Is the basic Mac Mini enough for me?

[andalarct]

Hey all, I've been doing some lurking and researching and I'm a bit stuck. I currently own a mid-2010 21.5" imac and do some averagely intensive audio work with it. Occasionally I've found myself having to limit my projects because I've been running too many plugins and whatnot and its putting too much strain on the CPU, it does happen all too often, but enough to be an annoyance.

I have someone willing to pay £700 for my imac (lucky me) and figured with those funds I could get the base model mac mini plus accessories and still be upgrading to a faster machine. I was content with this until I came across one of the latest rMBP's on gumtree for a staggering £600. Obviously this is an absolute steal, it has a 256gb ssd, the quad core i7 and 8gb of RAM; clearly far superior than the mini I was planning on getting.

My dilema is that I am most comfortable with a desktop setup, the extra usb ports in the mini are also necessary for me as I use multiple controllers for my production.

My question isn't which one is better, obviously the rMBP is the clear winner spec wise. My question is will the Mac Mini suffice for my needs, I'm in no way a top-level producer, but I do run some CPU intensive plugins like Nexus and would just like less drop-outs. Will the mini be powerful enough?

 

[niteflyr]

Sounds like you will always wish you had the quad core. Get the mid grade 2.3 I7 mini if you can swing it.

 

[andalarct]

hmm, I definitely wouldn't be able to afford one new, but I'll keep an eye out for used/refurbished ones that hopefully won't be too much...

So you're saying the i5 still wouldn't be powerful enough?

 

[opinio]

hmm, I definitely wouldn't be able to afford one new, but I'll keep an eye out for used/refurbished ones that hopefully won't be too much...

So you're saying the i5 still wouldn't be powerful enough?

If you want a used model and are happy to use USB 2.0 then you could look for a 2011 2.0 quad. It was the server model. I have one and it runs 16gb corsair vengeance ram. It is not that different to the 2012 2.6 quad I have unless I really push the 2.6. Then you see the big difference.

 

[Fishrrman]

My advice is to save up and get the i7 2.3ghz version of the Mini (with basic RAM and you can upgrade the HD later).

It costs a little more, but you'll not regret having that extra power there in the future.

You might keep your eye out for an Apple factory refurb (if they're available there).

 

[bruds23]

Mac Mini is enough

Hey all, I've been doing some lurking and researching and I'm a bit stuck. I currently own a mid-2010 21.5" imac and do some averagely intensive audio work with it. Occasionally I've found myself having to limit my projects because I've been running too many plugins and whatnot and its putting too much strain on the CPU, it does happen all too often, but enough to be an annoyance.

I have someone willing to pay £700 for my imac (lucky me) and figured with those funds I could get the base model mac mini plus accessories and still be upgrading to a faster machine. I was content with this until I came across one of the latest rMBP's on gumtree for a staggering £600. Obviously this is an absolute steal, it has a 256gb ssd, the quad core i7 and 8gb of RAM; clearly far superior than the mini I was planning on getting.

My dilema is that I am most comfortable with a desktop setup, the extra usb ports in the mini are also necessary for me as I use multiple controllers for my production.

My question isn't which one is better, obviously the rMBP is the clear winner spec wise. My question is will the Mac Mini suffice for my needs, I'm in no way a top-level producer, but I do run some CPU intensive plugins like Nexus and would just like less drop-outs. Will the mini be powerful enough?

i want to say Mac Mini ,is enough,for most software,i had a mid 2007,redid it ,sold it to a friend he does movies ,music,i have the mid 2011,i have mountain lion,windows8 on it,had built a 5 Hard disc with DVD Rom in it,i do a lot of music,movies,an business cards,it run great i have 12 Gb or ram in it ,i also have boses system,with 3 subs boxes,it Rocks,so yes the Mac Mini is enough,for basic software,any more!!!!!!!!ok,stop crying

 

[talmy]

I have someone willing to pay £700 for my imac (lucky me) and figured with those funds I could get the base model mac mini plus accessories and still be upgrading to a faster machine. I was content with this until I came across one of the latest rMBP's on gumtree for a staggering £600. Obviously this is an absolute steal, it has a 256gb ssd, the quad core i7 and 8gb of RAM; clearly far superior than the mini I was planning on getting.

My dilema is that I am most comfortable with a desktop setup, the extra usb ports in the mini are also necessary for me as I use multiple controllers for my production.

Get that RMBP. You won't be able to touch its performance with a basic Mac Mini. You can always attach keyboard, mouse, and display and run it in clamshell mode to get a desktop form factor, and you would have a portable system to boot. I'd think that a USB3 hub would take care of the fewer USB ports.