The Current State of the Mac May 2018

[MIDI Life Crisis]

Four years ago I wondered the same thing. The MacPro hasn’t changed much since then. I’m glad I didn’t wait!

[joelfriedman]

Thank you for the Words of Wisdom Mike!

Best,

Joel

[HCMarkus]

Thanks for sharing your take on things Mike.

Don't forget... like the 4,1/5,1, you can upgrade the CPU in the 6,1. Those running the quad 6,1 can move to 6, 8, 10 or 12 cores for nominal outlay of cash... visit eBay for used Xeons. The CPU swap is a tad involved, but a nothing burger for even the moderately tech-savvy.

And yes, Omnisphere can be a hog. Just remember to run multiple instantiations if using more than a few patches so DP can spread the load across your CPU cores.

[bayswater]

Seems unlikely there will be a new iMac in June. I haven't seen anyone predicting it. But at least one of the sites mentions a new Mini. I'd be more interested in that if the right options are available, like a recent generation i7, 32G etc.

[mikehalloran]

Thanks for sharing your take on things Mike.

Don't forget... like the 4,1/5,1, you can upgrade the CPU in the 6,1. Those running the quad 6,1 can move to 6, 8, 10 or 12 cores for nominal outlay of cash... visit eBay for used Xeons. The CPU swap is a tad involved, but a nothing burger for even the moderately tech-savvy.

And yes, Omnisphere can be a hog. Just remember to run multiple instantiations if using more than a few patches so DP can spread the load across your CPU cores.

Likewise, 1T, 2T & 4T SSD upgrades are available from OWC. If you have it apart anyway...

The only real issue with the 6.1 right now is that Apple has killed eGPU support over Thunderbolt 1/2 in 10.13.4 (and 10.13.5 beta so far). Not much of an issue for audio but video pros are freaking out. No one knows yet if that is intentional or a bug but some of the card makers have promised new drivers to re-enable this.

[mikehalloran]

Seems unlikely there will be a new iMac in June. I haven't seen anyone predicting it. But at least one of the sites mentions a new Mini. I'd be more interested in that if the right options are available, like a recent generation i7, 32G etc.

Yes, the downgrade to a dual-core a few years ago is bad enough but it does keep prices high on the 2012 quad.
https://everymac.com/systems/apple/mac_ ... specs.html

The cap of 16G RAM is what keeps me from making a strong recommendation as an audio workstation. It does work, however.

[bayswater]

The cap of 16G RAM is what keeps me from making a strong recommendation as an audio workstation. It does work, however.

Yes, a 16G RAM limit is a non starter for a new DAW setup in 2018. In my searches, I've found that the 4Ghz i7 and 32G RAM is something of a sweet spot when comparing Macs to PCs. It seems to be one place where the reported 50% price difference is real. I'd have too much to do to replace other Mac only apps I use regularly, but for those not otherwise tethered to Mac OS, this seems a real option.

[Sergievsky]

It seems to be a good time to buy an iMac Pro since it's relatively new, and the release of the new Mac Pro to replace the trash cans will be at least a year away, according to rumors. The only thing that gives me pause in splurging for the iMac Pro is the rumor of the june announcement of the new Macbooks. But if they don't up the RAM to 32Gb at least then I won't even consider it.

[mikehalloran]

Gone are the days when Apple had placed so much trust in virtual memory that they actually reduced the physical RAM in their top of the line, 1.25GHz twin-core G4 to 1.5G. My older 700mHz single core can address 2G.

[joelfriedman]

I just can't pull off an iMacPro as much as I'd like to. The bottom of the line is still at least $1,000 more than a tricked out 27."

[mikehalloran]

I just can't pull off an iMacPro as much as I'd like to. The bottom of the line is still at least $1,000 more than a tricked out 27."

If your tracks are VI heavy—or you are looking to explore this, you want more cores. If primarily an audio station with light VI usage, then the Quad-Core i7 is fine. Either will handle eGPU (over TB 3) if you get heavily into video.

What I did when I made my major investments ($7,700 Mac+ based warehouse office in 1986 and $12,000 Beige G3/MOTU based digital studio in 1998), I leased my purchases. There were certain tax advantages (100% write off of the lease payments instead of depreciation) and when the lease period was up, it cost me a dollar to transfer ownership. It’s quite possible I may do that one more time.

Come to think of it, the only gear I still have from all that money spent is the pair of Shure KSM32 microphones included in that second package.

“Oh yes, I’m the Great Enabler, Ooooh Ooooh...”

[waxman]

MacBook Pro update article

https://www.forbes.com/sites/brookecrot ... 50deab3315

[mikehalloran]

MacBook Pro update article

https://www.forbes.com/sites/brookecrot ... 50deab3315

Interesting. It spells out the real issue:

" Ung said. "One reason Apple has been reluctant to offer more than 16GB of RAM in the MBP15 is that it requires the use of DDR4 instead of LPDDR3. DDR4 uses more power in standby than LPDDR3 so Apple goes with battery life. But that means the maximum is 16GB. With Cannon Lake and LPDDR4 support, the MacBook Pro 15 may finally offer a 32GB option so people can stop the complaining."

Thanks for finding that.

[waxman]

Thanks for finding that.

Just throwing the laptop in the mix. I would encourage anyone who can afford it to consider the MBP when (if) it goes to 32 gig ram... For 10 months I have been using the new MBP. There is no difference between my previous 6 core Mac Pro trash can and the MBP. Being portable has greatly impacted my productivity. Working anywhere is amazing. I have two SSD Evo's attached with velcro to the back of the screen. With a pair of headphones I am good to go. So many hours a week I save having my studio anywhere.

[mikehalloran]

No new hardware was announced at the WWDC yesterday. Plenty o’rumors.

“Will I see you... in September?”