Mac Mini for Music - Advice

[rob_lee]

Hi,

Im just looking at these now and was wondering if any of you guys are using them and are they any good for production? Basically i could just plug in my monitor and keyboard and im off no?
Also is this the most powerful one?
http://www.google.co.uk/products/catalo ... KYBEPMCMAc

Im seriously considering one of these as a space saver too.. pretty cute IMO
Any advice welcome as i say im just thinking whether to just get one.

Rob

[tehlord]

I wouldn't.

By the time you've paid for it, and the extra RAM and external drive you'll need for storage (they're only 500GB) you're approaching the price of an iMac or a 13 inch i7 Macbook Pro. Those i5's in the Mini aren't stunningly quick either considering you're talking about a £600-700 spend.

[qube123]

My brother uses one with Abelton & Garage Band. It wasn't great at first but we installed 8GB of RAM and a fast hybrid SATA drive into really opened it up and it's a nice machine now, not given him any problems, definitely worth considering.

[D.Josef]

I'd get an iMac instead for home, or a Mac Pro for a studio. The Mini is cheaper, but as it has been pointed out, you'll need to extend the RAM and the HDD too. Also, if saving space is vital, nothing beats the iMac.
I'd do the maths, with HDD (special Apple compatible one needed, they have a proprietary cooling system) and RAM you're likely to need, and decide so. Also you might want to think about how your current display compares to an iMac screen.

[rob_lee]

Just been configuring one in the Apple store, lool

As soon as you start adding 8GB and 256GB SSD then im up from £800 OR SO TO £1350 i just thought because i already had monitors and all that i could just plug and go and save space at the same time.. I hate working on laptops i have a new Sony Vaio here 17" with 6GB ram i5 but the fan is damn annoying.
I need to get something real quick cause my 7yr old DAW is gonna pack up very soon..
I do like the Mac Mini though i just don't wanna Mac Book Pro Laptop..
More thinking to do.

Rob

[qube123]

Don't buy your drive or RAM from Apple, they're always OTT on price. SSD's are less than £1 per Gig these days and 8GB GB of RAM should be at most £30.

For a second hand Mini with a Core2 CPU as suggested by the OP, plus upgrades you should be well under £700 for the lot.

[tehlord]

Or you could build yourself a kickass PC for £700 that'd last you another 3-4 years.

Also, google apple refurb and see what iMacs they've got on sale. The savings are usually 10-30% iirc.

I really wouldn't go down the Mac Mini route for the main computer in a studio simply because it's limited in terms of internal expandability.

[qube123]

The Mini is no less expandable than the iMac though right?

[rob_lee]

The Mini is no less expandable than the iMac though right?

I was looking at the Mini, so it has 4 usb ports, my current DAW has 6 i don't use 3 of them, i also already have external monitors and keyboards etc so i don't need to spend £900 on an Apple display, i think a Mac Mini i7 with 8gb plus a 256gb SSD and an external drive would do fine.
The iMac seems to be the same spec with regards to connections but getting it up to an i7 is the killer.

Im not running much stuff here, i dont' have a big studio anymore so im mostly using just a Controller and a computer also the TI Snow that's it..

I have the cash i just wanna get the right one but i just don't want a laptop at all for music i.e Macbook Pro = overpriced anyways.. iMac is nice but i5 is all i could afford right now.. Mac Mini i can get it up to i7 full spec for £1350 as i have all the other stuff to plug right in..

Hmm choices


Rob

[george]

Go for iMac if you plan to run synths. 2 cores vs 4 cores make a difference.

[tehlord]

The Mini is no less expandable than the iMac though right?

I thought the bigger iMacs could go to 16GB instead of the Mini's 8GB and have two internal hard drives instead of the Mini's one.

There's a 27" i7 iMac on the Apple refurb store for £1500. That's the one to go for instead of a fully configured Mini imo.

[rob_lee]

The Mini is no less expandable than the iMac though right?

I thought the bigger iMacs could go to 16GB instead of the Mini's 8GB and have two internal hard drives instead of the Mini's one.

There's a 27" i7 iMac on the Apple refurb store for £1500. That's the one to go for instead of a fully configured Mini imo.

Geoff im looking now the mini's can have x2 500gb - x2 750gb or a mixture of sata/ssd.. there are different models here in the apple store.. now im on ebay and the i7 minis are £400 cheaper however even though 8gb there's none iv'e seen with ssd fitted. It will be my first mac so i have no idea what im doing i just feel its time for a change from the old hairdryer pc lol

Rob

[rob_lee]

Go for iMac if you plan to run synths. 2 cores vs 4 cores make a difference.

George the mini i have been looking at is an i7 Quad Core.. i7 iMacs are way overpriced for me. I just mentioned Mac Mini cause i already have the monitors etc here

Rob

[george]

Oh ok, then go for the mini if a strong point is saving money too. You can always sell it if you want more, these machines hold up resale value quite well for now.

[rob_lee]

Oh ok, then go for the mini if a strong point is saving money too. You can always sell it if you want more, these machines hold up resale value quite well for now.

Here's the basic one i been looking at George.

£849.00

2.0GHz quad-core Intel Core i7
4GB memory
Dual 500GB 7200-rpm hard drives1
Intel HD Graphics 3000
OS X Lion Server
OS X Lion

Then i go to configure panel and here is the result:

£1,395

Same as above but..

add: 8GB 1333MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 2x4GB = +£160
add: 256GB Solid State Drive = +£320
add: pple MacBook Air SuperDrive = +£66


So as i have external monitors etc i can get all of this above but i'll look someplace else to get the spec i want maybe a little cheaper. The above specs will do me just fine i think. An iMac config to i7 takes me well above £2500

Rob