Mac Mini Late 2012 with Mavericks OSX

[GTBannah]

Originally Posted by VRW

Hi, as far as I could see in the Apple Online Store it is not possible to order it
with a 7200rpm HD.
However you could order it with a 256GB SSD for 200.-+.

Btw as far as I have experienced Fusion Drives are not really recommended for the use with Pro Tools 11.
It may be working better with one single fast OS drive
and one or more additional external FW800 or Thunderbolt-drives with at least 7200rpm.

All the best, VRW



MacMini i7Quad, 16GB Ram, MBP Mid 2012 i5, 16GB Ram, MacOS 10.9.2, Apogee Quartet+Duet 2, Genelec Active, Yamaha NS10,
Pro Tools 11.1.2, Logic 10.0.6, Waves, MCDSP, Duende Native, Softube, HOFA, IK Multimedia etc

Yes, than! I saw the SSD option at the Apple store, but that might be too small. I would need at least 500GB, because I'll need a partition for Win7/BootCamp. Maybe a "regular/spinning" 7200 rpm drive.

Are the SSDs that large as yet? If they are, the price must be pretty HOT!

[Eric Seaberg]

Other World Computing has a kit for the MINI that allows you to have TWO internal drives. You could order the MINI with a 256GB SSD from Apple, then buy the kit from Other World and add a 7200 RPM HDD keeping BOTH internal. Great option.

http://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/DIYIMM11D2/

[VRW]

Originally Posted by GTBannah

Yes, than! I saw the SSD option at the Apple store, but that might be too small. I would need at least 500GB, because I'll need a partition for Win7/BootCamp. Maybe a "regular/spinning" 7200 rpm drive.

Are the SSDs that large as yet? If they are, the price must be pretty HOT!

I see. Actually though I am not at all kinda technical guy, I could successfully
replace the OS drives of all my 3 Macs (MacMini 2012/2011, MacBookPro 2012)
just by the help of Websites, You Tube and the right set of screwdrivers.
It´s not that difficult.
You just have to take your time, be careful, use the right
tools and watch the instructions. Then just do it slowly step by step.
All my Macs have been running smoothly for quite a long .

You are right, the SSDs have become quite large and relatively affordable.
I will post you some of the best SSDs for the use with audio/video applications
and one very good 7200rpm HD alternative.
I´m just using Amazon-links because it´s a quite general thing as I don´t
know specific shops in your area.

This one I use myself and you will find thousands of great reviews on the web too-
Samsung SSD 840 Pro
http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-Electr...amsung+840+Pro
...the max space of those is 512GB.

If you still need more GBs have a look at these-
Samsung 840 Evo
http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-Electr...amsung+840+Evo
...there you can have even 750 and 1TB (for Dollar 500.-, that´s ok I think).
The 840 Pro is a bit better overall for audio productions but also the Evo is one of the best out there.

This one I also have been using personally for at least 4 years
and it´s one great drive for audio/video. Also lots of great reviews out there-
Western Digital Scorpio Black 7200rpm
http://www.amazon.com/Western-Digita...+Scorpio+Black
...it´s one of the finest, fastest and most reliable 2,5" 7200rpm HDs. The only
thing is that although for a 7200rpm HD it is quite silent, it is not that silent
like a SSD (but I guess you know that anyway).

Me personally would rather recommend buying a SSD as I noticed definitely
a big boost in the overall performance from The Scorpio Black to the 840 Pro but
on the other hand the price of the Scorpio is unbeatable for what you get.

I don´t know actually, maybe you know it all anyway, but however I will post
those links for the replacement of a HD/SSD on a Mac Mini.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nkbekb8yKhc

...this is for a 2011 but it shows it quite clearly, if you might miss something in the
first one
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ymGnXdwvabg

Here you can see which screws are used if you need to get a screwdriver set for it
http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Mac+Mini...lacement/11716

!! For what one can hear and read it is not recommended to use a Fusion Drive, even 2 internal HHDs
for Pro Tools in a Mac Mini. It´s just recommended to use 1 single fast OS drive and
one/more external FW800/Thunderbolt-audio drives with at least 7200rpm with a Mini !!

What also might be a good idea is to put in all available RAM (16GB) for Pro Tools.
You don´t have to buy it from Apple as you can definitely save money buying it
separately and just put it in yourself.
http://www.amazon.de/Kingston-DDR3-1...1+KVR16S11%2F8
...this one I got in mine 2x, works perfectly (can be used with Apple),
wherever you might get it-if-just mind the model no. KVR16S11/8

I hope I have covered the most important things.
Wishing you best of success,

VRW




MacMini i7Quad, 16GB Ram, MBP Mid 2012 i5, 16GB Ram, MacOS 10.9.2, Apogee Quartet+Duet 2, Genelec Active, Yamaha NS10,
Pro Tools 11.1.2, Logic 10.0.6, Waves, MCDSP, Duende Native, Softube, HOFA, IK Multimedia etc

[GTBannah]

Originally Posted by VRW

I see. Actually though I am not at all kinda technical guy, I could successfully
replace the OS drives of all my 3 Macs (MacMini 2012/2011, MacBookPro 2012)
just by the help of Websites, You Tube and the right set of screwdrivers.
It´s not that difficult.
You just have to take your time, be careful, use the right
tools and watch the instructions. Then just do it slowly step by step.
All my Macs have been running smoothly for quite a long .

You are right, the SSDs have become quite large and relatively affordable.
I will post you some of the best SSDs for the use with audio/video applications
and one very good 7200rpm HD alternative.
I´m just using Amazon-links because it´s a quite general thing as I don´t
know specific shops in your area.

This one I use myself and you will find thousands of great reviews on the web too-
Samsung SSD 840 Pro
http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-Electr...amsung+840+Pro
...the max space of those is 512GB.

If you still need more GBs have a look at these-
Samsung 840 Evo
http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-Electr...amsung+840+Evo
...there you can have even 750 and 1TB (for Dollar 500.-, that´s ok I think).
The 840 Pro is a bit better overall for audio productions but also the Evo is one of the best out there.

This one I also have been using personally for at least 4 years
and it´s one great drive for audio/video. Also lots of great reviews out there-
Western Digital Scorpio Black 7200rpm
http://www.amazon.com/Western-Digita...+Scorpio+Black
...it´s one of the finest, fastest and most reliable 2,5" 7200rpm HDs. The only
thing is that although for a 7200rpm HD it is quite silent, it is not that silent
like a SSD (but I guess you know that anyway).

Me personally would rather recommend buying a SSD as I noticed definitely
a big boost in the overall performance from The Scorpio Black to the 840 Pro but
on the other hand the price of the Scorpio is unbeatable for what you get.

I don´t know actually, maybe you know it all anyway, but however I will post
those links for the replacement of a HD/SSD on a Mac Mini.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nkbekb8yKhc

...this is for a 2011 but it shows it quite clearly, if you might miss something in the
first one
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ymGnXdwvabg

Here you can see which screws are used if you need to get a screwdriver set for it
http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Mac+Mini...lacement/11716

!! For what one can hear and read it is not recommended to use a Fusion Drive, even 2 internal HHDs
for Pro Tools in a Mac Mini. It´s just recommended to use 1 single fast OS drive and
one/more external FW800/Thunderbolt-audio drives with at least 7200rpm with a Mini !!

What also might be a good idea is to put in all available RAM (16GB) for Pro Tools.
You don´t have to buy it from Apple as you can definitely save money buying it
separately and just put it in yourself.
http://www.amazon.de/Kingston-DDR3-1...1+KVR16S11%2F8
...this one I got in mine 2x, works perfectly (can be used with Apple),
wherever you might get it-if-just mind the model no. KVR16S11/8

I hope I have covered the most important things.
Wishing you best of success,

VRW




MacMini i7Quad, 16GB Ram, MBP Mid 2012 i5, 16GB Ram, MacOS 10.9.2, Apogee Quartet+Duet 2, Genelec Active, Yamaha NS10,
Pro Tools 11.1.2, Logic 10.0.6, Waves, MCDSP, Duende Native, Softube, HOFA, IK Multimedia etc

Hey, man!

Lots of helpful information here. Thanx!

[JFreak]

Originally Posted by GTBannah

Are the SSDs that large as yet? If they are, the price must be pretty HOT!

Take a look at current MBP and its storage options. That's a hint for the next Mini

[GTBannah]

Originally Posted by JFreak

Take a look at current MBP and its storage options. That's a hint for the next Mini

hey, there!

The terminology keeps changing ....

Is "1TB PCIe-based Flash Storage [Add $500.00]" the same as an "SSD" Drive?

[VRW]

Originally Posted by GTBannah

hey, there!

The terminology keeps changing ....

Is "1TB PCIe-based Flash Storage [Add $500.00]" the same as an "SSD" Drive?

As far as I can see (I´m not an expert though actually) not really but it´s kinda
"related" to it.
It´s one of the next steps in the evolution obviously.
The PCIe SSD looks like that
http://ocz.com/consumer/pci-express-ssd
in comparison to the "normal“ 2,5“ SSD
http://ocz.com/consumer/sata-3-ssd

The PCIe SSD is supposed to be much faster again and can be installed even
in older Desktop computers (maybe even older Laptops which got an PCIe slot then?),
just right via PCIe ports, but it actually cannot be installed in the current Mac Mini
as there is no PCIe slot/port.

This is an interesting solution for Desktop machines too (older Mac Pros e.g.)
http://www.sonnettech.com/product/tempossd.html

So, to wait for a new Mini is one option of course but I see another interesting.
What about to get a current i7 Mini (which is more affordable as a new will
be actually), put in e.g. a 512GB Samsung 840 Pro as an OS drive and use 1-3 of the new
super fast PCIe SSDs via Thunderbolt in an external chassis as audio drives?
http://www.sonnettech.com/product/th...olt/index.html

It´s just that actually it is important to have a fast OS drive but finally it´s speed is
less important than the one of the audio drives .
So one could save money at the machine to have more left for
super fast, super modern external drives for example.
But that´s of course just one option of many.

What´s very cool IMO is this one (you may scroll down a bit)
http://www.sonnettech.com/product/xmacminiserver.html
… a Mini built into a rack enclosure and connected via it´s Thunderbolt port
with a 2 PCIe port unit. Everything in 1 rack HE.

Unfortunately it´s way too expensive for myself…
but if one has got the money it´s cool stuff.

Anyway.
If one is on kinda budget all those things are sweet but simply not practicable.

So, an i7 Mini Late 2012 with 16GB Ram, a SSD OS drive and 1-2 external 7200rpm
HDs via FW800 or Thunderbolt is definitely a good choice for PT11 Native e.g. IMO.

Whatever you will go for, just the best of luck and have much fun,

VRW



MacMini i7Quad, 16GB Ram, MBP Mid 2012 i5, 16GB Ram, MacOS 10.9.2, Apogee Quartet+Duet 2, Genelec Active, Yamaha NS10,
Pro Tools 11.1.2, Logic 10.0.6, Waves, MCDSP, Duende Native, Softube, HOFA, IK Multimedia etc

[GTBannah]

Originally Posted by Eric Seaberg

Other World Computing has a kit for the MINI that allows you to have TWO internal drives. You could order the MINI with a 256GB SSD from Apple, then buy the kit from Other World and add a 7200 RPM HDD keeping BOTH internal. Great option.

http://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/DIYIMM11D2/

yeah, that sounds like a nice move, too.

Thanx!

[emiloia]

VRW you re awesome! Thanks very much for all the great information that you has give to me.
I ve already buy pro tools11 crossgrade yesterday, im now i will trying to buy the ilok. Im really anxious and dont want to expect the shipping from slate guys jaja, because im in argentina.
Maybe i will buy some ilok kere, but you give us important information about free stuff
I will write again when i finished set up my equipments.
Thanks!