# Best option for more RAM (Mac/Logic)



## pawelmorytko (May 24, 2020)

Hello, I've been struggling recently with my measly 16gb RAM MacBook Pro when working on larger projects or doing orchestral mock ups, and freezing tracks, purging, bouncing in place etc is just slowing down my workflow and it gets very frustrating when things aren't playing back properly, stuttering, or just completely freezing/crashing my logic session.

Now I've been thinking of getting more RAM for a while, but never know how I should go about it. Basically - what would be the easiest, lowest cost way to get more RAM. 

- My MacBook cannot be upgraded so that option is out of the window.
- I could invest in a desktop iMac or a Mac mini or something that I could use as a main rig, and then use my MacBook Pro as a travelling on the go option. Not sure which Mac would be the best and cheapest option though.
- I could get a slave pc with loads of RAM and use VE Pro, but I literally know next to nothing about building or buying the right slave pc or how VE Pro works. This seems tone the cheapest option though.

I know being on Mac doesn't help when trying to be cost effective but I love my Logic too much to make the switch :(


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## jbuhler (May 24, 2020)

When I faced this decision a while back, I went the iMac route because the trashcan was already long of tooth and the high end iMac specs seemed better for the price at the time. (This was before the iMac Pro.) Things have changed a lot now, but I still like the iMac solution, and my three very large screens, and now you also have the option of going for the pro version of the iMac. The Mac mini is almost certainly the cheapest Mac solution, though it has downsides too. 

I'm following this discussion because I'll have to decide sometime in the nearish future whether to get a new iMac (Pro) and make my current iMac into a sample server or to get a second computer (windows) to serve that function and continue to use my current iMac to run the DAW. I've been putting that off though because I'd prefer to avoid a second computer and all the networking complexities that that solution entails.


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## Chrizzly21 (May 24, 2020)

An affordable option could be to buy a used Mac Pro 5.1 (2010-2012) with minimum 32 Gb RAM, better 48 or more. If you can grabb a 12-core like I just did you have a machine that's still doing a good job. Mac Pro 2019 is way too expensive, Mac Pro late 2013 needs further investments in periphal stuff. So I think for a couple of years the Mac Pro 5.1 is a good investment.


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## gst98 (May 24, 2020)

I would say an iMac would offree the best value. You can add you own ram, it will have a very fast SSD and you get a monitor that almost no other on the market competes with. 

An old mac pro is also an option, but do some research into the benchmarks, becuase its entirely possible that 8 cores of new iMac pro could give you more power than 12 cores of old trashcan Mac Pro. Also take into account that both the SSD and the RAM that ship with iMacs in recent years are top tier. An old Mac pro will have an older SSD or even a hardrive and the RAM with be DDR3, where as you could buy an iMac and stick in some new DDR4 ram. 

Also iMacs are pretty much silent, where as Mac Pros can be noisy. Oh yeah and as far as Mac mini's - I find them a little strange. You can put in your own RAM (with some effort) but you might find it not as powerful as you might want and then realise you can't upgrade it either. 

I don't know much about PCs but if you want to build something in the range of used Mac pros and iMacs I don't think it will end up much less expensive. the iMac really offers a lot for the price. Buyign used PC could be a massive cost saver though - but I wouldn't pretend to know much in that world.


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## Rory (May 24, 2020)

I have both a 27” iMac and the current Mac mini. If you fully cost out both, you _may_ find that a 27” iMac is the less expensive option.

Apple set its RAM prices before the price of RAM fell dramatically last year and it looks like it has not adjusted its prices downward. For both a 27” iMac and a Mac mini, you can save a lot of money by purchasing the minimum RAM and adding what you need. Apple’s position with both computers is that installing RAM yourself will not void the warranty. I installed RAM in my Mac mini, it is not difficult and there are several good videos showing how to do it for both models of computer. The mini is every bit as upgradable as the 27” iMac.

The caveat to the foregoing is that only an Apple store or an Apple certified technician can add RAM to a 21.5” iMac as distinct from the 27”.

If you are purchasing RAM for a Mac computer, check out OWC first. It specialises in Macs, it’s reliable and it has good videos on installing your own RAM.


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## pawelmorytko (May 25, 2020)

Thanks guys, yeah it is tempting just to keep it all on Mac and on one computer, simple, easy and frustration free. Just wish I could upgrade the RAM on my current MacBook Pro as that would just be the easiest solution, or if only I could travel back in time and tell my self that 16gb ram is just not enough and the future me will thank me for investing in more ram.


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## gst98 (May 25, 2020)

How old is you macbook? have looked into selling this one and buying another used one just with more RAM? If you're patient enough, then you could get a great price for you latop, and wait for a great deal on another then the cost of upgrading could be really small


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## Emmanuel (May 25, 2020)

Rory said:


> I have both a 27” iMac and the current Mac mini. If you fully cost out both, you _may_ find that a 27” iMac is the less expensive option.
> 
> Apple set its RAM prices before the price of RAM fell dramatically last year and it looks like it has not adjusted its prices downward. For both a 27” iMac and a Mac mini, you can save a lot of money by purchasing the minimum RAM and adding what you need. Apple’s position with both computers is that installing RAM yourself will not void the warranty. I installed RAM in my Mac mini, it is not difficult and there are several good videos showing how to do it for both models of computer. The mini is every bit as upgradable as the 27” iMac.
> 
> ...


What do you think about Mac mini performance with Logic Pro X ?


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## Rory (May 25, 2020)

Emmanuel said:


> What do you think about Mac mini performance with Logic Pro X ?



The computer is performing great, 3.2GHz 6-core Intel i7, 32GB RAM, 500GB SSD. I use the internal drive as a workspace, with almost all data except what I’m currently working on kept on external drives, mostly Samsung T5 SSDs.


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## wayne_rowley (May 25, 2020)

I'm also on a Mac mini. i5 3GHz with 32GB of RAM and 256GB SSD, plus external. All good for my needs at present, but if I was buying it again I would go for the i7.

Wayne


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## robgb (May 25, 2020)

I use a 2013 iMac i5. I upgraded to 32 gigabytes of RAM, which, if I remember correctly, was 16 gigs higher than the machine was supposed to allow, but I checked around the web and people were upgrading to that amount anyway with complete success and I've had no trouble at all. So you might considered looking into a refurbished 2013, which you can probably get at a considerable discount.

After upgrading to Mojave I found that the machine ran excessively slow, so I cloned my main drive onto an SSD and now boot it from USB3. It's nice and speedy now. I imagine it would be even speedier if I'd used an internal SSD, but I didn't want to bother taking the screen off and all that, and the external drive works perfect.

All that said, if I had to replace this machine I'd probably build a Hackintosh and max out the RAM. They're extremely solid these days, at least until Apple switches chips, as they're threatening to do, so if you go that route you might want to get to it while the operating system still works with Intel.

One of the reasons I left Logic behind was because it isn't cross-platform. And sooner or later Apple is bound to create an update that won't work with anything but a computer with the new chips in it. Probably a long way off, but it's always nice to future proof, so I switched to Studio One, got tired of their expensive upgrade options, and went with Reaper, which is where I will always recommend everyone to go for more reasons than I can go into here. Yes, I am a Reaper fan boy. With good reason.


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## Nick Batzdorf (May 25, 2020)

pawelmorytko said:


> - I could invest in a desktop iMac or a Mac mini or something that I could use as a main rig, and then use my MacBook Pro as a travelling on the go option. Not sure which Mac would be the best and cheapest option though.
> - I could get a slave pc with loads of RAM and use VE Pro, but I literally know next to nothing about building or buying the right slave pc or how VE Pro works. This seems tone the cheapest option though.
> 
> I know being on Mac doesn't help when trying to be cost effective but I love my Logic too much to make the switch :(



You've seen every answer here, and everyone has different advice. Here's mine.

I bow down VE Pro with my palms in the air, and you'd have no problem setting up a Windows slave to use it. But I personally don't consider it a substitute for a main Mac that keeps up with what I want inside Logic.

Other people probably do - maybe they have one machine for strings, another for winds, etc. I use slaves for extra stuff, as well as old stuff that won't run on my main one anymore.

So my suggestion is a Mac with enough RAM and horsepower to run your sessions. Your laptop wasn't designed to do that.

iMacs are great machines if you don't already have a big monitor, and if you're only running SSDs (or don't mind the noise from spinning hard drives on your desk, and I certainly do).

But I think if my upgraded 2009 5,1 Mac Pro broke down today - please no! - I'd buy another of the same one. Totally maxed out 12-core 3.46GHz computers with at least 32GB of RAM (often 64GB) are always on eBay for well under $1k.

Of course, you're always taking a chance with a used machine. However, Apple doesn't make the ideal machine for studio use right now, at least not for the right price.


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## Nick Batzdorf (May 25, 2020)

robgb said:


> After upgrading to Mojave I found that the machine ran excessively slow



I wonder what went wrong. That certainly wasn't my experience - although I had to upgrade to a video card with Metal in my Mac Pro 5,1 12 x 3.46GHz, and it's possible that makes a difference (i.e. the Mac uses the card to accelerate some things).


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## robgb (May 25, 2020)

Nick Batzdorf said:


> I wonder what went wrong. That certainly wasn't my experience - although I had to upgrade to a video card with Metal in my Mac Pro 5,1 12 x 3.46GHz, and it's possible that makes a difference (i.e. the Mac uses the card to accelerate some things).


Not sure. But I'm not sure the upgrade was entirely successful since I can no longer login to the Appstore or iTunes or anything Apple cloud related. Everything else works fine and I have no desire to reinstall, so switching to an external SSD seemed to be the right choice.


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## pawelmorytko (May 25, 2020)

Nick Batzdorf said:


> You've seen every answer here, and everyone has different advice. Here's mine.
> 
> I bow down VE Pro with my palms in the air, and you'd have no problem setting up a Windows slave to use it. But I personally don't consider it a substitute for a main Mac that keeps up with what I want inside Logic.
> 
> ...


Haven't considered getting a used iMac before, always was too scared to buy second hand computers, or anything that expensive really. Only iMac option with 64gb ram on the apple website seems to be the iMac pro which is like 5 grand...


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## wayne_rowley (May 25, 2020)

pawelmorytko said:


> Haven't considered getting a used iMac before, always was too scared to buy second hand computers, or anything that expensive really. Only iMac option with 64gb ram on the apple website seems to be the iMac pro which is like 5 grand...



No, the mid-model 27 inch iMacs and above support 64GB of RAM.


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## robgb (May 25, 2020)

pawelmorytko said:


> Haven't considered getting a used iMac before, always was too scared to buy second hand computers, or anything that expensive really.


A friend and her husband picked up two used Macbook Airs for about $300 a piece from a school district that was trying to get rid of their old stock. They had a couple of scuffs but otherwise work great.


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## robgb (May 25, 2020)

__





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## Nick Batzdorf (May 25, 2020)

robgb said:


> A friend and her husband picked up two used Macbook Airs for about $300 a piece from a school district that was trying to get rid of their old stock. They had a couple of scuffs but otherwise work great.



I bought my 11" MacBook Air used a few years ago.

Both of my current Macs are the best ones I've owned - for very different reasons.


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## Nick Batzdorf (May 25, 2020)

pawelmorytko said:


> Haven't considered getting a used iMac before, always was too scared to buy second hand computers, or anything that expensive really.



You can get them with warranties if you're worried.

Note that I'm not talking about add-on extended warranties like AppleCare, which are a ripoff, but about buying from vendors who include, say, a 3-month guarantee when you buy the machine.

But even without, Macs tend to last a very long time. I have a 25-year-old one in my room that still works fine, for example.

And even if something goes wrong with a used Mac Pro 5,1 you can usually repair it by replacing entire boards. An entire logic board is $100 or something on ebay. The absolute worst that could happen is that the entire thing has a bad bowel movement, in which case you put in an entire new processor tray for $500.

As to anything that expensive... I've never bought a new car.


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## Isaak_Hamilt (May 26, 2020)

from current prices for MAC products, my eyes started out of my head.
If you compare them in terms of compactness and performance, then iMaс will be the best solution.
This is my personal opinion and my practice.


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## jonnybutter (May 26, 2020)

I always buy used or refurb. macs, (usually refurbs!). If it's a high quality piece of kit to begin with, it's not so scary. I haven't bought a new mac in 10 years, and don't plan on it. Just bought an Apple certified refurb. iPad pro today. Saved a lot and feel very confident in it.


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## pawelmorytko (May 27, 2020)

Is there any other good and trusted websites to look for an iMac with 64gb RAM? Think I will settle on an iMac after all


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## Shad0wLandsUK (May 27, 2020)

Emmanuel said:


> What do you think about Mac mini performance with Logic Pro X ?


I use a Mac Mini 2018 i7 6-Core, with 32GB of RAM myself and find it fine 
But I also have a 2012 12-Core Mac Pro running VE Pro 7 (Kontakt libraries and Synths) and a 2013 i7 PC running VE Pro 7 (EastWest)

Upgrading the PC to an AMD 12/16-Core build next though
But for everyday work, using my Mac mini is fine


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