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Is my 2019 Intel Mac getting long in the tooth – should I switch?
I apologise if you’ve seen this kind of question before (I searched to make sure – but): I extensively use my Intel 2019 Mac Tower with final cut pro on all sorts of editing and post tasks and I feel I now need to upgrade.
So my Intel Tower is 3.2Ghz 16-Core Intel Xeon W
Graphics are AMD Radeon Pro w5700x
Memory 160GB 2933 MHz DDR4
I’ve looked superficially at the variations of Mac studios, the M2 tower, mins etc. But where I’ve got to is that as it stands the mac is pretty good in most things so perhaps I need to upgrade the speed of my principle card.
If right I’m proposing to buy an OWC 16TB Accelsior 8M2 PCIe 4.0 NVMe M.2 SSD as its specs are speeds up to 12,000MB/s on the PCIe Gen 3 equipped 2019 Mac Pro.
I’m think my PCIe lanes are generation 3 and they may support later standards but possibly limit the speeds – I suspect 6000MB/s? Or am I not comprehending this properly
Base line is should I keep my mac and fix it up a bit or should I bite the bullet and get an M2 Tower? Thanks in advance
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4 Replies
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Ahh, it is really hard to answer because it is unclear when we will see the new M4 Mac Pros.
Possibly within a year, but not guaranteed. Should you wait for the M4 Mac Pro or buy the M2 one, or upgrade the current computer… The issue with upgrading the current one is the software is changing with the hardware. You can continue to edit with your current machine but some software specifications will work only on Silicon Macs. Some retiming options, magnetic mask, etc.
You should also consider this before upgrading. And the other issue is if you buy the M2 Mac Pro now, and M4 comes just after you bought that 🙁
You should write down and list the pros and cons. And sleep on it.
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So from your reply you’re voiding the M2 macs as a choice – but of course waiting for next year for the M4 macs – given that our world is now turned upside down by Trumps potential tariff system – may just end my 40 year relationship with macs. I don’t say that lightly as I shot the making of 1984 – the commercial that launched the mac for Apple. So its a bit of a trashing of values that’s going on. In real terms we pay maybe a pound per dollar when you take in taxes and all the rest and when I first came to the states the pound dollar was 2.75… now its 1.35 and who knows where it’ll be next (probably 1:1). But as an individual creative without a company to back up my finances (which I always had in the past) I have to plough on with the system I’m comfortable with – or I may have to go for a hackintosh which in another lifetime I said I’d never do in memory of steve jobs (as an innovator). So last checks – is the m2 not that much of an advantage over the Intel – and secondly does the massive speed surge of the OWC enable a faster rendering by stacking up the data that bit faster (or is that me misunderstanding the principles of the architecture that transmits the data)?
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Well, with Trump on top again, he is trying to achieve what he couldn’t succeed in before, but obviously, he started to remember the R gear quickly.
M2 Mac Pro would definitely be faster than the current machine. Of course, the specifications you choose may affect. Also, you can upgrade and continue to work flawlessly. It will be very good unless you need too many motion graphics, 3d renders, etc.
I had a 2017 MacBook Pro and replaced it with a Nov 2024 M4 MacBook Pro in February. I do too many multicam jobs, and I was struggling even with the proxy files sometimes, but now I can play 4 streams of 4K footage easily. When I invest in a new machine, I consider using it for at least 7-8 years and calculate my budget that way. I also have a 2009 MacBook Pro. I still use it for live events with Blackmagic Atem as a switcher.
I would go for M2 instead of upgrading, and I would wait for M4 if I were not in a hurry. Of course, it is not guaranteed that they will market the M4 Mac Pro within a year. Especially with the Trump effect now.
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Thanks Devrim – I’ll think on this. Thanks for taking the time to answer
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