PT on a Mac Mini ? Possible ?

[JeanDit]

Hi guyz,

My old PC laptop doesn't do the job (and it's not a supported setup for pro tools either) so I'm willing to give Mac a try.

That being said, I know nothing about Macs, at all. Can I go with a Mac Mini ? They are very cheap and seems to have somewhat power.
I was wondering:

My need: With a MBox2 Mini, the last pro tools version, and the needs to record vocals one track at the time and loading less than 20 tracks a the same time in a project.

Also - I'm seing a lot of 5400 RPM drives with Macs, it is enough ? Is Macs offering faster drives ? Should I worry about it ?


Well sorry for all these nooby questions, but no one in my surrounding can answer them!

Any advice ?

Please help!

Thanks in advance, this is much apreciated. <3

[Phil Ogden]

Whilst it's not been tested (and qualified) with Leopard, the Mac Mini should work OK.

You should budget for an additional external FW 400 drive (with Oxford chipset) as recording to the internal system drive can be problematical particularly with a 5400 rpm rating.

I'd bump up the RAM to 2Gb too.

I take it you appreciate that the Mini does not come with keyboard and monitor so these are a further expense if you don't have them already.

http://www.myspace.com/philogg

[Holly73]

I also don't think the Mini is the cheapest way to get a Mac. Especially as the cheaper one has no Superdrive and a very little harddrive. But if you already have a decent monitor, it could be an option. Otherwise you could take a look at the iMac. It comes with 20" monitor, keyboard, mouse and other nice things like built-in webcam. It also has got a bigger harddrive (7200rpm) an Superdrive. All in all I'd say it's better bang for the buck.
But like Phil said, you'll need an external Firewire drive anyway for both of the above Macs. Same goes for another GB of RAM, but this should be no problem, as it is quite cheap now.

[dougied]

It is awesomely possible!!!!! I have a Mac Mini Intel Core Duo 1.66 with 2 GB of RAM and I have a Glyph external firewire drive hooked up with a Digi 002R and an ADAT 8 channel mic pre. You can track full-on bands with plugins and have no hassles at all.

I started out with a MBox Mini but then I wanted more mic pres so I then got my Digi 002R and ADAT rig setup.

not bad for a little $599 computer!!