KVR Audio

aMUSEd · Post by **aMUSEd** » Sun Jun 19, 2016 10:06 pm

Oh well that's me out of action for a while, MacMini has just died on me, I think it's the graphics chip. Won't boot fully, vertical yellow lines in boot screen. Probably need to replace the whole thing. Can't afford a MacPro and they are seriously out of date, what's the best option for a decent Mac other than Pro these days?

At least I did a clone just 2 days ago

Might look into getting my Windows laptop going in the short term.

tehlord · Post by **tehlord** » Sun Jun 19, 2016 10:12 pm

My 2014 Macbook Pro handles anything I throw at it (i7 quad (2.8ghz), 512GB SSD, 16GB RAM etc).

sprnva · Post by **sprnva** » Sun Jun 19, 2016 10:13 pm

Outside of a Pro the only Mac I'd consider is the Mini. Haven't been keeping track of them lately so I'm not sure when they were last refreshed. Only downside is the lack of a quad-core option in recent years, but perhaps the newer CPUs make this less of an issue.

I think the Trashcan is due a refresh in a few months.

tehlord · Post by **tehlord** » Sun Jun 19, 2016 10:19 pm

The non quad Mini's are useless for audio work.

sprnva · Post by **sprnva** » Sun Jun 19, 2016 10:20 pm

That sucks. Don't know why Apple nerfed them.

tehlord · Post by **tehlord** » Sun Jun 19, 2016 10:23 pm

So you spend more on the 'pro' models.

I had a dual core mini for a while before I bought the MBP and it choked on 4 instances of Massive, although oddly it could handle tons of instances of Sylenth.

fmr · Post by **fmr** » Sun Jun 19, 2016 10:40 pm

I would buy a second hand unit, if I were you. The new models suck, IMO. Something like this: http://www.macking.co.uk/used-mac/secon ... -mini.html

sprnva · Post by **sprnva** » Sun Jun 19, 2016 10:48 pm

Yeah, it seems used is the best option for Minis now. Well done Apple.

Or if you didn't need Thunderbolt, there's custom MacPro5,1 options at Create Pro. I think there's a similar site for the US but its name escapes me right now.

trusampler · Post by **trusampler** » Sun Jun 19, 2016 10:53 pm

Hackintosh, much more value for the money imo.

aMUSEd · Post by **aMUSEd** » Sun Jun 19, 2016 11:39 pm

sprnva wrote:Yeah, it seems used is the best option for Minis now. Well done Apple.

Or if you didn't need Thunderbolt, there's custom MacPro5,1 options at Create Pro. I think there's a similar site for the US but its name escapes me right now.

That looks good, thanks

masterhiggins · Post by **masterhiggins** » Mon Jun 20, 2016 12:04 am

tehlord wrote:So you spend more on the 'pro' models.

I had a dual core mini for a while before I bought the MBP and it choked on 4 instances of Massive, although oddly it could handle tons of instances of Sylenth.

Actually, it has to do with the chip they're using, I think. It would've required them to develop and build a separate mobo for laptop and desktop models. With skylake the quad might return to the mini.

risome · Post by **risome** » Mon Jun 20, 2016 12:45 am

Always check the refurbished deals on the Apple store

tehlord · Post by **tehlord** » Mon Jun 20, 2016 7:52 am

masterhiggins wrote:
tehlord wrote:So you spend more on the 'pro' models.

I had a dual core mini for a while before I bought the MBP and it choked on 4 instances of Massive, although oddly it could handle tons of instances of Sylenth.
Actually, it has to do with the chip they're using, I think. It would've required them to develop and build a separate mobo for laptop and desktop models. With skylake the quad might return to the mini.

There were hundreds of composers (the true heavyweight audio users) swapping their old Mac Pro's for Mac Mini's a couple of years back as the old Mac Pro line became really tired. So Apple ditched the quad core Mini's as the new Mac Pro's started to appear? Not a coincidence.

masterhiggins · Post by **masterhiggins** » Mon Jun 20, 2016 8:34 am

Do you have any data to back up that statement? Even if hundred of users ended up ditching Mac pros for Mac minis (which I find absurd considering the drastically reduced graphics card alone), I seriously doubt apple would concern themselves with sales numbers merely in the hundreds. Besides, the next comparable system would be an iMac.

Michael L · Post by **Michael L** » Mon Jun 20, 2016 9:10 am

No inexpensive options atm from Apple. The Mini line is 'due' for an update in Q4; the 4-core Pro is slower than the 4-core iMac due to old processors. Problem with iMacs is they are all Retina and above, so VST GUIs can be microscopic. The Pro should also be updated later this year, their advantage is Xeon processors with more L3 cache. I complained to Apple at length about forcing upgrades, they finally suggested a "non-Apple solution." Hackintosh is OK as long as you stick with the same OS, but Apple supports an OS for 5 years, and then you can just upgrade components. (Compare prices between createpro and tonymacx86.)
Good kvr hackintosh thread: http://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewtopic ... 6&t=453939
FYI, to compare macs: http://www.everymac.com/ultimate-mac-comparison-chart/

DingDong the Mac is dead