I get the 64gb of storage or is 32 fine? Should I get the better processor, the 3.6GHz 10-core 10th-generation Intel Core i9 processor for $400 more? I just need a second opinion before I buy and don't want to spend money on unnecessary upgrades."

 

I suppose you mean RAM instead of storage? You don´t need even 32GB, 8GB or 16GB is absolutely enough.

 

What comes to your mixing issues, bear in mind that a new computer not necessarily solve your problems. To me it looks like the reason for your issues is not a computer, what audio interface you have?

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That iMac is a very good computer. The 8-core or 10-core are both great so get whichever you can afford. Personally, I’d go for the 10-core because it’s barely slower than the 8-core and you get two more cores. Concerning the memory, I believe that generation of iMacs has user upgradable memory and, if so, it would be fine getting the lowest amount from Apple and upgrading elsewhere. But double check this before you commit to purchase.

 

Alternatively, have you considered getting a newer iMac with the M1 chip? I believe that will last you longer since Apple is migrating from Intel chips.

Ive found that the apple M1 chip isn't compatible with a lot of third party plugins and that would seem to present a lot of issues for me.

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Currently I am using a focusrite 2i2, and reading through this forum I'm finding that the apple M1 chip is not compatible with a lot of third party plugins.

 

What OS and what version of Logic you use? Though, whatever your set-up is, it´s very easy to overload processor with heavy use of third party plug-ins.

 

Some third party plug-ins are really power hungry – and can freeze any computer. My advice is that try to avoid third party plug-ins if possible, native plug-ins of Logic are great! In some cases better than many expensive and trendy third-parties – and I've never faced any serious problems when using them.

 

Then, use freeze function, bounce your tracks, use stems etc. – in a nutshell, learn better working habits. If that don't help, even though I'm sure it will help, and if you want a bit better specs, buy a second hand iMac or miniMac. IMHO, the machine you linked is quite expensive, and there's no sense to use extra money for faster processor, that not necessarily help in your case.

 

Lastly, it can be that your issue is related only to a certain third party plug-in. What plug-ins you use and how? And have you tried to freeze your plug-ins?

Edited by Chatka
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I wouldn’t buy any Mac at the moment with an Intel chip inside. Especially if you want to use it for the next 5-7 years. I have an M1 MacBook Air and it is ridiculously powerful. I am working on mixes with 100 tracks and tons of plug-ins, some third-party plug-ins, no problem so far. The CPU hovers around 25%-30%. Find out if the third-party plug-ins that you use are compatible with the M1 processor and then you would be good to go with an Apple Silicon Mac.
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This machine - https://www.apple.com/shop/buy-mac/macbook-pro/14-inch-space-gray-10-core-cpu-16-core-gpu-1tb#

 

will destroy all of your perceptions of performance of the iMac in all ways other than the larger screen - no question - no problem

 

Take a serious inventory of what/which 3rd party software that you *need* and *use*

 

There is no future in Intel Mac computers, period. Only get one if your income from Intel-based software is more than the cost of the Intel computer...

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How about this one, which besides being more powerful and cheaper will have a longer life span (as it features a more recent technology: M1 instead of Intel chip)...

Im interested in these but I don't see a lot of people talking about them and giving praise. Do you have one?

No, I don’t. But most people I have read about are very positive about same. The Intel chip is fading out in Apple ecosystem, meaning that a future Logic version will eventually stop being supported on the Intel machine… It is reasonably foreseeable that pretty much all the popular3rd plugins will eventually be compatible with the silicon chip, either directly or via Rosetta.
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  • 3 weeks later...
Currently I am using a focusrite 2i2, and reading through this forum I'm finding that the apple M1 chip is not compatible with a lot of third party plugins.

 

What OS and what version of Logic you use? Though, whatever your set-up is, it´s very easy to overload processor with heavy use of third party plug-ins.

 

Some third party plug-ins are really power hungry – and can freeze any computer. My advice is that try to avoid third party plug-ins if possible, native plug-ins of Logic are great! In some cases better than many expensive and trendy third-parties – and I've never faced any serious problems when using them.

 

Then, use freeze function, bounce your tracks, use stems etc. – in a nutshell, learn better working habits. If that don't help, even though I'm sure it will help, and if you want a bit better specs, buy a second hand iMac or miniMac. IMHO, the machine you linked is quite expensive, and there's no sense to use extra money for faster processor, that not necessarily help in your case.

 

Lastly, it can be that your issue is related only to a certain third party plug-in. What plug-ins you use and how? And have you tried to freeze your plug-ins?

 

Currently I believe I am running the latest version of logic 10.7.0 (when I updated is when the problems began. The latency is the biggest issue and even when I'm recording I hear artifacts like cracks and pops in my vocals.

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Your MacBook is beyond too slow to deal with almost anything in the Big Sur (and beyond) and Logic Pro 10.7 and later.

 

The simple answer is that an M1 MacBook Air with 8 cores, 16GB RAM, and 512 GB SSD (get the 1 TB, really) will out-run. That said - the 14" MacBook Pro (M1pro 10/16/16/1TB) will out-perform the iMac. No contest. Not even close. $200 more than the iMac, no compromises.

 

It is hard to speculate about which 3rd-party non-native plug-ins you are concerned about. Name names. If you must, Rosetta 2 compatibility is outstanding from most vendors.

 

My new MBP (M1pro 10/16/16/1TB) should be here in the next few days (preparing to ship! yay!) and I will be able to compare it to my 8-core i9 iMac with 40GB RAM and 1TB SSD - the MacBook Air was 90%, running Rosetta 2, so I am expecting things to be fully faster.

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I have done some research and I think I'm going to buy an iMac with 3.8GHz 8-core 10th-generation Intel Core i7 processor, Turbo Boost up to 5.0GHz and 32GB 2666MHz DDR4 memory.

 

Save your money. Invest in the future. Buy M1. You can run Rosetta for most of the 3rd party plugins that aren't native.

Buying Intel new right now is throwing money after old technology.

Enough people on this thread already advised you against Intel.

My 2 cents.

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one day in the next couple of years, you'll wake up and find that some plugins are now silicon-only, and no longer updated for intel. that doesn't mean that those of us on intel macs can't keep working. but anyone investing in a new mac would be wise to go for the new chips, if you're thinking long-term, and want to future-proof.
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