Mac Mini Upgrade With Pro Tools 7 And Reason 4? Options

[j_grim14]

Hey there folks,

I'm hoping someone might be able to help me with a little problem I'm having. Here's my setup:

Mac Mini 1.42 GHz with 1 GB of RAM (running Tiger 10.4.9)
Pro Tools LE 7.3.1 with an Mbox 2
Reason 4

I had a feeling this setup was going to be a bit weak, but I got the Mac at a good deal from a friend who switched to an iMac. Needless to say, it can't handle more than one or two Pro Tools plug-ins, and it struggles when Reason is slaved through rewire.

My question is will the newer 2.0 GHz Intel Mac Mini (upgraded to 2 GB RAM) be able to handle up to 24 tracks with plug-ins and run rewire without crashing? I'm living in Korea for about a year to a year and a half, so I don't want to sink any money into an iMac that's gonna cost a fortune to ship back to Canada. A new Mac Mini would be the most practical option for me, if it can handle these tasks reasonably well.

Does anyone have any experience with the Intel Mac Minis?

[houstonmusic]

I use a new mac mini at work running theater sound, and it's barely adequate. even with 2 gigs of ram, any processor intensive task is iffy, and the threat of a bog down is always around. i don't find low headroom tech conducive to my best work. no fun. the hard drive is slow, of course you'll be needing an external drive. is an intel macbook out of the question? it would seem a logical alternative. my two cents.

[gdoubleyou]

I have one of the older core duo Minis, no problems with sessions of 32-48 tracks using Logic studio. CPU never goes over 35%.

The new ones are more than powerful enough for PTLE withit's limited trackcount.
Just max out the RAM

The mini and the Macbook are basically identical component wise. iMac=macbook pro.

[mishmashmole]

Is it fair to say "one" could think about using the version of software that came out the same time as the computer, (not when you bought it)...

e.g. I have a powerbook which I bought almost 5 years ago. I tried Ableton 7 and the cpu was at 90% without it even doing anything. I went back to Ableton 4 which opens in like 2 seconds and I can play 16 channels with plug-ins fine.

So, does "one" really need all the latest features? Or should you get something that fits the machine you have rather than playing catch-up.

[j_grim14]

Thanks for the input on this.

houstonmusic - the macbook is a possibility, but I thought if its $300 or so cheaper for the mini and it can do the same things as the laptop, then I'd lean toward the mini. Plus, if I buy a macbook here, the keypad is configured for Korean. I assume you're running pro tools at your job? It sounds like your job might require a bit more power than what I'm doing. I'm basically just recording one track at a time and using anywhere from 8 to 24 tracks in playback.

gdoubleyou - What are the specs on your mac? Also, is the CPU % about the same for PT as it is for Logic? I'm pretty ignorant when it comes to Logic

mishmashmole - Reason 4 has got a bunch of features that I've become spoiled with - plus I've become pretty accustomed to pro tools 7. There's no turning back now unfortunately.

I appreciate the feedback.

[gdoubleyou]

I have a 1.83GHz core duo, and a 2.2GHz black Macbook.

From the comparisons I've seen Logic is the most effecient Mac DAW, CPU drain with PTLE will be 10-15% more.

The current Minis are about 25-30% more powerful than my machine.

There is also a Mini mod movement, where people are upgrading CPUs and bringing the SATA connection outside of the box for eSATA drives.

http://www.123macmini.com/

[j_grim14]

Cool - so do you think there would be much difference between the 1.83 GHz and the 2.0 GHz minis? I'd be able to save myself $200 if the 1.83 GHz would be sufficient. Obviously the 2.0 would be quicker, but I can't record more than 2 tracks at once, so my needs are relatively simple. Thanks.