PT11 on Mac Mini 2014?

[delasnarce]

Hi All

Really could do with some advice ...

I have been using an ancient 6.9 system on a pre intel Mac.

Yeah , I know ! To be honest I didn't mind the restrictions of CPU power , makes you a little more creative and less toys to play with

Anyway , I have been talking about getting a set up at home for mixing etc for a while with a Mac Mini , today is my birthday and my girlfriend surprised me with a Mac Mini , its late 2014 2.6 i5 /8GB /1TB - A137 model

I KNOW i should have gone for the late 2012 i7 model second hand but it was a gift and a lovely thing to do so i cant exactly ask her to take in back.

I know Avid haven't qualified this model

I was hoping to get some info of what its like running PT11 on the 2014 mac Minis from people who are doing it ?

Typically I will run 32 channel sessions with moderate plug in usage on my old rig. ( as is 6.9 LE ) the CPU will constantly be threatening to fall over and each final bounce is always by the skit of the teeth. So anything above that is a massive bonus !

Also ... with the 2014 model in mind would i be better off with PT10 or 12?

I would love some advice of choosing an interface too . looking for something 3rd party ( focusrite maybe ) that has at least 8 inputs and will link up to my Octopre by lightpipe for expansion in the main studio

I have a lightening bolt fast 2TB 7400 Rpm drive for the sessions and will probably upgrade the drive in the mac mini to SSD btw


many thanks guys , carl

[StefB]

I'm sure it will work!

That girlfriend is a keeper !

[mesaone]

Originally Posted by delasnarce

I would love some advice of choosing an interface too . looking for something 3rd party ( focusrite maybe ) that has at least 8 inputs and will link up to my Octopre by lightpipe for expansion in the main studio

I rarely recommend anything over RME, but an Apollo interface will dovetail into a Mac Mini system beautifully. ADAT inputs for your Octopre, very low latency, and a DSP card for taking some of the stress off the CPU. Even the Apollo Twin Duo will work out great, you'll have 10 inputs in total, 4 outputs plus a headphone output, plus a worthwhile amount of external processing power. If you absolutely need a total of 16 inputs, there are many other options to choose from as well.

[VRW]

Originally Posted by delasnarce

I KNOW i should have gone for the late 2012 i7 model second hand but it was a gift and a lovely thing to do so i cant exactly ask her to take in back.

Yes, theoretically the 2012 i7 would be the much better choice for PT11+but as you were saying, a gift is a gift and a lovely thing to do indeed .

Anyway as for the CPU and the Ram there should be no problem finally. You will not have as much "headroom" power wise like with the 2012 i7,
but it should work.
The weakest point actually will be the 1TB internal HDD because it has only 5400rpm rotation speed which could get kinda problematic with Pro
Tools 11 Native (non HD=no disc cache). And unfortunately you can´t replace anything at the new Macs, means you have to try to live with it.

I would recommend to put absolutely everything regarding Pro Tools and any other musical stuff on external drives only. Of course all the
Pro Tools sessions+audio but also all sample libraries you use. It´s great that you already use an external Thunderbolt 7200rpm drive, however
if you could afford it, I would recommend to get another external SSD drive with USB 3 connection.
As Pro Tools sessions on it´s own are not too much data in general, you could get an external SSD with only 512GB for example, so this might
be still affordable.

Then put your PT sessions+audio on this external SSD, all other stuff on your external Thunderbolt HDD 7200rpm drive.
By doing this you would take away as much strain from your OS drive as possible. So finally it could work out even with the 5400rpm HDD.

This would be such a solution. It´s a SSD in an external USB 3 enclosure which is quite affordable yet very fast, even faster than your external
Thunderbolt HDD. You need a very good SSD like this one for example (highly recommended as being able to handle massive writing very well)
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Samsung-512G...+850+pro+512gb
or the more affordable version
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Samsung-2-5-...ng+850+Evo+500
and such an enclosure for example
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Optimized-In...sb+3+enclosure

You can of course find yourself another ones.
Actually to use 2 separate very fast external drives will definitely make it more easy for your system drive to get the job done.

As for interfaces with at least 8 preamps+8 ADATs you should have a look at Focusrite if being on a budget. Those guys are proven to work well
with Pro Tools.
1) the for sure best 8 micpre interface within it´s price range and successfully used with PT11 by many pros here in the DUC.
The Saffire Pro 40.
http://www.gak.co.uk/en/focusrite-saffire-pro-40/21402
http://uk.focusrite.com/firewire-aud...saffire-pro-40
2) a brandnew true Thunderbolt interface with only 1ms latency from Focusrite. The Clarett 8Pre.
http://www.gak.co.uk/en/focusrite-cl...terface/110813
http://uk.focusrite.com/clarett-range#clarett-8pre
3) if money should not be a problem this one is very cool stuff for sure.
The new Apogee Ensemble.
http://www.gak.co.uk/en/apogee-ensem...erface-/105158
http://www.apogeedigital.com/products/ensemble
4) obviously super fresh, even not out yet but coming soon, an 8 micpre UA Apollo, great for sure as well
http://www.uaudio.com/interfaces/apollo-8p.html
http://www.thomann.de/gb/universal_audio_apollo_8p.htm

All 4 will have to be connected via Thunderbolt and all 4 offer 8 micpres as well as 8 ADAT Ins for your OctoPre. Btw the combination of the Saffire
Pro 40 and the OctoPre via ADAT is widely used within the Pro Tools community and obviously it does work very well.
Nevertheless the new Focusrite Clarett series, the Apogee Ensemble and the Apollo 8p are pretty cool gear indeed.

Finally as for which version of Pro Tools to use I definitely would recommend to go for PT12 just because it´s known to work a lot more CPU efficient
than it´s predecessors which again will help to obtain a stable, properly working PT system with your new Mini.

Hope this will help in a way.

The very best of success to you,

VRW




Mac Mini i7Quad, 16GB Ram, MBP Mid 2012 2,5GHz i5, 16GB Ram, Mac OSX 10.10.3 Yosemite, Apogee Quartet+Duet 2
Genelec Active, Yamaha NS10, Pro Tools 11.3.1, Logic 10.1.1, Waves, MCDSP, Duende Native, HOFA, IK Multimedia, NI etc.

[JFreak]

Internal drive of Mac Mini can be easily changed for another one, a nice SSD for example. If you're uncomfortable doing it yourself, it shouldn't cost too much to have it exchanged in a store. Well worth the upgrade, IMO.

[VRW]

Originally Posted by JFreak

Internal drive of Mac Mini can be easily changed for another one, a nice SSD for example. If you're uncomfortable doing it yourself, it shouldn't cost too much to have it exchanged in a store. Well worth the upgrade, IMO.

Oops, sorry! Can be changed at the new ones too? Thought it would be like with the new MBPs.

[VRW]

Originally Posted by JFreak

Well worth the upgrade, IMO.

+1!!!

[VRW]

Originally Posted by JFreak

a nice SSD for example.

256GB are enough space for the OS drive only
http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_...+850+pro+256gb
if one needs more
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Samsung-512G...+850+pro+512gb

Originally Posted by JFreak

doing it yourself

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgEBPlz4QB8
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Antislip-Han...orx+6+security

All the best, cheers.

[delasnarce]

Wow thanks for the response !

Absolutely golden information , i am so grateful that you lot could actually be bothered to write such great responses. You geniuses . Especially JRW and JFreak

You know what ? I asked the same thing on gearslutz and i just got some smart ass directing me to the qualified machines Avid page ( yeah cheers)

The Focusrite Claretts look awesome , that's perfect I think

Also been reading about thunderbolt : apparently not many drives (7200 or ssd) can keep up with the bandwidth of thunderbolt anyway. Good job because its a FW drive I have with USB3 . Hopefully will be fast enough

SSD system drive is possible , requires additional kit on the late 2014`s looks easy though.

just wondering if PT10 would be a better choice then PT11 ? OI hear that PT11 is better at handling the OS resources that previous versions

but AAX plug ins and not all there yet and expensive apparently .


I'm running Yosemite though , would PT10 run on that or am I forced to go 11

Have a great weekend guys and thanks again for your advice

[VRW]

Originally Posted by delasnarce

Good job because its a FW drive I have with USB3 . Hopefully will be fast enough

Don't worry, any 7200rpm HDD with both Firewire or USB 3 will be fast enough. However if you can use it with USB 3 it will be faster than with FW. Nevertheless Firewire will be ok as well.
As for Pro Tools I definitely understand you as it may need kind of an investment to upgrade all plugs to AAX. If you would do the step upwards let me recommend again to go for PT12 rather than 11 as it is much more CPU efficient which will help a lot because the new Minis are not too powerful.
If you dont want to/cannot afford it at the moment PT10 should work as well.
No, you cannot run PT10 neither on Mavericks nor on Yosemite. It needs Mountain Lion 10.8.2, latest version PT10.3.
http://avid.force.com/pkb/articles/e...ility/en352429
http://www.sweetwater.com/sweetcare/...-pro-tools-10/

All the best to you, cheers,

VRW