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Torn between 2 models and need your input

S

siroht

macrumors member
Original poster
I’m a DJ who uses my MacBooks strictly for djing and music collection. I run Serato DJ Pro which is somewhat taxing on my intel MacBook Pro (2015) with its recent major upgrade and running stems. I finally decided to upgrade to the M5 model and am torn between 2 macbooks

1. The base model 14” M5 MacBook Pro

Or

2. MacBook Air M5 w/24GB RAM and a 1 TB storage.

I’m planning on the next purchase to last me at least 7-10 years for strictly DJing and music related apps.

Also my daughter is in college and have the base model M1 MacBook Air and I tested some of my apps on her device and everything ran without a problem. However, I want to go ahead and purchase another MacBook that will last me for quite a while.

Your suggestions.

Thanks
 
….forgot to add that the Pro model cn be purchased at the same price as the Macbook Air
 
I'd get the M5 MacBook Air.

It's true that the display and speakers are a bit better in the Pro, but that extra RAM and storage should really help your performance longevity now and in a few years running whatever macOS Apple has by then. Serato DJ Pro probably won't need the fan cooling the Pro offers for hardcore users (e.g., gaming, video editing, AI research).

The Air is lighter and also, you can plug in external displays and speakers, so the disparity between Air and Pro wouldn't be a huge problem if you're using it as a main system at a desk.
 
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Thanks everyone. I’m heavily leaning towards picking up the M5 Air tomorrow. I like the idea of the extra 8 GB of RAm, 1 TB of storage and the smaller/lighter form factor. The only con when it comes to my personal usage is that the base model doesn’t throttle under heavy workloads, whereas, the Air does. I process batches of music files exceeding 1000+ files per import via MixedInKey to extract and embed metadata into my files before finalizing the conversion over to the DJ software. This process is probably the most stress that the MacBook Air would encounter in regards to sustained loads on the CPU.
 
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That is a lot of files. A Mac Mini with a Pro processor might handle the load better - it's not constrained by a battery design and it has a cooling fan as well... just something to consider if you want to offload the processing to another machine.
 
siroht said:
Thanks everyone. I’m heavily leaning towards picking up the M5 Air tomorrow. I like the idea of the extra 8 GB of RAm, 1 TB of storage and the smaller/lighter form factor. The only con when it comes to my personal usage is that the base model doesn’t throttle under heavy workloads, whereas, the Air does. I process batches of music files exceeding 1000+ files per import via MixedInKey to extract and embed metadata into my files before finalizing the conversion over to the DJ software. This process is probably the most stress that the MacBook Air would encounter in regards to sustained loads on the CPU.
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Even an m5 air throttled will still be much faster than your pro lol. If you said it worked without issue on your kids m1 air, then it will fly along on the m5

I personally have the 13” m5 air with 24gb/1tb config and super happy with it. A beast of a little machine
 
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Okay it’s final after putting the MacBook Air M5 24GB/1TB model through some tests with processing and analyzing batches of music files and through my analyzation and tagging software. While monitoring Activity Monitor the MacBook Air began to throttle the CPU after approximately 10-15 minutes after beginning the cpu intensive process. The bottom of the Air was very warm so I assume this is why it was throttling the CPU. It took over an hour to completely process the entire batch….2K files. I could tell that it was throttling because the progress counter within the software slowed down significantly compared to when I initially loaded the files. It was processing files very quickly at first and then after 10-15 minutes the progress counter slowed down significantly, which correlated with what I was seeing via the activity monitor.

This got me to thinking, summer time is quickly approaching and I perform gigs outside and I live in Texas where the heat index can exceed 110F during the summer. I reached out to one of my DJ partners who gigs out way more than I do, and he informed me that the Air models will struggle when running our DJ related CPU/Video programs outdoors during summer time gigs due to the fact that the Air doesn’t have a internal fan to keep it cool. He recommended that I either step up to a Pro model, or I could perform a “thermal mod” on the Air in conjunction with a cooling dock and that I “may” not experience any issues. I surely don’t want to take a gamble and invest in a model that won’t serve my needs completely.

Long story short, I ended up finding a deal on a M4 Pro 24GB Ram/512GB SSD model for the same cost as the M5 MacBook Air model that I just purchased. There may be trade offs going to a older architect CPU/GPU, but at least it has 2 fans which should negate the throttling that I experienced with the Air during my usage mentioned above, and I’ll be prepared to fight off the summer heat when gigging outside this upcoming summer.

Thanks for everyone’s input and advice.
 
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siroht said:
Okay it’s final after putting the MacBook Air M5 24GB/1TB model through some tests with processing and analyzing batches of music files and through my analyzation and tagging software. While monitoring Activity Monitor the MacBook Air began to throttle the CPU after approximately 10-15 minutes after beginning the cpu intensive process. The bottom of the Air was very warm so I assume this is why it was throttling the CPU. It took over an hour to completely process the entire batch….2K files. I could tell that it was throttling because the progress counter within the software slowed down significantly compared to when I initially loaded the files. It was processing files very quickly at first and then after 10-15 minutes the progress counter slowed down significantly, which correlated with what I was seeing via the activity monitor.

This got me to thinking, summer time is quickly approaching and I perform gigs outside and I live in Texas where the heat index can exceed 110F during the summer. I reached out to one of my DJ partners who gigs out way more than I do, and he informed me that the Air models will struggle when running our DJ related CPU/Video programs outdoors during summer time gigs due to the fact that the Air doesn’t have a internal fan to keep it cool. He recommended that I either step up to a Pro model, or I could perform a “thermal mod” on the Air in conjunction with a cooling dock and that I “may” not experience any issues. I surely don’t want to take a gamble and invest in a model that won’t serve my needs completely.

Long story short, I ended up finding a deal on a M4 Pro 24GB Ram/512GB SSD model for the same cost as the M5 MacBook Air model that I just purchased. There may be trade offs going to a older architect CPU/GPU, but at least it has 2 fans which should negate the throttling that I experienced with the Air during my usage mentioned above, and I’ll be prepared to fight off the summer heat when gigging outside this upcoming summer.

Thanks for everyone’s input and advice.
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It sounds like the M4 pro fits your needs better then. I do question the legitimacy of your use case a bit since you've managed to get away with using an 11 year old MacBook to currently do what you're doing. An m5 air is literally 200% faster than your old Mac. So if what you're doing is bringing an m5 air to its knees, I don't understand how your old Mac was even usable at all. Heat? Your old Mac was running an intel 9th gen, it could have 4 fans on it and it would throttle, a very well known issue with intel macs, they all throttle.

In end, yes an m4 pro will do better in sustained heavy workflow vs an air, there's not a massive jump going from M4 to M5, especially an M4 pro, they will still perform better in multi tasking due to having more cores.

Goodluck with the new Mac!
 
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Glad you found a machine that works for you, but I also have to agree with @1BadManVan above

How on Earth were you getting anything done on an 11 year old Mac that isn't adeptly handled by an M5 MBA?

I think it's even faster than the 200% more mentioned above.

An M5 device should "tactically nuke" an 11 year old Mac in every single metric.
 
turbineseaplane said:
Glad you found a machine that works for you, but I also have to agree with @1BadManVan above

How on Earth were you getting anything done on an 11 year old Mac that isn't adeptly handled by an M5 MBA?

I think it's even faster than the 200% more mentioned above.

An M5 device should "tactically nuke" an 11 year old Mac in every single metric.
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Not even a matter of "should" it just does lol. Especially on native apps for macOS and Apple silicon which Serato DJ Pro has. So yea, something a little fishy about these types of tests he was putting it through, it doesn't sound realistic to his actual workflow or it just simply wouldn't be feasible on a 2015 Intel Mac...

But oh well, he found the right one for him at the end of the day for the same money minus having half the storage
 
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Let me clear some things up...my 2015 MBP runs Mojave and some of the software apps offers upgraded features that I felt would enhance my use-case workflow. However, these applications required that I upgrade to a M series CPU/OS, because support has been dropped for Mojave. Hence the reason why I ran some basic tests on my daughter's M1 Air, basically ensuring that these upgraded apps were indeed functioning properly on Sequoia. This led me on the hunt for an up to date M series laptop. Once I truly put the M5 Air (Tahoe) through some heavy lifting tasks is when I noticed that one of the primary upgraded apps that I use in my workflow process brought the M5 Air to a crawl. So hopefully you understand now how this led me to my final decision, settling on a more updated M series MacBook with a fan. Preliminary tests on my daughter's Air, rave reviews and a lower cost is what initially drew me to considering a M5 Air over a M5 MBP. At the end of the day and through trial and error, I think I ended up with a MB that will last me for the next 10 years.
 
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For your use, I would go with the 14" MacBook Pro since it has better cooling and will handle long DJ sessions with stems more reliably, while the Air with 24GB RAM is good but can throttle under heavier loads due to being fanless, so if you want it to last 7-10 years the Pro is the safer choice.
 
MacMorrison said:
Also, I'd keep that 2015 MacBook Pro. You can upgrade its SSD and get its battery replaced and keep it running on macOS 15 Sequoia with OpenCore Legacy Patcher (official support ends at macOS 12 Monterey) for another couple of years.
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Agreed.

My 2015 15" MBP has been put on Sequoia and I have a Bootcamp partition with Windows 10 LTSC so I can have a Windows install for occasional odd use cases that crop up still.
 
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turbineseaplane said:
I see.
So the tasks that brought an M5 Air "to a crawl" were things you weren't actually doing on the 2015 MBP?

Did I read that correctly?
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Correct. I was using an application that I purchased in 2015 called MixedinKey version 7. This software is streamlined and compatible with Mojave which is what I was running with the software for the past 10 years. Today MixedinKey 11.5 doesn’t support Mojave and requires a more recent OS in order to run it. On top of that I’ve been running an ancient version of Serato DJ Pro and wanted to use their recent release to use features such STEMS. Being a DJ I own a plethora of hardware including the recent released RANE System One which requires me to update to a version of Serato DJ Pro 4.0.3 in order to use it. So in order to use my recent hardware purchase, utilize STEMs which I can’t on my 2015 MBP, and take advantage of software features offered in MixedInKey 11.5 hardware requirements were desperately needed. Again M1 chip or better. In the DJ world the old adage is if it ain’t broke don’t update. Years have past and now I was in a position where my 2015 MBP has been phased out by modern hardware that I have purchased which in return requires a more recent OS. Therefore, I’m required to update my MB in order to utilize my new DJ gear and to maximize features offered in the software that I’m now forced to upgrade to. Hope this helps.
 
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Micahrea said:
For your use, I would go with the 14" MacBook Pro since it has better cooling and will handle long DJ sessions with stems more reliably, while the Air with 24GB RAM is good but can throttle under heavier loads due to being fanless, so if you want it to last 7-10 years the Pro is the safer choice.
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Correct, and occasionally I get booked and have to run video in conjunction to running Serato DJ, so I’m told that the Air will definitely throttle when I spin video on top of audio. If I would’ve known all of this when I began on my upgrade adventure, I would’ve been over in the MBP forum enlisting recommendations on my next purchase.
 
MacMorrison said:
Also, I'd keep that 2015 MacBook Pro. You can upgrade its SSD and get its battery replaced and keep it running on macOS 15 Sequoia with OpenCore Legacy Patcher (official support ends at macOS 12 Monterey) for another couple of years.
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Those are great ideas (above)👍

On a side note: In my view an Intel, or a M4-M5 MackBook Pro when performing the tasks the OP put the MacBook Air through, would run cooler. Apple's idea about "thinnest" in the M-series, which are more powerful processors, makes cooling more difficult. And yes, lots of forum members would say that these processors are designed to handle the higher temperatures, but as an "old" electronics technician I already know by experience that excessive heat reduces the lifespan of electronic devices.
 
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