Going to buy and run logic on the iMac 27'' 5k 4.0ghz witch way should i go

[Jody Verall]

i plan on getting an iMac 27 inch 4.0GHz quad-core Intel Core and planned on getting the 8gb ram and upgrading it with 32gb, but was even thinking of getting 64gb and selling the 8gb ram(due to only 4 slots) along with the 3tb fusion drive witch has 128gb flash(ssd) in it. I'm going to be using it for music production with logic pro and using native-instruments Komplete 10 Ultimate, witch contains over 500gb of sounds, along with other music software. My question is should i go more with the ram, 64gb and the 3tb fusion drive or go with the 1tb ssd and go with 32gb ram or even 24gb ram. Bottom line is i don't want that spinning ball showing up. would love to read your opinions on what way you would go to get the best performance out of those combinations or any other combination

 

[apfelmann]

go for pure SSD! an external SSD USB 3.0 should also be a fine and fast place for your logic sound library, but 1TB internal SSD would naturally be the best

if you can afford it, max out the RAM, but I guess if you don't work with extraordinarily large logic projects you won't notice the difference between 32 and 64GB RAM

I am a long time GarageBand user and logic beginner, and I also thought about gettine NI KOMPLETE ultimate ... do you think it's much better than the sounds and instruments included in LOGIC PRO X???
[doublepost=1459250650][/doublepost](and don't sell the included RAM, in case you have to return the whole imac for warranty reasons ...)

 

[Fishrrman]

I would go a different route.

I'd get the 2tb fusion drive model.

Then, I'd "split" the fusion drive into two drives -- a 128gb SSD and a 2tb 7200rpm HDD.

I'd put the OS, apps, and bare-bones account onto the SSD.
This would leave a lot of free space for "temp" files and give room to work on one's "current project".

All the "native instruments" would go to the HDD.
Along with completed projects, etc.

By splitting fusion into standalone drives, the SSD will never "slow down" from its original speed as the computer ages and the HDD "fills up".

My opinion only.

 

[Jody Verall]

I would go a different route.

I'd get the 2tb fusion drive model.

Then, I'd "split" the fusion drive into two drives -- a 128gb SSD and a 2tb 7200rpm HDD.

I'd put the OS, apps, and bare-bones account onto the SSD.
This would leave a lot of free space for "temp" files and give room to work on one's "current project".

All the "native instruments" would go to the HDD.
Along with completed projects, etc.

By splitting fusion into standalone drives, the SSD will never "slow down" from its original speed as the computer ages and the HDD "fills up".

My opinion only.

thanks for the reply Fishrrman,

after more research I think i'm looking on going to go in that sorta direction, I think i'm going to go with the 256gb ssd, its the same price as the 2tb fusion drive at the mac store as long as you get the 3.3GHz quad-core Intel Core i5, Turbo Boost up to 3.9GHz. Also get a 2tb usb 3 external or get a usb 3 case for one of my many HDD drives that i have and wipe/reformat it. Also i'm going to upgrade to 64gb of ram. This computer is going to be lean and clean. As i only intend to use it strictly for music production and nothing else… well and checking email. i have an old macbook pro that I can use for every thing else although i have to throw some more ram in it. With all that, it's very much in the range i was looking to spend, give or take one or two C-notes

Summary
27-inch iMac with Retina 5K display

• 4.0GHz quad-core Intel Core i7, Turbo Boost up to 4.2GHz
• 8GB 1867MHz DDR3 SDRAM - two 4GB
• 256GB Flash Storage
• AMD Radeon R9 M395 with 2GB video memory
• Magic Mouse 2
• Magic Keyboard (English) & User’s Guide
• Accessory Kit
• Logic Pro X

[doublepost=1459289540][/doublepost]

go for pure SSD! an external SSD USB 3.0 should also be a fine and fast place for your logic sound library, but 1TB internal SSD would naturally be the best

if you can afford it, max out the RAM, but I guess if you don't work with extraordinarily large logic projects you won't notice the difference between 32 and 64GB RAM

I am a long time GarageBand user and logic beginner, and I also thought about gettine NI KOMPLETE ultimate ... do you think it's much better than the sounds and instruments included in LOGIC PRO X???
[doublepost=1459250650][/doublepost](and don't sell the included RAM, in case you have to return the whole imac for warranty reasons ...)

thanks for the reply your right i should keep the ram ''incase'', i don't think i would have thought of that thanks!! you could have just saved my ass. lets hope not, i think i'm going with the 256gb ssd and upgrading to 64gb of ram logic lets you save most of the sounds on other drives to free up space. so i think i'm going to get a usb 3 case and use one of the many hdd drives i have and use that, that will save me some money and it will be plenty fast. Now about your question about Komplete, thats one thing where i think logic is lacking i started using logic 6 in 2006 and they have added a couple of new instruments and good ones!, but its basically the same line up as when i started in 2006!. Having said that it is the best DAW in my opinion out there, and I've had a chance to use all the other "heavy hitters", and it is 200 bucks so you can't beat that! now comparing Komplete 10 ultimate to logics instrument rack in my opinion… well take the worst slowest hard drive you have every had and compare it to a ssd drive. Komplete has like 75 instruments all of native instruments biggest baddest sonic masterpieces if like to design sounds its having every sound you ever need to create any sound you ever want and the new drum making instruments are amazing!! its basically cheating. and i'm talking making kickass beats of all kinds of genres. they also have the most sonic sounding morphing synths, again its like cheating cause you would have to be a sound wizard! back in the day to program sounds that are stock.

 

[Mookeh]

That's the same configuration that I ended up choosing, and I think it's the most value for your money. It's very rare that you'll ever hit the full 64 gigs of memory (I went for 24 and don't expect to hit the limit a lot, even in Final Cut and Logic), but that's a very solid choice.

 

[Sirmausalot]

I actually think that's a mistake. The NVRAM is nearly impossible to upgrade later. The 512GB minimum or the 1TB if you can swing it will give you the best performance, bar none. The likelihood that you actually use more than 32GB of RAM is slim. If you get 32GB (2X16GB) and keep the 8GB in there, you have 40GB and can always upgrade later. (though that's over a $100 premium instead of buying 8*2 or 8*4

Anyhow, put the money towards maximizing performance and what you can't upgrade latter -- that's the NVRAM in the iMac

thanks for the reply Fishrrman,

after more research I think i'm looking on going to go in that sorta direction, I think i'm going to go with the 256gb ssd, its the same price as the 2tb fusion drive at the mac store as long as you get the 3.3GHz quad-core Intel Core i5, Turbo Boost up to 3.9GHz. Also get a 2tb usb 3 external or get a usb 3 case for one of my many HDD drives that i have and wipe/reformat it. Also i'm going to upgrade to 64gb of ram. This computer is going to be lean and clean. As i only intend to use it strictly for music production and nothing else… well and checking email. i have an old macbook pro that I can use for every thing else although i have to throw some more ram in it. With all that, it's very much in the range i was looking to spend, give or take one or two C-notes

Summary
27-inch iMac with Retina 5K display

• 4.0GHz quad-core Intel Core i7, Turbo Boost up to 4.2GHz
• 8GB 1867MHz DDR3 SDRAM - two 4GB
• 256GB Flash Storage
• AMD Radeon R9 M395 with 2GB video memory
• Magic Mouse 2
• Magic Keyboard (English) & User’s Guide
• Accessory Kit
• Logic Pro X

[doublepost=1459289540][/doublepost]
thanks for the reply your right i should keep the ram ''incase'', i don't think i would have thought of that thanks!! you could have just saved my ass. lets hope not, i think i'm going with the 256gb ssd and upgrading to 64gb of ram logic lets you save most of the sounds on other drives to free up space. so i think i'm going to get a usb 3 case and use one of the many hdd drives i have and use that, that will save me some money and it will be plenty fast. Now about your question about Komplete, thats one thing where i think logic is lacking i started using logic 6 in 2006 and they have added a couple of new instruments and good ones!, but its basically the same line up as when i started in 2006!. Having said that it is the best DAW in my opinion out there, and I've had a chance to use all the other "heavy hitters", and it is 200 bucks so you can't beat that! now comparing Komplete 10 ultimate to logics instrument rack in my opinion… well take the worst slowest hard drive you have every had and compare it to a ssd drive. Komplete has like 75 instruments all of native instruments biggest baddest sonic masterpieces if like to design sounds its having every sound you ever need to create any sound you ever want and the new drum making instruments are amazing!! its basically cheating. and i'm talking making kickass beats of all kinds of genres. they also have the most sonic sounding morphing synths, again its like cheating cause you would have to be a sound wizard! back in the day to program sounds that are stock.

 

[Jody Verall]

I actually think that's a mistake. The NVRAM is nearly impossible to upgrade later. The 512GB minimum or the 1TB if you can swing it will give you the best performance, bar none. The likelihood that you actually use more than 32GB of RAM is slim. If you get 32GB (2X16GB) and keep the 8GB in there, you have 40GB and can always upgrade later. (though that's over a $100 premium instead of buying 8*2 or 8*4

Anyhow, put the money towards maximizing performance and what you can't upgrade latter -- that's the NVRAM in the iMac

so you think that 40gb is enough? i was going to do that but i thought it might not be enough, and then spend the rest on a 512gb ssd hmm… and it is easier to upgrade ram later and i'm not going to take apart my housing witch includes the monitor to get into it. hmm… it would even be a little cheaper going with the 40gb ram, 512gb ssd i don't plan on doing any massive orchestra piece's... pondering

 

[sasha.danielle]

i plan on getting an iMac 27 inch 4.0GHz quad-core Intel Core and planned on getting the 8gb ram and upgrading it with 32gb, but was even thinking of getting 64gb and selling the 8gb ram(due to only 4 slots) along with the 3tb fusion drive witch has 128gb flash(ssd) in it. I'm going to be using it for music production with logic pro and using native-instruments Komplete 10 Ultimate, witch contains over 500gb of sounds, along with other music software. My question is should i go more with the ram, 64gb and the 3tb fusion drive or go with the 1tb ssd and go with 32gb ram or even 24gb ram. Bottom line is i don't want that spinning ball showing up. would love to read your opinions on what way you would go to get the best performance out of those combinations or any other combination

If you're doing a lot of recording I seriously recommend 512gb SSD. First: Logic and your packages will easily take up way more than the 128gb flash storage on a 2/3tb drive. You absolutely do not want to be running that software on a spinning drive. Second: you also don't want to be writing onto a spinning drive. So you want enough room for both the software/download packages and your current project on an SSD, neither of which alone, let alone together, will the Fusion drive provide.

You can always buy RAM and external storage later.

 

[Jody Verall]

If you're doing a lot of recording I seriously recommend 512gb SSD. First: Logic and your packages will easily take up way more than the 128gb flash storage on a 2/3tb drive. You absolutely do not want to be running that software on a spinning drive. Second: you also don't want to be writing onto a spinning drive. So you want enough room for both the software/download packages and your current project on an SSD, neither of which alone, let alone together, will the Fusion drive provide.

You can always buy RAM and external storage later.

well,
that's one of the cool things about logic pro x is you don't need to have the sound banks on the the same hard drive as the App it allows you to configure it for that exact purpose. I have Logic 8 running off a firewire 800 on an old and i do mean old macbook pro and have no problems at all expect for overloading an OLD macbook pro.

 

[Mookeh]

well,
that's one of the cool things about logic pro x is you don't need to have the sound banks on the the same hard drive as the App it allows you to configure it for that exact purpose. I have Logic 8 running off a firewire 800 on an old and i do mean old macbook pro and have no problems at all expect for overloading an OLD macbook pro.

You're right. I take the middle way: Logic and its installer data (about 30gb in total) is installed on my 256gb SSD. All other project files are external.

To answer the other question, I think you'll find that 64GB memory is overkill. I doubt you'll hit 32.

 

[apfelmann]

Now about your question about Komplete, thats one thing where i think logic is lacking i started using logic 6 in 2006 and they have added a couple of new instruments and good ones!, but its basically the same line up as when i started in 2006!. Having said that it is the best DAW in my opinion out there, and I've had a chance to use all the other "heavy hitters", and it is 200 bucks so you can't beat that! now comparing Komplete 10 ultimate to logics instrument rack in my opinion… well take the worst slowest hard drive you have every had and compare it to a ssd drive. Komplete has like 75 instruments all of native instruments biggest baddest sonic masterpieces if like to design sounds its having every sound you ever need to create any sound you ever want and the new drum making instruments are amazing!! its basically cheating. and i'm talking making kickass beats of all kinds of genres. they also have the most sonic sounding morphing synths, again its like cheating cause you would have to be a sound wizard! back in the day to program sounds that are stock.

thanks for the infos about KOMPLETE.

I think I'll take their current crossgrade offer. I just have to decide wether I take the MASCHINE or the KEYBOARD for the crossgrade? what would you prefer?
[doublepost=1459325480][/doublepost]I already have a novation keyboard, so I'll probably take the MASCHINE MICRO + KOMPLETE ultimate for 719 Euros ...

 

[Sirmausalot]

Since I don't know exactly how logic works with memory, I can't say for sure. But based on my experience editing 4K video, 16GB RAM is actually enough for me (I have 24GB total). You can get a memory meter application that shows your your free memory. But I suspect even with just 16GB of RAM, you would see absolutely no performance increase going beyond that. If Logic did need more, it would swap items to the hard disk --in this case the 1TB NVRAM drive which is super super fast and performance should be fine. My advice is to get the 1TB NVRAM solid state drive and 2X8GB of RAM for a total of 24GB. You can then go up to 32GB if you need, but it is unlikely you'll need it. You could ask on some dedicated Logic forums as well. Perhaps creative cow.net?

so you think that 40gb is enough? i was going to do that but i thought it might not be enough, and then spend the rest on a 512gb ssd hmm… and it is easier to upgrade ram later and i'm not going to take apart my housing witch includes the monitor to get into it. hmm… it would even be a little cheaper going with the 40gb ram, 512gb ssd i don't plan on doing any massive orchestra piece's... pondering

 

[Ogami-Z]

I've just recently bought a 5k iMac with 4.0Ghz i7, pretty much the same spec your thinking of getting but with the AMD M395X since I'm also using it for Graphic design/light video editing as well as music production/composition with Logic Pro X. I've been producing various genres of music for a good few years now so I'll try & help you make the right decision.

If you're doing a lot of recording I seriously recommend 512gb SSD. First: Logic and your packages will easily take up way more than the 128gb flash storage on a 2/3tb drive. You absolutely do not want to be running that software on a spinning drive. Second: you also don't want to be writing onto a spinning drive. So you want enough room for both the software/download packages and your current project on an SSD, neither of which alone, let alone together, will the Fusion drive provide.

You can always buy RAM and external storage later.

While it would be nice to have the extra headroom of 512Gb over a 256gb SSD, it really isn't necessary if like me you plan on only using the system SSD for Apps & plugins/virtual instruments & using an external drive for documents, music, etc. It also not a good idea to run your projects from the system drive. The general rule is System drive for DAW App & plugins, separate Project Drive & separate Samples drive. There is also no problem in using a spinning drive for projects as long as it's a 7200RPM drive, 5400RPM is definitely not recommended. A 7200RPM spinning drive can be used for sample libraries but it's much better to use an SSD as a sample library drive. Running these drives via a thunderbolt enclosure would be ideal but usb 3.0 enclosure would be fine too, definitely not usb 2.0 enclosures.

To answer the other question, I think you'll find that 64GB memory is overkill. I doubt you'll hit 32.

If your mostly recording live instruments or making EDM with synths & only a few sample based instruments then 16 to 24gb RAM would probably be enough. But if your using a lot of sample libraries in your projects especially Orchestral libraries, then depending on the track count you can very easily eat up 16 to 24gb RAM. It's one of the main reasons I upgraded from a 2012 i7 quad core Mac Mini with 16gb RAM, I was starting to run out of RAM on my more Orchestral based projects & it's always better to have a bit more RAM than you need when using sample libraries. I have 24gb RAM now but I plan on going up to at least 48gb very soon, it's also great that this latest iMac gives me the option to bump that up to 64gb if i need to.

well,
that's one of the cool things about logic pro x is you don't need to have the sound banks on the the same hard drive as the App it allows you to configure it for that exact purpose. I have Logic 8 running off a firewire 800 on an old and i do mean old macbook pro and have no problems at all expect for overloading an OLD macbook pro.

I'm no Logic expert since I've only been using Logic since X came out but the latest version of Logic doesn't give you the option to store the sound banks on a separate drive but you can do it yourself by using Sym links, it's a bit of extra work but it's really not that hard to do when you use an app called SymLinker.

Good luck with making your choice, it really is a great computer & more than capable for DAW use.

 

[sasha.danielle]

While it would be nice to have the extra headroom of 512Gb over a 256gb SSD, it really isn't necessary if like me you plan on only using the system SSD for Apps & plugins/virtual instruments & using an external drive for documents, music, etc. It also not a good idea to run your projects from the system drive. The general rule is System drive for DAW App & plugins, separate Project Drive & separate Samples drive. There is also no problem in using a spinning drive for projects as long as it's a 7200RPM drive, 5400RPM is definitely not recommended. A 7200RPM spinning drive can be used for sample libraries but it's much better to use an SSD as a sample library drive. Running these drives via a thunderbolt enclosure would be ideal but usb 3.0 enclosure would be fine too, definitely not usb 2.0 enclosures.

That's a good point. It never occurred to me that using separate drives would be beneficial, but now that you mention it, it seems quite obvious.