What Computer/Hardware to Buy For My Budget And Specific Needs (Which Includes Compatibility With An MP3 Player)

[The_Arcane_Pigeon]

Get a Mac Mini with the M4 Chip and at least 24 gb ram ($1000 refurbished) - Intel Macs are phasing out and on the last leg of life. Use Logic Pro ($199) or start on Garageband (which is free with all Macs) and get a simple inexpensive Interface like a Behringer UMC204HD ($109 USD) or a Scarlett 2i2 Ver 3 used ($150 USD) - but basically stop wasting your time vacillating on what you think you should get - you get a Mac and you can do everything you want and more.

Okay. Very clear recommendation. That is kind of pricey though.
Obviously the 2018 MacBook pro is an Intel as you implied. Mac Minis are not Intel? What are they then?
Also, if you could elaborate on what's getting phased out and how it might have an impact on me if I were to buy an old Mac (2018 and on). If not thanks for the response anywhow.

 

[Papanate]

Okay. Very clear recommendation. That is kind of pricey though.
Obviously the 2018 MacBook pro is an Intel as you implied. Mac Minis are not Intel? What are they then?
Also, if you could elaborate on what's getting phased out and how it might have an impact on me if I were to buy an old Mac (2018 and on). If not thanks for the response anywhow.

If you go to 2018 Mac Minis were still intel - and they are very inexpensive - $150. 2020 onward they were Apple Siilcon Chips.

 

[Papanate]

I love it when someone gives a budget and the suggestions come in at spending double that amount!

I know it was pushing his budget - but you never know until you ask.

 

[TalismanRich]

Okay this is a very helpful suggestion. I will weigh my options here.
A) Is there any reason you'd go with this set up over a macbook?
B) I'm assuming this is almost definitely a McDonald's joke and has nothing to do with MacBooks. Correct/Incorrect? Lol.

I'm just not a Mac fan. Got a very old Mac laptop sitting somewhere (PPC processor). Stuff that I wanted to use were mostly available for PC, not Mac. It's the same reason I parked the Atari ST, and the Apple ][+, Atari 8 bit and TI computers.

I went with the PC years ago because I could build what I wanted, the way I wanted. It was an open system. At one point, Apple was in pretty Dire Straits (pun intended). Being a closed system locked to one company was a liability. Over the past 40+ years, I've watched computer companies and operating systems come and go. As much as I don't really care about some things Microsoft does sometimes, they have be resilient. The "Wintel" platform has become the primary system for the world.

Computers today are commodity items, especially laptops. While you might not be able to add memory or hard drives to the new ones, you have choices... Lenovo, Asus, HP, Dell, Acer, etc. If Apple decided tomorrow to ditch the whole Mac computer world and become a phone only company, what then? You can say it will never happen, but nobody expected IBM to leave the PC market.

 

[TalismanRich]

Okay. Very clear recommendation. That is kind of pricey though.
Obviously the 2018 MacBook pro is an Intel as you implied. Mac Minis are not Intel? What are they then?
Also, if you could elaborate on what's getting phased out and how it might have an impact on me if I were to buy an old Mac (2018 and on). If not thanks for the response anywhow.

Things to research before buying used computers are what OS cutoffs are involved. Mac Tahoe is the last version with Intel compatibility. If you plan to keep the system for 7 or 8 years, you'll locked into that version. Future versions will only support Apple processors. Likewise with the intro of Windows 11, Microsoft restricts the OS to Intel Gen 8 or later due to the inclusion of TPM 2.0 and UEFI secure boot. You can check compatibility for any processor/OS by doing a quick Google search.

As to what the future holds, things will probably get more restrictive. Security is a primary objective with OS development, especially in corporate environments. Mixing hardware and software restrictions makes things tougher for hackers to infiltrate a system, although they always come up with avenues to get in.

If you're well versed in computers, you could also go with a Linux system. My brother has been running that for years and loves it. When he needs to run his Quicken, he just fires up Wine or whatever Win compatible setup he has and goes. But he doesn't do any recording. The issue I see is that most audio hardware manufacturers make device drivers for Win/Mac, and rarely for Linux. You might be able to get things working with JACK, but will the plugins work, or will the controls be as good?

 

[The_Arcane_Pigeon]

Things to research before buying used computers are what OS cutoffs are involved. Mac Tahoe is the last version with Intel compatibility. If you plan to keep the system for 7 or 8 years, you'll locked into that version. Future versions will only support Apple processors. Likewise with the intro of Windows 11, Microsoft restricts the OS to Intel Gen 8 or later due to the inclusion of TPM 2.0 and UEFI secure boot. You can check compatibility for any processor/OS by doing a quick Google search.

As to what the future holds, things will probably get more restrictive. Security is a primary objective with OS development, especially in corporate environments. Mixing hardware and software restrictions makes things tougher for hackers to infiltrate a system, although they always come up with avenues to get in.

If you're well versed in computers, you could also go with a Linux system. My brother has been running that for years and loves it. When he needs to run his Quicken, he just fires up Wine or whatever Win compatible setup he has and goes. But he doesn't do any recording. The issue I see is that most audio hardware manufacturers make device drivers for Win/Mac, and rarely for Linux. You might be able to get things working with JACK, but will the plugins work, or will the controls be as good?

Hm. I read that a 2018 MacBook pro (which was still Intel from what I understand) can run Sequoia.
Regardless, I'm actually leaning towards the HP Elitebook G8 setup you recommended. It sounds like a good fit for what I'm trying to do. I guess then I could use either Ableton or Reaper? I'm guessing registering Reaper is a one time fee and not some kind of subscription? Feel free to elaborate on the Elitebook option, regarding anything else I might want to consider.

 

[Steenamaroo]

If you're looking mac I'd fall somewhere in the middle of the previous suggestions.
The switch to Apple Silicon (arm based) was a huge paradigm shift - Not your usual '10% faster' upgrade.

I have the 2020 macbook air, base model - That's the first generation with the lowest spec CPU/GPU,
and to this day I see no reason to upgrade. It is, for my workload, a beast.
For reference, it replaced a 12 core Xeon Mac Pro which was, essentially, server hardware at the time.

If I did extensive video editing then sure, I'd probably be looking to upgrade but for audio? No.


Personally I wouldn't recommend picking up an intel mac because they're getting a bit long in the tooth,
battery life sucks (where applicable), the run pretty hot, and the performance benefits of going to even the earliest Apple Silicon are astounding,
but I also wouldn't necessarily recommend going for the latest and greatest with ram upgrades.
Honestly, there's just no need.

The 16GB memory on my air has never held me back and I do a lot more than just audio work.

That would give you access to Garageband which is the gateway drug for Logic Pro although, personally, I'd just go with Reaper from the start.
Reaper operate something of an honour system - The software is free to download and try for as long as you like.
You're meant to buy a license after X days of usage. Whether you do or not is entirely up to you.
The software will continue to work, unrestricted, barring a brief nag window.

You can, of course, go the windows route and there'll be plenty of suggestions, I'm sure.
Ultimately that's your choice, but there's no reason you can't set up a great audio work station on either platform.

As with anything, just google thoroughly to ensure there are people successfully using your chosen combinations (audio interface, computer hardware, operating system)
before committing to buying.
Compatibility is applicable on any platform.

With regard to discussion of updates and upgrades and compatibility, I never understood it.
Get a combination of computer, OS, Daw, plugins, and interface that works, then leave it alone.

I'll never understand the overwhelming need to update OS, or whatever, and then have to chase your tail paying to update or replace everything else.
Just leave it alone, is my opinion.
I understood it, to some extent, maybe 15 years ago when the new features of DAWs were genuinely desirable and game changing,
but these days I'm not seeing it.

I have a 2009 Mac Pro with ProTools 12 (I think) in the corner gathering dust that I could plug in and make a record on right now. <shrugs>
My current mac runs Monterey. Again...<shrugs>

I had been on a 5/6 year cycle where upgrading/updating would coincide with the purchase of a new computer
but this time around I just don't see a need so I think I'll be driving the M1 air (docked) until something catastrophic happens to it.
That could be 6 months or 6 years...I guess we'll see.