if New MB Pro from Apple Store, Can i Transfer Clone Drive W/Mojave?

[Christopher11]

Hey guys. I like my new 2015 MB Pro a lot, but despite that it's maxed out power and RAM, I keep getting hung up in Logic; it just doesn't have the power I need. If I bought a new one from Apple, or something similar off Ebay, could I clone my 2TB HD onto it, and continue to run Mojave?

Thanks so much for any reply.

 

[Willo34]

If you buy a new machine at Apple, 202 model, it will have Catalina installed on it, and downgrading to Mojave is either not possible, or a massive nuisance.

 

[Fishrrman]

If you want to run Logic on a newer Mac, I suggest you buy an Apple-refurbished 2019 iMac 27" (i5 or i7 with an SSD inside). They're the last iMacs that can run Mojave, and they're also the last iMacs that come WITHOUT the troublesome "t2" chip inside.

A 2019 iMac will come with either Catalina OR Mojave installed.

IF you get one with Catalina installed, it can be "wiped" and "taken back" to Mojave if you wish.

Keep the 2015 MBP as a laptop.
Nothing beats having a good desktop AND a good laptop, too.
[automerge]1601045947[/automerge]

 

[Christopher11]

If you want to run Logic on a newer Mac, I suggest you buy an Apple-refurbished 2019 iMac 27" (i5 or i7 with an SSD inside). They're the last iMacs that can run Mojave, and they're also the last iMacs that come WITHOUT the troublesome "t2" chip inside.

A 2019 iMac will come with either Catalina OR Mojave installed.

IF you get one with Catalina installed, it can be "wiped" and "taken back" to Mojave if you wish.

Keep the 2015 MBP as a laptop.
Nothing beats having a good desktop AND a good laptop, too.
[automerge]1601045947[/automerge]

Thank you guys sincerely for these helpful answers. I like this idea, because the iMac takes care of the monitor issue for me too; I don't currently have a good one. Are they much more powerful than laptops anyway? Like, a powerhouse for my DSP needs?

 

[Christopher11]

Like this 8 core 2019 iMac here... this should be a screamer, compared to my MB Pro, right?

 

[ght56]

You can downgrade the OS if the unit purchased from Apple is a model that supported that OS (e.g., you buy a refurb today that was originally produced in 2016, which would ship from Apple with whatever version of Catalina was current at the time of refurbishment, but you would be able to downgrade to Mojave with a clone as Mojave and that system are compatible.) That said, any potential software issues you currently have would be transferred over, and the licenses for apps that are tied to the computer will obviously not transfer. Subsequently, if you need Mojave, I assume you could also do a fresh install with one of these machines that were originally produced when Mojave was a current OS, and that might be the better way to go.

If you go this route, you would presumably need an installer or clone that supports at least the minimum version that system could run. For example, if you purchased an iMac that was originally released with Mojave 10.14.3, then you would want an installer or a clone with at least 10.14.3, as a 10.14.2 or .1 clone or installer would almost certainly not work correctly or at all.

If you are buying a machine with one of the newer security chips, you would want to be sure how this factors into the equation as the means I've done this before using clones has been on machines without the T2 chip, and obviously this process requires externally booting, which you must manually enable if you have this security chip.

 

[Christopher11]

I've got my eye on this 2019 iMac. It sounds powerful, i9, 8 core, and ships with Mojave. Any reservations, if you were looking at it for yourself? I wish it was cheaper.

 

[ght56]

I've got my eye on this 2019 iMac. It sounds powerful, i9, 8 core, and ships with Mojave. Any reservations, if you were looking at it for yourself? I wish it was cheaper.

Apple support would be my reservation because, should a systematic problem come about, I am not confident that Apple will address it fairly. Sometimes they have done so incredibly fairly and in a way that speaks volumes which they deserve credit for, and other times they have not and this lack of speaks volumes as well. I would not personally buy one from eBay unless it had an active AppleCare warranty and knowing for certain that warranty was completely transferrable due to high repair costs, but that's just me.

 

[Fishrrman]

OP wrote:
"I've got my eye on this 2019 iMac. It sounds powerful, i9, 8 core, and ships with Mojave. Any reservations, if you were looking at it for yourself?"

I wouldn't buy the i9, because the higher power CPU will consume more power.
More power = more heat, faster fans, more noise.

I'd get the mid-range model instead, but that's just me.

 

[matram]

OP wrote:
"I've got my eye on this 2019 iMac. It sounds powerful, i9, 8 core, and ships with Mojave. Any reservations, if you were looking at it for yourself?"

I wouldn't buy the i9, because the higher power CPU will consume more power.
More power = more heat, faster fans, more noise.

I'd get the mid-range model instead, but that's just me.

In principle I agree, but it of course depends on your workload. I found the i9 and its ability for short turbo burst very helpful for work in Visual Studio in a Fusion VM. The kind of keyboard freeze I was experiencing with my old 15” while Visuak Studio was trying to process my key presses basically disappeared with the i9.

 

[Christopher11]

Wow, really good points, all. Geekbench rates my current MB Pro 2015 at 864. It rates the iMac I'm looking at at 1238, multi core 8283. Would this be quite a marked improvement in DSP power? My dream is to open my projects in LPX, and just burn through processing, so I can play with low latency, and not have to worry about freezing tracks, etc.

Would you expect this to be quite a lot more powerful?

This is the one I'm looking at. Sorry to repeat myself. I wish it wasn't so expensive (lol, of course i wish that). Apple iMac 27" 5K 2019 3.6 GHz 8 Core i9 2TB SSD 32GB 2667MHz RAM Vega 48 GFX. I like the idea of having such a nice monitor, built in. I think the stereo speakers were not bad as well; helpful to have an additional reference.

Thanks you guys again.

 

[Christopher11]

Quick question you guys, several of the 2019 iMacs I've been looking at have 'Fusion' drives. Would you shy away from that? I'm surprised Apple was doing that only a year ago. Are they okay?

Thanks for any thoughts on that.

 

[ght56]

I'd personally avoid them. Alternatively, if I bought one, I would probably split it, or buy a Thunderbolt 3 SSD and run everything (OS and files) off of it...the latter would potentially be more expensive than buying one with a SSD.

 

[Christopher11]

Okay, I'll look for one with a straight SSD. Thank you. It seems odd to me that in 2019 Apple would be shipping out with spinning hard drives.

 

[Christopher11]

Hey guys. I was at the Apple Store looking at iMacs, and I realized that a new iMac with identical specs is the same price as the 2019 I've been searching for on Ebay. That is, 8 core, 2TB SSD, 32 GB RAM. I think I might do it that way, and thus get the new machine and Apple Care. Any thoughts on that? Thanks so much.

 

[chrfr]

Hey guys. I was at the Apple Store looking at iMacs, and I realized that a new iMac with identical specs is the same price as the 2019 I've been searching for on Ebay. That is, 8 core, 2TB SSD, 32 GB RAM. I think I might do it that way, and thus get the new machine and Apple Care. Any thoughts on that? Thanks so much.

The 2020 iMac cannot run Mojave, so if that's a factor, you'll want to consider that. If you have no need for a portable computer, buying an iMac makes a lot more sense than buying a portable.

 

[Christopher11]

Uh oh! I run Mojave for Logic Pro. You're sure it can't run Mojave? That means I'm out... .

Back to looking for an earlier one.

 

[chrfr]

Uh oh! I run Mojave for Logic Pro. You're sure it can't run Mojave? That means I'm out... .

Back to looking for an earlier one.

The 2020 iMac absolutely requires Catalina. You'd either need a 2019 or older iMac, or upgrade Logic Pro if your version doesn't support Catalina.

 

[Christopher11]

Ah. Well thank you guys. I will shoot for 2019, because I'm doing well with Mojave. Or maybe you guys feel I should just bite the bullet and upgrade, because i won't be able to run Mojave for much longer? It's new to me, I was on El Capitan forever. Mojave works quite well with Logic Pro X.