M1 Mac Mini

[wylie1]

Thank you
I not mission critical so I think I'm looking at the Mini, start clean and see how it goes.

[bayswater]

Thank you
I not mission critical so I think I'm looking at the Mini, start clean and see how it goes.

Good luck with it. Let us know what you see.

[bayswater]

You must have maxed out the Mini you bought. Mine was about C$800

$1500 is about the price of a stock i5 with an upgrade to an i7 and 16GB of ram. Comes out to just under $1700 after tax here in CA. Not even close to maxed out. You can take it into super iMac territory price wise if you want to start pushing the ram and SSD in it.

As per the Arstechnica review of the M1 Mini out today, the base model M1 Mini costs $100 less than the base model Intel Mini. The article also shows some interesting performance comparisons, although it isn't clear which Intel Mini is covered.

https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2020/11 ... after-all/

[mikehalloran]

…
As per the Arstechnica review of the M1 Mini out today, the base model M1 Mini costs $100 less than the base model Intel Mini. The article also shows some interesting performance comparisons, although it isn't clear which Intel Mini is covered.

https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2020/11 ... after-all/

Interesting article for the most part.

This is inaccurate:

The Mac mini can only drive two displays at a time, and one of those has to be over HDMI.

a) 5K and 6K monitors require TB3 and cannot be run off the HDMI port—a Mini cannot support more than one plus a 4K. b) If using 4K or lower only, 3 monitors should be no problem though you may need a TB3/USB-C hub to plug in all your peripherals — some do have twin HDMI ports.

[bayswater]

This is inaccurate:

The Mac mini can only drive two displays at a time, and one of those has to be over HDMI.

a) 5K and 6K monitors require TB3 and cannot be run off the HDMI port—a Mini cannot support more than one plus a 4K. b) If using 4K or lower only, 3 monitors should be no problem though you may need a TB3/USB-C hub to plug in all your peripherals — some do have twin HDMI ports.

Maybe they looked at the tech specs on the apple site (for both versions of the Mini):

"Simultaneously supports up to two displays:
One display with up to 6K resolution at 60Hz connected via Thunderbolt and one display with up to 4K resolution at 60Hz connected via HDMI 2.0"

[willacyman]

Next year is going to be a big year for Mac with Apple silicon appearing in all guises and blowing away previous Macs in a way we haven't seen before. The whole architecture is different - RAM isn't the issue it is traditionally either so some massive advantages. We are at the mercy of MOTU who seem more concerned with their hardware than DP. Logic is already running on Apple silicon and there's a YouTube video showing a MacMini running Logic with 195 tracks and 1000 plugins not even breaking a sweat. At this stage it would be good to hear a commitment from MOTU trying to get excited about the future possibilities of DP. On their website they're still talking about getting it compatible with Catalina to make the Big Sur transition easier. MOTU gives me the impression that all of this is a pain in the .... for them rather than an exciting landmark in computing.

[bayswater]

Comparing DP to Logic on this matter is not reasonable. The Logic development team was likely directed to have their next release working, and would have had advance information on the new Mac, and all the tech support and details they'd need to do this. MOTU is not likely to have had anything of the sort, and would not be able to even start testing on new Mac or on Big Sur until it appeared. Some developers don't even bother testing on beta versions after seeing changes in the final release that make their software incompatible.

As for whether MOTU is enthusiastic about the new Macs, we'll have to wait and see. They rarely give much out on their plans.

Regarding Catalina, this is what appears on the MOTU site:

- Apple has released macOS® Catalina (version 10.15). As of March 22, 2020, currently supported MOTU products are compatible with macOS Catalina.

- Digital Performer 10.11 is compatible with macOS Catalina.

- Performer Lite 10.12 is compatible with macOS Catalina.

[cuttime]

MOTU gives me the impression that all of this is a pain in the ....

Not just MOTU, but all developers. I have been hearing a lot of grumbling from Native Instruments, as well. Kontakt has some very old code in it and I'm sure they are not delighted to be re-writing things from the ground up.

[dpdan]

has anyone here tried using DP10 with one of the new M1 Macs?

[Black-Man]

As a software developer myself... I have little to no sympathy for these software companies crying about their legacy code. Boo f'n hoo. Newsflash... I've used MOTU since Performer on a Mac Plus and my current cheese grater is wheezing and yet I will not hesitate to move on to Logic in order to use these M1 equipped Macs.

[Bobbyd]

Using Logic temporarily for $200 is something to consider for those that can't wait for DP to catch up. What are the pros and cons?

[mikehalloran]

Using Logic temporarily for $200 is something to consider for those that can't wait for DP to catch up. What are the pros and cons?

The only con is that you’re using Logic which has its quirks and learning curve. Logic is not an accurate name for the product. You can easily export all files for import into DP as I have done many times over the years — doing the opposite is a time consuming PIA.

If you buy through this link, you can get Logic, Final Cut Pro, MainStage, Compressor and Motion for $199.99. You’ll be emailed five codes that you enter into the App Store to download and register the apps — those you don’t need, you can give to others (I confirmed this with App Store support).
https://www.apple.com/us-hed/shop/prod ... -education

[dix]

As a software developer myself... I have little to no sympathy for these software companies crying about their legacy code. Boo f'n hoo. Newsflash... I've used MOTU since Performer on a Mac Plus and my current cheese grater is wheezing and yet I will not hesitate to move on to Logic in order to use these M1 equipped Macs.

Don't worry. Of course MOTU will be updating DP just as all current DAWs will. They've stated as much - the M1s have only been out since Nov! My guess would be sometime after Live and well before ProTools is compatible. In the meantime, working with Logic makes total sense. If my cMP could no longer meet my needs (and I was more Logic fluent) I'd do the same...temporarily.

[bayswater]

If someone needs a new computer for some reason other than having to have the newest doodad, then Logic would be fine if you're ok with the learning curve and Logic's non musical workflow (which I don't think is necessarily a bad thing). Otherwise, the downside is spending $200 on top of the price of the new computer for no particular reason. The willingness to change work methods and software so you can use a computer that has no obvious advantage is the sort of stuff marketing execs can't get enough of.

[Bobbyd]

Using Logic temporarily for $200 is something to consider for those that can't wait for DP to catch up. What are the pros and cons?

The only con is that you’re using Logic which has its quirks and learning curve. Logic is not an accurate name for the product. You can easily export all files for import into DP as I have done many times over the years — doing the opposite is a time consuming PIA.

If you buy through this link, you can get Logic, Final Cut Pro, MainStage, Compressor and Motion for $199.99. You’ll be emailed five codes that you enter into the App Store to download and register the apps — those you don’t need, you can give to others (I confirmed this with App Store support).
https://www.apple.com/us-hed/shop/prod ... -education

The learning curve was my main thought as a minus. I don't wanna spend my time learning another program unless I have to. I'll either wait it out or go for a used imac or mac mini.