Mac Mini for digital mixing

[Thudstaff]

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?

 

[warcraftWidow]

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.

 

[Thudstaff]

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.

 

[warcraftWidow]

Mac Mini

Have you used it before? How processor vs RAM intensive is it? I've never used a digital mixer or sound recording programs so I don't really know. But based on experience with other multimedia software, I'd guess that you'd be better off upgrading the RAM than the processor. You can also get memory a lot cheaper after market and install it yourself.

 

[Thudstaff]

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.

 

[warcraftWidow]

Mac Mini

Sounds like you'd be fine with the i5.

Also you don't have to transfer files via thumb drive. You could boot the mini in target disk mode and then connect it via FireWire to your main machine and it should see it as an external hard drive. Or assuming your other PC is a Mac, just boot both of them up normally and use AirDrop.

 

[Thudstaff]

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.

 

[warcraftWidow]

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.

Good luck. AirDrop requires the macs to be on the same network anyway.