New computer needed for audio production work

[ApprehensiveKoala]

Looking for preferably a laptop, but I will settle for anything at this point if it is relatively affordable.

I would like at least 64gb ram. My options as I see them are which are all in the same price ballpark: 1. 16" Macbook pro 2. Mac Mini 3. new Imac 27" 4. Trashcan mac pro

I'm willing to buy used. Which system would give me the most bang for my buck? The new imacs and trashcans can theoretically take up to 128gb of ram, which is an added bonus.

My 'high load' computer usage can involve having logic, ableton and another 3rd party application open at the same time, hundreds of tracks, hundreds of plugins and sample libraries loaded into ram.

Given that I'm not really doing video, I'm unsure if there is a processor speed, where going beyond it has a diminishing return where the speed advantages barely even register.

 

[James_C]

Unless you need portability I would go for the new iMac 27. The 27" will give you a lot more screen real estate. I would just get the basic 8GB of RAM from Apple, and buy the RAM you need from someone like Crucial. You will save a lot of money that way. While the RAM in the iMac 27" is user upgradable the SSD drive is soldered to the motherboard so make sure you choose the size you need. However I see you have a preference for a laptop in which case the 16" MBP may be your best bet.

 

[apple_unreal]

Get the iMac and at least 1TB of internal SSD HD. I use Logic Pro, the library is huge. I have some other plugins with libraries. I have a Mac Mini because I have a 30" Cinema Display already, if not I would take the iMac. The iMac has a very fast system bus. The 1TB is for all that library, you will need about 600GB for all those softwares and the bunch of things you will be adding. You can have external drives just to storage the projects and other things. Logc Pro gets slow when it has to pull audio for the instruments, having everything internal is better.

And the ram... it all depends on how many plugins you are going to have open. I have 64MB of ram but I think 16 or 32 would do. If you have 16, jump to 64 or more. But the iMac is amazing for audio, any iMac basically.

 

[0128672]

Working with hundreds of tracks in Logic on the 16” can be a challenge and an eye strain, so unless you’re also considering a minimum 27” external display, I’d go with the new 27” iMac for the screen size, and all the other reasons James Craner mentioned.