Antaren Posted June 20, 2016 Share Posted June 20, 2016 Hi: Been reading on the forum about mac mini. People recommend the 2012, but how about the 2014 mac mini, duo core i5 processor, 1TB (5400-rpm) hard drive. I don't use more than 8 tracks of Logic, sometimes I use internal instruments and Space Designer on a bus and EQ. Sure don't want Logic freezing or experience a lot of latency when playing midi tracks. I'm on now a Macbook Pro, but it's getting old, and I'm getting nervous. Money is definitely a factor in all this. Thanks, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nebula Posted June 20, 2016 Share Posted June 20, 2016 Back when Apple sold mechanical hard disks, all the laptops came with 5400 rpm drives, and Logic worked just fine. (I don't know how well it would do 8 stereo 24 bit 192 kHz tracks, but I assume that's not what you meant.) A bit off-topic here, but ... People (myself included) were very disappointed when Apple announced the new Mac Mini in 2014, because none of the new offerings are as fast as the previous top-end config, from 2011. Back then I held off buying the then-current 2011 model, as the rumor sites said the Mini was about to get its long-overdue refresh. I decided to wait a month or two, until the next Apple event. Surely enough, a new Mac Mini was announced: the low-end models got a very modest speed improvement, but there was no longer a quad-core configuration available, and you can't upgrade the RAM. I decided not to buy it, because the new Mac Mini would not run Logic as well as my 2006 Mac Pro, and I would need some sort of thunderbolt docking solution to use my 30" monitor and my FireWire audio interface at the same time. Nowadays I absolutely would not buy one, largely on principle - I don't want to buy a 2-year old computer that can't outperform a 5-year old computer. Instead I bought a used 8-core 2008 Mac Pro tower in mint condition from a Craigslist ad. I only had to swap out my old tower and I was in business. Apple just announced last week that my 2008 machine is not on the "supported hardware" list for the next version of OS X, but I have no regrets. This computer is really fast - certainly faster than a Mac Mini, with the added benefit of more legacy connectivity, accessible drive bays and RAM. 2 years ago it cost me a little less than i would have spent on a new 2014 Mac Mini. If you do go with a Mac Mini, I recommend you pick a configuration with as much memory as you can get, just for some extra confidence it will run tomorrow's potentially RAM-hungry software. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Antaren Posted June 20, 2016 Author Share Posted June 20, 2016 Thanks Nebula for your thoughts. Much appreciated. I may hold my breath and wait and see what the new mac mini that are hopefully coming soon will be like. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atlas007 Posted June 20, 2016 Share Posted June 20, 2016 IMHO, SSD drive is also something to privilege... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anp27 Posted June 21, 2016 Share Posted June 21, 2016 No it is not. Try to get a late 2012 Mac Mini instead, and install a second hard drive (preferably SSD for both drives!) in place of the DVD drive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abookstorecowboy Posted June 21, 2016 Share Posted June 21, 2016 I have a Macbook Pro 2011 (8,1) that has an i7 chip. It only cost $400. I think it can be upgraded easily. That might be an option for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Antaren Posted June 23, 2016 Author Share Posted June 23, 2016 IMHO, SSD drive is also something to privilege... Hi Atlas. Thanks for commenting. What do you mean by the above quote? And thanks anp27 for your thoughts. As well as thanks to abookstorecowboy. I will think about all of this. Antaren Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atlas007 Posted June 24, 2016 Share Posted June 24, 2016 IMHO, SSD drive is also something to privilege... Hi Atlas. Thanks for commenting. What do you mean by the above quote? And thanks anp27 for your thoughts. As well as thanks to abookstorecowboy. I will think about all of this. Antaren Essentially, to consider the HD to be an SSD type as one of the priority spec for your system. SSD drives have notorious advantages that no mechanical drive could (or will ever) rival... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Antaren Posted June 24, 2016 Author Share Posted June 24, 2016 Thanks Atlas for your reply about the SSD drive. More food for thought. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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