# New Mac: buy now with Intel or better wait for ARM



## newcreation08 (Dec 4, 2020)

Hello all!

I know there are a lot of threads here about the new ARM coming with new Macs. Just couldn't find a definite answer to my question. So, my apologies, if this has been treated before!

I am now on an iMac 2014, i7, 4GHz, 32 RAM. When working on big projects with many tracks (orchestral), i am very constantly getting overload stops, which is pretty annoying, having to work around by freezing many tracks. So i am on the way, of getting a new, faster machine. 

With Apples announcement for this new ARM, would you suggest to wait for that, instead of buying a new machine NOW? I am thinking of the latest iMac i9, with 10 Cores to buy.

Many thanks for your suggestions!


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## MGdepp (Dec 4, 2020)

Definitively wait for arm if you can! Buying a Mac is always expensive, but at the same time you can sell an older one for comparably a lot of money. That makes it not so bad a deal, apart from the ridiculous ram and SSD prices.

But Intel Macs are gonna go cheap quite soon, now, I am afraid. I just played with the idea to replace my entry level 2019 Macbook pro 16' (it is not used as DAW, just office stuff, Dorico and light audio applications) with a 13' m1 MacBook Pro or even the air. So, I put it on Craig's list just to see how many people would be interested. So far, I have mostly received messages from spammers, cons and one guy who wanted to bargain quite a lot. At 15% off to the current new price for a MacBook with more than half of the Apple Warranty of 1 year and even the potential to upgrade to Apple Care+, nobody is interested. Just before the m1 came out, I would have sold that Macbook immediately.

So, in other words: if you have money to burn, go buy an Intel Mac now!


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## emilio_n (Dec 4, 2020)

I am in the same situation an while I think is better to wait a few months with my iMac (Similar than yours) I think the first iMacs with ARM will be crazy expensive because even the RAM will not be user upgradable. I want to have the chance to install Windows with Bootcamp. (Mainly for games, I need to admit)

In any case, I am with @MGdepp, if it is not absolutely urgent is better wait for a while. The new ARM technology is very promising!


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## Nate Johnson (Dec 4, 2020)

I’m going to play very biased devil’s advocate here (I’m currently waiting on a shipment of an 2020 Intel iMac):

Whereas the appearance of new iMacs is just around the corner in 2021, there is no sign that developers (ie Native Instruments) are going to be caught up by then. There’s still a lot of proving ground to go here.

Support for Intel Macs continues on and will so for a few years yet - if you’re in need now (nothing drives me nuts more than hitting the cpu/ram wall in the middle of big projects), buy a new iMac now. I went with an 8 core i7/64gb (aftermarket) ram, which based on my research seems like the best bang for the buck (the gains with a 10 core seem minimal, plus a little more thermal risk)


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## newcreation08 (Dec 4, 2020)

Thanks for your opinions, guys! What i am also a bit in doubt is, even if the new ones are out it is to consider, to wait a year or so to see, how they are doing? Also with all the different plugins and software which i am using now.


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## newcreation08 (Dec 4, 2020)

Nate Johnson said:


> I’m going to play very biased devil’s advocate here (I’m currently waiting on a shipment of an 2020 Intel iMac):
> 
> Whereas the appearance of new iMacs is just around the corner in 2021, there is no sign that developers (ie Native Instruments) are going to be caught up by then. There’s still a lot of proving ground to go here.
> 
> Support for Intel Macs continues on and will so for a few years yet - if you’re in need now (nothing drives me nuts more than hitting the cpu/ram wall in the middle of big projects), buy a new iMac now. I went with an 8 core i7/64gb (aftermarket) ram, which based on my research seems like the best bang for the buck (the gains with a 10 core seem minimal, plus a little more thermal risk)


Thats maybe correct. If i am bothered already now with my CPU, till all things are sorted out by different developers like NI and others, it might take at least a year or more from now, till everything is running smoothly again ...


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## Paulogic (Dec 4, 2020)

Maybe but ARM is very new and I' think that if you need a new computer badly, just buy a Intel version.

As I saw with the transition from G5's to Intels, it took a while before every software (and hardware)
products where adapted to the new platform. At that time, I was lucky to buy one of the last
G5 dual core Mac's (case model) and expanded it with enough memory and disks. I used it for some
years until most things were adapted to the intel-platform. Then I was able to sell the G5 for more
money than I payed for it : a known studio, with a lot of G5 bases software and libraries, couldn't afford
to buy all the new licenses for the Intel Platform along with all new macs, so they searched for decent spare G5's as backup for there current machines. A few years ago, they where still using these on
daily bases along side their new Intel Mac's.


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## Nate Johnson (Dec 4, 2020)

newcreation08 said:


> Thats maybe correct. If i am bothered already now with my CPU, till all things are sorted out by different developers like NI and others, it might take at least a year or more from now, till everything is running smoothly again ...



yeah. honestly, I went through a moment of panic a few days after I placed the order - m1 came out and I was like shit, what have I done? But seriously, this computer will absolutely slay (I'm upgrading from a 13" macbook!) when it gets here and will continue to do so for a while, so I'm sure I'll be happy!


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## Geoff Grace (Dec 4, 2020)

My impression is the new Macs are a leap forward in a number of ways, but how much RAM the 2021 and 2022 models will have is a mystery. I wouldn't be surprised to see a 32 GB option in the next wave of releases, but who knows?

At this point, I'd get a stop gap, relatively inexpensive, Intel Mac model—like an i7 Mac mini with 64 GB of third-party RAM—to get me through the transition.

Best,

Geoff


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## MGdepp (Dec 4, 2020)

Nate Johnson said:


> yeah. honestly, I went through a moment of panic a few days after I placed the order - m1 came out and I was like shit, what have I done? But seriously, this computer will absolutely slay (I'm upgrading from a 13" macbook!) when it gets here and will continue to do so for a while, so I'm sure I'll be happy!



My concern wold not be a lack of power. A 2019 iMac is going to be fine for most music production for years to come. I just fear that you might have to replace this iMac in maybe 3-4 years and by then nobody wants to buy it from you. If there was no switch, you would still get a considerable amount of money for ta 3 - 4 year old iMac. If that is fine with you, there is no problem, of course. I just want to get something like 5-7 years out of a Mac or sell it for a good price earlier.


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## MGdepp (Dec 4, 2020)

Geoff Grace said:


> My impression is the new Macs are a leap forward in a number of ways, but how much RAM the 2021 and 2022 models will have is a mystery. I wouldn't be surprised to see a 32 GB option in the next wave of releases, but who knows?
> 
> At this point, I'd get a stop gap Intel Mac model—like an i7 Mac mini with 64 GB of third-party RAM—to get me through the transition.
> 
> ...


That is a valid concern looking at those m1 MacBooks. But I think Apple is aware that a lot of people will need more RAM and is working on it. 

In case the new Macs will not be available with a lot of RAM, I will just put all of my Sample libraries on much cheaper VEPro PCs. With my current Hackintosh, I have 128Gb of Ram, so, I can run with only one (older) VEPro PC extra. But by the time I will switch (probably 3 years or more) I am very confident one PC will be able to please all my sample streaming desires!  

Well, quite a lot of things could happen in 3 or more years so ... who knows we will need that much RAM by then ...


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## wayne_rowley (Dec 4, 2020)

If new need a new computer *now *buy a new computer *now*.  

The Intel Macs are still great machines, and you can upgrade the RAM to 128GB easily (the same may not be true for AS Macs) and are fully compatible with all current music software (and likely compatible with future music software for a number of years.) It will serve you well if your need is for a powerful music computer today.

If you don't need a new computer *now *then wait until you do. There will always be a better one around the corner...


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## jcrosby (Dec 4, 2020)

newcreation08 said:


> Hello all!
> 
> I know there are a lot of threads here about the new ARM coming with new Macs. Just couldn't find a definite answer to my question. So, my apologies, if this has been treated before!
> 
> ...


I bought a new MBP in August because of the transition... I definitely agree, buy one now. It's also going to be a long, and most likely bumpy road waiting on reliable stability. I'm guessing the stability process is going to be an ebb and flow for a while, probably will break things in the early stages, etc. The risk for Apple breaking an OS I use for work was a big enough deterrent to convince me to buy now and see where things wind up after the transition's more or less done...


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## Paulogic (Dec 4, 2020)

Also a thing to consider : Big Sur ! Is not that stable at all. I've learned from the past and I luckily
took a TimeMachine backup before upgrading my work iMac. Everything seemed to work fine with
Big Sur apart from a single older cad-program. But after a few days, the problems started :
Apple mail suddenly not working anymore with my O365 Exchange mail. Opening Mail resulted in
locked up Mailscreen. Then Word and Excel gave issues when saving or opening. OneDrive not
accessable anymore and kept keeping worse. It seems that at every boot, something more went
wrong, and a lot of pop-ups with "system extension not longer sypported"..
I restored my TM backup and won't upgrade again for a long time.
My DAW Mac Mini wil stay on Catalina as well, for as long as possible.
And above that : it's a shame that we cannot get rid of the red badges appearing on App-store and System Prefs icons. Before we could select the ignore button or choose to never mention it again and
so on.


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## Rory (Dec 4, 2020)

wayne_rowley said:


> If new need a new computer *now *buy a new computer *now*.



In my own experience, timing for a new computer is not a black and white question unless one's current computer is on its last legs.


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## Rory (Dec 4, 2020)

newcreation08 said:


> I am now on an iMac 2014, i7, 4GHz, 32 RAM. When working on big projects with many tracks (orchestral), i am very constantly getting overload stops, which is pretty annoying, having to work around by freezing many tracks. So i am on the way, of getting a new, faster machine.
> 
> With Apples announcement for this new ARM, would you suggest to wait for that, instead of buying a new machine NOW? I am thinking of the latest iMac i9, with 10 Cores to buy.



I think that Apple is likely to release Silicon Macs that are powerful enough for this kind of work by about June, when Apple holds its annual developer conference, which is six months from now.

I would assess the situation then unless you decide that using your current computer for another six months is unacceptable.

Have you determined that adding RAM to your 32GB RAM iMac won't address the performance issues that you are having? Right now, RAM is pretty cheap.


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## Rory (Dec 4, 2020)

Further to the above post, this video talks about the Silicon roadmap, most notably about a 16" MacBook Pro that may be released in the first half of 2021:


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## newcreation08 (Dec 4, 2020)

Rory said:


> I think that Apple is likely to release Silicon Macs that are powerful enough for this kind of work by about June, when Apple holds its annual developer conference, which is six months from now.
> 
> I would assess the situation then unless you decide that using your current computer for another six months is unacceptable.
> 
> Have you determined that adding RAM to your 32GB RAM iMac won't address the performance issues that you are having? Right now, RAM is pretty cheap.


Thanks Rory! I don't think RAM is the issue, because by purging and "updating sample pool" in Kontakt, i keep my RAM pretty much below 70%, which should be fine.
Waiting 6 month wouldn't be a huge problem. The thing is, buying the first available Mac then might not be the best option, as one does not know, how long all companies of Plugins and Sample Players will take, till everything runs smoothly again ...


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## newcreation08 (Dec 4, 2020)

Geoff Grace said:


> My impression is the new Macs are a leap forward in a number of ways, but how much RAM the 2021 and 2022 models will have is a mystery. I wouldn't be surprised to see a 32 GB option in the next wave of releases, but who knows?
> 
> At this point, I'd get a stop gap, relatively inexpensive, Intel Mac model—like an i7 Mac mini with 64 GB of third-party RAM—to get me through the transition.
> 
> ...


Thanks Geoff. But as i have an i7 now i wouldn't be that sure, if this would make such a big difference.


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## Jeremy Spencer (Dec 4, 2020)

newcreation08 said:


> I am now on an iMac 2014, i7, 4GHz, 32 RAM. When working on big projects with many tracks (orchestral), i am very constantly getting overload stops, which is pretty annoying, having to work around by freezing many tracks. So i am on the way, of getting a new, faster machine.



Are you using VEPro to host your instruments by any chance? If not, I'd seriously consider, as you already have a beefy system. You may not even need a new system right now.


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## Rory (Dec 4, 2020)

newcreation08 said:


> Waiting 6 month wouldn't be a huge problem. The thing is, buying the first available Mac then might not be the best option, as one does not know, how long all companies of Plugins and Sample Players will take, till everything runs smoothly again ...



I think it's highly probable that developers of plugins and players will make damn sure that their wares work natively on Silicon Macs by June, probably quite a bit sooner. In the meantime, they should work anyway under Rosetta 2, which is part of the Big Sur/Silicon Mac operating system.


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## newcreation08 (Dec 4, 2020)

Jeremy Spencer said:


> Are you using VEPro to host your instruments by any chance? If not, I'd seriously consider, as you already have a beefy system. You may not even need a new system right now.


Thanks Jeremy! Do you mean, without a Slave machine?
No, i bought VEPro a few years ago, but when i tried to put a big template together, it seemed to need much more RAM than when i used my template directly in LogicPro. 
Also i am using a ton of different libraries, also (for trailer music) lots of different synths and sound design plugins, which i think would make it difficult to set up in VEPro?


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## Jeremy Spencer (Dec 4, 2020)

Yes, I mean hosting on the single machine. It's kind of a PITA to set up initially, but works wonders with core distribution in Logic Pro (not sure of your DAW). I don't even use multi-timbral any more, I use literally one instance of VEPro per track (or instrument), and only for RAM hungry VI's like Hollywood Strings, etc. Since doing this, along with thinning out my orchestral templates, my slave has been collecting dust for the past year......and I'm on a late 2013 MB Pro. I'm also looking at upgrading to an M1, but holding out until it's worth the investment. Hopefully we'll see some good offerings in the next six months or so.


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## Ashermusic (Dec 4, 2020)

My recommendation anyone who does not need to update their machine now is "wait."


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## newcreation08 (Dec 4, 2020)

Jeremy Spencer said:


> Yes, I mean hosting on the single machine. It's kind of a PITA to set up initially, but works wonders with core distribution in Logic Pro (not sure of your DAW). I don't even use multi-timbral any more, I use literally one instance of VEPro per track (or instrument), and only for RAM hungry VI's like Hollywood Strings, etc. Since doing this, along with thinning out my orchestral templates, my slave has been collecting dust for the past year......and I'm on a late 2013 MB Pro. I'm also looking at upgrading to an M1, but holding out until it's worth the investment. Hopefully we'll see some good offerings in the next six months or so.


I will try it Jeremy. I am on LogicPro too.


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## Fox (Dec 4, 2020)

I'm struggling with this same decision, and either path seems viable and reasonable. 

One idea that struck me was buying a PC slave as a stopgap measure. This slave would do what I need now (give me more RAM for sample libraries thus expanding on my 2015 15" MacBookPro's limited memory, while also working with a silicon MacBookPro, once it arrives.


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## Geoff Grace (Dec 4, 2020)

Ashermusic said:


> My recommendation anyone who does not need to update their machine now is "wait."


I'm curious, *Jay*, does this advice mean you're unhappy with your recent Mac purchase and if so, why?

Best,

Geoff


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## ridgero (Dec 4, 2020)

I think this Macbook Air generation will be it’s best ever in terms of loss in value.


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## Ashermusic (Dec 4, 2020)

Geoff Grace said:


> I'm curious, *Jay*, does this advice mean you're unhappy with your recent Mac purchase and if so, why?
> 
> Best,
> 
> Geoff



No, because I felt I _had_ to make a change for both 64 GB of RAM and Big Sur compatibility. But had I known for a fact that six months from now there would be a Mac around the same price whose cpu was more powerful and could run an equivalent amount of sampled instruments, I would have waited.


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## Nate Johnson (Dec 4, 2020)

MGdepp said:


> My concern wold not be a lack of power. A 2019 iMac is going to be fine for most music production for years to come. I just fear that you might have to replace this iMac in maybe 3-4 years and by then nobody wants to buy it from you. If there was no switch, you would still get a considerable amount of money for ta 3 - 4 year old iMac. If that is fine with you, there is no problem, of course. I just want to get something like 5-7 years out of a Mac or sell it for a good price earlier.



Oh, I hear you. But for this particular go-around, I really don’t have a choice. The trajectory I’m currently on requires a more powerful computer _now_ - I can’t afford to wait for the new stuff to be ready for action. And no, it won’t surprise me if this iMac ends up with a shorter ‘lifespan’ than my previous Macbook. If in 3-4 years its time to move over to Apple Silicon, then so be it. I’ve had my Macbook for 7 years and the last 3 its driven me nuts, though I obviously made it work.


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## Geoff Grace (Dec 4, 2020)

Ashermusic said:


> No, because I felt I _had_ to make a change for both 64 GB of RAM and Big Sur compatibility. But had I known for a fact that six months from now there would be a Mac around the same price whose cpu was more powerful and could run an equivalent amount of sampled instruments, I would have waited.


Of course, while the possibility exists that such a machine may be released next year, the timeline for Kontakt kompatibility, not to mention the compatibility of the rest of our software, could still be even further down the road.

Once that day arrives, your Mac mini will make a nice slave machine with a small footprint, if that's what you decide to use it for.

Best,

Geoff


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