Macbook Pro with Intel i9 - can I buy and install Logic Pro in 2025?

[Appleoid]

Hello, first let me say I am very new to the Apple universe. And I'm adding a bit of background before my question. Just skip to the end for the question if your not interested in reading about what led to the question type thing.

The wife has been using an iphone xr for a few years and she recently upgraded to a renewed 15 Max. She handed her iphone xr down/over to me. She has a new 15" Macbook Air base mode coming also, but... That's not why I am here.

I've been recording music on Windows for many years. I've been using Cakewalk stuff since the Cakewalk Guitar Track days. And, I was one of the people who got burnt in the whole Cakewalke to Gibson to Bandland take overs. To be honest, I'm pretty fed up with Windows in general and I really don't want to keep putting money and time into windows based music software. Which, leads me to my why I am here.

I was thinking about getting an M4 Macbook air with 32gb of ram and a 2TB hard drive, but it's kind of pricey. I'd like a Macbook Pro decked out, but that's even more pricey. And, then I found out that on the older intel based Macbook Pros you can install windows along side the Mac OS using Boot Camp. And this got me to thinking...

Maybe I could get an older intel based Macbook Pro with an intel i9 processor and I could use both logic pro and my older Cakewalk software (like sonar platinum). Long story short I wouldn't have to spend as money and I could kind of get started in the Apple world while still using Sonar Platinum (my favorite DAW of all time). Then, if all goes well with apple OS and Logic Pro maybe I could once and for all let go of Sonar Platinum and Windows altogether and take the jump into a new/newer Macbook Pro.

However, I'm not sure if Logic Pro can be purchased and installed on the intel based Macbooks anymore.

So, as of August 2025 can Logic Pro be purchased and installed on a Macbook Pro that has the intel i9 procesor ?

Thanks.

Just a quick PS, if anyone happens to know if windows based music software, especially Sonar Platinum, works well or not in this scenario feel free to chime in. Like I say, I'm pretty much a complete newbie to the Apple world and I'm not afraid to raise my hand and ask questions, know what I mean.

 

[maflynn]

Maybe I could get an older intel based Macbook Pro with an intel i9 processor

You'll be throwing good money after bad. While I don't think the Intel MBPs are bad, but rather their time has past. Apple has already stated that Macos Tahoe will be the last intel version. I believe Logic Pro may run, but some of the newer features may not be available on intel cpus.

Overall, I think your best bet is to use an Apple Silicon MBP, if money is tight, why not look for a refurb or used M series MBP over an intel series MBP

 

[aperfectcircle]

I agree with @maflynn, you’re much better off with an Apple silicon machine. You could get an older M series rather than one with M4. Make sure to get a good amount of RAM. That will help Logic perform well but also be useful if you were to run windows in a virtual machine. I’m not sure how your music apps will perform in a VM on ARM, but it’s an alternative option to an Intel machine with windows on bootcamp.

 

[Appleoid]

I appreciate the input for sure.

It's looking like sticking with an M series machine is the way to go and I could always keep my aging windows machine around a bit longer for Sonar Platinum.

Any thoughts on buying an M4 machine now or waiting until the 2026 machines come out ?

It's quite a bit of money going for the Apple gusto and perhaps being patient until next year may be wiser or ?

 

[maflynn]

Any thoughts on buying an M4 machine now or waiting until the 2026 machines come out ?

The shows that it we'll probably see a M5 MBP this fall, I'd wait until October to be safe. Depending on what the M5 has to offer, you can then look to get the M4 for even less.

Also if you live near a Microcenter, they always have Macs for less then what Apple charges. I bought a M4 Max Studio from Microcenter and saved a bit money. I also keep my windows machine right next to my desk for those odd occasions I need to fire it up. That's becoming less and less frequent these days given how well the M4 Max studio works

 

[benmuetsch]

Yes, it's possible, according to the app store, the latest Logic Pro needs macOS 14 Sonoma.

 

[Appleoid]

Well, cool, thanks for the info, it's appreciated. It looks like I've got somebthings to chew on.

I know I'm waiting until at least the wife's Macbook Air 15 base model comes in, so I can mess around with it some and see if I catch the Apple bug or not or if I want to squish the bug - lol.

Seems like, for the long haul, getting a newer M series is the way to go, but coming this late to the M4 game it might be wiser to slow down a bit and see if the M5's are released and go from there.

And, it's looking like the Intel i9 based macbook pro would be kind of a hold me over machine at best. Although, it'd be cool to mess around with it, dual boot it with windows, and what not. However, financially that doesn't make much sense I guess.

I'll have to make sure I keep coming back here and kind of update my Apple World adventure. Getting use to the iPhone XR the gave is proving a bit challenging. Very cool phone, especially the Svengoolie cover she put on it, but it's definitely different that android.

 

[Appleoid]

So, I was looking around at renewed laptops and it seems you can get an M1 Max Macbook pro with 64gb of memory and a 2TB drive for about the cost of a new Windows budget gaming laptop.

From what I understand the M1 Max would probably run as well as the new Windows budget gaming system, but it seems that the M1 might be getting long in tooth age wise being the M4's are out and the M5's are around the corner.

I know those that already own the M1 may not see a need to upgrade yet, but what about buying one in 2025?

Anyone have any thoughts?

I've looked around on youtube, etc to see what others think, but I personally think just asking here is better. So, what say ye of the Mac'Rumors clan ?

 

[maflynn]

So, I was looking around at renewed laptops and it seems you can get an M1 Max Macbook pro with 64gb of memory and a 2TB drive for about the cost of a new Windows budget gaming laptop.

What is your definition of budget? What is the price you're seeing for a refurbished M1 Max and what is its configuration? A bit more detail is needed to make an educated decision on what is better.

Just doing some random googling and I see that it appears that 24 core M1 Max is equivalent to a RTX 3060 (but no ray tracing)

Looking at a base model Lenovo 5, I'm seeing pricing around 1,200 dollars. For that dollar amount you get a AMD Ryzen™ AI 7 350 that is about the same speed of the M1 Max, but you get a significantly faster GPU with the RTX 5070 (4x to 5X faster on synthetic benchmarks)

There's a MSI gaming laptop on amazon for 921 dollars, the I7-13620h is going to be faster then the M1 Max, and the RTX 4050 seems to be be 2x (or more) faster as well.

 

[Appleoid]

Budget wise I could get pretty much what I wanted, but I don't really want to spend that much or at least I'm having a hard time getting myself to.

The "budget" gaming laptops I've looked at are around the 1K to 1.5K, which seems to be about what a decked out renewed/refurbished M1 macbook pro goes for, that I've found anyways. Once I go past used M1's though I pretty much come to the conclusion I might as well get an M4 or wait for an M5 for a bit more money.

However, I think you've already answered my question though. Pretty much get a new macbook or get a budget windows gaming PC or perhaps a bit higher end windows business PC. All of which will work the audio production and the video editing tasks I do.

I'm not a gamer. I play Plants vs Zombies and When Resistors Go Bad and that's about it.

So, I guess I'm back to seeing if the wife's M4 Mackbook Air causes me to get the Apple bug - or maybe I should say worm. There M4 Air base model is supposed to be here tomorrow.

Thanks again, the interaction is much appreciated. It helps to bounce stuff of others...

PS: Although it's taking some getting use to, the iPhone XR is growing on me. Not that I can really explain it, but the iPhone just seems more enjoyable to use. I'm not thinking I'll miss my Samsung phone much at all, if any.