New 2011 Mac Mini Server & Logic 9 *UPDATED 9/26/11*

[BDM]

Well i have to say ive done it and taken advantage of Apples 0% finance deal over 10months. Got a server on the way and will be upgrading to 8gb.

Thanks for everyones help with this it is been sooooo helpful to get some real insights and advice especially you Nigel as i think many have purchased a server off the back of your reviews / insights / advice (you dont work for apple do you?Lol) Will let you know how i get on

[n6smith]

LOL.. No.. They (Apple) wouldn't have me.... I'm too critical of things they have done wrong in the past....

The MMS however, is something I believe they got very right indeed, given the price and the specs!

Feel free to PM me if you have any questions once you get it...

Cheers..

[dsilvercoin]

forgive the dumb question, Nigel, but why does the Mac Mini need to be a server? Why can't you just get a Mac Mini?

ds

[holywilly]

forgive the dumb question, Nigel, but why does the Mac Mini need to be a server? Why can't you just get a Mac Mini?

ds

The server version is sporting with higher end of CPU (i7 quad) & 2 of 500GB internal HDD as default configuration. Of course, the price is just right for workstation!

[n6smith]

Yes.. absolutely right hw.... The MMS is much more powerful in terms of the processor onboard etc...

Quad Core (8 virtual core) i7 running at 2Ghz... in the Mac Mini Server..compared to a Duo Core 2.5Ghz i5/2.7Ghz i7 in the Mac Minis....

However, the MMS has standard Intel Graphics compared to the upper end MM which has a AMD Radeon HD 6630M built in...

For audio work then, the MMS is the better choice.... as enhanced Graphics are not that important... and the boost from the 8 virtual cores and the twin 7200rpm HDs are a real bonus...

Comparison Chart can be found here

[champsmacker]

Are any of you guys using MMS for the latest Mainstage? I use MS for one man band gigs for my theatre (patches containing multiple instruments and effects.) They're about to upgrade the old system and they're considering an iMac or the MMS. Any success/tales of terror?

Cheers!

[lowski]

Jonik,



However, again.. my MMS seems to run out of usable memory before it runs out of CPU doing what I do... (I'm thinking about upgrading my Logic MMS to 16 GB now.. if i can find a suitable set of mem chips for the right price..) but your experiences may differ depending on your use and method of recording in Logic.



I have recently tried noding it with my other MMS that i just purchased (without any tech issues I might add) but honestly, I haven't got to the point of pushing either of them hard enough to see what would happen. I'll probably get around to doing that with the next project or so, I am planning to do which will require, from what i understand... around 35+ instances of Kontakt along with quite a few FX plugins so it should be interesting, to see what noding it up does to take the load off the primary MMS. I'll post up my experiences here, when/if I get around to doing that...

Hope this helps...

Hi n6smith, First off big thanks for taking the time to keep us up to date about the MMS.

Two questions;

1. Where you able to upgrade to 16GB RAM and if so what price?

2. Can you explain more about noding with your other MMS?. I'm looking to upgrade to MMS from my 2010 '17 MBP, 2.8 duo core, 8GB RAM. I'm concerned if it will be fast enough so I'm wondering if noding helped

Thanks again

[Culljosh]

Anyone tried the baseline Mac Mini with a dual core i5?
I am coming from a Core 2 Duo iMac with 3.06GHz and would run about 32 tracks
at once. Recording about only 8 at a time.

I am getting something in the next week and could not decide between
a baseline mac mini or used Mac Pro Tower with 2 x 2.66 GHZ processors and
is from 2008. Just trying to figure out how much power these guys have.
Also I found a refurbished quad core iMac on apples site for $999. I am looking
for a space saver that will not kill me on losing any processing power for my Logic tracks.

[Dragonwind]

Space for me isn't an issue but I want to replace a Mac Pro 1,1 which really is at the edge of what it can do. Granted I have a PC slave and can offload as much as I can there but there was something to be said for doing most work in one machine too. Kontakt loved to give the old MP lots of overloads when it hits the first note of a track...I guess it reorganized RAM? I've been nursing it along for some time but the Mini Server, although its clock speed is a bit slower, benchmarks much higher and I see from this thread that VI's are no problem on the server.

[wazapamani]

Under Preferences/Audio and look at the lower half of the pref window. By default it is set to 'auto'

Do you mean in the case of the MMS that it should be set to 8 core or auto?

[speakerfood]

I'm using the MMS with 16 GB at home, with a external hard drive for sample libraries, UAD-2 Satellite and Motu 828 connected in series to the firewire 800 port.

This setup works like a dream. Better than my ugraded Mac Pro 2,66 8-core at the studio, so I'm selling that one and replacing it with another MMS. But first, I will test if it works with the RME Fireface 800 I have there.

The specs of a new Mac Pro don't justify the price compared to a MMS, I think, especially as I'm not that interested in the number of cores, but in the speed of a single core. This is important for latency and playing soft instruments thru multiple plugin inserts. Noise level is no issue, as the MMS will be located in another room.

[speakerfood]

BTW, I purchased these 2 x 8 GB memory modules for 180,- euros incl. VAT total at a dutch online seller. Working like a charm. The prices at Apple and OWC are just crazy.

Corsair - Memory - 8 GB - SO DIMM 204-pin - DDR3 - 1333 MHz / PC3-10600 - CL9 - 1.5 V - non-buffered - non-ECC

[digital(ninja)]

Would upgrading one of the drives to ssd be worth it for a music only workstation? I've been told no because of the way logic reads sample files negates the speed advantage of the ssd. Yes the Os and logic would load faster, but does logic read samples as sequential or random?

[digital(ninja)]

Noone? Bueller?

[David]

Would upgrading one of the drives to ssd be worth it for a music only workstation? I've been told no because of the way logic reads sample files negates the speed advantage of the ssd. Yes the Os and logic would load faster, but does logic read samples as sequential or random?

Not sure what "sequential or random" means. Do you mean Hard Drive or Random Access Memory (HD or RAM)? If that's what you mean, then Logic can use both, depending on your EXS24 settings: Configuring EXS24 mkII Virtual Memory.

SSDs are faster than HDDs, so it becomes a matter of what you're using the HD speed for - and whether or not you actually need the extra speed? The main advantage of SSDs is that they can make booting and loading times (for OS, applications and files) faster than traditional HDDs. Is it worth your money to cut down on the time it takes for a project to load in Logic (only you can answer that)?

Any particular reason why you feel the need to update to an SSD? What is driving that potential purchase?

[digital(ninja)]

I'm just getting ready to buy a new music computer. The advantages of the Mac mini server vs the iMac have been illuminating ( my original plan was to buy a high end iMac). In my continued research it was mentioned that ssd wouldn't be too much faster for logic bc logic processes aiff as sequential reads not random reads. I was just trying to confirm this. I will check out that link on virtual memory.

I'm in a situation where paying extra for an ssd isn't a concern. I'm just weighing it from an actual speed increase inside logic or ableton or traktor. Those are the main apps I run inside of my music Mac.

[David]

logic processes aiff as sequential reads not random reads.

I don't understand that statement. I've never heard of "sequential reads" or "random reads". There's only one way to access a HD, or a SSD. So I'm not sure what the person who made that statement meant, but in itself, it does not mean anything.

I'm in a situation where paying extra for an ssd isn't a concern. I'm just weighing it from an actual speed increase inside logic or ableton or traktor. Those are the main apps I run inside of my music Mac.

Speed of what though? Is Logic behaving slow for you now? If you mean loading speed, then yes, as I said, SSDs will definitely speed up computer booting time, application opening time, and project loading/sample loading times. If loading times are an issue for you, then the SSD will help.

[digital(ninja)]

I'm not too versed in it (why I'm asking questions) but there is a difference in performance between sequential reading, and random reading in both hdd and ssd.

Logic is slowing down/ having errors when I am moving a large amount of audio tracks at once during playback, and sometimes while adjusting plug-in parameters while playing. I keep my projects on the Lacie 7200 Rugged (connected via USB) so I assume having a second hd would help with this anyway, I just wish I could see an example of applicable performance between hdd and ssd.

loading wise it is fine.

[jordito]

I keep my projects on the Lacie 7200 Rugged (connected via USB) so I assume having a second hd would help with this anyway

Using an USB drive for your projects is not going to help one bit. USB is only good for storing files (backups) and transferring files from one place to another.

J.

[Michael Ellis]

logic processes aiff as sequential reads not random reads.

I don't understand that statement. I've never heard of "sequential reads" or "random reads". There's only one way to access a HD, or a SSD. So I'm not sure what the person who made that statement meant, but in itself, it does not mean anything.

At the risk of sounding pedantic, that statement actually has at least some meaning: To the extent that your audio files are stored contiguously on disk, the bytes will be read sequentially and the throughput from a magnetic HD will be comparable to an SSD because the magnetic head will not have to seek from track to track. If, on the other hand, your audio files are fragmented, i.e. the bytes are not in sequence, then the advantages of the SSD will be more pronounced. Historically, the terms sequential and random access refer to the distinction between tape drives and computer memory. Tapes required seeking back and forth to find files but computer memory was able to access any location "at random" with no seeking. That's why they call it RAM (Random Access Memory). Properly speaking, a magnetic HD (MHD) is something of a hybrid -- it reads sequentially if the the bytes are on the same track but is capable of random access by moving the read heads across tracks.

There's no doubt that an SSD will boot and load programs way, way faster than an MHD, but it's certainly possible that it may not deliver as great an advantage with audio files.

FWIW, I'm about to purchase a mac mini server and dedicate it mostly for Logic. I'll probably go with MHD's to get more storage for my money, especially since I expect to leave the mini server booted up and have Logic running for long periods of time. Next time I buy a laptop, though, I'll almost certainly go for an SSD for faster boot up.

Cheers,
Mike