What are you still using an Intel Mac for?

[padams35]

Email/Internet/iWork and family Photo/Video editing can be done equally well on either my 2018 mini or my M1-Pro MBP. Which to use is a matter of convenience. Do I want the mini that is already setup at the desk with mouse/monitor, or do I want to carry the MBP off with me somewhere on battery?

Steam gaming and running linux outside a VM however still goes to Intel.

The M1-Pro MBP is really good by laptop standards, but it still isn't as good as the RX 6600XT in my Mac Mini eGPU. I suppose I could have gotten an even faster 'Max' Apple Silicon, but there is no way I could justify the expense when the extra power is only wanted for the occasional desktop gaming and I have a perfectly good 2018 Mini + eGPU.

Linux support for Apple Silicon has gotten better, but until they get USB-C display output working I will still need to keep at least one Intel machine around.

 

[Rank Sarpac]

This post might belong in a different forum (so, apologies to the mods in advance). But, in the spirit of the Intel to Apple Silicon Mac transition, I'll pose the following question:

For those still holding onto Intel-based Macs (however old or recent they may be), what are you still using your Intel-based Mac for? What are you doing/using with yours that cannot be done on an Apple Silicon Mac using Rosetta 2?

Personally, I have a small handful of 2014 and 2015 era MacBook Pros and Airs for running Mojave and the few 32-bit only apps I still have. But I also have a MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2019) for Boot Camp and x86-64 virtualization (both of which are non-existent on an Apple Silicon Mac). I'd imagine my reliance on these things will very quickly transition from "maintaining legacy compatibility with something I have a likelihood of using semi-regularly" to "security blanket" as time marches on. But, for now, that's what I'm rocking.

What about you? What are you still using an Intel Mac for that won't work on an Apple Silicon Mac?

I’m simply broke. But the Late 2014 5K iMac still gets the job done… as long as I edit with proxies, ha.

 

[wanha]

When I switched to an M2 MBA two years ago, I relegated my old 2014 MBP as my home media server for all the AppleTVs in the house via Home Sharing.

I use Amphetamine to keep the Mac awake 24/7 (even with the lid closed) and alDente to stop it from charging the battery past 80%.

None of this is somehow special or unique to Intel as it could be done just as easily on Apple Silicon, but it puts the old hardware to functional use.

 

[riptilian]

I have a windows virtual machine on VMWare created on a PC years ago. It will not run on ARM, so I keep a 2018 MacBook Pro in reserve.

 

[Siliconguy]

The 2014 2.6 Ghz i5 Mac mini is in the stereo cabinet for music and video. It's hooked up the home theater receiver. It also has the original Fusion Drive still whirring along.

The 2014 3.0 Ghz i7 Mac mini (with 16 GB) is the file server. It has Monterey on a 256 GB SSD, a 1 TB SSD in the SATA position, and a 2 TB external HDD. The serial number says the mini was actually built in 2017.

There is also a 2010 Mac Pro and a 2012 mini, but although they both have Mohave installed they are primarily Linux boxes. The Pro also has a Bootcamp partition for my very few Windows programs.

 

[meme1255]

I still use/suffer using my MBP 2018 as my daily driver for everything from office stuff to programming since last few years I couldn't afford to replace it yet since I had to fund more important things, mainly health-related ((long-)covid being a large part of that, thank you for nothing).

I'm looking forward to the day I'll replace it with M4 Pro, a long overdue upgrade.

 

[dawnrazor]

to the OP… I’m not hanging onto my 2019 MBP necessarily, I just haven’t felt the need to upgrade it to a new machine as it still does everything I ask it to do… admittedly its not my main work machine, so it’s task list isn’t terribly tasking and that is perhaps part of the reason it hasn’t been upgraded yet… I also run a 2021 iPad Pro 12.9” that I also feel no need to upgrade and admittedly gets more use then the MBP. I have tried to survive on only the iPad but that does not work for me and there are several things I need a laptop top, albeit infrequently… which is annoying…

The more interesting question is what do I replace a reasonably well spec’d 2019 MBP with in 2024….

The answer is probably a refurbished M2 Air…

I find that alone remarkable

 

[aranhamo76]

What a silly question. The first Apple Silicon Macs came out less than four years ago. A lot of Intel Macs are still working just fine, and there's no reason to upgrade your laptop if it still works.

Exactly. I used my previous laptop for seven years before replacing it with my 2019 MBP, and my 2012 MBP is currently being used by my son for college. My MBP supports Sequoia. What do I need a new one for?

 

[Wizpod96]

I still rip CDs for limited music that I truly want to own. So my 2016 mbp is kept for that since I can’t seem to locate an external disc drive that will work with the M3 I just got. Overkill I know.

 

[turbineseaplane]

Retroactive's author now warns of limited support and urges the use of other software.

Oh? For OS's moving forward I assume?

I won't be on anything newer than Ventura (or Sonoma) anytime moving forward anyhow, but good to know, thank you for sharing.

That's yet another reason to not be on any of the newer macOS's for me

Apple Music is one of the worst Apps I've ever used.
I hate just about everything about it

 

[Grumpus]

Oh? For OS's moving forward I assume?

My take from the Retroactive README is that he means now and going forward.

Apple Music is one of the worst Apps I've ever used.

Maybe because you haven't used Podcasts.app?

 

[asdfjkl;]

2018 Mac mini, 32GB. Mainly use for basic home computing tasks: Safari / Chrome, Mail, Pages, Numbers. Will likely use until it’s no longer supported and then repurpose running Ubuntu.

 

[profH]

VMWare with Windows XP for a particular piece of legacy software I use a lot (it finally runs in a Parallels-emulated Windows ARM environment, but not as well)

 

[redheeler]

No particular reason other than it still works okay-ish...

 

[redheeler]

2015 MacBook Pro. Sits on a shelf above me humming along as my Plex Server. Haven't had to touch it in months and it has more than enough horsepower for that one simple task. I'll leave it be in that role until it dies a natural death.

Which I suppose isn't really what you were asking—I don't keep it specifically because it is an Intel machine, I keep it because it's functional and there's no need to spend money on a different machine for the job.

It may be a while before it dies a natural death. I have a Mac mini from early 2009 happily humming along as a web server. On Debian of course, not MacOS.

 

[turbineseaplane]

Maybe because you haven't used Podcasts.app?

You’re right. I never have.
Thx for the warning!

 

[turbineseaplane]

My take from the Retroactive README is that he means now and going forward.

Can you please point to anything specific?
I don’t see anything in there other than what’s always been there

The encouragement to use other apps has been a long-standing thing

 

[Grumpus]

Can you please point to anything specific?
I don’t see anything in there other than what’s always been there

The encouragement to use other apps has been a long-standing thing

I'm not sure how much more specific I could be. Encouraging you to use other apps is equivalent to discouraging you from using Retroactive, and that text is relatively new. Before it was added there were several long periods when the author didn't respond to bug reports at all. I'm not saying you shouldn't use it, but I think the author is saying exactly that.

 

[bryo]

Mine is about unusual but I have some 2008 24 inch iMacs that’s have the 8800 GS graphics cards. I upgraded 2 of these spec machines with 4gb ram and a small SSD, and they are running boot camp with windows xp and vista. They are AWESOME for early/mid 2000s gaming and even some 90s pc gaming.

I find sometimes it’s easier and more nostalgic to just play those games on older machines with an older OS.

It’s also super convenient because the iMacs are fairly space efficient for storage, and the 16:10 1200P screens still look very good despite a bit of yellowing. Built in speakers and all that are a nice bonus too.

 

[mectojic]

Mine is about unusual but I have some 2008 24 inch iMacs that’s have the 8800 GS graphics cards. I upgraded 2 of these spec machines with 4gb ram and a small SSD, and they are running boot camp with windows xp and vista. They are AWESOME for early/mid 2000s gaming and even some 90s pc gaming.

I find sometimes it’s easier and more nostalgic to just play those games on older machines with an older OS.

It’s also super convenient because the iMacs are fairly space efficient for storage, and the 16:10 1200P screens still look very good despite a bit of yellowing. Built in speakers and all that are a nice bonus too.

Old iMacs as retro gaming machines is definitely a thing. I think more people need to get on board with this.

 

[krell100]

Late 2013 MacPro "Trashcan" with 64Gb RAM and a 1TB SSD. Audio production. Never missed a beat in the 10 years I've been running it, it's been a rock solid and reliable work machine.

Planning on moving to an M4/5 Mac Studio once they are available. I'm looking forward to freezing less tracks and being able to run heavy effects chains and instruments.

 

[progx]

I plan on upgrading, but my late 2018 i7 mini is going along for my needs. Also, still not sure if I want another mini or get a MacBook. My plan is making my current mini into a server once I get my next machine.

For now, surfing the web, handling my music files, document and spreadsheets, the i7 mini can handle it.

 

[Foxglove9]

I still use a 2017 i5 27" iMac as my main machine. Light Final Cut, Logic, Photo Editing, nothing too crazy. It's definitely feeling sluggish and old for a very long time now (Doesn't even receive updates anymore). Been waiting for a 27" refresh, but since that's not happening I decided to wait for the M3 Studio or Mac mini. Which doesn't seem like is happening either, so I wait some more.

 

[nathansz]

I built a new Intel “Mac” a few months ago

14700k + rx 6800

I use it for Logic Pro, excel, mail, web and all around computing

An apple silicon Mac will not allow me to:

purchase a powerful computer at an affordable price

Have a real gpu

Put as many drives in the machine as
I like and replace them at will

Boot in to windows to play games and Linux and bsd to play around

Etc, etc


……

2012 Mac mini, meanwhile, is the home file server: plex, Time Machine backups, etc

 

[minik]

BootCamp here on a 15-inch MacBook Pro (2019). I could easily pick up a DELL Latitude at work however I was picky and the primary tech focus on Apple devices.