Mac Mini

fendeanson · 01-08-2010, 12:24 PM

Didn't even know that these existed 'till just a few minutes ago when I was looking at iMacs on ebay. They seem too good to be true. Are they good... maybe for recording?

Andrew · 01-08-2010, 02:58 PM

Somewhat weak, but they are neat little devices. I am not a sound engineer of any sort, and I think that Gustin will be the one to ask about the technical capabilities in that avenue. But it does work pretty well for most any general use computing need.

Bryan · 01-08-2010, 03:05 PM

if you just need a basic computer and want a mac but have a limited budget, they are the way to go.

**surferdude9375** · 01-08-2010, 03:21 PM

Intel P8400/P8700 processor leaves more to be desired compared to the ones you find in a desktop computer but that goes for all laptop to desktop cpu comparisons.
I'm not sure of the specs on the hard drive but you would probably want a higher cache and faster rpm drive if you wanted to do intensive recording and maybe up the ram a bit. It all depends on how far you would want to go with recording.

**Gustin** · 01-08-2010, 04:19 PM

Nice if you want a Mac on the cheap... Not so much for recording.

It should handle some basic sessions decently, but if you start getting into bigger than just a few tracks, you'll probably be wanting something a little more powerful. One plus is that it does have firewire for external hard drives and firewire interfaces.

I read about someone putting one of these with a 4 inch touch screen and an audio interface inside a standard audio rack and using it for his guitar rig. So it can definitely handle some processing, but I wouldn't use it if you were looking to do more than just a couple little demo songs or songwriting sketchpad type stuff.

Edit: found the link to the article on it: http://createdigitalmusic.com/2005/0...th-lcd-part-i/

ibanez_dude · 01-09-2010, 09:38 AM

You can also get a server version of it that has two HD's in it. That could be super helpful, OS on drive 1, all recording on drive 2. That speeds things up a lot. And my 2.5 year old macbook with 1 gig of ram can handle some pretty serious multi-tracking projects, so I really wouldn't be worried about the Mini that much.

**Gustin** · 01-09-2010, 09:45 AM

Actually, I just re looked at some of the specs. Ibanez_dude is right.

My previous opinion was based on the older versions with very little processing power... the Newer versions are fairly well spec'd. It would be pretty solid.

Cam42 · 01-09-2010, 10:00 AM

I've been looking at the mac mini server for a while, to use as a server. Looks great for $999

fendeanson · 01-09-2010, 10:49 AM

It's defiantly something that is interesting to me. I could go w/ the PowerMac G5 which interesting me, but they all have the PowerPC processors and Logic 9 only works on Intel hardware. Kinda seems stupid that Apple would do that to me.

Cam42 · 01-09-2010, 10:56 AM

They really aren't doing it to you They stopped making PPC machines, what, 5 years ago? In computing terms, that's obsolete.

EDIT: I do love the PowerMac G5 though. Still one heck of a machine, even if it won't run Snow Leopard.

fendeanson · 01-09-2010, 12:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cam42

They really aren't doing it to you They stopped making PPC machines, what, 5 years ago? In computing terms, that's obsolete.

EDIT: I do love the PowerMac G5 though. Still one heck of a machine, even if it won't run Snow Leopard.

I wasn't saying that they were doing it to me, like me personally. I was saying that to me personally, it seemed dumb that they would put PPC CPU's in them. If they stopped making PPC processors 5 years ago, are all the PowerMac's 5 years old?

APPLE POWERMAC G5 QUAD 2.5GHZ 2GB RAM POWER MAC 250gb - eBay (item 220537665437 end time Jan-09-10 12:53:14 PST)

It doesn't seem like this would have been around 5 years ago.

Bryan · 01-09-2010, 12:20 PM

Apple made the switch to Intel in June of 2005.

**Gustin** · 01-09-2010, 01:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fendeanson

I wasn't saying that they were doing it to me, like me personally. I was saying that to me personally, it seemed dumb that they would put PPC CPU's in them. If they stopped making PPC processors 5 years ago, are all the PowerMac's 5 years old?

APPLE POWERMAC G5 QUAD 2.5GHZ 2GB RAM POWER MAC 250gb - eBay (item 220537665437 end time Jan-09-10 12:53:14 PST)

It doesn't seem like this would have been around 5 years ago.

In August of 06, Apple officially discontinued the Powermac G5 and replaced it with the Mac Pro (the Mac Pro and the Intel Xserve were the last to make the Intel switch). So any G5 you see is at best 4 years old. Most will be older.

Cam42 · 01-09-2010, 02:02 PM

Yeah, they were super advanced machines brand new, and their resale value is incredible. They were the mac pro of their day, and have you seen how you can max out a Mac Pro?

**Gustin** · 01-09-2010, 02:08 PM

The problem is this: Apple has killed the PowerPC line up. Any new software will likely not support it (and if it does now, it probably won't in another year or two). Snow Leopard doesn't support it. Neither does Logic 9. I'm not sure if Pro Tools 8 does, but I would bet any new versions won't. I'd go with a Mac Mini over a G5 just on the fact that the computer will not be supported much longer.