CPU speed does make some difference but not as much as it used to. This improves processing efficiency through multi-threading (eg running application processes in parallel). Other models of Intel CPU have two virtual cores for each real one, so if you have four real cores you get 8 virtual cores. Avoid the dual processor Intel i5s as they often don’t even do hyper-threading (virtual cores). There are various model types, but for pro audio you’re going to need as many CPU cores as you can get – with at least four. If you’re not just going for a speedy M1-based Mac (and to be honest, right now I’d go that way), then it’s an Intel-based system. Whichever model Mac you have or intend to get, there are three aspects to focus on: General consensus seems to be that getting M1-based Mac now is generally fine (still a few incompatible things yet) but will likely be even better and more compatible in the future. Apple Silicon is very fast, runs cool and is cheaper than Intel equivalents, but is not natively supported (yet) by some hardware/drivers/apps/plug-ins. Intel is currently better for compatibility purposes with existing hardware/drivers/apps/plug-ins, but is more expensive and runs hot/consumes power. Note that Apple are still in transition between Intel chips and their own Silicon-based products. Then you can think about your actual hardware details. Get MacTracker to see what your existing or potential-purchase Mac is compatible with. I kept an image of my Big Sur system just in case. I’m currently running Monterey and it only broke a couple of less-used audio plug-ins. Ideally the very latest version for additional future-proofing.
So for a start you need to make sure your Mac will run one of these versions. There’s still some compatibility issues though – see below.Īs of Feb 2022 only Big Sur and Monterey are the supported MacOS versions. There are numerous YouTube videos comparing performance of the different MI-based models and with the Intel-based units, and the M1-Pro and Max based systems kick ass. One of the features of the new updated M1-Pro and Max chips are increased memory size, which lays to rest some of the issues people had with purchasing them for pro audio and video tasks. MacOS Monterey has been out for a few months now, and Apple have released several more Apple Silicon-based devices.
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