Mac Mini I7 Pro Tools

  1. Mac Mini I7 Pro Tools Windows 10
  2. Best Buy Mac Mini I7
  3. Mac Mini I7 Pro Tools Pro
  4. Used Mac Mini I7
  5. Mac Mini I7 Pro Tools Download
  1. One option I have is a Mac Pro 4,1 quad core 2.66GHz with 4GB memory. The other options are Mac Pro 3,1 2x quad core at various speeds and various GB of memory. My intention is to have a machine that can handle recording 24 tracks (88kHz sample rate) with no plug-ins, and playback of 30 tracks with, say, a couple plug-ins each.
  2. At 7.7 inches (19.7 cm) square and just 1.4 inches (3.6 cm) deep, the Mac mini hardly seems like a computer at all. The minimalist design with all sockets hidden at the back mean it's one of the.
  3. Shop for mac mini i7 at Best Buy. Find low everyday prices and buy online for delivery or in-store pick-up.

I have a budget of $1300 before taxes. I am planning to run Final Cut Pro X (along with Motion), Photoshop, and Pro Tools (version unknown yet). I have created a comparison (on the apple website) that is listed below.

Intel NUC8i7BEH Mini PC/HTPC, Intel Core i7-8559U Up to 4.5GHz, 16GB DDR4, 512GB NVMe SSD, WiFi, Bluetooth 5.0, Thunderbolt 3, 4K Support, Dual Monitor Capable, Windows 10 Pro 4.5 out of 5 stars 38 $835.00 $ 835. Mac Mini 2.6 GHz i7 + cheap + not much power consumption + easy to carry (although I do have a MacBook Pro for working away) + obviously a lot of people are happy with new Mac minis for audio work - is it really powerful enough for lots of tracks and processing (on the other hand my Mac Pro has been fine with two UAD-2 Quad cards).


Mac Mini I7 Pro Tools

My question is: which configuration would be best for running these programs? In my comparison, the iMac has a better graphics card than the Mini, but the mac mini has a better processor (the i7). Since I have to compromise on one of the two (the graphics card, or the processor), which of these two should I be willing to cut first in order to run the programs listed above?


Mac Mini Configuration ($1216):


Best buy mac mini i7
  • 2.7GHz Dual-Core Intel Core i7
  • 8GB 1333MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 2x4GB
  • 500GB Serial ATA Drive
  • Apple USB SuperDrive
  • Apple Magic Mouse
  • Apple Wireless Keyboard - English
  • User's Guide (English)

Graphics

Mac Mini I7 Pro Tools Windows 10

  • AMD Radeon HD 6630M graphics processor with 256MB of GDDR5 memory
  • Thunderbolt port with support for up to 2560 by 1600 resolution
  • HDMI port with support for up to 1920 by 1200 resolution
  • DVI output using HDMI to DVI Adapter (included)
  • Support for dual display and video mirroring




iMac Configuration ($1299):


  • 2.5GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i5
  • 8GB 1333MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 2x4GB
  • 500GB Serial ATA Drive
  • AMD Radeon HD 6750M 512MB GDDR5
  • Apple Magic Mouse
  • Apple Wireless Keyboard (English) & User's Guide

Posted on

Community member and post professional Ben Norrington has taken his Mac Mini i7 for the Pro Tools Expert Pro Tools speed test.

This is the basic test, just the Mac Mini, internal soundcard and internal drive, it’s just you, your Mac, an iLok, headphones and a USB micro keyboard.

Is it just fit for a few demo tracks or can you get some real work done… find out below.

Test Machine Specification

  • Mac Mini
  • Intel Core i7
  • Processor Speed: 2.3 GHz
  • Number of Processors: 1
  • Total Number of Cores: 4
  • L2 Cache (per Core): 256 KB
  • L3 Cache: 6 MB
  • Memory: 16 GB
  • Hard drive updated to Crucial M500 256gb SSD
  • OS X 10.9.4

Best Buy Mac Mini I7

Pro Tools Session Specification

Mac Mini I7 Pro Tools Pro

  • Internal Mac soundcard used
  • Pro Tools 11.2.1
  • 96Khz - maximum with internal sound card
  • 24 bit
  • 5 minutes of mono audio, with edits at every 1 second
  • Volume automation recorded on every track
  • Disk cache disabled to emulate native versions of Pro Tools
  • All audio tracks had an instance of Avid Channel Strip and Dverb inserted

Results Of Test

  • 128 Audio tracks reached without buffer errors
  • A mono audio track would record without issue along with 64 audio tracks in playback
  • Instrument tracks were then added
  • 30 MIDI tracks with an instance of AIR Boom running with MIDI data
  • The session would not play at H/W buffer sizes of under 1024, once settled it seemed to run at 1024 without any further issues. The session could be set to 2048 samples if this was required and at this setting the session ran without issue.

Summary

Used Mac Mini I7

As one would hope, but can’t always expect, this i7 outperforms the i5 by a mile, offering nearly double the track count for both audio and instrument tracks. You can see our Mac Mini i5 2012 Pro Tools power test here.

If you are looking for a Mac based audio solution then this is still a great buy, a little searching on Google showed up some great deals for this base model. For example Apple offer this base model in their refurb store for £479, to pimp it with extra memory is going to cost around £120.

Mac Mini I7 Pro Tools Download

Keep sending us your results as we build up this valuable resource.