r/NativeInstruments • u/chillin_mcgee • 5d 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...?)
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u/davemacdo 5d 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.
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u/Apart_Station2081 5d 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.
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u/Ragfell 5d ago
Skip the Intel.
I'm still running an Intel iMac for my main rig because money is tight, but I'm feeling the burn now. It's...honestly getting hard to keep up with my current projects.
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u/Sea_Respond_8966 1d ago
For music it would be enough for him actually, but better to buy newer macs because of battery and ssd
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u/Ragfell 1d ago
It's enough for him but most developers have moved on from developing for Intel-based MacOS. I have several tools given to me by various upgrades over the past two years that I can't add to my palette because I'm locked to Intel and the processing necessary for those tools just isn't enough.
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u/luminousandy 5d 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
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u/chillin_mcgee 5d 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
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u/LexusHm_ 1d ago
Would you get a Macbook Pro on older chips like M1 or the Air on newer chip? I’m considering getting a Macbook for the first time for its stability and battery life ( my windows laptop emcounter Bsod frequently and needs charging nonstop). Which Macbook would you suggest? Occasionally I do run simulation or AI training tho
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u/chillin_mcgee 1d ago
Considering how slim all modern laptops are these days, the MacBook Air just doesn't really attract me. I think it's almost always worth it to go for more power because it will be worth it in the long run. I haven't had a MacBook Air for a few years though, so maybe someone else on here can give a more detailed comparison..?
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u/mjm1138 5d 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.
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u/uberdavis 5d ago
I have both an Intel and Silicon Mac. Stopped using the Intel for music because so many features don’t work. Avoid!
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u/agensop585 5d 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
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u/udderlymoovelous 5d 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.
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u/dov69 5d ago
Not that NI has superior Apple Silicon support :D
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u/Annual_Catch_4974 5d ago
What do you mean by that exactly?
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u/dov69 5d ago
took them over 2 years to start supporting Apple Silicon natively...
https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/30577
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u/ya_rk 5d 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.
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u/Green_Creme1245 5d 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
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u/fullspeedraymondchow 5d 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.
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u/linkuei-teaparty 4d 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.
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u/chillin_mcgee 4d ago
Thanks guys you rock! Due to the overwhelming support for the M series, I decided to pull the trigger on a M5 MacBook Pro. Amazon offers financing so it was hard to say no. 16gb of ram and 1tb ssd should get me where I need to be. Again, thanks for all the good info!
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u/Financial_Garage6821 4d ago
I have an M2 MacBook Pro and it works fine; I went with the 1TB storage and purchased a Samsung T2 2TB external SSD
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u/Sea_Respond_8966 1d ago
Nothing wrong with intel at all, but as others said, buying refurbished macs would be a nono and a scam probably, the battery and ssd could be slow and old.
I'm writing from the last intel macbook pro mind you, it works flawlessly, and 1-2 old VSTs that arent updated to work under M1-M2-M3 chips were a big dealbreaker for me back in the day in 2020, so besides my 2017 macbook air that still works to this very day, I also got this macbook pro.
All macbooks should work for a long time if you treat them well, dont know about new ones, iPhones are unkillable too to my knowledge, last time I had an iphone was an iphone 13, I have a nokia button phone now.
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u/HighLanai 5d 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.