Mac mini for music tech.

[iCanStopTime]

Hello,

I am planning to take a music tech course in college which means I will be doing some music production... And I've been told getting a mac will be the way to go.. and unfortunatley my budget isnt too wide so i have been looking at the mac mini to use along with my windows pc... Will the mac mini suffice?

 

[Hellhammer]

Wouldn't a laptop be better? I know they cost more but you get screen and everything.

 

[WytRaven]

Wouldn't a laptop be better? I know they cost more but you get screen and everything.

I'm guessing he/she is intending on utilising their existing PC monitor/keyboard/mouse with the mini.

@OP, that would be the cheapest option for you, yes. But you will get what you pay for. The MacMini is designed to be a small compact desktop machine for light day-to-day work. Now that doesn't mean that browsing the net and doing a little desktop publishing is all it's good for. It just means that attempting to record 16 tracks of 24bit/96KHz audio simultaneously using a slow 5400RPM HD is going to prove a challenge for a MacMini.

I would just advise that you be realistic about your expectations. Do some research on forums for the software you intend to run as you will probably get much more valuable advice there.

 

[opeter]

WytRaven is right. Do research on other forums and also, what software you need to use in college and only than think of buying a Mac.

Many softwares have the same version or something similar for Windows platform. And also in any case, there is Opensource and Linux.

 

[Giuly]

We have here a FTP you can download software for study purposes, if this is the case, I guess he'll be rather using Logic if they told him that a Mac is the way to go.
However, not too complex stuff in Logic is rather fine. Running the "numbnuts game" or whatever the demo is called, results in about 65% CPU and 400MB RAM usage.

GarageBand is rather less generous on resources.

However, you'll at least need to update the RAM to 4GB if you want to do serious work. If you don't already have a laptop for collage, I'd rather go towards the 13" MacBook Pro with 2.66GHz for $1400 (or refurbished for $1269).
Also, a 7200RPM hard drive or SSD is a must I guess, as while writing this and listening to the "Numbers Game" in Logic, it bugs me that "The hard drive is too slow or overstrained", so plan $100 for this.
It has 40 Tracks though, and runs fine as long as you leave other apps alone.

 

[meatballs]

If your school provides you with a free copy of Logic then go Mac. If not I'd go PC + M-audio USB interface (like the Fast Track Pro) + Pro Tools M-powered software. You get more bang for your buck with a PC.