MP 1,1-5,1 5,1 12 core vs 2017 MBP 15

[Batch68]

Hey guys,

I‘m looking to update my home music setup - currently a mid 2010 Mac Pro 5 1, 3.46 GHz 6-core Intel Zeon, Sierra 10.12.6, 32 GB Ram, 500 GB SATA SSD, 1 TB HDD, 1TB external SSD. Apollo Quad and UAD-2 Octo.

When running Logic 10.4.4 I’m now finding as I get near completion of a project, it becomes unstable, even with high buffer settings… I think I need more horsepower.

I'm using Omnisphere, Trilian, Serum, S-Gear, Massive, NI Session Horns and BFD3 + vocal and guitar audio. The track count isn’t too high but can be pretty plugin intensive – UA, Fabfilter, Soundtoys, Slate Digital, Eventide…

My budget is around £1000, and I’ve been considering fully specked 5,1 12 cores - possibly with Gigabyte Titan Ridge Thunderbolt PCIe… or 15” 2017 MBPs. Would either option give me solid performance improvement? How would they compare? I’ve always run Mac Pros – from 2,1, and feel comfortable with that workflow…

Portability is not a priority as I have a 42” 4K TV display, a wired Apple keyboard and Kensington mouse, M-Audio Air midi keyboard controller and QCon Pro X control surface.

Relative newbie so any advice would be much appreciated.

 

[Sharky II]

Get an M1 Mac mini.

 

[Batch68]

Cheers for that...checked it out. Lots of performance for your buck!! Just looking at plugin compatibility and latency issues using Rosetta. Definitely one to consider.

 

[Batch68]

Get an M1 Mac mini.

The more I look into it the more impressed I am. A couple of Vi's and plugins not sorted out yet but should be sorted soon.