MacBook Pro minimum specs

Hardware
1

Apologies if this has been asked before.

I’m interested in getting into TD - not at a particularly high level. I’ve done a bit of experimenting with generative animation/art and TouchDesigner seems like the next logical step. So I’m looking to play around with ideas, experiment, maybe export some bits to instagram etc.

I don’t currently have a laptop and I’m planning on buying a MacBook Pro. Needs to be a laptop and has to be mac as I also produce music and I’m tied to Logic/Ableton.

What I’d like to know is do these specs seem like they’d be comfortable for beginner - medium level TouchDesigner work (appreciate it’s probably not going to be able to do ultra high end processing)?

2023 Apple MacBook Pro 14"
M3 Pro Processor
18GB RAM
512GB SSD

I have a separate monitor I can use if I need a bigger screen so that’s not an issue.

Wondering if 18GB RAM is enough or do I need to spend more for 36?

Any advice welcome, cheers

2

System / memory requirements while using TD depend A LOT on what you’re doing.

Image processing (using TOPs) is much more memory hungry than signal or event processing (using CHOPs). One desirable trait of Apple Silicon™ is that the overall system memory is shared between processors (CPUs, GPUs, etc) in a high-bandwith interconnect, so you may be better off with 18GB shared RAM for TOP-intensive stuff than a standard 8GB VRAM GPU + 16 GB system RAM (PC equivalent) configuration, at least in regards to memory capacity.

My advice is to get what makes most sense for your other, paying workloads :wink: