Switch to macOS

Discussion in 'Mac / Hackintosh' started by mpd7130, Oct 7, 2024.

  1. mpd7130

    mpd7130 Member

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    Hello
    Hackintosh its worth for music production ?
    I used hackintosh for many years working great !
    I want completely switch to macOS for music production from windows 11
    Its logical for do this ?
    My DAW is Cubase ,
    Cubase Pro v.r in macOS is stable for working everyday without problem ? Mixing , arranging , mastering , recording ?

     
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  3. Melodic Reality

    Melodic Reality Rock Star

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    Some folks praise M series machines with Cubase


    dunno if all that is 1:1 applicable for Intel machine, especially hackintosh, but it doesn't hurt to try on separate drive, do some test's and make your own mind about it.
     
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  4. Myfanwy

    Myfanwy Platinum Record

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    Been building and using "hackintoshes" for many years, but I think it's not very useful today, at least for new builds. Apple will abandon intel code sooner or later, and some new functions already only work on Apple Silicon machines.

    You can get much better hardware for less money that runs Windows 11 and future versions than "hackintosh"-compatible hardware which possibly doesn't work anymore with the next update of macOS. The last fully compatible CPUs were intel 10th generation and GPUs were older AMD ones, so both about 5 years old. There are Open Core patches for newer CPUs, but I would avoid this route for best compatibility.

    If you would like to use Logic Pro, that would be a reason to try it. But as you use Cubase, is doesn't make any sense in my opinion.
     
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  5. AIONARAAIONARA

    AIONARAAIONARA Noisemaker

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    I believe that cubase has a stable performance on M series Mac.
    I saw something somewhere talking bout cubase can use all the cores in those chips, and it beats Logic Pro, Studio One, Ableton already.

    But intel? I'm not sure bout that.
    I think intel is left in the past to apple, they would never get back to it again.
     
    Last edited: Oct 7, 2024
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  6. Emma Evi

    Emma Evi Kapellmeister

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    I used lomng time a hackintosh and once they announced the M1 i bought an macMini. Best decision ever imo But i would consider just buying the DAW which you use. less hassle. the VR versions require you to disable SIP, which alloes the crack to monify anything it likes which might result in trouble in some cases later on. How can you trust a possible compromised OS? nYou will never know if a crash was casued by it lateron
     
  7. ItsFine

    ItsFine Rock Star

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    I abandoned hackintosh some years ago.
    So yes Apple will end hackintosh soon ... but they ended Apple computers for me long ago with their "more protections" in each OSX release :rofl:

    If you want to stay in Apple eco system, real M cpu is mandatory (to me).
    And if you liked OSX, yes switching can be a good thing.
    It is a very nice OS.

    If you go "sister site" scene releases, compare what you can install :winker:
     
  8. Myfanwy

    Myfanwy Platinum Record

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    I made a quick comparison a few days ago with the "Logic Pro Diva Benchmark" that was floating around the web but unfortunately is not available on the website anymore. It contains a loop of chords playing a Diva patch with 6 notes polyphony in "great" accuracy mode, and Diva is a real CPU hog. I also rebuilt the same test in Reaper both on macOS and Windows machines I could get access to. This is how many instances I was able to run:

    Logic Pro 11 - MacBook M1 Air - about 26 (using only the 4 power cores)
    Logic Pro 11 - MacBook M2 Max - about 55 (using only the 8 power cores)
    Reaper - MacBook M1 Air - about 38 (using all 4 power and 4 efficiency cores)
    Reaper - MacBook M2 Max - about 70 (using all 8 power and 4 efficiency cores)
    Reaper - Win 10 - intel 12700 - about 35
    Reaper - Win 11 - AMD 7800X3D - about 90

    Diva seems to be pretty badly optimized for the intel CPU on Windows, but the new AMD CPUs are really great!

    Now let's compare prices, the M2 Max MacBook was about 3500,- Euros, the AMD PC build was about 1000,- Euros (without dedicated GPU).

    So for me it's an obvious choice for any Windows compatible software. I love my MacBook M1 Air and work with Logic Pro but concerning pure CPU power per price, the new AMD CPUs totally beat Apple.

    On the other hand, there are people who already built AMD Ryzen "hackintoshes", so it would be interesting how compatible and fast this works. And you can get 64 GB of RAM for about 200 Euros. Unfortunately, I have no compatible graphics card for my 7800X3D PC, so I can't test this myself.
     
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  9. Emma Evi

    Emma Evi Kapellmeister

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    deleteme
     
  10. clone

    clone Audiosexual

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    There is not all that much of a "crack problem" if you have a fast machine. You can just run the Windows plugins in either Crossover/Whiskey or Parallels Desktop with Audiogridder. Software with VMProtect will only be possible to run in Parallels. Like always, some things just won't work, but the majority will. There is a nice spreadsheet available which shows what are known to work fine and what won't. You can't really just look at Audioz and expect to find everything k'd for Mac shared there, because it is not. If you already have a Linux setup, you know how to use a bootloader like LiLo or Grub to handle your Windows/Linux dual boot installations, or can figure it out. Or use Bootcamp if supported.

    Just remember that using anything in a VM is going to introduce some latency. So if you need to use those plugins for realtime recording of instruments, such as guitar; using Windows plugins virtualized will not be optimal. For mixing, who cares. External hardware latency compensation will not work correctly in those scenarios, because the external device cannot be used to measure the roundtrip ping.
     
    Last edited: Oct 7, 2024
  11. ItsFine

    ItsFine Rock Star

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    AMD Ryzen "hackintoshes" are risky.
    Because some softwares uses Intel only instructions.
    And most ppl discover it when it is too late.

    Adobe/virtualization don"t work on AMD Ryzen hackintosh.
    And there is more.

    So my point of view : Apple M or AMD Win
     
  12. bigdogmusic

    bigdogmusic Newbie

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    Do you have a link to that spreadsheet? Also where else would you find everything k'd for Mac if not the sister site?
     
  13. clone

    clone Audiosexual

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    My post wasn't answering you specifically, or I would have quoted your post. Unless you are also the OP in the thread. Just general information.

    But No, I do not think you can mix and match Legit/Sister Site versions of the Steinberg products. As someone mentioned above, you do one or the other. For me that would be an easy decision anyway. VR does not charge $100 for updates every 6 months. I use Logic, not Cubase. I do not know if I would actually switch from Windows to Mac if I still used Cubase now. The main reason I am a Mac user is because Logic is the DAW I have used since I last used Cubase, and that was Cubase SX. No thanks.
     
  14. Myfanwy

    Myfanwy Platinum Record

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    That's what I think, too, and I wrote about it in my first post. There are some workarounds for Adobe software floating around, but I only trust in what I tested myself.

    My new 7800X3D PC build is just so powerful I would really like to try to run macOS on it. And all of this just because I'm used to work with Logic. :no:

    If I had chosen Cubase 30 years ago, maybe I would never have bought any Mac at all.
     
  15. mpd7130

    mpd7130 Member

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    best answer for me !
    So , i'm interested working with logic pro even instead of cubase , if i go to macOS , Logic Pro i think is best choice , cubase in windows and mac is a same, k'd of logic pro is okay ?
    as i mentiod before i have intel i9 9900K hackintosh and im working with this for many years , logic pro is okay with intel cpus ?
     
  16. tzzsmk

    tzzsmk Audiosexual

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    Best Answer
    if you asked me in 2018-2020 I'd say definitely yes, better in every way compared to Windows 10 PC or actual Apple Macs,
    but nowadays with Apple Silicon Macs things changed a lot, especially the fact whole hackintosh scene will be dead soon (to be exact, the moment Apple quits supporting 2019 Intel Mac Pro),

    I've used hackintosh for years and it was flawless experience - reason I stopped was, Apple completely dropped nVidia support, then 32bit app support, then started doing shady things with security, and then jumped from Intel to Apple Silicon,
    nowadays my former hackintosh resurrected as PC with Windows 11 still holds up against something like M2 Max Mac Studio and frankly I'm fine with having latest software over better hardware, Windows world is much less hostile in that regard, even with Windows 11,

    it is true MacOS is simply better in handling MIDI devices and anything around MIDI, and also able to aggregate audio devices within its CoreAudio engine,
    on the other hand Windows is blessed with (Steinberg's) ASIO support which is superior when it comes to latency and audio performance, if you have the good interface,
    you gotta ask yourself what's more important for music production you do, I'd say you're only trying to justify an excuse to try different platform...

    if your DAW is (cracked) Cubase, and you're using plenty various (cracked) plugins, then be aware MacOS/Macs are way less friendly when it comes to software support, you'll need to find all those (cracked) for Mac, and also will be forced to keep updating everything every year if you'll want to stay no more than one major MacOS version behind (which I assume you will want anyway),
    also do note Mac audio (cracks) scene is smaller than Windows (rule of thumb - anything iLok-only protected is not cracked on MacOS), so you would be severely limiting your tool kit (which may or may not be a good thing for you), and also the fact software and plugin devs will optimize their stuff for Apple Silicon, leaving Intel behind even if still supported, for ex. latest Logic Pro with all its features needs latest system and Apple Silicon already,

    my advice is - get a second SSD and try yourself, that way you won't mess your system and you can try exactly what you need and how it works, but keep your hopes low, maybe take it as a transition while you save on a real Apple Silicon Mac
    :chilling:
     
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  17. saccamano

    saccamano Audiosexual

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    While I would hope that is true of the legit cubase version a quick perusal of sisite comments paints a different picture of the scene release versions on apple M products.
     
  18. ItsFine

    ItsFine Rock Star

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    Apple, as usual (they already done it from PowerPC to Intel cpu, removing 32bits support ...), push their new CPUs AND don't care about third party devs.
    Apple fanboys come and say : devs need to follow ... and some simply don't.

    That's the main reason why i totally left Apple computers. They push their agenda by changing their architecture, and don't care about ppl left behind.
     
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  19. Emma Evi

    Emma Evi Kapellmeister

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    Just test and buy the tools you actually use and need to make music, done.

    Support the companies that care about their customers and the Apple ecosystem. There are plenty of good options available.


    Even with just the stock plugins in Logic Pro, for example, which is affordable and offers free updates, it’s possible to create amazing music.

    You can use it either by purchasing or trying it forever without resorting to dubious cracks that require disabling SIP.


    Less hassle, fewer moving parts, and fewer dependencies

    K.I.S.

    by the way:

    Apple Silicon chips, like the M1 and M2 series, are known for being incredibly efficient, running cool, and staying virtually silent. This stands in contrast to many traditional PCs, which often require louder fans to manage heat under heavy workloads. The energy efficiency and performance per watt of Apple Silicon really set it apart. Plus, for music production, this means quieter environments and fewer interruptions from fan noise.
     
    Last edited: Oct 8, 2024
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  20. ItsFine

    ItsFine Rock Star

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    Apple M AND new OSX versions are "restricting" scene releases.
    So don't "count" on Apple M and any warez (especially Cubase).
    It may work ... but you may have big headaches too.

    Personally,i would not count on it ...
    If it works,nice, it is a "bonus" :winker:

    Read all comments on OSX Cubase sister site releases, and make your decision after.
     
  21. zpaces

    zpaces Platinum Record

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    You have to activate all cores in the Logic settings. ;-)
     
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