2018 Mac Mini Ditch Pro Tools Plan

[Justin1524]

Well, err, kinda ditch Pro Tools

2018 Mac Mini $1,799 - 3.2GHz 6‑core 8th‑generation Intel Core i7 (Turbo Boost up to 4.6GHz) add 1 TB storage and 10GB ethernet - why not only $100 more
Ram 64GB OWC $394 - replace stock ram myself to save $$
Presonus 48x48 Thunderbolt 3 interface - $1,499 - use with my existing racked preamps

Total: $3,692

I would sell my loaded 2010 Mac Pro Cheesegrater, Pro Tools Native Card, 2 blue Digi interfaces 1 analog, 1 digital, Waves Soundgrid DLI and Impact Server. I figure I could come close to covering my costs.

I'd cut the cord from Pro Tools for good and just continue to use my perpetual license making Studio One Pro my main DAW.

I do need accessories for the Mac Mini - namely external box(es) for storage, adapters for 2 additional 60hz 1920x1080 monitors (no big graphics needed so hoping thunderbolt 3 will cut it) so this will add to my cost.

My main attraction to the Mac Mini 2018 is 4 Thunderbolt 3 ports. Down the line I think this future proofs me for different interfaces if I want. I also think the processing and RAM will give me about the same power as I have now, maybe better.

Believe it or not, my main issue is, if I do want to go back to pro tools, can I give up the HD Native Driver for the Presonus driver without any big worries.

Anyone have any thoughts?


Justin

[JFreak]

Remeber... 4 TB3 ports does not necessarily mean 4 TB busses

[Darryl Ramm]

My biggest gripe with the 2018 Mac Mini is that SSD is soldered to the motherboard. But at least with two Thunderbolt 3 busses (on 4 ports) you can connect up external fast PCIe SSD (like a Samsung X5.. and many more coming from other vendors).

I would also need a dock to use one, like this one https://www.owcdigital.com/products/...3-dock-14-port

[JFreak]

Originally Posted by Darryl Ramm

My biggest gripe with the 2018 Mac Mini is that SSD is soldered to the motherboard.

Same here. Which is why it is a no-go for me

[JFreak]

Originally Posted by Darryl Ramm

But at least with two Thunderbolt 3 busses (on 4 ports) you can connect up external fast PCIe SSD

True that, but what you need is one buss for your interfaces, another buss for your storage, and third buss for your displays.

[Darryl Ramm]

Originally Posted by JFreak

True that, but what you need is one buss for your interfaces, another buss for your storage, and third buss for your displays.

Yes it's a compromise. For many folks who that long ago were running all on HDD some of this may not matter too much, for others, wanting maximum performance it might.

I went off into the weeds of Thunderbolt bandwidth in a recent thread on Thunderbolt 2, but applies to Thunderbolt 32, just with larger bandwidth numbers. If that helps others: http://duc.avid.com/showpost.php?p=2538513&postcount=9

I would hope displays do not cause problems when sharing a Thunderbolt bus with an audio interface.

And the exact numbers here are usually poorly explained/measured. Here is one of the better Thunderbolt display vs. data discussions (and see his referenced sources as well), (I just found this link again was looking for it before): https://macperformanceguide.com/blog...bandwidth.html

The irony is the Mac Pro classic Cheesegrater now has some decent internal PCIe NVMe SSD options.... even if it may not be able to run Catalina (we'll see if that gets hacked).

[JFreak]

I'm pretty sure we will get a patched Catalina installer for classic cheesegraters that have Metal GPU

[Darryl Ramm]

And, Justin. You are looking at a 48x48 Thunderbolt 3 interface, but Pro Tools will only be able to use 32 x 32 of that IO, using more needs Digilink interfaces.

Today you have two Digidesign IO boxes, I'm not sure if you are hanging anything else off the Soundgrid side, so this limit may not be an issue, and I suspect you know this, but just wanted to flag it anyhow.

[JFreak]

Originally Posted by Darryl Ramm

Pro Tools will only be able to use 32 x 32 of that IO

That is true. Standard software is limited to 32 i/o and only way to get more is Avid hardware -- HDN (64 i/o) or HDX ("unlimited")

[JFreak]

Originally Posted by Justin1524

Believe it or not, my main issue is, if I do want to go back to pro tools, can I give up the HD Native Driver for the Presonus driver without any big worries.

Darryl nailed it. You only get 32 i/o with standard software. If you need more you need that HDN