Mini 2012 i7 -two monitors-rocking or not rocking the boat

[Oddur G]

Hi fellow motunationers. I´ve been messing around in my mixing room, tearing apart my studio and reorganizing things. Lot´s of fun . I decided to ditch my AW4416 that I´ve been using as the hub of my studio for a good many years and rely on DP and my 896 hybrid. The AW4416 has such a large footpring that now see the possibility of adding a second video monitor in my setup.

I´m using a 2012 i7 mac mini as my main computer and I wondering whether it´s up to the task.

My setup is as follows:
mac mini connected directly to 896 via firewire
mac mini OWC thunderbolt dock - two HD´s usb/3 (eSata drives) one for sample playback and the other for audio i/o.
Also connected to the firewire port on the thunderbolt dock are two daisy chained UAD 2 sattelites d duo and a quad.
Everything works nice together with out any hickups.
Oddur

[mikehalloran]

If it works, it works, right?

When you write eSATA, is that just one of the connection options on the dock or housing or is there really a way to do eSATA on a 2012 Mini?

Dual monitors are supported within the following limitations:

Display Support: Dual Displays Resolution Support: 1920x1200*
Details: *This model simultaneously supports 1920x1200 on an HDMI display or a DVI display using the included HDMI-to-DVI adapter and 2560x1600 on a Thunderbolt or Mini DisplayPort display or even a VGA display (with an optional Mini DisplayPort-to-VGA adapter, which is compatible with the Thunderbolt port).

You can even add a third monitor via USB as long as you are not running OS 10.13.4–6. You would need a USB-HDMI DisplyLink monitor box. These are available under many brands and average around $50—look for “uses free DisplayLink drivers...” or similar language. Apple disabled support for these in OS 10.13.4 but re-enabled it in Mojave. I am using one to add an additional monitor to my 2010 iMac and it works quite well over USB 2.

If you’ve not yet replaced the HDD in that Mini with an SSD, you have little idea how fast and powerful it really is. It’s a straight up replacement and easily done. With 2TB SSDs now going for under $300, It is a no-brainer upgrade.

[Oddur G]

Thanks mikehalloran for replying once more. Answering your question regarding the eSata, yes and no. When I initially bought the mac mini I was replacing a G4 mirror door dual 1.25 ghz computer with an abundance of pci and hd slots. I couldn´t justift paying huge amount of money for a Mac Pro so I took the chance to invest in a mac mini. I had to find workarounds to be able to use the mini for my music. I invested in a 896mk3 hybrid which could connect directly to the mini but had to find a way to connect a fast HD for audio i/o. There was a box by LaCie with thunderbolt input and two eSata connections for fast HD´s. I bought one of those. Everything worked o.k. while I only had one eSata drive connected. But when I added another drive it randomly only booted one of the drives. I gave up on that box and bought the OWC thunderbolt dock with usb 3 connections plus FireWire ports. In order to be able to use the eSata enclosures I invested in newertech eSata to USB 3.0 adaptors. They´ve been stable now for a few years. So I was caught up in a circle of workarounds, but eventually everything worked satisfactorily until now when I´m tempted to stretch the system and try connecting a second monitor.
From what you say the Mac mini will handle a second monitor without a problem, as I´m running 10.10.5.
I have bought a SSD from OWC with an installation kit for the mac mini, but have not yet taken the plunge to install it. I´m trying to gather enough courage to do so. Is it safe to clone the system drive using Carbon copy cloner, will that keep all my software authorizations intact?
Many thanks for your help.
Oddur

[mikehalloran]

Is it safe to clone the system drive using Carbon copy cloner, will that keep all my software authorizations intact?

CCC will not do that any more than Migration Assistant will. MA is the correct tool and it's part of the OS.

Any internet authorizations need to be deauthorized before the swap or you'll be in contact with tech support to be reauthorized (DP 8–10 and Finale are exceptions to this—you'll need to reauthorize but it's easy). iLok will not be affected. Most disk authorizations will not be affected but a few may.

[mikehalloran]

OK, I looked up the Sonnet box. eSATA over TB means that you won’t be able to hook up a monitor to that same port.

Installing one or two SATA III SSDs inside frees up that TB port, however. If I recall, the server version of the 2012 Mini does not need an adapter to install two while the non-server version does. Don’t know which OWC kit you have.

Be patient and follow the instructions. You should have no problems with this.

[Oddur G]

Thanks mike halloran for your invaluable info on being able to free up the thunderbolt port for a second monitor by install a second internal drive in the mini

Oddur

[mikehalloran]

Wish I could come up there and help you. It's been nearly 31 years since I was last in Iceland.

[Oddur G]

I see. That would be appreciated. Were you by any chance working on the base in Kef? When I was 13, back in 1966 I started playing in the clubs there, had a steady job until I went to college.

Cheers