As far as your 2015 is concerned, have you checked to see if it qualifies for the battery recall? If so, Apple will replace it for free. Just a thought, in case that factors into your decision.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
The endless question about getting the new base 8-core i7 iMac 27" or waiting for Apple Silicon? Audio (external instruments) 70% + 3D Modeling 20%)
- Thread starter Paratriplel
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Sorry if my posts are long. I have a problem with that caused by neuropsychiatric issues/problems. Those issues mixed up with strong but very nice drugs/medication has made me worse and I have a huge issue writing short messages.
As soon as I try to shorten something I’ve all of a sudden written something even longer and on it goes.
I’m very sorry for this and I don’t expect anyone to understand or be able to put them self in my situation.
I totally understand if none would want to read my “monologues” though and i’m very very used to it.
As soon as I try to shorten something I’ve all of a sudden written something even longer and on it goes.
I’m very sorry for this and I don’t expect anyone to understand or be able to put them self in my situation.
I totally understand if none would want to read my “monologues” though and i’m very very used to it.
I did but it wasn’t qualified for it. It was eligible screen replacement with the glue not holding (not sure what it’s called) but I was too late, I always though I used the wrong cleaning tissues. I was about 1/2 year late. :/
I think you misunderstood me about several things here but I’m just going to address one to not write too long
I said latency is speed and 1Mb/s is something else called bandwidth. Just to clarify I used examples but obviously they were bad.
Latency is speed, how quick data goes from one position to another.
And bandwidth is how much data transfers per that time. Not sure it matters I just wanted it clarified because it seemed a bit confusing to me.
I’ve contacted Apple and asked about replacement of battery and I believe I’ll do it just to get some peace of mind.
Really sorry about the long message. Wasn’t my intention at all, I just forgot to constrain myself.
If your computer ain't broke, don't fix it.
Sad truth is, ARM is going to completely replace the entire Mac line... sooner rather than later. In the immediate future, the OS is going to put Intel-based architecture into emulation mode. Later it will lock you out of even running it. So consider Big Sur the last true INTEL-based architecture OS Apple will release. Expect the next release to put your Mac into emulation mode.
Remember the PowerPC to INTEL transition? It didn't take all that long and the major software developers were pushing INTEL based versions rather swiftly. In todays' leased software world (Adobe and the like), that transition is going to happen leaps and bounds faster than the last transition.
These new 2020 iMacs will still be on sale come next summer, there is no rush to pick one up unless your machine just imploded on you. If you're questioning the purchase or need someone to convince you that you're purchase makes sense, your gut it telling you to maybe wait. I don't know about you, but my gut is usually more right than it is wrong.
Worse thing that can happen if you wait? You get to continue using the same machine you've been using for a while longer. Worse thing that can happen if you don't wait? You end up spending $5K on a machine that you have to replace yet again in order to keep running the very software that you do now in a year or so.
Sad truth is, ARM is going to completely replace the entire Mac line... sooner rather than later. In the immediate future, the OS is going to put Intel-based architecture into emulation mode. Later it will lock you out of even running it. So consider Big Sur the last true INTEL-based architecture OS Apple will release. Expect the next release to put your Mac into emulation mode.
Remember the PowerPC to INTEL transition? It didn't take all that long and the major software developers were pushing INTEL based versions rather swiftly. In todays' leased software world (Adobe and the like), that transition is going to happen leaps and bounds faster than the last transition.
These new 2020 iMacs will still be on sale come next summer, there is no rush to pick one up unless your machine just imploded on you. If you're questioning the purchase or need someone to convince you that you're purchase makes sense, your gut it telling you to maybe wait. I don't know about you, but my gut is usually more right than it is wrong.
Worse thing that can happen if you wait? You get to continue using the same machine you've been using for a while longer. Worse thing that can happen if you don't wait? You end up spending $5K on a machine that you have to replace yet again in order to keep running the very software that you do now in a year or so.
I must say this was a very good post. I mean I know it but realize it better. Now I’m leaning towards getting the iMac 2020 again after my Apple-hating friend talked me out of it.
I know the choice is mine but it’s kind of hard to know sometimes I just feel like getting in with it but I am afraid that if I don’t go for an iMac I’ve spent the cash elsewhere (music gear can be cheap and expensive and I have a thing for the the vintage and mid expensive stuff a and lot of other stuff, that I really might not need) and of course afraid the otherwise that I’ve spent the cash on an iMac 2020 but wish I had saved them just a bit longer and gotten the big surprise Apple had for us.
ah **** it might as well spend the money on dope and get out of this misery and steal one instead!*
*yes this was a joke... heading to darknet...
Just an update.
My MacBook Pro had an issue with the backlight in the corners just the day after I wrote my last message.I’m not entirely remembering what happened now but I think it lit up full strength and looked very awkward and just minutes later I see that the resolution seem to have changed, not by much just that there was 1 cm black bar at the top.
Anyway it solves itself after a restart but still worried me. Waited to see if it would happen again but it has not.
But it made me realize I don’t want to sit around waiting for AS Macs when it happens again especially when there’s quite some waiting time until delivery at least in my country and especially when BTO and I believe I’ll most defiantly order a 1TB, Magic Trafjpad instead of mouse (just makes more sense) and maybe Magic Keyboard with numpad just because I already have the Magic Keyboard (v1) and I really can’t stand the small arrow keys (though maybe I could ask Apple if I could just exchange the one the one that comes with for the larger in a store and maybe even take a space grey one, or maybe that’s just silly...).
It’s a very though decision but I believe I’ll go for the intel iMac 2020, I might wait a few weeks just to see what the rumors say about AS now that is if there are any, had hoped for something yesterday but nope.
I was going to see and ask you people that actually got an intel iMac 2020, what configuration did you go for? Any regrets? I mean as in waiting for Apple silicon, “should have gone for the X model/BTO” etc.
I’ve seen a few express regret about getting the i9 at least but not so much the other way around which is good for me I guess.
I had a bit of a worry about the resell value and therefore thinking some I’d iMac is the right choice but I believe it is, if resell value is put aside, I’ve been so tired with the sound of an aircraft taking of for so long regarding the MacBook Pro, though it have always been able to perform the task I’ve thrown at it, so therefore there is of course the possibility of an MacBook Pro, but going for the expensive 16” now is rather dumb I’d guess... but what about getting one second hand? I’d gladly take an iMac 2019 top tier with i9 and with 0.5 - 1 TB SSD but I really haven’t seen any that isn’t priced as it was new (they are so incredibly rare in Sweden, only the 4-10 year old iMac’s seem to be mildly common). Sorry for this long and kind of monologue post. It’s just hard to reflect about these things in my head for me without actually talking with someone about it and I have none that can stand talking about Apple products except the iPhone for more than 5 min.
My MacBook Pro had an issue with the backlight in the corners just the day after I wrote my last message.I’m not entirely remembering what happened now but I think it lit up full strength and looked very awkward and just minutes later I see that the resolution seem to have changed, not by much just that there was 1 cm black bar at the top.
Anyway it solves itself after a restart but still worried me. Waited to see if it would happen again but it has not.
But it made me realize I don’t want to sit around waiting for AS Macs when it happens again especially when there’s quite some waiting time until delivery at least in my country and especially when BTO and I believe I’ll most defiantly order a 1TB, Magic Trafjpad instead of mouse (just makes more sense) and maybe Magic Keyboard with numpad just because I already have the Magic Keyboard (v1) and I really can’t stand the small arrow keys (though maybe I could ask Apple if I could just exchange the one the one that comes with for the larger in a store and maybe even take a space grey one, or maybe that’s just silly...).
It’s a very though decision but I believe I’ll go for the intel iMac 2020, I might wait a few weeks just to see what the rumors say about AS now that is if there are any, had hoped for something yesterday but nope.
I was going to see and ask you people that actually got an intel iMac 2020, what configuration did you go for? Any regrets? I mean as in waiting for Apple silicon, “should have gone for the X model/BTO” etc.
I’ve seen a few express regret about getting the i9 at least but not so much the other way around which is good for me I guess.
I had a bit of a worry about the resell value and therefore thinking some I’d iMac is the right choice but I believe it is, if resell value is put aside, I’ve been so tired with the sound of an aircraft taking of for so long regarding the MacBook Pro, though it have always been able to perform the task I’ve thrown at it, so therefore there is of course the possibility of an MacBook Pro, but going for the expensive 16” now is rather dumb I’d guess... but what about getting one second hand? I’d gladly take an iMac 2019 top tier with i9 and with 0.5 - 1 TB SSD but I really haven’t seen any that isn’t priced as it was new (they are so incredibly rare in Sweden, only the 4-10 year old iMac’s seem to be mildly common). Sorry for this long and kind of monologue post. It’s just hard to reflect about these things in my head for me without actually talking with someone about it and I have none that can stand talking about Apple products except the iPhone for more than 5 min.
Will be rare because this is a BTO model. People usually take one of the base models, which where ALL on fusion drive, and trust me you don't want this.
I'm one of those who say the resell value will be greatly inferior to anything we have seen with Apple to date. Others say there will be professionals still looking for it. One thing sure, the resell pool will be much smaller than before. Selling it will be a lot harder.
Most people go with tier-3, add the 5700/XT, upgrade to 1 TB SSD, upgrade to 10 Gbps if they it this at home, and order RAM from Crucial.
Missing punctuation here. Will skip.
Might just be software.
For what it’s worth, the main factor in my going with the 2020 iMac vs. waiting for AS was third party audio plugins.
Some audio plugin developers are small indie shops and others are huge corporations – both move slowly, for different reasons. Some of the plugins I use have just in the past few weeks become compatible with macOS Catalina, which came out over a year ago. Some still aren’t.
On the other hand, some small plugin developers have already annouced AS compatibility (Kazrog, with True Iron), which is a nice counter example to the above.
The fan in the 2020 iMac is noticeable in a quiet room (8-core i7 with the 5500 XT) but it’s much quieter than my previous iMac, which was not an issue with microphones in the same room.
Some audio plugin developers are small indie shops and others are huge corporations – both move slowly, for different reasons. Some of the plugins I use have just in the past few weeks become compatible with macOS Catalina, which came out over a year ago. Some still aren’t.
On the other hand, some small plugin developers have already annouced AS compatibility (Kazrog, with True Iron), which is a nice counter example to the above.
The fan in the 2020 iMac is noticeable in a quiet room (8-core i7 with the 5500 XT) but it’s much quieter than my previous iMac, which was not an issue with microphones in the same room.
The i3, i5, etc isn't consistently meaningful, which is really annoying. In some chips such as i5s designed with desktop units in mind, i5s with 4 cores had hyperthreading disabled. That was at least a significant distinction. Most of them were not, and I haven't checked whether that still holds. You find out for a specific processor by looking up the sku and checking whether logical cores are 2x the number of physical cores (indicating hyperthreading is enabled).
As for what that means, it means the cpu core processes can process different threads of execution on different cycles.
Ghz isn't a good measure these days. First, these are base clocks. If the machine has multiple cores being utilized, it will probably run around that point. If only 1-2 out of 4 are running, it may go higher. It's only meaningful if the problem is actually computationally bound and not bound by fetch time from memory.
This is complicated more when dealing with Apple. Apple sets their machines not to ramp up fan speeds until the machine is quite hot, so if you're running near max load for an extended period of time, you can get noticeable throttling on all models, which can push Ghz below base clock.
If they don't catch up pretty quick, you will probably want to move on anyway. I wouldn't go for top spec either way. You'll never see any of that money spent on upgrades back again. With a transition like this, you'll see even less. Only pay for it if you think you can extract a lot of value over the next couple years.
People always seem to talk themselves into buying what they don't need, or at least the ones that create threads do.
Extremely good post. Every bit I it.
If I take my MacBook Pro and fix it’s battery and have it cleaned I hope it will last quite a bit longer, maybe enough to jump on AS Macs or at least until we have more information about what’s coming and how soon.
Silliest thing is I guess I’m afraid that due to corona unemployment I’m afraid I won’t have the cash to get a new computer when I have to, and therefore would like to think ahead but might as well just try to get out what little is left in my MacBook Pro and try to train the good old self discipline a bit.
I'm also thinking the same for my late-2013 15 inch. The battery is about to explode in it ... but my friend working at Apple say not to invest a dime on this machine considering the heavy usage I made it endure over the 7 years of ownership. The Mac is in mint condition, but have suffered from intensive computing usage.
I think if a vendor has taken a year to provide a Catalina compatible plugin, that would suggest they were not keeping their code base up to date. That suggests that they may take a while to migrate the code to ARM. It is possible that they did all the hard work moving to Catalina, but I think you did the right thing buying the 2020 iMac.
That situation would not make me more likely to buy something earlier. At the very least it would motivate me to look for savings. I would say that if you can't extract the full value that you pay within 2 years without hedging on residual value, this is a bad time to buy.
If you are going to buy anyway, I would keep an eye on the refurbished section and holiday offers, including Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Sometimes these track only the higher end models, but we are approaching the holiday season.
Thanks. Maybe I should not invest any money in it to change battery but has there been any cases where this has actually ended in tragedy (broken computer or even damage to a human)?
I was sure that I’d wait just a few days ago and now again a bit decided but I think it’s a GAS thing maybe.
I’ve been thinking about maybe getting an iPad Pro instead and pencil instead, I’ve had thought for quite some time now.
Also it should work with my future audio interface according to the manufacture and I really would like to start creating visually, second hans units in Sweden aren’t that cheap though and a new one are rather expensive (of course) but with the AirPods and education discount I guess I’d be better of buying new.
To save money would of course be the best thing but it’s not my best quality but I’ve managed to save up a bit now and hopefully I’ll be able to keep them around. I also have some other savings but I’m trying not to touch those unless it’s a real emergency. I know it’s a good time to try to become better at it but I guess some people just aren’t good with money burn necessarily bad either, I just seem to adopt to my situation instead.
Guess I’m a bit afraid that Apple will do what th wet always do, make a computer that is expensive but still not crazy expensive but then it’s “barely” able to do what I need it to do, but they also offer an even better computer that does what I need it to do with ease but of course for a big pile of more cash that it is not worth, not that much, but either you get the “barely”-computer or the “ease”-computer.
I really feel that the current 27” iMac is the only computer that is really worth what it costs, sure expensive but you get a fantastic screen and great performance, not the best cooling but it seems to work (at least now with the i7). It’s only the future and what we know is coming that may make it a bit less price worthy.
I would go for a refurbished one, even one that has some esthetic damage on the back to get the price down a bit but for some reason Apple only sells iPhones in their refurbished store here in Sweden and even that is kind of new. I guess they ship the refurbished to other countries? Or could it be that it’s only phones the haven’t been bought yet and the refurbished Macs being sold are out of stock?
I haven’t used my battery much in my MacBook Pro, I’ve had it since 2016 and it only has 150 cycles, I’ve only unplugged it once in a while because I heard something about that it’s good to do a “full recharge process” once in a while/every 3 months, many years ago.
So is it a good idea to start using the battery and unplugging it more?
Or the opposite to never use it on battery.
If I get off my butt I could probably make some more money with my computer if I buy it, more then with my current? Unlikely but not impossible.
I know logic says it’s a bad idea to purchase now because
A) I have used very few plugins last few years because I’ve had an Apollo interface, plugins in chips, though I plan on buying another one instead and selling this one and then start using more plugins but I know that I could find another plugin which does about the same thing as the one missing from Apple Silicon.
B) I don’t need Windows/bootcamp (when Apple don’t want you to buy intel made anymore I’m sure they will “solve” that somehow though
).
There are some vague points to buying and the make clear one is that I’ll stop spending so much time on reading and sometimes writing on forums and such and just get this out of my system and start being or trying to be productive instead, I’ve tried letting it go several times and I mostly end up a bit empty inside for a day or two and then the urge comes back, almost like a relief
I was sure that I’d wait just a few days ago and now again a bit decided but I think it’s a GAS thing maybe.
I’ve been thinking about maybe getting an iPad Pro instead and pencil instead, I’ve had thought for quite some time now.
Also it should work with my future audio interface according to the manufacture and I really would like to start creating visually, second hans units in Sweden aren’t that cheap though and a new one are rather expensive (of course) but with the AirPods and education discount I guess I’d be better of buying new.
To save money would of course be the best thing but it’s not my best quality but I’ve managed to save up a bit now and hopefully I’ll be able to keep them around. I also have some other savings but I’m trying not to touch those unless it’s a real emergency. I know it’s a good time to try to become better at it but I guess some people just aren’t good with money burn necessarily bad either, I just seem to adopt to my situation instead.
Guess I’m a bit afraid that Apple will do what th wet always do, make a computer that is expensive but still not crazy expensive but then it’s “barely” able to do what I need it to do, but they also offer an even better computer that does what I need it to do with ease but of course for a big pile of more cash that it is not worth, not that much, but either you get the “barely”-computer or the “ease”-computer.
I really feel that the current 27” iMac is the only computer that is really worth what it costs, sure expensive but you get a fantastic screen and great performance, not the best cooling but it seems to work (at least now with the i7). It’s only the future and what we know is coming that may make it a bit less price worthy.
I would go for a refurbished one, even one that has some esthetic damage on the back to get the price down a bit but for some reason Apple only sells iPhones in their refurbished store here in Sweden and even that is kind of new. I guess they ship the refurbished to other countries? Or could it be that it’s only phones the haven’t been bought yet and the refurbished Macs being sold are out of stock?
I haven’t used my battery much in my MacBook Pro, I’ve had it since 2016 and it only has 150 cycles, I’ve only unplugged it once in a while because I heard something about that it’s good to do a “full recharge process” once in a while/every 3 months, many years ago.
So is it a good idea to start using the battery and unplugging it more?
Or the opposite to never use it on battery.
If I get off my butt I could probably make some more money with my computer if I buy it, more then with my current? Unlikely but not impossible.
I know logic says it’s a bad idea to purchase now because
A) I have used very few plugins last few years because I’ve had an Apollo interface, plugins in chips, though I plan on buying another one instead and selling this one and then start using more plugins but I know that I could find another plugin which does about the same thing as the one missing from Apple Silicon.
B) I don’t need Windows/bootcamp (when Apple don’t want you to buy intel made anymore I’m sure they will “solve” that somehow though
).There are some vague points to buying and the make clear one is that I’ll stop spending so much time on reading and sometimes writing on forums and such and just get this out of my system and start being or trying to be productive instead, I’ve tried letting it go several times and I mostly end up a bit empty inside for a day or two and then the urge comes back, almost like a relief
Again just my opinion here but this is not a GAS curing Mac.
I’m happy I bought mine and it’s super fast and so far has been very reliable. It’s a very solid upgrade for me but it’s very much just a tool. It does not, in my opinion, have that ineffable Apple thing.
There are so many little quality control things that it does not feel like it comes from the same company that made my 2011 iMac, or even more recent butterfly era MacBook Pros that I’ve had or my iPhone 11.
Just off the top of my head: the aluminium is not finished properly on all sides, there’s a rough burr on the bottom of the front of the case. The display is not flush with the case. The fan is not as quiet as it could be and makes weird little noises at startup. The RAM door does not quite fit properly. There was a glob of glue on the back of the case.
It’s a perfectly fine computer in terms of what it can do but it does not meet the standards I expect from Apple.
I hope this is just some weird transitional thing because they are clearly still capable of making excellent devices (my iPhone 11 is flawless) and I don’t want to buy into the cynical idea that they just don’t care about the Mac as much.
I intend to use this iMac until an AS equivalent is available and most (not even all) kinks in third party software have been worked out. Hopefully this will be before AppleCare+ runs out.
I really needed a modern Mac now so this one was still probably the best choice for me. In retrospect I should have upgraded earlier, maybe around 2015 or so but my 2011 iMac honestly never held me back until a few months ago.
So I say this is a fine computer if you need it but it may not be the thing you want. Then again they do have the no questions asked two week return window.
I don't know what ARM will mean for independent plugin makers for audio - ValhallaDSP, Soundtoys, etc. - but I wouldn't want to rely on Apple's code translation in a place where speed/latency matters so much.
I just ordered a 2020 iMac so I could move my 2019 to my office after my work PC dropped dead. I went big and got the 4TB SSD because I'm tired of external drives and worrying about sample libraries and so on taking up too much room.
My feeling is that this should be the iMac to last me that gets me well past the first teething problems of a processor line switch.
I just ordered a 2020 iMac so I could move my 2019 to my office after my work PC dropped dead. I went big and got the 4TB SSD because I'm tired of external drives and worrying about sample libraries and so on taking up too much room.
My feeling is that this should be the iMac to last me that gets me well past the first teething problems of a processor line switch.
I did the same, and for the same reasons. Went REALLY big on the SSD: i7/5700 (not XT)/8GB.
I guess that the GAS will soon reappear even I get the 2020 iMac. I guess I just hope to get some cure for it (but it’s actually kind of nice when it’s acting out and a bit sad when it’s fulfilled. Though that feeling sinks down to some depression like feeling after a while when I don’t act on it and when that happens I have problems spending money on things I truely do need).
I also guess it’s some of those worries that cross my mind, now that I’ve decided to sell the Apollo and go native with plugins I would hate it if Apple Silicon somehow was making latency really bad, I have a bit of outboard but not enough to keep me above water if it is truly disastrous in someway.
When I contacted a repair technician about replacing the battery he even told me that the computer is quite old and he wouldn’t want to spend the cash it costs on a computer that old and instead recommended me to get a newer one and he or the company does not even sell computers.
Oh well. I guess most of us have made or are making tough decision about this right now.
What I personally feel stressed about is loosing my educational discount soon (I think?) and also the AirPods campaign ending in a few days (I would like a pair if AirPods but also to sell them and use the money towards AirPods Studio if in the end it’s truly something to be excited about) and it would just be frustrating to not have decided until after and missing out on the opportunity.
I would be interested in getting an iPad Pro but in just afraid it will go the faith of my old iPad 3, just being out in a box after about 6-12 months while I’ll use an iMac a few hours a day minimum, I’d take a an MacBook Pro if it could just perform 80% of the iMac’a performance or just had less issues with thermals and fan noise, that way I would maybe use the MacBook Pro even more hours and the only thing I’d be missing from the iPad Pro would be the pencil support and it’s just because it looks really fun I even care about that.
Though seriously the campaign for AirPods ends in less than a week, if I should buy something I need to decide.
I’ve already bought 32 GB of RAM when I bought it did the 2019 iMac so at least that’s not any extra money being spent.
My current MacBook Pro has also had some issues when I played around with some simple 3D modeling (in Fusion 360), it got really slow then crashed, like 4 times in 30 min but now I can’t even see if this is a sign to buy or if I’m trying to fool myself to think that way to motivate myself to buy it.
The delivery times are crazy so it seems I’ll have to wait until 19th of October and two weeks earlier if I skip the 1TB BTO bur usually they ship faster than what they say but I have never ordered when delivery times are like this. Same delay for iPad Pro’s...
I also guess it’s some of those worries that cross my mind, now that I’ve decided to sell the Apollo and go native with plugins I would hate it if Apple Silicon somehow was making latency really bad, I have a bit of outboard but not enough to keep me above water if it is truly disastrous in someway.
When I contacted a repair technician about replacing the battery he even told me that the computer is quite old and he wouldn’t want to spend the cash it costs on a computer that old and instead recommended me to get a newer one and he or the company does not even sell computers.
Oh well. I guess most of us have made or are making tough decision about this right now.
What I personally feel stressed about is loosing my educational discount soon (I think?) and also the AirPods campaign ending in a few days (I would like a pair if AirPods but also to sell them and use the money towards AirPods Studio if in the end it’s truly something to be excited about) and it would just be frustrating to not have decided until after and missing out on the opportunity.
I would be interested in getting an iPad Pro but in just afraid it will go the faith of my old iPad 3, just being out in a box after about 6-12 months while I’ll use an iMac a few hours a day minimum, I’d take a an MacBook Pro if it could just perform 80% of the iMac’a performance or just had less issues with thermals and fan noise, that way I would maybe use the MacBook Pro even more hours and the only thing I’d be missing from the iPad Pro would be the pencil support and it’s just because it looks really fun I even care about that.
Though seriously the campaign for AirPods ends in less than a week, if I should buy something I need to decide.
I’ve already bought 32 GB of RAM when I bought it did the 2019 iMac so at least that’s not any extra money being spent.
My current MacBook Pro has also had some issues when I played around with some simple 3D modeling (in Fusion 360), it got really slow then crashed, like 4 times in 30 min but now I can’t even see if this is a sign to buy or if I’m trying to fool myself to think that way to motivate myself to buy it.
The delivery times are crazy so it seems I’ll have to wait until 19th of October and two weeks earlier if I skip the 1TB BTO bur usually they ship faster than what they say but I have never ordered when delivery times are like this. Same delay for iPad Pro’s...
I must say that one thing that gives a point to getting the current iMac is that first, I believe it’s more than adequate to do what I need it to do and for several years if I want it to but the thing that would motivate getting the Intel iMac instead of waiting for the AS Mac is that I cannot know whenever the audio interface manufacture I want to go with for the next few years gets a interface that works and that works well with an Apple Silicon Mac out or what it would cost.
While the Intel iMac seems to work fine with most current available interfaces. The MOTU 828es that I’m currently leaning towards (I have an UA Apollo x8 now) is an Thunderbolt 2 interface and also has a “High speed USB 2.0“ port and sure the USB port will probably work fine with whatever comes out but I feel people has raised doubt in me about AS Macs and Thunderbolt, I mean that they made me worry about if Apple implements it and trouble free but i still feel it’s more likely they will figure it out and hopefully it comes with USB4 and perfectly fine backwards compatibility than not. I guess we’ll know soon.
While the Intel iMac seems to work fine with most current available interfaces. The MOTU 828es that I’m currently leaning towards (I have an UA Apollo x8 now) is an Thunderbolt 2 interface and also has a “High speed USB 2.0“ port and sure the USB port will probably work fine with whatever comes out but I feel people has raised doubt in me about AS Macs and Thunderbolt, I mean that they made me worry about if Apple implements it and trouble free but i still feel it’s more likely they will figure it out and hopefully it comes with USB4 and perfectly fine backwards compatibility than not. I guess we’ll know soon.
Honestly, you are overthinking all of this. You're tying yourself in knots. if you can use the machine now, and it sounds like you can, you should get the current iMac, get your interface, and get to work.
Also, if you're looking for a Thunderbolt 3 audio interface and want to save a few bucks, consider the Presonus Quantum 2626, which is cheaper than the MOTU 828es (which I was also considering), and quite a bit less daunting. If you don't need the bells and whistles (and aggravation) of the MOTU, this is a very viable option.
Overthinking is to put it mildly.
Yes I should just go for the current iMac and get the interface I decide on. Quantum was very interesting to me a year or two ago. Seemed just like the type of interface I was looking for as in low latency,tb3 and good sounding. That was the Quantum 4848 I was looking at but the dsubs frightened me a bit, as in that it would cost me another 60-100 EUR per cable and the interface itself cost about 1500 EUR (though the Apollo x8 that I’ve currently got cost me about 2800 EUR so it was a bit silly).
When the Quantum 2626 came out I heard / read that they had changed the AD/DA and used cheaper chips and that it sounded worse than the 4848, not sure I’d notice but it sadly put me off of it.
Today I’ve pretty much decided about getting a MOTU but it’s more due to reading how people are so satisfied with them but if something makes more sense I’d absolutely go for it.
Quantum interfaces I’ve understood is just the interface and the only thing that you “tweak” inside your computer would be the inputs and outputs inside your DAW. Is that correct?
I like that thought but being allergic to latency (when I got my first Apollo I thought something was wrong with it or at least wrongly setup because I was so used to latency I had learned to compensate for it so whenever I played I felt the timing sounded off. Now I’ve learned to play in realtime time and I don’t want to “adjust” it again) I’m a bit afraid about not having the possibility to direct monitor. Maybe it won’t be an issue. I mean my projects nowadays are very low demanding because I can’t seem to finish stuff and even struggle to, as you say, get to work so maybe I should worry about it less. With a brand new top of the line iMac I assume that latency should be handled and something I should have no problems with even if there’s no direct monitoring.
I do however fear it will be frustrating to have to click in direct monitoring in Logic Pro on every channel I want to hear (I’m used to just play whatever I want without having to worry about that and then just arm the track).
Maybe I should turn the Apollo into a non direct monitoring interface and try to use it (if I can she it it’s one of bad latency) and see if I can figure that stuff out some way or if I can live with the endless clicking. It’s why I don’t use my patchbays that much and instead I have almost everything I play regularly hooked up through them half normal to my inputs, so that I can just play on a synth and then on the next one and so on.
I know the MOTU have it’s “software”/web interface and that it can be setup so that you don’t have to touch it afterwards if you don’t want to. I know people say that it’s routing system is complicated but I think I understand it (without even tried it, so maybe I’m wrong about that) and it seems logical to me.
I plan to set all my inputs (at first 24 and later probably expanded to 32-48 through AD and other MOTU AVB-interface) so that they route directly to my main monitoring so that I can play similar to how I play now but still can software monitor when I want.
Though I might just make my next audio interface mistake and maybe I should try a second hand quantum 2626 at first to see what it’s about and if I’m satisfied I’m satisfied not easy to find one in Sweden though.
Menthol, would you care to explain to me what makes you feel Personus Quantum is “better” than MOTU’s mid/higher priced interfaces (excluding their really cheap alternatives) such as their 828es?
Trying to not be too of topic with this thread but I guess it’s in its last legs now and the interface is highly relevant as it’s what I’ll connect to the iMac and use most of the time I use the iMac.
I think my wishful thinking hoped that the answer is get would be in one direction and very convincing as in “buy the iMac” or “don’t buy the iMac and instead wait for AS Mac’s” but maybe nothing could have been said to convince me enough neither way.
I really think I’ll order it though. Just a but hesitant about 0,5 TB or 1 TB for storage.
Also, I have 32 GB of 2666MHz ram by Corsair model named Vengence and have not seen anything about these mentioned.
I asked for Crucial with the correct specs when I went to the store but they must have heard it wrong or given me what people usually ask for. When I bought ram for my 2019 iMac that I returned. You think it will work fine if it worked fine in the 2019 iMac? Seems to be ram ranked high (actually #1) for gaming I saw when I googled it a few weeks afi
Yes I should just go for the current iMac and get the interface I decide on. Quantum was very interesting to me a year or two ago. Seemed just like the type of interface I was looking for as in low latency,tb3 and good sounding. That was the Quantum 4848 I was looking at but the dsubs frightened me a bit, as in that it would cost me another 60-100 EUR per cable and the interface itself cost about 1500 EUR (though the Apollo x8 that I’ve currently got cost me about 2800 EUR so it was a bit silly).
When the Quantum 2626 came out I heard / read that they had changed the AD/DA and used cheaper chips and that it sounded worse than the 4848, not sure I’d notice but it sadly put me off of it.
Today I’ve pretty much decided about getting a MOTU but it’s more due to reading how people are so satisfied with them but if something makes more sense I’d absolutely go for it.
Quantum interfaces I’ve understood is just the interface and the only thing that you “tweak” inside your computer would be the inputs and outputs inside your DAW. Is that correct?
I like that thought but being allergic to latency (when I got my first Apollo I thought something was wrong with it or at least wrongly setup because I was so used to latency I had learned to compensate for it so whenever I played I felt the timing sounded off. Now I’ve learned to play in realtime time and I don’t want to “adjust” it again) I’m a bit afraid about not having the possibility to direct monitor. Maybe it won’t be an issue. I mean my projects nowadays are very low demanding because I can’t seem to finish stuff and even struggle to, as you say, get to work so maybe I should worry about it less. With a brand new top of the line iMac I assume that latency should be handled and something I should have no problems with even if there’s no direct monitoring.
I do however fear it will be frustrating to have to click in direct monitoring in Logic Pro on every channel I want to hear (I’m used to just play whatever I want without having to worry about that and then just arm the track).
Maybe I should turn the Apollo into a non direct monitoring interface and try to use it (if I can she it it’s one of bad latency) and see if I can figure that stuff out some way or if I can live with the endless clicking. It’s why I don’t use my patchbays that much and instead I have almost everything I play regularly hooked up through them half normal to my inputs, so that I can just play on a synth and then on the next one and so on.
I know the MOTU have it’s “software”/web interface and that it can be setup so that you don’t have to touch it afterwards if you don’t want to. I know people say that it’s routing system is complicated but I think I understand it (without even tried it, so maybe I’m wrong about that) and it seems logical to me.
I plan to set all my inputs (at first 24 and later probably expanded to 32-48 through AD and other MOTU AVB-interface) so that they route directly to my main monitoring so that I can play similar to how I play now but still can software monitor when I want.
Though I might just make my next audio interface mistake and maybe I should try a second hand quantum 2626 at first to see what it’s about and if I’m satisfied I’m satisfied not easy to find one in Sweden though.
Menthol, would you care to explain to me what makes you feel Personus Quantum is “better” than MOTU’s mid/higher priced interfaces (excluding their really cheap alternatives) such as their 828es?
Trying to not be too of topic with this thread but I guess it’s in its last legs now and the interface is highly relevant as it’s what I’ll connect to the iMac and use most of the time I use the iMac.
I think my wishful thinking hoped that the answer is get would be in one direction and very convincing as in “buy the iMac” or “don’t buy the iMac and instead wait for AS Mac’s” but maybe nothing could have been said to convince me enough neither way.
I really think I’ll order it though. Just a but hesitant about 0,5 TB or 1 TB for storage.
Also, I have 32 GB of 2666MHz ram by Corsair model named Vengence and have not seen anything about these mentioned.
I asked for Crucial with the correct specs when I went to the store but they must have heard it wrong or given me what people usually ask for. When I bought ram for my 2019 iMac that I returned. You think it will work fine if it worked fine in the 2019 iMac? Seems to be ram ranked high (actually #1) for gaming I saw when I googled it a few weeks afi
Haha, I would never spend that much in a BTO and he’s sadly that you even should have to just to be able to install your own SSD in your own computer bought for over 2500 EUR with your own money.Good idea..I have had two 1TB internal SSDs fail. A 4TB should last
Edit: In Sweden an iMac with 4 TB would cost US$4850 or 4150 EUR.