Mac Mini for digital mixing

Thudstaff

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Jun 17, 2009
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I just bought a digital mixer for use with my band. It's got a firewire port for multitrack recording. The only computer I have with firewire is my desktop PC. Since we'll be rehearsing/recording at my drummer's house I was looking for something portable for recording. It's come down to a Mac Book Pro and a Mac Mini. I ran across this video:

PreSonus

The summary of this is that the guy is using a Mac Mini (2011 model I think), a VNC app, and an iPad (which I have) to run everything.

So...my question...

It seems that the base model Mac Mini is more than adequate for this application. I'm wondering if it's worth the $200 upcharge for the i7 processor instead of an i5.

What say you?
 

Thudstaff

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Jun 17, 2009
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Re: Mac Mini

It's only worth it if the software on the Mini needs it. I would check the software you are going to use with the digital mixer and see what it's recommended specs are.

Here are the specs:
Mac? OS X 10.6.8 or later
Intel Core Duo processor (Intel Core 2 Duo or Core i3 or better recommended)
2 GB RAM (4 GB or more recommended)

The new i5 mini is above the requirements (which I knew). I guess I was asking if having a quad core i7 would be a worthwhile upgrade in this application.
 

Thudstaff

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Re: Mac Mini

I'm really not certain as I haven't used the software. The primary purpose of the Mini will be the capturing of 12 tracks of digital audio simultaneously via firewire. I can use the Mini to edit the audio; however, I can also (I presume) take those audio files and transfer them with a thumb drive to my PC which has plenty of horsepower.
 

Thudstaff

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Re: Mac Mini

Thanks Karen!

I could also put them on the same network at home and do it wirelessly as well. I'm ordering it today along with the airport express so that I can use this at a gig with my band to record our performance and not have to rely on a venue's wifi.