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2020 Mac Mini or wait for ARM?
Hey everyone! Looking for advice.
I'm thinking of buying a Mac Mini with an eGPU to use as my main workstation (upgrading from a 2013 iMac). I'm wondering whether I buy one now, or wait a year for Apple's processors to be integrated, *knowing that there will be a few years of software transition on top of that. Any advice you might have is appreciated!
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Pro Tools 2024.3.0|Perpetual • MTRX Studio • HDX1 • Sync-X • S3 • Dock • Mac Mini 2018 - 3.2GHz i7 6-core macOS 13.6 • RAM 64GB DDR4 GPU AMD 6900XT 16GB • Monitor LG 32UL950-W |
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Re: 2020 Mac Mini or wait for ARM?
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Re: 2020 Mac Mini or wait for ARM?
I am also in the same boat wanting to move forward at some point from my souped up 2009 12 core cheese grater. It is still rocking hard at the moment but im starting to feel the pull to move to to a machine that has thunderbolt ports and is capable of running Catalina or later.
I too have been looking seriously at the Mac mini and every time I think I’m going to pull the trigger on buying one, (in my case with an expansion chassis for my HDX card), I read about somebody who uses the mini for regular pro work who has managed to cook it up in a year or so because apparently those suckers run hot under load. I do think it would be a mistake to jump on these new arm processor machines soon, for all of the reasons we all know: it’s going to take quite some time for software manufacturers to catch up. So I think it would be wise to consider an Intel machine that will most likely serve us well for many years. In addition, both Apple and Avid have major announcements next week and it will be interesting to see what direction is indicated by these 2 companies.
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Will Russell Electric Wilburland Studio https://linktr.ee/wilburland M1MAX Mac Studio OS 14.4.1, PT2024.3, HDX, S1/Dock M1 PRO MacBook Pro OS 14.4.1, PT2024.3, BabyFacePro FS |
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Re: 2020 Mac Mini or wait for ARM?
When I got my 2018 mac mini this summer, on thing became immediately obvious; big bluetooth performance problems.
I looked around and found lots of discussions about this, and now, months later, after trying everything I can think of, I have no solution. I agree with folk out there who thinks it's simply a design flaw; cramming in all those TB3 and USB3 port around the bluetooth antenna is causing interference. It's obvious that as you plug in more storage devices, the bluetooth deteriorates. Some people also have problems with wifi. 25 page thread over at macrumors.com about bluetooth problems on 2018 mac minis (I read most of it): https://forums.macrumors.com/threads...ssues.2157086/ My thread over there, with details on my bluetooth problems: https://forums.macrumors.com/threads...#post-28940811 Of course, if you don't need bluetooth and can do without wifi - it's a good mac.
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Mac mini M2 16GB RAM macOS 13.4.1. PT Studio 2023.6. Topping E30 II DAC, Dynaudio BM6, 2 x Artist Mix, SSL UC1, Control on iPad. |
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Re: 2020 Mac Mini or wait for ARM?
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Last edited by boomspot; 11-08-2020 at 09:00 AM. Reason: Formatting |
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Mac mini M2 16GB RAM macOS 13.4.1. PT Studio 2023.6. Topping E30 II DAC, Dynaudio BM6, 2 x Artist Mix, SSL UC1, Control on iPad. |
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Re: 2020 Mac Mini or wait for ARM?
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Who says the Mini isn't meant for professional demands? There are a number of companies that use them as part of their cash register system. As to an external fan you'd be better off with it blowing air across the top of the Mini. And leave the bottom lid on. Besides it will also protect the components inside from damage. That's a HUGE hole to leave open without some kind of protection. |
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Re: 2020 Mac Mini or wait for ARM?
I wouldn't expect Pro Tools to work reliably on Apple Silicon for months if not a year. This is based on Pro Tools transitions over the last 15-20 years. Case in point the inability to work directly with QT video formats. That's why many production rigs are still on Mojave. It's more an appliance than a multi use computer.
Apple Silicon will require Big Sur. Catalina and Mojave do not have the Apple Silicon/ARM native codebase to run on Apple Silicon. Pro Tools may work well using Rosetta 2 on Apple Silicon. I wouldn't want to base any for profit work or risk being offline if you're doing your own music. I've got one of those Mini's with the refresh earlier this year. I haven't tracked anything on it but I can easily edit 40 plus tracks with a variety of plugs both native and on Soundgrid Server. These days I'm doing editing, arranging and VOs for streaming presentations. I'd like to see how it responds when I load 106 track sessions from the show. I don't know that it could handle all the plugs if I didn't have the Soundgrid Server but for an entry level machine it does well. The key here is entry level.
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What happens in Vegas, we make happen... |
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Re: 2020 Mac Mini or wait for ARM?
I'm usubscribing. This is boring.
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Mac mini M2 16GB RAM macOS 13.4.1. PT Studio 2023.6. Topping E30 II DAC, Dynaudio BM6, 2 x Artist Mix, SSL UC1, Control on iPad. |
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