Anyone considering Mac mini for their new DAW?

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It seems to be powerful enough to replace the desktop. Except for a powerful graphic card it’s got everything else. Should be plenty sufficient for audio yes? Gonna be running Cubase.

Mac Mini+ Blackmagic Multi dock + RME + LG curved display.

Whatcha think?

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A mac mini is a desktop...; - )
They are comparable to laptops, same technology. Not bad at all, significantly less power than a Mac Pro and significantly less cash...
If you want it transportable, a macbook pro would give you the same power. Connect it to a thunderbolt hub and you need a single connection to get it running within your studio setup...

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Why not : A PC+An internal audio interface without USB+Whatever display you wish
(that's not a recommendation but rather a question, i.e. why do you skip a seemingly obvious alternative?)
~stratum~

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Yep, ordered the i7 hexacore version with a 512gb SSD. It’s replacing a newly bought W10 laptop with the same spec, which has just been a headache unfortunately. It’s a little more but frankly it’s just much less hassle than moving platforms.

There’s been some Geekbench scores up to 22000+, that’s a heavyweight despite its size.

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Where do you see benchmarks for Mac mini?
It should beat the current iMac 5k from looking at specs.

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keyman_sam wrote: Sun Nov 04, 2018 2:50 pm Where do you see benchmarks for Mac mini?
It should beat the current iMac 5k from looking at specs.
Here - https://browser.geekbench.com/v4/cpu/se ... cmini8%2C1

A bit variable at present but you can see it’s quite powerful.

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gunark wrote: Sun Nov 04, 2018 3:00 pm
keyman_sam wrote: Sun Nov 04, 2018 2:50 pm Where do you see benchmarks for Mac mini?
It should beat the current iMac 5k from looking at specs.
Here - https://browser.geekbench.com/v4/cpu/se ... cmini8%2C1

A bit variable at present but you can see it’s quite powerful.
Unfortunately a lot variable, even with results from a single user. That is why its not listed here:
https://browser.geekbench.com/mac-benchmarks
I guess the high value will drop fast, its in the range of my Mac Pro from 2013.
Size matters in terms of cooling...

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Well the MBP with the 8750h is getting scores around 21000 and the mini will have better cooling so it’s not impossible.

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I guess we'll find out in a few days. Can't wait.

I might get rid of my VEP slave setup and just go with a single computer.

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Tj Shredder wrote: Sun Nov 04, 2018 10:42 am They are comparable to laptops, same technology.
Not all of it tho. PCIe flash drive, full-blown desktop CPU, 2x 4K displays at 60 Hz.
Nothing "laptop" about that.

edit -- just found benchmark scores for the new Mac Mini. Score of 5512 for single-core and and 23516 points for multi-core performance. That's not bad for an alleged "laptop". ;) For perspective: my i7 quad 6700K based desktop Hackintosh build reached a single-core score of 4809 and a multi-core score of 18994 in summary.
https://www.macrumors.com/2018/11/02/fi ... -surfaces/

keyman_sam wrote: Sat Nov 03, 2018 2:41 pm Blackmagic Multi dock
Interesting, didn't know about that one. OWC also have one of these, although it's for NVMe M.2 drives and a desktop box, and thereby more Mac Mini -esque (and probably faster).
https://eshop.macsales.com/shop/express-4m2
Confucamus.

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Rockatansky wrote: Tue Nov 06, 2018 3:46 am
Tj Shredder wrote: Sun Nov 04, 2018 10:42 am They are comparable to laptops, same technology.
Not all of it tho. PCIe flash drive, full-blown desktop CPU, 2x 4K displays at 60 Hz.
Nothing "laptop" about that.

edit -- just found benchmark scores for the new Mac Mini. Score of 5512 for single-core and and 23516 points for multi-core performance. That's not bad for an alleged "laptop". ;) For perspective: my i7 quad 6700K based desktop Hackintosh build reached a single-core score of 4809 and a multi-core score of 18994 in summary.
https://www.macrumors.com/2018/11/02/fi ... -surfaces/

keyman_sam wrote: Sat Nov 03, 2018 2:41 pm Blackmagic Multi dock
Interesting, didn't know about that one. OWC also have one of these, although it's for NVMe M.2 drives and a desktop box, and thereby more Mac Mini -esque (and probably faster).
https://eshop.macsales.com/shop/express-4m2
As expected, the Mac mini packs quite the punch: https://browser.geekbench.com/mac-benchmarks

Even in the multi-core, it hangs with the big boys quite comfortably. :party:

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keyman_sam wrote: Tue Nov 06, 2018 5:22 pm As expected, the Mac mini packs quite the punch: https://browser.geekbench.com/mac-benchmarks

Even in the multi-core, it hangs with the big boys quite comfortably. :party:
There's something weird in those results.

How can a CPU clocked at 3.2 GHZ in single core performance outperform another CPU clocked at 4.2 GHz?

And yet another CPU clocked at merely 2.9 GHz almost equal the performance of the latter?

Another curiosity: The iMac Pro performed miserably in single core tests.

It's beyond my understanding. :shrug:
Fernando (FMR)

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fmr wrote: Tue Nov 06, 2018 5:44 pm How can a CPU clocked at 3.2 GHZ in single core performance outperform another CPU clocked at 4.2 GHz?
Bus speeds, chipset speeds, chipset architecture, cache sizes/speeds, many possible factors.

A non-Apple instance claims similar things.
https://www.cpubenchmark.net/high_end_cpus.html
i7 7700K 4.2 (K, the big one) scores 2583 single-thread points.
i7 8700 3.2 (non K, the small one) scores 2628 single-thread points.
Confucamus.

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I used a 2012 Mac Mini as my main (!) studio box for quite a few years, and just yesterday ordered a 2018 model. i7 6-core, 32gb ram, and a 128gb ssd (will boot and work from an external 1tb ssd hooked up via usb-c, at a quarter of apple´s price).

seeing that the 2012 mac mini seldom had issues with projects of 40+ tracks (realtime plugin tracks, i never freeze tracks), i am confident that the 2018 model will work fantastically for my purposes.

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Rockatansky wrote: Tue Nov 06, 2018 7:38 pm
fmr wrote: Tue Nov 06, 2018 5:44 pm How can a CPU clocked at 3.2 GHZ in single core performance outperform another CPU clocked at 4.2 GHz?
Bus speeds, chipset speeds, chipset architecture, cache sizes/speeds, many possible factors.

A non-Apple instance claims similar things.
https://www.cpubenchmark.net/high_end_cpus.html
i7 7700K 4.2 (K, the big one) scores 2583 single-thread points.
i7 8700 3.2 (non K, the small one) scores 2628 single-thread points.
OK. Next question: Will this translate in plug-in counting? Or is this just a benchmark thing? I ask this because I was thinking in the 7700K for a possible next machine (my 3770 is starting to show its age) but if the 8700 (not K) performs this well, maybe an 8700K would be a better bet. I have to confess I am surprised.
Fernando (FMR)

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