Planning to buy a new computer

Shadaab Kadri · 2022-03-25T13:11:09+00:00

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Hey guys, Im planning to upgrade my old Asus gaming laptop and buy a new machine for live performances and music production. Was thinking of going the M1pro or M1 route. Good option? Does it work fine with Maschine software? Any other laptops someone can recommend? Thank you very much!

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Kubrak

It depends, what NI SW you use. Most, if any, NI SW is ported natively to M1 chip. There is not any timefrime when it will be done. Probably this year. But Reaktor might take longer.

I am not on Mac, but my feeling is that everything by NI should run under Rosetta2.

If you decide to stay on Win platform, AMDs Zen3+ (6xxx) or Zen3 (5xxx) might be interesting. Or wait, say, half year an there will be even better Zen4 (+20-30%).

Also soon might be released M2 machines....

I do not know how well/badly Maschine runs on latest (12xxx) Intel CPUs that have big and little cores.

Shadaab Kadri

https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/10792#Comment_10792

Thanks for taking the time out to reply! I appreciate it. I've been on a windows laptop for a while now (more than 8 years) and I can't complain a lot about the performance, for the price it has been exceptional, I still face the occasional clicks and pops or random issues which I have no explanation for. The 12th gen Intel chips look promising.

I am very tempted with the new Apple Silicon architecture because of the battery life, energy efficiency and performance without a charging cable attached to the laptop. I know it also comes with a very heavy price tag so I am just making sure I make the right decision before I invest in something. It's all hard-earned savings so I don't want to make a mistake. :)

djadidai

I have a MacBook Pro M1 16gig ram, 1st gen (1,5 yrs old), and it’s flying. I use Logic X and maschine 2 software everything else that comes with it plus the light trilogy and loads of expansions n shietz. Never had any performance issues or hiccups or clicks or anything. It’s a beast.

Shadaab Kadri

https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/10826#Comment_10826

Oh, that's good to know. I was also contemplating getting that one but a little tempted to get the new 14inch Macbook pro. It's just super expensive so I might stick with the 13inch one.

Kubrak

@Shadaab Kadri

I am very tempted with the new Apple Silicon architecture because of the battery life, energy efficiency and performance without a charging cable attached to the laptop.

Check new AMD Zen3+ Ryzens, they are stronger than basic M1 and consume similarly, maybe just a little bit more. And comming soon Zen4 will consume even less and have 20-30% CPU power more.

Also depending what you do, 16GB of RAM might not be sufficient if using large symphonic libraries like Stradivari Violin.

Shadaab Kadri

https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/10829#Comment_10829

The 12th gen intel chips seem to be better than the AMD chips. I don't think I will go the windows way again. I have been using 16GB ram in my 4th gen intel and it's fine so 16GB on Mac should be more than enough. :)

Kaldosh

What you must not forget if you go that route is that your sound card and plugins have proper drivers for the Mac OS generation you are purchasing as for instance some plugin manufacturers make you pay for os compatibility so you’d better check first that this new OS won’t oblige you to spend additional money on plug-in upgrades. Just something not to overlook if it is already a big budget for you. Also if you have a lot of MIDI controllers or external devices like hard drives or usb dongles or even a secondary screen, you’ll need a good usb C hub as the connectivity has changed, and it is also another thing to think about

Kubrak

@Shadaab Kadri

The 12th gen intel chips seem to be better than the AMD chips.

It depends on the point of view. 12th gen Intels are slightly better in singlecore. But Zen3+ family has significantly lower power use. Close to M1.

And if comparing just iGPU Zen3+ has it at least twice as stronger as latest Intels....

And concerning memory. I have been for years fine with 8 GB. New libraries came and I had to extend to 16 GB, and a year later 16 was not enought and when buying new PC I went for 64 GB. It is overkill now, half would do, but in two, three years?

And no-one spoke about internal SSD size. The demand rises quite a lot.

Studiowaves

The primary concern is the USB interface, does the motherboard have instant access to it? If not, you'll have problems with low latency. Not sure how prioritized the usb buss is nowdays. Hopefully it's number one on the speed of access and delivery.

Kubrak

Zen3+ has USB4 which should be compatible with Thunderbolt 3 or 4 (not sure which one).

And not everyone needs super low latency. I had to use buffer 2000+ samples, for more than year as my HW was weak, if I wanted to avoid dropouts.

Shadaab Kadri

https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/10841#Comment_10841

Yeah I don't think I'll have an issue in that respect. I use all machine stuff and nothing is PC specific plugins. So I think I am ok. The USB hub is definitely a concern cause even they are expensive. hahah anything apple is expensive but these days really good laptops are also expensive.

Shadaab Kadri

https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/10847#Comment_10847

I don't think Maschine utilizes multi-core processors if I am not mistaken? So single-core performance is paramount. Anyway, I don't think I want to get a windows laptop. I'm planning to get a 1TB SSD inbuilt and I am going to use this laptop only for music production so I should be good. I can get small ssds later if I need more space.

djadidai

https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/10827#Comment_10827

16 gig ram on a M1 is roughly 64 gig ram on a windows, you won’t have any issues. I have tracks where I run 1-3 massive, 1-3 pharlight, 1-3 ashlight, automations and loads of effects in logic and it’s like a train at full speed. The more I push it the better it performs. It’s like it has a threshold where it kicks in another gear after a certain amount of “weight”. Beast.

Shadaab Kadri

https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/10853#Comment_10853

I think a lot of musicians use external USB hubs while performing and have faced no issue so that should be fine.

Shadaab Kadri

https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/10861#Comment_10861

That's great to know. Im pretty convinced I am getting the 14inch MacBook pro. Now I just need the courage to spend all that money on it. hehe.

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