Thinking of Switching to a Mac

I’ve been using Windows for a long time and I am thinking of switching to one of the new Mac Mini’s with the M2 Pro chip in to replace my aging DAW machine. I really like the form factor and all the specs look really good for the size. I’ve been checking and it looks like most of the software I currently use should be supported.

Has anyone been through the transition recently and what are the pitfalls?

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Hi, I work in IT, but my advice is subjective to a degree.

It depends on many things. Answer below questions for yourself:

  • Do you use any programs that only support Windows?
  • Have the main things that do work on Mac all been updated to native Apple Silicon support?
  • Even more important: Are there still any programs or pluggins you use that have not yet been updated to 64 bit on Mac?
  • Do you want to play PC games?

I have gradually transitioned to the whole Apple ecosystem for my personal use and am very satisfied with all that I’m getting out of it.

That said, if you require to be connected to some sort of work domain and need to use Microsoft services other than the M365 package, or have to use virtualization of x86 code that is not by Apple, I would not recommend an M series Mac.

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I’ve worked in IT for a long time as an application and web developer but not used a Mac for about 10 years. I normally use Windows and Linux and happy using a console.

I will still have windows machines for running a few bits of software like FLStudio and Cakewalk to open old projects. For a long time I have been using Ableton Live as my main DAW and I’ve reduced the number of plugins I have and I think most of the main ones are compatible with the M1.

Well in that case remember that it’s ARM based, so support may vary. Some Linux distros were rebuilt already to run well on the new macs. Win for ARM runs pretty good as well, apparently the base M1 mini with virtualized Widows ARM does faster builds than Microsoft’s official devkit, lol!

Newer versions of FL Studio run like a dream on mac. I’m using the latest version. Same goes for Ableton Live, Reason (via rosetta), Renoise, Reaper, NI Maschine (although the Apple Silicon version is far from stable). Cakewalk does not exist on Mac.

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as a developer, I much prefer macOS… having a decent terminal/dev environment is bliss.
(Ive been using for decades now)

Live runs really well on apple silicon.
Ive been using apple silicon pretty much since it was released, and its been amazing how quickly apps have transition, and how well Rosetta has worked during the transition.
to the point if you have to run a few things under Rosetta, it really is not an issue.

as @Gral_Kerkila mentions, VM support is very good (I use them, including for windows), but its all ARM - which is fine for Linux, but Windows ARM is not very well support (by Microsoft/developers).

for me, unless you need it for Gaming, macOS is so much less hassle… and great for developers.

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oh, to be complete…
I should say, you can use things like Wine (or commercial versions) for running x86 code, but its a slow emulation - which is why its ok, for a few apps at a pinch, but gaming is often pretty poor… and there are compatibility issues with some apps … again, a bit off a faff… so I rarely use.

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The only reason I want access to Cakewalk is for really old projects going back about 20 years but I will still keep the desktop plus I have a Surface laptop as well.

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I’ve just bought an M1 MacBook air. I’d much prefer a windows laptop tbh but did it for two reasons:

  • i couldn’t find a small Intel/amd laptop that came close to the processing power of the M1 without paying a bloody fortune. Bizarrely macs have become good value for money in this regard (if you can live with low ram/storage).

  • I’ve yet to use a laptop that has a touchpad that is half a good as the one on macbooks. It’s really nice.

I really didn’t want a Mac, but after years of just being overpriced shiny x86 laptops they may actually be with the cost.

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Same boat as you. Was thinking it the Mac studio base model. Now this M2 pro Mac mini, you can get higher storage, though less ram, for the same cost, and a much more powerful processor :thinking:

One more thing,

If you’re going for the base M2 pro mini, that’s fine for music (albeit 8GB ram and slower SSD - keep in mind), but if you want to upgrade to more ram and storage, you may be better off getting the M1 Pro mac studio or just the Macbook Pro M1 Pro (with that you get an amazing laptop with insane screen, keyboard, trackpad, battery life and also close to the power that the M2 pro mini offers). Take a good look at offers you can get your hands on.

I think the base M2 pro Mac mini comes with 16gb ram though. The processor is way more powerful than the M1 max too.

The ssd is slower, so you should upgrade the storage anyway.

Edit: i realize you may be talking about the M2 pro with 10 core. No. I’m only talking about the 12 core one, it’s the only one that makes sense to me if the other option is the Mac studio with M1 max.

One more thing: the complete silence of ARM based Macs is simply wonderful. Often forgotten as a pro but to me this was such a revelation. No more fan noises in my studio.

I made the transition last year and miltiple times in my life. Very happy currently. Audio wise macs are a lot more flexible when it comes to routing and using one interface in multiple pieces of software at once etc. and depending on your usecase this might be a big plus.

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Nope,

The 10 core M2 pro is almost the same as the 10 core M1 in multicore score of geekbench, if you get the 12 core M2 mini it’s + 270 $.

check: Mac Benchmarks - Geekbench Browser

It’s the reason i even began considering the switch. Tired of Intel jets in my studio :joy:

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Yeah see my edit above

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I am thinking of getting the Apple M2 Pro with 12‑core CPU, 19-core GPU, 16‑core Neural Engine with 32GB unified memory and 4TB SSD storage.

It’s going to be an upgrade from my Intel Core i7-8700K that’s 5 years old.

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As you wish, but those extra 1080 $ for the 4TB storage is a farce in my opinion. Check if you can rather get by with a fast external SSD. 1TB makes more sense for internal price wise.

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At the moment I’m thinking this would be self contained apart from external HDs for backup and then the RME UFX for audio.

Then there would be a combination of Digitakt, Digitone, Syntakt, Minitaur, Circuit and MPC One. I normally only have 2 to 3 setup at any one time.

The price of the internal storage is pretty steep but would keep things simple.

If that’s what you are going for by all means!

Still, I can recommend maybe rather invest in a very good thunderbolt dock and just plug things there, including external storage. 900 USD gets you some extras, or at least a few beers nowdays.

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Anyone have experience of Overbridge on the newer Macs?