Seems like I'm going to spend the next 6 months working in Ibiza and of course my laptop recently died. So I'm thinking about buying a little mini pc to bring with me so I can pair it with a decent sized monitor to Dj after work and have fun with Bitwig. Does anyone here has any experience with this cpu? I'm planning on using mainly native devices but also some vst synths and drum machines and my trusty Valhalla reverbs.
At home I'm using a 2700x desktop pc which performs quite well for my needs. I checked some vs sites and on paper it should perform more or less the same but who knows in a real world scenario.
Is a ryzen 5850u enough to get decent performance out of Bitwig? + Testing another mini
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- KVRian
- 1384 posts since 7 Dec, 2017
How much is the mini PC?
Just asking because the base Mac Mini M4 is $564.00 on Amazon, can be gotten cheaper if edu. Disk space and ram may be concern, depending on your needs. Disk space, easy to solve with an external M.2 drive. Pretty small, significantly faster than the internal with the right drive and TB enclosure.
Should run similar to Live, maybe better? Here's a base spec M4 mini running Live. Dude is pushing it to see what he can get out of it, and comparing it to an M1.
Not bad for the price. I got one as a gift, tasked for general use. On it right now. Smooth. Can't hear it, which is nice.
Kinda sucks that 6 of the 10 cores are just sitting around not doing much, but the 4 are working hard. That's a Bitwig, Live Logic, and some others problem though. Reaper, Cubase and others can use all 10.
I'm still running Bitwig on a PC because 16 cores, more ram, disk space, custom Win OS, ect, but I could easily get away with using the Mini.
Anyway, just a thought.
Sorry I can't help with the processor in question. I have no experience with it.
Just asking because the base Mac Mini M4 is $564.00 on Amazon, can be gotten cheaper if edu. Disk space and ram may be concern, depending on your needs. Disk space, easy to solve with an external M.2 drive. Pretty small, significantly faster than the internal with the right drive and TB enclosure.
Should run similar to Live, maybe better? Here's a base spec M4 mini running Live. Dude is pushing it to see what he can get out of it, and comparing it to an M1.
Not bad for the price. I got one as a gift, tasked for general use. On it right now. Smooth. Can't hear it, which is nice.
Kinda sucks that 6 of the 10 cores are just sitting around not doing much, but the 4 are working hard. That's a Bitwig, Live Logic, and some others problem though. Reaper, Cubase and others can use all 10.
I'm still running Bitwig on a PC because 16 cores, more ram, disk space, custom Win OS, ect, but I could easily get away with using the Mini.
Anyway, just a thought.
Sorry I can't help with the processor in question. I have no experience with it.
-JH
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- KVRian
- Topic Starter
- 1199 posts since 10 Sep, 2014
Thank you for your advice.
I just pulled the trigger and ordered one on amazon for 300 euro thanks to a 50 euro coupon. A bargain price for an 8 core cpu, 16gigs of ram, 500gigs drive and an empty m.2 slot for expansion that should be quiet too since it's a 15 watt chip.
I was considering the mac mini but it's 700 euros for the base model and for that amount of money I get a pc with more usable cores, a 24'' monitor, keyboard, mouse and a pair of Presonus 3.5'' monitors + 8'' subwoofer. I will test the machine and if, according to the benchmarks, it is on par with my desktop I will keep it.
Will report back here in the next days.
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- KVRian
- 1384 posts since 7 Dec, 2017
Oof, what a price difference. I had no idea it was that bad. My bad.
Good luck with the new PC.
Good luck with the new PC.
-JH
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- KVRAF
- 3583 posts since 8 Dec, 2008 from Global Cowboy
Do you have a link to the Mini PC please ?
No auto tune...
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- KVRist
- 488 posts since 28 Apr, 2003 from Sweden
Looking forward to reading that!
Greetings from Sweden
Per Boysen
http://www.perboysen.com
Dell i7Q 3,4 MHz 32 GB RAM. Acer ZenBook Flip. Ableton Push#1, Fractal Audio AxeFx2. EWI, Cello, Chapman Stick, Guitars, Alto Flute, Tenor Sax.
Per Boysen
http://www.perboysen.com
Dell i7Q 3,4 MHz 32 GB RAM. Acer ZenBook Flip. Ableton Push#1, Fractal Audio AxeFx2. EWI, Cello, Chapman Stick, Guitars, Alto Flute, Tenor Sax.
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- KVRAF
- 1890 posts since 2 Apr, 2015
I'm interested in how noisy it is. I have an i5/13 Intel Nuc and I have to under clock it in order to deal with the fan noise and even then it can be quite annoying! Also for me BW is a bit weird when it comes to these big/little architecture chips.
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- KVRAF
- 1890 posts since 2 Apr, 2015
Apple prices are a lot more than the USA here in Europe unfortunately.JHernandez wrote: Thu Apr 24, 2025 2:49 am Oof, what a price difference. I had no idea it was that bad. My bad.
Good luck with the new PC.
Maybe not for long though!
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- KVRian
- Topic Starter
- 1199 posts since 10 Sep, 2014
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- KVRian
- Topic Starter
- 1199 posts since 10 Sep, 2014
When the fan ramps up you will hear it but even at 100% cpu it's not something that will drive you crazy. I would say that it sounds like a quite win laptop. My lenovo laptop is a lot louder just watching movies. It's a 15watt chip but it will get to 35watt when pushedBobDog wrote: Thu Apr 24, 2025 6:55 am I'm interested in how noisy it is. I have an i5/13 Intel Nuc and I have to under clock it in order to deal with the fan noise and even then it can be quite annoying! Also for me BW is a bit weird when it comes to these big/little architecture chips.
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- KVRian
- Topic Starter
- 1199 posts since 10 Sep, 2014
After some preliminary test of the mini pc here are the results.
With the amd apu tuning utility running the performance profile It can play 27 notes of polygrids additive wave synth preset with almost no xruns, temperature around 80 at 20c room temp and cpu package power at 28watt. Fan is audible but far from being anoying.
My desktop with lightly undervolted 2700x can play 18 more notes before sparse xruns.
With the amd apu tuning utility running the performance profile It can play 27 notes of polygrids additive wave synth preset with almost no xruns, temperature around 80 at 20c room temp and cpu package power at 28watt. Fan is audible but far from being anoying.
My desktop with lightly undervolted 2700x can play 18 more notes before sparse xruns.
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- KVRian
- Topic Starter
- 1199 posts since 10 Sep, 2014
Today I've tested another mini pc to put in my RV. This time I'm testing the Geekom A5 with Ryzen 5825u.
This thing performs as my 2700x desktop pc. I got 45 (9 tracks with 5 note chord each) voices playing of polygrid additive wave synth at 20w tdp and 68/70c temp. This mini is a little bit louder then the Trigkey I've tested but if you attach it behind your monitor or, even better, under your desk this becomes a non issue imo. It is more powerful, runs cooler and is slightly cheaper than the Trigkey. 16gb 3200mhz ddr4 dual channel ram 512gb nvme and really nice build quality.
This thing performs as my 2700x desktop pc. I got 45 (9 tracks with 5 note chord each) voices playing of polygrid additive wave synth at 20w tdp and 68/70c temp. This mini is a little bit louder then the Trigkey I've tested but if you attach it behind your monitor or, even better, under your desk this becomes a non issue imo. It is more powerful, runs cooler and is slightly cheaper than the Trigkey. 16gb 3200mhz ddr4 dual channel ram 512gb nvme and really nice build quality.
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- KVRist
- 212 posts since 15 Jul, 2020
Thanks for sharing.
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- KVRAF
- 1890 posts since 2 Apr, 2015
I'm interested in testing my Intel Nuc for comparison, what patch did you use?stamp wrote: Tue Oct 21, 2025 9:23 pm Today I've tested another mini pc to put in my RV. This time I'm testing the Geekom A5 with Ryzen 5825u.
This thing performs as my 2700x desktop pc. I got 45 (9 tracks with 5 note chord each) voices playing of polygrid additive wave synth at 20w tdp and 68/70c temp. This mini is a little bit louder then the Trigkey I've tested but if you attach it behind your monitor or, even better, under your desk this becomes a non issue imo. It is more powerful, runs cooler and is slightly cheaper than the Trigkey. 16gb 3200mhz ddr4 dual channel ram 512gb nvme and really nice build quality.