Hi.


I’m a music producer who mostly works with synthesizers and samples (electronic music and experimental hip hop), and I need a new computer.

My two options are:

• Mac Mini M4 Pro with 12 cores, 512 GB of storage, and 24 GB of RAM
  
  
• AMD Ryzen 9 9950X 16-Core – 2 TB of storage and 32 GB of DDR5 RAM
  

I use Ableton, and I know that Ableton takes advantage of the performance cores and works wonderfully with Apple’s M-series processors. However, building the PC with the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X 16-Core actually comes out cheaper and more powerful in paper.

 

Tough choice man.
TL;DR
A) Push for 1TB storage on the M4 or B) Build the PC or C) Check out MINISFORUM BD795i SE which comes with 16core cpu and itx motherboard with 2 nvme slots.

I have both AMD and Mac rigs. The raw performance of the 9950X can outperform the M4 in some areas, but in your use-case you don't need the extra horsepower. The M4 will cost less in electricity and do "more work per watt" if that matters to you. Also, you get the option to use Logic and Final Cut should you be interested later and both apps have the best CPU/OS optimization ever achieved. Storage price and lack of upgrades are the issues with Macs. And I don't care how you try to reason it, 512 is NOT ENOUGH for the long term. I already expect that your sessions and sound libraries will be on external drives, but apps take a lot of space and trying to solve that with apps on external is just problems. Adobe apps easily take 20+, my iCloud takes 200gb, and I didn't mention any audio software yet. Don't count your self short for what you will want to install a year from now.

 

Since my Windows 11 24H2 26100.3781 - AMD R9-7900 is running flawless since i installed it in February 2025 i would go for the 9950X which is an upgrade to my CPU and 10-20% faster with huge L2 Cache which is awesome for Multimedia Calculations.

It will be hard to push a 9950X with 32- 64GB Memory , NVMe and a good Mainboard to it´s limits.

512 GB Storage would be filled quick with samples and graphics. It is too less.

In addition have not found any incompatible VSTi or Software that does not work on my system.

I would take the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X or the 9950X3D, also for AI LLM and Calculations.

Enjoy your new computer which ever you get.

 

I think I’ll have to go with the AMD option since Apple products are way too expensive in my country (Guatemala) because of all the added taxes. The Mac Mini with the M4 Pro only comes with 512 GB here, and it’s already super pricey with that setup — I can only imagine how much a 1 TB version would cost. The weirdest part is they offered me the Mac Studio with the M4 Max, but also with just 512 GB, and there’s no option to upgrade to 1 TB. It’s ridiculously expensive.

I will go for the AMD option, however, I have two options: the AMD Ryzen™ 9 9900X 12-Core, 24-Thread Unlocked Desktop Processor OR the AMD Ryzen™ 9 9950X 16-Core, 32-Thread Unlocked Desktop Processor

I don't know if the 9 9950X is worth the extra bucks. I use Ableton 12 as a DAW with many synths like Serum, Phase Plant, etc...

 

Few weeks ago, I bought my first Mac Machine, Mac Mini M4 Base Variant with 512GB Storage.
OS Version : MacOs Sequoia 15

Previously I had Dell XPS 15 9570
This was 2018's Flagship Model, Reviewed by biggest youtubers in the world. You can still google it.
It had i7 8750h processor and 16 gigs of RAM.



PERFORMANCE DIFFERENCE:
1. Lowest Buffer = 32 Samples tested in Ableton Live 12 and Studio One 7 for atleast 4-5 hours of non-stop work.

A. Dell XPS 15 = Hardly playable at Lowest Buffer Setting when you use heavy synths like omnisphere or diva.
B. Mac Mini M4 = I was able to run 5 omnisphere and run ozone 11 & Pro-L2 on max settings on the master and few saturn 2 with max oversampling.
which consumed only 15% CPU in realtime. Not a single audio dropout was found.

note: I was running the latest versions of plugins so they were compatible with Apple Silicon.

Whenever I play live on this Mac Mini, My heart fills with gratefulness. I was never able to perform well in lowest buffer settings with Dell XPS. Never in 5 years. It was good for 1 Instance of Keyscape if you go further than that You will face dropouts in Lowest Buffer Settings. I tried everything to reduce DPC Latency it worked like 10% improvement. But not more than that.

I researched alot why this happened. I found out windows systems have DPC Latency which in simple terms means there are micro delays between cores.
Apple has non of these issues.

2. Third-Party Drivers
Like Audio Interface Drivers, Your Midi Keyboard Drivers

Windows Devices: You need to manually install every driver and ensure it's working properly otherwise your equipment will not work properly.

Apple Devices: No need to install. I got Focusrite Solo Audio Interface & Nectar GX49 MIDI Keyboard. Both are working perfectly with every daw without any hiccups even small knobs on my midi keyboard is working without any drivers.

3. Windows Audio vs Apple's CoreAudio
Windows Audio: I am telling you from my experience. Windows Audio have problems when working with multiple audio sources like Watching a YT video while playing something in you daw and hearing both audio's on your monitor speakers require you to use your audio interface on both like in your DAW and in your System Audio. Which works but still it's an hassle on windows, you have to change settings every time. And also make sure both Audio Sources are not clashing as they are using your Audio Interface in DAW and in System Settings.

Apple's CoreAudio: This CoreAudio is Apple's default driver and you don't need any other driver than this. In my experience, Think this way This Driver is a multi Input & Output Driver. Meaning you can use same driver in Ableton Live and system settings at the same time without any hiccups or need of drivers like ASIO and fiddling with settings every time.

4. Fan Noise in Heavy Work
Windows: Kicks fans instantly when working with Heavy Synths like Omnisphere & Diva
Apple : Never heard the fan noise. And doesn't even heat up like my previous laptop. That one was a toaster.

Now, The Ultimate Question

5. Working with K'd Softwares & Plugins

Windows certainly have more stuff released. But in my opinion those few extra plugins shouldn't make or break your music making process as all the major stuff is available for MacOS or I should say Arm version of MacOS

What is Available for mac?

VSTs:
Spectrasonics VSTs
Native Instruments
Serum and Serum2
U-he Stuff
Arturia V Collection
Synapse Audio
XLN Audio Bundle
Toontrack Bundle
Roland Bundle

Plugins:
Fabfilter Bundle
Waves Bundle
Ozone Bundle
Plugin Alliance Bundle
AOM Bundle
Arturia V & FX Collection
IK Multimedia
kilohearts Bundle
Acustica Audio Plugins
SirAudio Standard Clip
Kazrog
Wavesfactory
Metric Halo Bundle
Eventide Bundle
Cableguys
Mastering The Mix
& Many more.

What's not available?
Sonnox Plugs (You can buy these tbh cause i bought Inflator for $30)
Softube Plugins
Oeksound Plugins
Relab Plugins
Lexicon PCM Native
Liquidsonics Plugins
Slate VMR
Meldaproductions (Available but opens up in demo mode idk why)


There are many alternatives to all of these.

6. Low Wattage Consumption
We have a Inverter but it can't handle high power appliances like Iron, Air Conditioner or Mixer Machine. I once tested my friends CPU at his house. He had a Gaming Setup with Ryzen Cheap and RTX 3090. I was beast in running games but he wasn't able to run it on his inverter due to high wattage of Ryzen and Nvidia Cards.

On the other hand: This tiny Mac Mini M4 runs smoothly on my home inverter without any hiccups. I worked for like 7-8 hours non-stop on this inverter for just testing purposes lol.


In my experience of working with 5 years with windows laptop & 3 weeks working with mac mini.
I can confidently say, I don't think I will even consider a windows machine for audio stuff. If you don't believe it.

Just go to your nearest Shop which has Apple as well as windows machines and tell them you want to put softwares in the demo machine for testing purposes and promise them that you'll buy either windows or mac today. They will let you check anything you want. If they don't agree give them some token amount they will agree.

Carry a USB or SSD.
Install a DAW of your choice, Install Serum & Fabfilter Saturn2 or L-2

and max the Oversampling Options in Fabfilter and lower the buffer settings in DAW Settings and start duplicating + as you max out try to play stuff in realtime with just the keyboard & check for drop-outs. Also try mixing scenarios, Max out the Buffer and Compare with alternative windows system.

I didn't do this as I already had my windows laptop (quite a powerful one) so I just tested mac mini in one of the shops.

My brother bought a $600 phone so they allowed me to do whatever with the demo mac lol.

I installed Some stuff and tested, completely blown away my just raw power of the M2 Mac Mini, I bought M4 Mac Mini Base Variant with 512 GB storage.

Currently, I installed all the software that I mentioned above & used my 1 TB external SSD for Spectrasonics Steam Folder, Kontakt Library's & Sample Packs. My Mac Mini still has around 310GB storage available out of 499GB after installing everything I need.

 

It’s awesome to see someone using AMD as his processor. What DAW do you use? What kind of workloads do you usually run on your PC? I use a lot of synths like Serum, Phase Plant, Vital, and so on. I use Ableton as my DAW.

Looks like I’ll have to choose the AMD route, since Apple Mac Mini M4 PRO are just way too overpriced in Guatemala due to all the extra taxes. The Mac Mini with the M4 Pro is only available with 512 GB here, and even that setup is insanely expensive. I can’t even imagine what the 1 TB version would go for. What’s even crazier is that they also offered me the Mac Studio with the M4 Max, but again, only with 512 GB and no way to upgrade to 1 TB. The prices are just f$%% absurd.

With the AMD options I can get 2 TB for way less money than the Mac Mini M4 Pro.I was actually considering two processor options. My choices are the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X (12-core, 24-thread) or the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X (16-core, 32-thread). I’m not sure if the performance difference is really worth the extra cost.

 

Instead of M4 Pro why don't you try the Base Variant M4. Just give it a try. I am telling you mate. Don't listen to anybody just do some tests yourself. The Base Variant is no joke. Don't listen to me. Just go somewhere and try these machines. Do live playing test with low buffer and mixing tests with max buffer on both Windows and Mac.

 

Every long time Mac user will tell you the same thing. When you buy a Mac, you should always buy the one with the most resources that you can afford/budget. Most aren't upgradable. And if you still have, and want to use your Windows machine and it's plugins in your Mac DAW; get one with an ethernet port so you can use Audiogridder over ethernet.

 

I have a base Mini M4 I got a as gift when they came out. I'm on it right now in fact. This little thing costed $570.00, there about, currently $529.00 in the US, on Amazon, and it really surprised me. On just 4 performance cores, LIve can only use the 4 Pcores of the 10 cores. Reaper and Cubase can get a lot more out the cores, I was able to run 120 tracks at about 40-50% on the CPU meter in Live. Depending on what plugins I threw at it I could run anywhere from the 120 to 228 tracks at up to 80% on the CPU meter.

I did not expect that kind of performance from such a cheap tiny computer. Also it's virtually silent the in regular use. Big plus in my book. Drive space I solved with an external M.2 Ssd/enclosure. R/W speeds are actually significantly faster than the internal. Not that I need the speed, just an observation. I did get a quality drive/enclosure.

I'm sticking with my PC build do the fact that it has my custom windows build on it, and frankly it works and there's no need for me to go through the trouble. I like that I replace parts too. It is significantly louder though, sucks more power, and heats up the room it's in a bit. Yes, I put it in another room.

If I didn't already have a system running and I were in the market for a new computer dedicated for DAW use right now, I'd def go with a Mac Mini M4 with external drive/s. (because I refuse to get ripped off on storage, plus faster and removable should I need that) Powerful. No heat. Noiseless. Tiny, and of out the way.

Frankly, even the base model is overpowered for my humble DAW needs. YMMV of course.

All that said, I'm looking at the prices in Guatemala, ouch. I'd likely go the PC rout too, unless I had excess money and didn't care.

 

Since ever, the only turnoff of Apple computers has always been the price, today the Mac mini M4 has a pricetag of $599. There are no more excuses: go for it

 

9900X for the price perf ratio (vs 9950)
And for electrical long run cost.
120 W vs 170

You can still swap CPU later, with a good second hand one (same socket).

I've done that several time, like when i bought a dual core ... and bought a quad core later (yes, i'm that old )

 

You should continue working with the operating system you've been using.

If you've been using Windows: AMD Ryzen 9 9950X 16-Core – 2 TB of storage and 32 GB of DDR5 RAM
If you've been using Mac: Mac Mini M4 Pro with 12 cores, 512 GB of storage, and 24 GB of RAM

The modern AMD Ryzen CPU generation is almost on par with Apple – Apple is slightly faster. Apple is inherently more expensive. Switching from Windows to Mac just for the sake of a little performance is also not advisable.

Why is AMD Ryzen 9 9950X better than Apple M4 Pro (12-core CPU / 16-core GPU)?

• 1.59x faster CPU speed
  16 x 4.3 GHzvs8 x 4.05 GHz & 4 x 2.75 GHz
• 20 threads more CPU threads
  32 threadsvs12 threads
• 14 MB bigger L2 cache
  16 MBvs2 MB
• Has an unlocked multiplier
  128GB larger maximum memory amount
• 192GBvs64GB
• Uses multithreading
• Supports ECC memory

 

Last edited: May 13, 2025 at 10:44 AM

Life only uses performance cores, there are no plans by Ableton to use efficiency cores on Mac M.



I couldn't live with 16GB RAM and 512GB storage and Macs with enough are just too expensive. Even if it's slightly slower with Ryzen, you can build a system that is fast enough for really cheap, something that is just not possible with Mac because of the steep prices for maxing out RAM and SSD.

Checking the prices here now just for fun, Mac mini Pro M4 with max RAM comes in at over 5000€. 5000€ for a laughable 64GB RAM, not even 128.

If I would update my Ryzen System to 64GB RAM and 8TB SSD, the whole system would still be around 1000€, for everything. Yes, I'm sure the M4 Pro is faster but I can update my CPU, with Mac you can't.

Who in their right mind would pay 5000€ for a PC that you can't update and that doesn't even have enough ports to plug my equipment?

I guess my internal m.2 SSDs are also a lot faster then using external SSD on a Mac? That's just ridiculous, unless you're a professional earning money with your music there's absolutely no question, Apple is ripping you off with their upgrade prices.

 

Last edited: May 13, 2025 at 9:45 AM

My Ryzen 9-7900 12/24 cores barely goes over 25% CPU usage in Task Manager even on heavy loaded projects.

3 Bus Reverbs - Endless EQ´w - Track Limiter´s - 1-2 Delay Effects - Stutter and Texture VSTi´s + Master Channel usually 2-4 Plugins.

up to 30 Tracks with Samples or VSTi´s - each one with Base Tools EQ/CMP/LMT

paired with good NVMe like Samsung EVO 990 Plus it almost overkill.

Studio One 7 - CPU usually around 5-30% and the CPU is cool at 58C so no loud Fan´s.

My Studio Computer cost´s less than 1.900€ with a mid range Graphic Card RX7600, 96GB , 2x2TB NVMe 990 Plus and 4x 1TB SSD as Backup

The 99xx Series should be even faster, unbelievable.

Maybe i exchange the R9-7900 with a 9950X3D soon , the AI power i.e. for AMUSE 3.01 is incredible.

 

that particular choice depends on scale of projects/compositions you're working with,
that M4 Pro has "only" 8 performance cores, so you could go much cheaper with AMD 9700X if projects are relatively small,

speaking of bigger projects, in that case you should be looking at no less than twice the RAM you wrote,
48GB, 64GB or even 96GB RAM would be very useful,

if you lean towards Mac, then base model Mac Studio M4 Max is not a bad value,
and a "reasonably ideal" choice would be Mac Studio M4 Max with 16-core cpu and 64GB memory and 1TB storage

 

nvm

 

Last edited: May 13, 2025 at 9:35 PM

I would stay in the ecosystem you're used to.
I'm PC guy and a lot of the facilities I get booked to use macs. There is so much that is different and very annoying. Like small things but a death of thousand papercuts. Like I hate how the mouse wheel accelerates on macs. Or the fastest keyboard repeat rate is not as fast as on PC and so on. Small things but they add up.

 

Just get a Mac the audio drivers alone are a reason enough

 

yeah but core audio is like the windows audio drivers. if you use an interface you rely on theirs anyway.

 

I have been running a Ryzen 9 9950X for a few months now on Windows 11 IoT LTSC 24H2. I consider that some of my work is above average terms of CPU usage (heavy orchestral stuff without bouncing anything), and this CPU was still far from being maxed out. I did spend some time optimizing my RAM sub-timings, so my system is also stable while running heavy VSTIs at extremely low latency. I don't use Mac, so can't comment on the M4, but so far, it looks like my 9950X will stay with me for another 10 years.