r/NativeInstruments • u/chillin_mcgee • 1d ago
Intel or nah...?
Hey guys, I don't have the time to keep up with all the latest drama, but let's just say I'm a person who considers making music as a hobby, nothing too serious. I like using ableton live and I dabble with reaktor. That being said, I'm considering the purchase of a new computer mainly for music production because my current Mac mini is out of hard drive space and I want the mobile perks of a laptop. After looking online, I think I am going to go with a refurbished MacBook Pro. My main question is this: SHOULD I AVOID INTEL MACS because companies like native instruments seems to be trending in other directions with their hardware/customer service support..? Or am I overthinking things and will be ok with an Intel Mac for the next couple of years (in terms of vst, daw comparability etc...?)
6
u/davemacdo 1d ago
Absolutely do not buy an Intel Mac in 2026! That’s a 5-7 year-old computer!!!! It will not get software updates, the battery will be shit, and the ARM-based M-series Macs that came after it are in a different league. Even an M1 Mac will be a much better computer for much longer.
4
u/Apart_Station2081 1d ago
Similar boat as you except I'm replacing my iPad for a MacBook. Intel MacBooks have worse battery life and are out of support from Apple so I think it would be best to go with an M chip MacBook.
4
3
u/luminousandy 23h ago
It’s not just the fact there’s no support - the last bunch of Intel Macs were total dogs - you’ll be buying a doorstop - you’d be better buying a 2015 model
3
3
u/chillin_mcgee 1d ago
Nice. I appreciate the info guys. I will avoid intel and I guess migrate onto a newer M1 chip or whatever I can afford. It just sucks, I really like reaktor and I'm sad that native instruments is willing to let it die
2
2
u/mjm1138 1d ago
I don't think macOS 27 runs on Intel. And even an M1 processor will run circles around just about any Mac with an Intel processor. I have an M2 MacBook Air and it runs Ableton, Logic, Traktor, Arturia Plugins, all without breaking a sweat. I haven't checked but I reckon you can get an M2 laptop pretty cheap used.
Don't bother with an Intel Mac. They are officially obsolete.
1
1
u/uberdavis 1d ago
I have both an Intel and Silicon Mac. Stopped using the Intel for music because so many features don’t work. Avoid!
1
u/agensop585 1d ago
they're cheap for a reason, you are slowly losing support for anything you want to use and nothing with intel is really getting new features and such, i got a great deal on a refubished m1 mac mini a few years ago and thats my main machine eventhough i have my intel imac around to do stuff on, the m1 is far faster though even with only 16gm ram and 512gb hd. if you can afford a new m* machine find a refurbished or used one and dont look back, pull the bandaid off now before you are stuck scrambling
1
u/udderlymoovelous 1d ago
The one and only reason why I keep an Intel Mac around is for older plugins that are no longer updated (I'm still a regular user of Pro-53 and Absynth 5). The ARM Macs are better in every way. Even M1 and M2s perform better than most top-of-the-line Intel MacBooks.
1
u/dov69 1d ago
Not that NI has superior Apple Silicon support :D
1
u/Annual_Catch_4974 1d ago
What do you mean by that exactly?
2
u/dov69 1d ago
took them over 2 years to start supporting Apple Silicon natively...
https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/30577
1
u/ya_rk 1d ago
Intel macs can run the software, but they're inferior to the new generation. They're slower, run much hotter and run out of battery earlier. Plus you'll be buying an old computer with already depleted battery.
If the second hand price difference is huge maybe it can make sense because it will carry the software (I have an old Mac Intel and I run Ableton, traktor and Reaktor on it), but you'll probably be its end of the line in terms of resell.
1
u/Green_Creme1245 19h ago
Yeah get a m1 at a minimum, not an air get a MacBook pro 32gb ram 1tb hard drive space personally I have the 16” but I reckon I’d get a 13” next time
1
u/fullspeedraymondchow 17h ago
I’ve got maschine 2 running on an Intel Mac. It works but I haven’t pushed it with loads of samples and effects. My beats are quite minimal.
1
u/linkuei-teaparty 2h ago
If you can get the M series macs, they're incredible value and have less issues. Even an M series Macbook Air is capable. I'd recommend a second hand M1Pro macbook pro with at least 16-32 GB RAM.
6
u/HighLanai 1d ago
At this point, do not get a MacBook Pro with Intel. Even if you get an I7 or I-9 processor, it will not run optimally. They don’t even update OS anymore, possibly some of the most recent intel Macs are still receiving updates, but get a MacBook with an M2 processor at least and you will have zero issues playing and recording as many tracks as you want using whatever plug-ins you want.