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Post by wiz on Apr 8, 2021 19:13:58 GMT -6
I saw a Mac mini M1 w 256GB/16GB come up on the Oz apple refurb shop... I thought I would give it a try out.
So I ordered it and their LG24" 4K thunderbolt 3 monitor to give it a shot (its really expensive btw)
So after setting it up, here are my thoughts.
The monitor looked really nice, but is too small for me, I currently use a 27" iMac 2012, and I can't and dont want to go smaller...
The Mac mini was nice and all, but , I am sending them back and will wait for the M1X iMac to come out.
The lack of ports, and the problem with the display being too small, makes the iMac a better choice.... the cost of the LG 27" 5K screen alone, is nearly the price of
what I reckon the M1 iMac will be.
Also, I think even though I could build a very skinny system, the 256GB internal drive is going to be a no show.
I think I will pay the apple tax when the M1 iMacs come out and get a larger internal drive. They are so fast....
I love that Apple makes it so easy to try this stuff and easy to return... oh and boy did it get here fast, I live in a regional town 350Klms from a capital city, and ordered on the Wed at 130pm and it was here 1pm Thursday... incredible...
anyways...
My old 2012 iMac is still chugging along, and is quite snappy since I put Catalina on a exterenal SSD. No need to jump just yet... also with some of the stuff I use not being Silicon ready... can cool my heels a while.
cheers
Wiz
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Post by Johnkenn on Apr 8, 2021 20:14:34 GMT -6
I saw a Mac mini M1 w 256GB/16GB come up on the Oz apple refurb shop... I thought I would give it a try out. So I ordered it and their LG24" 4K thunderbolt 3 monitor to give it a shot (its really expensive btw) So after setting it up, here are my thoughts. The monitor looked really nice, but is too small for me, I currently use a 27" iMac 2012, and I can't and dont want to go smaller... The Mac mini was nice and all, but , I am sending them back and will wait for the M1X iMac to come out. The lack of ports, and the problem with the display being too small, makes the iMac a better choice.... the cost of the LG 27" 5K screen alone, is nearly the price of what I reckon the M1 iMac will be. Also, I think even though I could build a very skinny system, the 256GB internal drive is going to be a no show. I think I will pay the apple tax when the M1 iMacs come out and get a larger internal drive. They are so fast.... I love that Apple makes it so easy to try this stuff and easy to return... oh and boy did it get here fast, I live in a regional town 350Klms from a capital city, and ordered on the Wed at 130pm and it was here 1pm Thursday... incredible... anyways... My old 2012 iMac is still chugging along, and is quite snappy since I put Catalina on a exterenal SSD. No need to jump just yet... also with some of the stuff I use not being Silicon ready... can cool my heels a while. cheers Wiz So you felt like is was faster overall? I’m still shocked that I’m getting the performance from my 2012 mini. Crazy to think I’m using a 9 year old machine that basically stays on an average of five days a week. All time great computer. |
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kcatthedog
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Post by kcatthedog on Apr 9, 2021 2:20:58 GMT -6
The m1 is a lot faster but you may not notice much of a difference depends on the total session processing?
I returned my m1 too for the money at tax season, 2012 i7 is getting the job done fine here too, am also curious about new m1/m1x iMac prices.
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Post by bgrotto on Apr 9, 2021 22:11:16 GMT -6
We run the highest-spec'd non-M1 Mac Mini at my shop, and it is an excellent and very affordable machine. At like $2k, we have it decked out with 64GB RAM, and run PTHD from either a Native TB rig or an HDX rig, and it's stable, fast, and pretty great. I long for more AAX DSP options during tracking, but the UAD card covers us well for when we're mixing. Plus hardware inserts aplenty (though the Burl Mothership we use creates some latency headaches, which is a serious nuisance).
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Post by the other mark williams on Apr 9, 2021 22:48:15 GMT -6
We run the highest-spec'd non-M1 Mac Mini at my shop, and it is an excellent and very affordable machine. At like $2k, we have it decked out with 64GB RAM, and run PTHD from either a Native TB rig or an HDX rig, and it's stable, fast, and pretty great. I long for more AAX DSP options during tracking, but the UAD card covers us well for when we're mixing. Plus hardware inserts aplenty (though the Burl Mothership we use creates some latency headaches, which is a serious nuisance). By the way, welcome! It's nice to have you here, bgrotto! |
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Post by bgrotto on Apr 9, 2021 22:58:59 GMT -6
We run the highest-spec'd non-M1 Mac Mini at my shop, and it is an excellent and very affordable machine. At like $2k, we have it decked out with 64GB RAM, and run PTHD from either a Native TB rig or an HDX rig, and it's stable, fast, and pretty great. I long for more AAX DSP options during tracking, but the UAD card covers us well for when we're mixing. Plus hardware inserts aplenty (though the Burl Mothership we use creates some latency headaches, which is a serious nuisance). By the way, welcome! It's nice to have you here, bgrotto ! Thanks! Happy to be here! |
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Post by Mister Chase on Apr 10, 2021 11:03:51 GMT -6
Curious about all this. I would like a mini for sure, but it would need to be M1x with more than 16gb of ram for me I think. I guess I could go iMac.
I think once all these bumps are ironed out in a year or two for software(hopefully) it'll be a good option for audio.
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Post by reddirt on Apr 10, 2021 22:49:06 GMT -6
From what I read achase , 16 gig with this chip is way more than traditional notions of 16 gig and an intel chip.
Many of us could probably be entirely happy with the 16 gig mini - not withstanding software incompatibilities, and if needed, add a dock for extra connections.
Wiz, if he desired, could have got by with a a bog standard 27" monitor and run it off the HDMI port thereby saving a heap of dosh and a TB port
Having said that, I'll wait till the faster M1X chips have had at least 6 months bedding in time and jump then; if my 2010 setup dies before then ; I'll get the M1.
Hopefully by M1X time, software has caught up.
Cheers , Ross
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Post by Mister Chase on Apr 10, 2021 23:06:03 GMT -6
From what I read achase , 16 gig with this chip is way more than traditional notions of 16 gig and an intel chip. Many of us could probably be entirely happy with the 16 gig mini - not withstanding software incompatibilities, and if needed, add a dock for extra connections. Wiz, if he desired, could have got by with a a bog standard 27" monitor and run it off the HDMI port thereby saving a heap of dosh and a TB port Having said that, I'll wait till the faster M1X chips have had at least 6 months bedding in time and jump then; if my 2010 setup dies before then ; I'll get the M1. Hopefully by M1X time, software has caught up. Cheers , Ross I have heard that about the ram. However with the gobs of VSTi's I use on some clients productions, I would need to know for sure. Just how much more efficient is it? 200%? 50%?
Of course they have a generous return policy so it may be worth trying. Without expandable ram, though, I need it to last a good while. I remain skeptical on that specific part of the system. 16 is plenty if you are not using many VSTi's.
Still hoping for a Mac Mini M1x this year...
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