Mac Mini?

[tresero]

I'm in the midst of moving full-time to Havana (or possibly Medellin, depends on a couple of wife issues

I currently have a PC but even though it's 32 gig memory and crap loads of storage (1tb SSD, and many other SATA drives), it's showing it's age. I'm also looking for something more portable, but not a laptop (I have a MacBook Air, albeit old)

I still get academic pricing from Apple, but that doesn't really matter much for hardware. A friend suggested getting the current Mac Mini and I wonder what people think (if anyone has this setup). If I move to Cuba, moving my studio is much more difficult since it's difficult to find a container from the US due to the embargo. I will have to bring stuff as I travel back and forth. If I end up in Colombia, it's less important, but I'm still interested in downsizing.

Thanks in advance as always.

[mojobone]

Sounds like you have an interesting dilemma; hope your wife-related decisions work out for you. I don't have such a rig, but I see no reason to avoid the latest Mac Mini series. Depending on how elaborate the rest of your setup, you might want to consider shipping to an intermediary country, through a service. DHS or FedEx may be of some help, there.

[MBantle]

I'm in the midst of moving full-time to Havana (or possibly Medellin, depends on a couple of wife issues

I currently have a PC but even though it's 32 gig memory and crap loads of storage (1tb SSD, and many other SATA drives), it's showing it's age. I'm also looking for something more portable, but not a laptop (I have a MacBook Air, albeit old)

I still get academic pricing from Apple, but that doesn't really matter much for hardware. A friend suggested getting the current Mac Mini and I wonder what people think (if anyone has this setup). If I move to Cuba, moving my studio is much more difficult since it's difficult to find a container from the US due to the embargo. I will have to bring stuff as I travel back and forth. If I end up in Colombia, it's less important, but I'm still interested in downsizing.

Thanks in advance as always.

I had a Mac Mini a few years back and was very happy with it (small footprint, lower price than regular Macs etc.). Looking at the specs, you can turn the new/current Mac Mini into a real powerhouse! I am currently working on a Macbook Pro and use an external monitor/keyboard etc. which also turns it into a 'desktop computer' and it works very well for me. I think when it comes to Macs in general I would just try to buy the best 'specs' you can afford at the moment (regardless of whether it is an IMac, a Mac Mini or a Macbook) and you should be all set for the next couple of years.
My five cents.
Cheers,
Matt

[tresero]

I'm in the midst of moving full-time to Havana (or possibly Medellin, depends on a couple of wife issues

I currently have a PC but even though it's 32 gig memory and crap loads of storage (1tb SSD, and many other SATA drives), it's showing it's age. I'm also looking for something more portable, but not a laptop (I have a MacBook Air, albeit old)

I still get academic pricing from Apple, but that doesn't really matter much for hardware. A friend suggested getting the current Mac Mini and I wonder what people think (if anyone has this setup). If I move to Cuba, moving my studio is much more difficult since it's difficult to find a container from the US due to the embargo. I will have to bring stuff as I travel back and forth. If I end up in Colombia, it's less important, but I'm still interested in downsizing.

Thanks in advance as always.

I had a Mac Mini a few years back and was very happy with it (small footprint, lower price than regular Macs etc.). Looking at the specs, you can turn the new/current Mac Mini into a real powerhouse! I am currently working on a Macbook Pro and use an external monitor/keyboard etc. which also turns it into a 'desktop computer' and it works very well for me. I think when it comes to Macs in general I would just try to buy the best 'specs' you can afford at the moment (regardless of whether it is an IMac, a Mac Mini or a Macbook) and you should be all set for the next couple of years.
My five cents.
Cheers,
Matt

Thanks Matt, my friend is a very famous producer so I trust him and he said the new one is very good. I just read some reviews and wanted the real story.

[NaeDae]

As an owner of a mac, I suggest that if you're not attached to logic, you should get a computer that's not a mac. My (brand new) macbook pro kind of sucks for how much is was, and it isn't modifiable because apple intentionally welded components together that make it impossible to take apart. Want more ram? Want better fans? Then you have to buy a whole new mac. Even simple USB ports require external adapters because apple thought it'd be funny to not build the ports into the computer like every other cheaper laptop has always had. The only mac that can handle running DAWs with massive track counts are the most expensive mac pros (which could be matched with much cheaper PCs). I know you're after portability, so this wasn't on topic, but just wanted to make sure you understood the reason people hate on macs.

[tresero]

As an owner of a mac, I suggest that if you're not attached to logic, you should get a computer that's not a mac. My (brand new) macbook pro kind of sucks for how much is was, and it isn't modifiable because apple intentionally welded components together that make it impossible to take apart. Want more ram? Want better fans? Then you have to buy a whole new mac. Even simple USB ports require external adapters because apple thought it'd be funny to not build the ports into the computer like every other cheaper laptop has always had. The only mac that can handle running DAWs with massive track counts are the most expensive mac pros (which could be matched with much cheaper PCs). I know you're after portability, so this wasn't on topic, but just wanted to make sure you understood the reason people hate on macs.

Thanks!

I knew about the ram thing because I have a macbook air. I do have a PC, high end, but it's 10 years old and not portable at all. I'm still debating it. I don't use logic, so that's not an issue.

[cosmicdolphin]

If you're not indoctrinated into the cult of Apple there's plenty of small form factor Pc's that you could use that cost way less than a Mac Mini for equivelant specs.

If you're not wedded to Logic, then why pay the Apple Tax.

We have seversl them in our house, but I won't use them. No matter how shiny.

Mark

[Kolstad]

Ive had both Microsoft and Mac powered computers, and a Mac Mini since 2014. The Mini is still holding up, and Ive recently swapped in a 2TB SSD, as well as run an external SSD with it. I left windows due to the blue screens, which left my studio out of operation for days and weeks at a time. The system was terribly unstable, and endless hassle. Since Ive changed to Mac, I have had none, zero, zip breakdowns due to the operating system, and everything just runs smooth.

For that reason alone, Im happy to pay a bit more, allthough I do dislike that the newer Mac’s have soldered components, which prevents you from upgrading the hardware yourself. Maybe with a Mac Pro you can? But a Mac Mini will serve you well for years, and still have a good resale value. The new Mac Mini’s are way more powerful than mine, so I’d bet it will be good. I plan upgrading myself in a year or two, and will definitely go Mac. Life is too short.

[NaeDae]

Ive had both Microsoft and Mac powered computers, and a Mac Mini since 2014. The Mini is still holding up, and Ive recently swapped in a 2TB SSD, as well as run an external SSD with it. I left windows due to the blue screens, which left my studio out of operation for days and weeks at a time. The system was terribly unstable, and endless hassle. Since Ive changed to Mac, I have had none, zero, zip breakdowns due to the operating system, and everything just runs smooth.

For that reason alone, Im happy to pay a bit more, allthough I do dislike that the newer Mac’s have soldered components, which prevents you from upgrading the hardware yourself. Maybe with a Mac Pro you can? But a Mac Mini will serve you well for years, and still have a good resale value. The new Mac Mini’s are way more powerful than mine, so I’d bet it will be good. I plan upgrading myself in a year or two, and will definitely go Mac. Life is too short.

Every time I add too many tracks, my mac just overheats and logic crashes. My old mac mini was worse.

[Kolstad]

Ive had both Microsoft and Mac powered computers, and a Mac Mini since 2014. The Mini is still holding up, and Ive recently swapped in a 2TB SSD, as well as run an external SSD with it. I left windows due to the blue screens, which left my studio out of operation for days and weeks at a time. The system was terribly unstable, and endless hassle. Since Ive changed to Mac, I have had none, zero, zip breakdowns due to the operating system, and everything just runs smooth.

For that reason alone, Im happy to pay a bit more, allthough I do dislike that the newer Mac’s have soldered components, which prevents you from upgrading the hardware yourself. Maybe with a Mac Pro you can? But a Mac Mini will serve you well for years, and still have a good resale value. The new Mac Mini’s are way more powerful than mine, so I’d bet it will be good. I plan upgrading myself in a year or two, and will definitely go Mac. Life is too short.

Every time I add too many tracks, my mac just overheats and logic crashes. My old mac mini was worse.

There you go, different experiences. I have two Mini's, though and they both perform the same. I make sure to optimize them for music production, though. Did you follow these guides with yours? https://www.sweetwater.com/sweetcare/ma ... imization/

I will say, that I didn't follow these guides when I had pc, so it might help eliminate any differences between systems. I can't be sure. Also I have learned with pc's, that if you get a big power supply for it, they are a lot quieter. So that might be something to consider. I can have my Mac Mini right beside my condenser mic when recording, and it's dead silent. That wasn't possible with any of the pc's I had.

Newer Mac's lacks i/o, though. It can be solved with add ons, hubs and converters, but that really is not music production friendly. But I can't run from the good experiences I've had with Mac Mini's. They have helped me out for sure.