Hey guys, it's time for me to finally buy something...and why not start with the weakest link in my studio...my ancient jet engine computer.

I use Logic Pro for midi/ Pro Tools Studio for vocal recording and mixing (Latest version).

Lots of Omnisphere, Nexus, Spire, Kontakt factory library, Plugin Alliance, Waves Plugins, UAD, and I stream to OBS and record video for my youtube channel (shameless plug

Idk if I should get the M4 with 16gb and upgrade the internal ssd...or the M4Pro with 64gb and 512 ssd and use external ssds.

Whats your spec M4 mac, and what is your work flow like? What are your thoughts so far? Im interested in hearing from you my fellow friends

Did you read the other thread?

New Mac Mini M4

Yep. 23 pages of people talking about the specs and things they don't dig, like about the design of the power button. Nothing related to what Im asking, which is for users personal experience, and their choice of specifications. But thank you for suggesting it.

m4 pro 14" laptop with 48gb ram and 2tb ssd. it's good. don't get less than 1tb ssd. i was on a barebones m1 for 4 years and it was great, the main reason for upgrading was a desire to work at 192khz without having to freeze tracks.

M4 pro 14 24Gb RAM, 1 TB hd. I love it and it runs most things like a dream. I don't use a lot of sample based instruments so no idea if RAM would be enough for you but I never hit more than 17 GB of RAM used. No problems with most plugins though UAD Luna is buggy on my and others M4s. Others are having trouble connecting to Arrow interfaces. Logic is a treat and I can pop Chroma Glow on all the tracks I want. This is my upgrade from i9 MBP and it destroys what I had before. For the first time since I started working with digital recording back in the PT TDM/Digi001 days, I don't feel constrained by the computer.

Actually, I did post my experience at length in that thread, but I can understand if you didn't see it mixed in with all the noise.

So, in summary - Mac Mini M4 Pro. It's killer. No compatibility issues with my interface (Presonus Quantum) or plugins. Some people complain about the fan noise, but it's not an issue with DAWs, even with the CPU slammed (I tested) as the GPU is barely being used in that application.

Yeah, even when I try to max out the mix bus, I may have to raise the buffer but I never hear the fan on my mini.

Why's that? I was thinking of getting the most ram I can afford, and the 512gb internal, and using my external ssd's for sessions.

It’s gonna end up being annoying, you’re getting a machine for long-term use you really don’t wanna hamstring yourself like that, ease of use is a big factor in creative work flow. You gotta remember to transfer all the time, it’s just another thing to worry about. Give yourself a buffer and you’ll have much less annoyance in your future.

Oh, I forgot to mention, im looking to get the Mac Mini, so I won't be mobile. I plan on recording directly to the external SSD, so it'll be permanently attached in one location at all times. I can see how that would be annoying with a macbook though, having to take it everywhere, plug, unplug.

oh i see. not as big of a deal then, but still you do have to write to the external which is a little slower

I regretted getting 512 internal on my last machine. Filled up faster than I thought.

2TB on my current rig seems to be I good spot for me.

Software needs space to install, then you have to leave some free space on the system disk for the computer to work... Also, the bigger the drive, the longer it should last.


I went for 1TB internal ssd and I added an external Thunderbolt drive for sound libraries, recordings, etc.
I plan to fill the internal drive up to about 450-500 GB.
That's the space used on my Window machine, which I'm replacing with a Mac Mini. Libraries, recordings and so on are not on the system drive on that, too.

Actually, when deciding the specs of my Mac Mini, I went through the folders of my Windows DAW (system drive, applications, libraries I wanted to keep, projects...), I wrote down their name and their size on a notepad, then I summed them up to decide the internal storage and how much external space I needed.


I have 512 GB on my Macbook Air M1 (which I use for general productivity), but it feels a bit limited (currently it's warning me to free up some space); that's another reason why I went for 1TB. My previous 2012 Intel Macbook Pro was upgraded (by myself) to 1TB as well and in 2018 I did the same on my 2011 Mac Mini (which unfortunately died in 2020). For me, 1TB for the system drive has been the sweet spot (plus various additional internal / external drives, depending on the computer).


If you can afford it, I'd suggest to go for 1TB of internal storage... but then it's up to you and how you use your computer, what software you will install, maybe 512 GB are enough for you, I don't know...


AFAIK, you can boot you Mac from an external (Thunderbolt?) storage, so you could get a Mac with a lower internal size and then buy an external drive. In order to get the same speed of the internal drive, you need a Thunderbolt 4 drive, which is not cheap (I think there are not many options avaible). I have a Thunderbolt 3 external drive, it has enough bandwidth for my needs but it's slower than the internal drive of my Mac Mini M4. I may buy a newer, faster external enclusure down the line, though (I bought a Thunderbolt 3 enclosure because the price wasn't too much expensive during last BF... but it was still quite expensive, compared to USB-C).

A Thunderbolt drive is still cheaper than paying the so-called "Apple Tax", but won't be not "low price"...

Just for reference, I spent about 80€ for a TB3 enclosure and about 270€ for a 4TB NVMe drive. And I had to buy a Thunderbolt cable because the one included with the TB3 enclosure was extremely short (I think it was about 30-40€, probably closer to 40€). And I took advantage of the BF sales, otherwise I would have spent more.


That's my personal experience when it comes to deciding the storage specs; of course your needs may be different.


I can't comment on the performance of the computer, I have not finished yet setting up all the software, but I can say it's very silent. I wait to put it under stress to see how it actually performs.

Im so used to recording to usb2 and usb3 spinning hard drives that I don't think i'll have an issue with the lower speed of thunderbolt compared to the internal storage. The most I record is 1 channel of audio for vocals. The rest are virtual instruments / synths. It's good to know that you guys are having such good luck with the new M4 chips. I think im going to try the M4 Pro mac mini, with upgraded ram instead of upgraded ssd.

I have the base M4 Mini.

It is a proper road-runner, especially single-core speed. I pounded the CPU with parallel code compilation to saturation and I couldn't hear the fan. Although it did get warm to the touch.

The major problem with this unit is that it is too small for my cat to sleep on. There are other ways in which I liked the previous Mini format better. E.g. having a few USB-A ports. The power button on the bottom is very easy to press by accident, e.g. when moving the unit back after the cat pushed it down.

5 stars from me overall. I am an experienced Unix user, so although I filled up the 256 GB disk in less than 24 hours I know many ways to have things on external drives. But make no mistake, I ran out before installing any music packages, media or full XCode.

Wow! So the Base M4 is good too? Only thing I am worried about is that Logic Pro doesn't use E-cores, and I don't want to experience any hang ups or crashes when using a lot of plug-ins and virtual synths.

I don't know, I don't use Logic Pro at this time. I am a bit skeptical, isn't that conditional? It's stupid either way not to use E-cores.

You certainly want to use the E-cores here since you only have 4 P-cores.

I thought the same thing. I regretted getting 1tb in my M2 Studio Ultra until now.

What’s the point of going bigger with an HD? Apple will just release 2-3 new chips every 18 months.

I’m now feeling like I dodged some trouble. I load libraries on fast externals (G40’s) and simply load necessaries on the internal drive. If it’s a project, then I simply copy it. I can now just plug these drives and all their content into a new machine. No downloads necessary for NI, UVI, samples from mars etc content.

Didn’t spend an additional $1200 on 1TB. I spent a $1000 on 20TB of super fast external.

Next time I won’t buy a Studio. I’ll buy the cheapest mini they have with loads of RAM.

Apple can’t help how fast this is moving. But they can NOT release expensive, supposedly flagship products that are sunset in 18 months. They should have built the studio to be “Upgradeable” somehow and/or offered a killer trade-in plan. Almost like a lease in the end. Because it now is bad business to buy their flagship. In 12-18 months the entry level will be as fast.

My plan is to never buy a flagship Mac again and just replace the base once every 18 months.

MacBook Pro 16’ M4 Pro 48GB 4TB

Have already nearly filled the SSD up and still have my samples to load so going to need an external drive. Wanted the libraries to load off the main disk for when I’m travelling though.

That’s what I’m saying. The G40’s I have are tiny. And super fast.

https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews...0-ssd-review/2

Sandisk G40 Pro. 4TB model.

There are probably many better drives today. But when I bought mine with my Mac Studio, these were among the best of the few drives that were out there.

I have a ton of software / programs loaded on my Mac 1TB and I still have 500GB free because I load content on external drives

Live
Bitwig
Pro tools Studio
NI Standard
BFD
SD3
MPC 2.0
Maschine 2 & 3
SSL plugs
UAD
Arturia FX and many of their synth packages
UVI Falcon and a ton of expansions
Steinberg Cubase
Logic Pro
Avenger 2
Wave alchemy
Plugin Alliance
Softube Galore
Cherry Audio

And much more …..

Gold Baby
Mars


All the content is on the external drives. Loads in seconds.

64GB RAM.

i'm on a 4 year upgrade cycle also have a macbook so for me the internal storage was essential. i see the argument for external storage if you're getting a desktop and also willing to spring for something that maximizes those thunderbolt 4 ports.

also with the macbooks there is the somewhat shaky track record of shipping hardware redesigns. the chassis of the m4 macbook pro i have right now has been out for 4 years and it's proven stable. the new chassis that comes out next year might not be as stable so i'm saving myself the risk of dealing with that by not upgrading until all the kinks are worked out.

Do you use alot of synth plugins and stuff?

How does 48gb serve you so far?

Thought I'd chip in on the external SSD discussion.

M2 Max here 2TB and 96GB ram.

Heavy After Effects user in my day job - writing 150TB+ per year to scratch disc.

I've been using a couple of Acasis external TB enclosures with Samsung and Lexar SSDs for a couple of years, really fast - around 1980Mb/sec write and 2800Mb/sec read.

They also report their temps and wear correctly to Drive DX and iStat menus which is a bonus.

I have the models with and without a fan. The non fan version gets warm but I've never been close to the max temps of the SSD even under heavy use.

Acasis also have a TB5 enclosure that supports the new M4s.

https://www.acasis.com/collections/a...-thunderbolt-5

M2 max has been very solid but I do max it out in Ableton on mixes chains etc - Single core speed on M4s is significantly faster so keeping a jealous eye on them

I haven’t stress tested it yet but coming from an underspec’d 16GB RAM machine is like a dream come true.

You know, I am more open now to the theory that the 256 GB disk is in fact slower again that the bigger ones.

M4 Mini 256 GB:
M1 Pro Macbook Pro 1 TB:
I don't have a M4 with bigger disk to test. But the sequential read being pretty precisely 50% sounds familiar.

Interesting thread. Looking at a Mac Mini Pro for a bridge solution

New M4’s will crush what I currently have (Intel i9). The big question mark is RAM. The Intel is spec’d to 64GB. I’ve never exited « Green » zone in memory pressure. Would a new Mac Mini M4 Pro with 24Gb RAM be enough? . Did a little experiment today.

An old MacBook Pro 2017, 4 cores, 16Gb RAM Loaded an identical set up (using Logic) to see how that machine would handle things. (2) instances of a heavy Toontrack and (4) instances of NI Noire piano, small number of audio tracks as a test. Started coughing and stuttering after 4 bars, ground to a halt. Yellow, then red pressure zone. 16 GB a non starter.

The M4 Mini Pro even the base config looks like a great solution for an alternate tracking room we have here, and a backup to main rig in a pinch.

Leaving aside the CPU comparisons, strictly speaking to RAM usage, the question I would have is has the M4 architecture + the Sonoma OS optimized RAM usage - or is this apples to apples, more or less? 24Gb seems to be cutting it close, but also cutting cost.

Get the M4 Pro chip with as much RAM you can afford.

The Pro's have twice the memory bandwidth than the base model. This and bigger RAM will future proof your purchase for a good while.

Internal storage depends on your needs. If you can afford it get double what you think you'll need. If not priotize above over internal storage as you can attach external storage.

What was your buffer set at?

I don't think the 16gb in your 2017 MBP is comparable to 16gb in the M series Macs.

common misconception. Under memory pressure, the M systems with fast disks will swap faster than older systems, but that's no substitute for real memory.

Plus - tons of swapping wears out your built-in SSD (especially if 256GB since the smaller it is, the faster it wears out).

Everyone's needs are different, I'm usually OK with 32GB but not less, for example. Some that need large orchestral templates may need more.

I came from PC which in many ways is far more “future proof” — which is a bogus concept in tech like this, in my view — than Mac. Apple eventually breaks their machines. I have 2-3 Macs that are unusable because they cannot install an OS. And then everything else starts to become incapable of update. They need to be taken offline.

Windows is guilty of this, too. But it isn’t as egregious.

The more I learn about Mac the more I get its vibe. The highly spec’d machines are built for those with the money to use them. It’s not like buying a “quality good” like a Volvo 240 that will run forever. It’s like buying a private jet because you actually need it for business.

I don’t know the workarounds. We used to be able update CPU and RAM and HD, but this doesn’t seem a possibility with new manufacturing model trying to meet a specific price-point. Also, the way Macs are built now makes their performance possible but it also makes updates impossible? Everything is on the chip and the enclosure is fine tuned to the chips etc

The “future proof” is the capacity to update seamlessly. And to keep it affordable, so that you can always afford “future” products, rather than over-buying and not having the money to buy “the future” when it arrives 12-18 months later.

Mac allows for migration. I don’t know a lot about it. But let’s say a person bought a Mac with big CPU specs and RAM, and then bought a fairly big HD. I suppose they could buy a slightly larger HD next purchase and migrate the data. Old HD gets ditched. $1000 gone. Although, I think you can use an old Mac as just an HD using a TB4 cable.

Or buy an external HD rig that can be used for decades. Save your money spent on Apple HD for your new Mac in 18 months. That’s future proofing perhaps.

Data / content is just sitting there waiting to be loaded into RAM. Writing the data in audio hasn’t been an issue for years and years. These external drives are blazing fast.