That’s helpful advice thanks judddanby. It’s good to know I don’t necessarily need to go crazy with the chosen Mac, though I will try to find the best I can afford. Given that I’ve been happily (more or less!) using unsupported Macs for as long as I can remember, the duration of remaining support for the M1’s and M2’s doesn’t worry me too much, although a supported system is definitely desirable. The a similar M1 may well suit my requirements. The most I’m likely to be doing is writing for 4 or 5 instruments.
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I was interested in the fact you say you have 24GB of RAM. It took me a while to realise the option isn’t available with the M2 Pro. I’ve been browsing Apple prices for new units and the ram options are 16GB for the base model then 32GB. You can also upgrade from 10 core to 12 core processor for another NZ$525. Despite initial enthusiasm for M1 and M2, prices are causing me to re-consider 2018 i7 Mac Minis. It should be a definite improvement on what I’m currently running and tide me over until I’m ready for a more significant upgrade perhaps in a few years time. At least I think I am convinced!
Personally speaking, I really would try and stretch for an Apple silicon machine at this stage. If you can find an M1- or M2-powered machine with 16GB RAM, you will have a machine that will serve you faithfully for much longer than an Intel-based machine.
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Thanks for the tip. Since my last message I have in fact spotted an M2 Pro machine with 16GB RAM up for auction that I might be able to secure for a similar price as the Intel i7 based systems on offer. If that doesn’t work out there are a couple of M1 options that might also work out. I’ll find out on Sunday how enthusiastic other bidders will be. Hopefully they won’t go crazy.
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For those who have kindly offered advice, I offer this update and message of sincere thanks. I’ve been able to secure a near new Mac Mini M2 Pro (16GB ram, 512GB SSD) for a reasonable sum. It has solved a long list of issues and opened up all sorts of possibilities. Best of all it is running Dorico 5 Pro and I can, at last, see all that I’ve been missing!
The Mac’s setup procedure and applying software upgrades was relatively straightforward. The only real difficulty was (ahem!) with the Steinberg Download Assistant which really had me head scratching and holding my breath a few times. I had the annoying and hard to fathom font reset issue and a list of messages about missing components (?) during the DA installation that had me worried. However, it was possible to access the required Dorico (and Cubase) downloads and proceed happily from there.
Thank you all for pointing me in the right direction. I don’t think I’ll be looking back! Now, if only I could make TimeMachine carry out successful backups. It seems a bit put out by something! 
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