|
Post by the other mark williams on May 11, 2020 15:00:39 GMT -6
Thank you all for your input. One of my primary considerations right now (unfortunately, tied to my budget) is that my interface is USB and all the new Mac computers the last few years ditched USB 3.0 ports and now have USB-C which is basically Thunderbolt 3. The legitimate concern is that if the ports all change then I have to consider all my peripherals as well and I currently can't afford and new computer AND a new interface. I'm curious about processing, recording, speed, and how all things technical would work thru an adapter. Has anyone done this and been successful? Or have you either heard or personally found there to be issues when doing this? Thanks again! USB-C is just a shape. To get a USB-A shape, you can use a $7 USB-C to USB-A cable, a cheap hub, or a more expensive dock. A hub or dock will net you multiple USB-A ports. A dock will net you multiple *kinds* of ports. You don’t need a new audio interface. You can just use a USB-C to USB-A cable (or an adapter.) The USB-C shape happens to be the same shape as Thunderbolt 3, which is where it can get confusing. And hey, I get it: we’ve all got to work within a budget. If you don’t *need* to work on-the-go, a refurbished iMac is kind of in the “Goldilocks zone” for price-vs.-performance. I got one of those for my wife’s photography and film business last year, and it’s been great.
|
|
|
Post by sirthought on May 11, 2020 16:31:34 GMT -6
Thank you all for your input. One of my primary considerations right now (unfortunately, tied to my budget) is that my interface is USB and all the new Mac computers the last few years ditched USB 3.0 ports and now have USB-C which is basically Thunderbolt 3. The legitimate concern is that if the ports all change then I have to consider all my peripherals as well and I currently can't afford and new computer AND a new interface. I'm curious about processing, recording, speed, and how all things technical would work thru an adapter. Has anyone done this and been successful? Or have you either heard or personally found there to be issues when doing this? Thanks again! I would not worry about using an adapter, particularly if it's an Apple brand. There are some third party adapters that work just fine, and cost less than Apple, but I have heard of some people being disappointed with with some Thunderbolt adapters. I have a 2017 iMac and it has a USB 3.0 bus, and a USB 3.1 bus. These, by the way, can be going through a USB-C outlet just as well as a USB-A type. Thunderbolt and the upcoming USB 4.0 will continue to use this size outlet as well, so I wouldn't be concerned at this point either. I'd say the majority of pro audio interfaces on the market today using USB are still using USB 2.0, even if the their outlet is USB-C type. I know a lot of folks are surprised to hear this, but I think companies know that protocol still does what they want it to do. I know the jump from Thunderbolt v1 to v3 means very little for audio engineers, at Thunderbolt has always handled plenty of data well.
|
|
|
Post by Guitar on May 12, 2020 14:30:08 GMT -6
Thunderbolt and USB are not the same thing. USB-C and Thunderbolt 3 do use the same connectors though. Cables are interchangeable. However a Thunderbolt device will require a Thunderbolt port, not a USB 3 one.
EDIT: just saw mark williams posted the same thing
|
|
|
Post by Johnkenn on May 12, 2020 14:53:24 GMT -6
I bought the new Mac mini 8 months ago and I'm not impressed. It runs Logic but it doesn't feel like it was worth $1600. I wish I had put the money towards something else. PROCESSOR 065-C70X 3.2GHz 6-core Core i7 I would certainly lean towards either the MBP or the iMac, myself. How could that Mac Mini not smoke my current 2012?
|
|
ericn
Temp
Balance Engineer
Posts: 14,928
Member is Online
|
Post by ericn on May 12, 2020 15:15:32 GMT -6
I would certainly lean towards either the MBP or the iMac, myself. How could that Mac Mini not smoke my current 2012? I don’t know but I was kind of looking at it to run some pretty intense speaker modeling software under boot camp and my guy warned me off. It might have something to do with the throttling under load and heat. The impression I got from what he said is that it’s fast and power full Just that it wasn’t all that for the $$
|
|
|
Post by the other mark williams on May 12, 2020 16:27:49 GMT -6
I would certainly lean towards either the MBP or the iMac, myself. How could that Mac Mini not smoke my current 2012? I imagine the i7 version probably would smoke your 2012 in terms of performance. It would certainly smoke my 5,1 Mac Pro (even though I've had it upgraded heavily). I suppose I'm not totally sure what yotonic is referring to about his own experience. The Mac Mini just doesn't seem that robust to me, but that's probably unfair. I think I would find the thermal throttling issue annoying, but really the bigger problem for me is the graphics performance. Which is admittedly not something a lot of studios need to be concerned about. I guess I find the current Apple lineup to be a little disappointing, but that's probably because I'm biased toward old-school towers with internal drives and upgradeable graphics cards. If the current baseline Mac Pro clocked in at $4k instead of $6k, I'd probably find some way to pull it off, and I think I'd be very happy for probably the next 7-10 years. Now I'm curious to hear more from yotonic...
|
|
|
Post by Johnkenn on May 12, 2020 16:31:20 GMT -6
My 2012 is an i7
|
|
|
Post by nomatic on May 12, 2020 16:31:38 GMT -6
I just got a I7 6 core mac mini with 32 Gigs of ram and it seems badass so far!? Ill report back as I use it more but so far it is really good
|
|
|
Post by the other mark williams on May 12, 2020 16:42:00 GMT -6
Sorry, I just meant the "current i7" vs. the current base model Mac Mini, which is an i3. I don't know if the i3 would smoke your 2012 i7 or not.
|
|
|
Post by the other mark williams on May 12, 2020 16:43:46 GMT -6
I just got a I7 6 core mac mini with 32 Gigs of ram and it seems badass so far!? Ill report back as I use it more but so far it is really good Hey, this is good to hear! I find that encouraging.
|
|
|
Post by Johnkenn on May 12, 2020 17:19:47 GMT -6
I just got a I7 6 core mac mini with 32 Gigs of ram and it seems badass so far!? Ill report back as I use it more but so far it is really good Hey Michael - you buy from anywhere special? I could have sworn I bought my old one from either Newegg or tiger direct and it just came as a package...but I don’t see that anymore. Also - I don’t think you can add a second SSD anymore, but I guess that’s fixable by just connecting an external ssd via tbolt
|
|
|
Post by nomatic on May 12, 2020 17:38:20 GMT -6
Hey John - I got mine from Apple and I think you are correct as far as a 2cd internal.. I am running little hardware raid level 1s via thunderbolt 3 to ESATA
|
|
|
Post by indiehouse on May 22, 2020 10:51:31 GMT -6
Well, I think my 2012 Mini is crapping out. CPU is spiking up to 100% and can no longer run sessions I used to be able to. I just had an Apple guy recommend the iMac over a Mini. He also suggested I try some thermal paste on my current CPU to see if that helps before buying a new Mac.
|
|
|
Post by Johnkenn on May 22, 2020 11:22:09 GMT -6
Well, I think my 2012 Mini is crapping out. CPU is spiking up to 100% and can no longer run sessions I used to be able to. I just had an Apple guy recommend the iMac over a Mini. He also suggested I try some thermal paste on my current CPU to see if that helps before buying a new Mac. Ive really noticed it when trying to track with Luna. Strangely, if I have anything open in the background it has major freezing. Close everything and it runs well. Maybe it’s just Luna...but I know an 8 year old computer is really pushing it. I hate the advantage to the iMac?
|
|
|
Post by indiehouse on May 22, 2020 11:45:46 GMT -6
Well, I think my 2012 Mini is crapping out. CPU is spiking up to 100% and can no longer run sessions I used to be able to. I just had an Apple guy recommend the iMac over a Mini. He also suggested I try some thermal paste on my current CPU to see if that helps before buying a new Mac. Ive really noticed it when trying to track with Luna. Strangely, if I have anything open in the background it has major freezing. Close everything and it runs well. Maybe it’s just Luna...but I know an 8 year old computer is really pushing it. I hate the advantage to the iMac? I’m gonna try some thermal paste, but I have my doubts. Also going to upgrade to Mojave to see if performance improves. I keep going back and forth between the mini and the iMac. I have one of those LG ultrawide screens, which isn’t that great to run on a mini without a graphics card. Also, I have a one room studio space, so fan noise is a major concern. My 2012 fan is running pretty much non-stop.
|
|
|
Post by indiehouse on May 22, 2020 11:46:36 GMT -6
I also don’t want to buy another computer for another 10 years.
|
|
ericn
Temp
Balance Engineer
Posts: 14,928
Member is Online
|
Post by ericn on May 22, 2020 11:48:34 GMT -6
Well, I think my 2012 Mini is crapping out. CPU is spiking up to 100% and can no longer run sessions I used to be able to. I just had an Apple guy recommend the iMac over a Mini. He also suggested I try some thermal paste on my current CPU to see if that helps before buying a new Mac. Ive really noticed it when trying to track with Luna. Strangely, if I have anything open in the background it has major freezing. Close everything and it runs well. Maybe it’s just Luna...but I know an 8 year old computer is really pushing it. I hate the advantage to the iMac? I was told better Video, cooling and less throttling, but I have learned that geniuses hard to trust. I was just looking at a 2015 i7 MBP
|
|
|
Post by indiehouse on May 22, 2020 12:17:04 GMT -6
Ive really noticed it when trying to track with Luna. Strangely, if I have anything open in the background it has major freezing. Close everything and it runs well. Maybe it’s just Luna...but I know an 8 year old computer is really pushing it. I hate the advantage to the iMac? I was told better Video, cooling and less throttling, but I have learned that geniuses hard to trust. I was just looking at a 2015 i7 MBP I assume you are talking about the iMac in regards to better video, cooling and throttling? I also don't want to pay $4K for a computer. I don't even want to pay $3K. Ugh. I'm just not a dude who gets excited about spending big money on computers. I've got buddies who are super into it, though. I'm just not that guy.
|
|
|
Post by guitfiddler on May 22, 2020 12:25:40 GMT -6
I’m on a 2012 i7 still, and dreading the upgrade myself. So far, I’ve been lucky since 2012
|
|
|
Post by the other mark williams on May 22, 2020 12:26:09 GMT -6
I was told better Video, cooling and less throttling, but I have learned that geniuses hard to trust. I was just looking at a 2015 i7 MBP I assume you are talking about the iMac in regards to better video, cooling and throttling? I also don't want to pay $4K for a computer. I don't even want to pay $3K. Ugh. I'm just not a dude who gets excited about spending big money on computers. I've got buddies who are super into it, though. I'm just not that guy. no Certified Refurbished iMacs up on the Apple site right now, but keep your eyes open. They do have certified refurbished 16” MacBook Pros for $2039. Those are really good machines, and fast - with good graphics. Would easily run multiple external 4k monitors.
|
|
|
Post by indiehouse on May 22, 2020 12:32:55 GMT -6
I assume you are talking about the iMac in regards to better video, cooling and throttling? I also don't want to pay $4K for a computer. I don't even want to pay $3K. Ugh. I'm just not a dude who gets excited about spending big money on computers. I've got buddies who are super into it, though. I'm just not that guy. no Certified Refurbished iMacs up on the Apple site right now, but keep your eyes open. They do have certified refurbished 16” MacBook Pros for $2039. Those are really good machines, and fast - with good graphics. Would easily run multiple external 4k monitors. Hmmm...I guess I've never considered going MBP.
|
|
|
Post by indiehouse on May 22, 2020 12:34:02 GMT -6
Any of you computer guys really think it's worth the time and effort to try new thermal paste?
|
|
|
Post by the other mark williams on May 22, 2020 12:35:17 GMT -6
I was told better Video, cooling and less throttling, but I have learned that geniuses hard to trust. I was just looking at a 2015 i7 MBP I assume you are talking about the iMac in regards to better video, cooling and throttling? I also don't want to pay $4K for a computer. I don't even want to pay $3K. Ugh. I'm just not a dude who gets excited about spending big money on computers. I've got buddies who are super into it, though. I'm just not that guy. Oh, and for the Mini they will (supposedly) run 2 monitors @ 4k simultaneously OR 1 at 5k and 1@ 4k simultaneously. Should run your LG monitor just fine without issue. If you’re not doing video, it’s a nice little machine. $1100. Or up the processor to i7 for $200 more. Add your own aftermarket RAM.
|
|
|
Post by the other mark williams on May 22, 2020 12:37:28 GMT -6
Any of you computer guys really think it's worth the time and effort to try new thermal paste? The thermal paste can make a positive difference, but you’d still have an 8yr old machine.
|
|
ericn
Temp
Balance Engineer
Posts: 14,928
Member is Online
|
Post by ericn on May 22, 2020 12:41:45 GMT -6
I was told better Video, cooling and less throttling, but I have learned that geniuses hard to trust. I was just looking at a 2015 i7 MBP I assume you are talking about the iMac in regards to better video, cooling and throttling? I also don't want to pay $4K for a computer. I don't even want to pay $3K. Ugh. I'm just not a dude who gets excited about spending big money on computers. I've got buddies who are super into it, though. I'm just not that guy. Yeah I meant the IMac. Boy do I get the whole I don’t want to throw good money at a computer, I would consider looking at a used trashcan MAC PRO, consider it a giant mini with better graphics and power.
|
|