mac experts...is a mac studio total overkill vs. a mac mini?

[andergtr]

my 2010 mac pro tower is finally looking to take a massive shit. not bad for 12 years of service. i upgraded everything on it to where it now has 32GB RAM and four 1TB hard drives, one being a SSD.

i am looking at the M1 silicon macs and already have a basic M1 macbook air, which is 8GB RAM and 256GB SSD. it seems to be more than adequate for my very basic recording needs on pro tools (amp, close miked with 57 and into an interface and pro tools with no processing or compression). i don't do any mixing or anything else, and i don't run plugins, so i don't tax the computer at all.

that said, down the line, i hope to become way more proficient at plugins and mixing, and so i want to grow into that.

was looking at a mac mini M1 with 16GB RAM and 512GB SSD space (i can always use external SSDs for storage), but am tempted to go the base mac studio route which is 32GB RAM and 512GB SSD.

should i spend the extra money for the mac studio? i understand that on the audio side, the mac studio is way overkill, but it does have a lot more ports and connectivity and i am one of those guys who will buy a computer and use it til it dies 10+ years later.

also, i wonder how different the mac mini is from my current macbook air M1. if it isn't that different, then i might as well just get a docking station and use that.

thanks!

 

[Blix]

Yes that would be overkill times ten. It really isn't any reason to go with a lot of RAM anymore either.

Look atwhat you can do with the base model Mini with only 8Gb RAM

 

[andergtr]

Yes that would be overkill times ten. It really isn't any reason to go with a lot of RAM anymore either.

Look atwhat you can do with the base model Mini with only 8Gb RAM

yep!

so basically i can get by with just my existing base M1 macbook air.

worth it to spring for the mac mini M1? if so, 8GB or 16GB RAM? sounds like 16GB RAM not even necessary.

 

[Blix]

yep!

so basically i can get by with just my existing base M1 macbook air.

worth it to spring for the mac mini M1? if so, 8GB or 16GB RAM? sounds like 16GB RAM not even necessary.

Judging by that video I'd say 8Gb is just fine. I'm sure your Air would do just fine with some kind of docking solution maybe. I dig the Mac Mini format though.

 

[andergtr]

Judging by that video I'd say 8Gb is just fine. I'm sure your Air would do just fine with some kind of docking solution maybe. I dig the Mac Mini format though.

thanks!

 

[Boudoir Guitar]

yep!

so basically i can get by with just my existing base M1 macbook air.

worth it to spring for the mac mini M1? if so, 8GB or 16GB RAM? sounds like 16GB RAM not even necessary.

Seems smart to just use your air until/unless you start pushing it harder than it wants to go.

Not to be dumb, but, memory is useful for memory-intensive plugins where processor speed is more important for processor-heavy plugins. The former let's you run large sample libraries...orchestra sample libraries, etc., more easily. The latter is a bigger deal if you are recording 10s of tracks and want to be throwing a cpu-hoggish eq and compressor on each of those tracks while running separate eq/compressors on various busses, and a couple.of different reverbs, etc.

 

[paisleywookiee]

I have a Mac mini M1 with 16GB, and it struggles with nothing. Nothing at all. As is typical with people around here, I look at the Studio and salivate, but I can’t really justify it. I am buying a base Air M1 for mobile shit though.

 

[andergtr]

Seems smart to just use your air until/unless you start pushing it harder than it wants to go.

Not to be dumb, but, memory is useful for memory-intensive plugins where processor speed is more important for processor-heavy plugins. The former let's you run large sample libraries...orchestra sample libraries, etc., more easily. The latter is a bigger deal if you are recording 10s of tracks and want to be throwing a cpu-hoggish eq and compressor on each of those tracks while running separate eq/compressors on various busses, and a couple.of different reverbs, etc.

i ended up buying a mac mini with 16GB RAM and 256GB SSD storage. it was tempting to get a base mac studio for $1800 but everyone says "you won't notice the difference." since the extra 8GB RAM on the mini was only $200, that was a no-brainer.

 

[andergtr]

I have a Mac mini M1 with 16GB, and it struggles with nothing. Nothing at all. As is typical with people around here, I look at the Studio and salivate, but I can’t really justify it. I am buying a base Air M1 for mobile s**t though.

yep...i bought the 16GB RAM mac mini. too bad it's on backorder and will take a few weeks.

 

[Bruce]

my 2010 mac pro tower is finally looking to take a massive s**t. not bad for 12 years of service. i upgraded everything on it to where it now has 32GB RAM and four 1TB hard drives, one being a SSD.

i am looking at the M1 silicon macs and already have a basic M1 macbook air, which is 8GB RAM and 256GB SSD. it seems to be more than adequate for my very basic recording needs on pro tools (amp, close miked with 57 and into an interface and pro tools with no processing or compression). i don't do any mixing or anything else, and i don't run plugins, so i don't tax the computer at all.

that said, down the line, i hope to become way more proficient at plugins and mixing, and so i want to grow into that.

was looking at a mac mini M1 with 16GB RAM and 512GB SSD space (i can always use external SSDs for storage), but am tempted to go the base mac studio route which is 32GB RAM and 512GB SSD.

should i spend the extra money for the mac studio? i understand that on the audio side, the mac studio is way overkill, but it does have a lot more ports and connectivity and i am one of those guys who will buy a computer and use it til it dies 10+ years later.

also, i wonder how different the mac mini is from my current macbook air M1. if it isn't that different, then i might as well just get a docking station and use that.

thanks!

You have to understand the rabbit hole you’re proposing. Short answer, no, a mac studio isnt overkill. Long answer, no, a mac studio isnt overkill because you want headroom to do do far more than you’ll get out of a Mac mini. VIs can eat up a lot of processing power and ram. I run a pretty lethal setup and have still seen a ceiling, and that’s with 36 UAD chips doing external processing!

If you’re just jamming to YouTube backing tracks and using guitar rig, get the mini. If you want to do any kind of serious production, get the studio.

 

[paisleywookiee]

You have to understand the rabbit hole you’re proposing. Short answer, no, a mac studio isnt overkill. Long answer, no, a mac studio isnt overkill because you want headroom to do do far more than you’ll get out of a Mac mini. VIs can eat up a lot of processing power and ram. I run a pretty lethal setup and have still seen a ceiling, and that’s with 36 UAD chips doing external processing!

If you’re just jamming to YouTube backing tracks and using guitar rig, get the mini. If you want to do any kind of serious production, get the studio.

That’s kind of uninformed advice, in regards to the Apple Silicon chips. He’d have to be running dozens upon dozens of virtual instruments for it to matter. Watch the video Blix posted above. This definitely isn’t a Windows machine.

 

[andergtr]

You have to understand the rabbit hole you’re proposing. Short answer, no, a mac studio isnt overkill. Long answer, no, a mac studio isnt overkill because you want headroom to do do far more than you’ll get out of a Mac mini. VIs can eat up a lot of processing power and ram. I run a pretty lethal setup and have still seen a ceiling, and that’s with 36 UAD chips doing external processing!

If you’re just jamming to YouTube backing tracks and using guitar rig, get the mini. If you want to do any kind of serious production, get the studio.

i don't know anything about production and my recording setup is literally a close-miked 57 on a 412 cabinet. that, or i go direct into the interface with the XLR out of my helix.

i don't even use compression or EQ.

so the mac studio...probably overkill. :)

 

[andergtr]

That’s kind of uninformed advice, in regards to the Apple Silicon chips. He’d have to be running dozens upon dozens of virtual instruments for it to matter. Watch the video Blix posted above. This definitely isn’t a Windows machine.

yep...not like i would know. i just tend to keep my computers a long time. i would still be happily using that 2010 mac, but now i got that desktop wallpaper issue when rebooting and of course it won't update the OS past el capitan. plus, it only has USB-A ports, which is becoming more and more of an issue.

 

[paisleywookiee]

yep...not like i would know. i just tend to keep my computers a long time. i would still be happily using that 2010 mac, but now i got that desktop wallpaper issue when rebooting and of course it won't update the OS past el capitan. plus, it only has USB-A ports, which is becoming more and more of an issue.

The problem with the Mini vs Studio cost topic is that it’s not a $100, $200, or even $600 difference. It’s about a grand difference. So I think it’s relevant.

 

[andergtr]

The problem with the Mini vs Studio cost topic is that it’s not a $100, $200, or even $600 difference. It’s about a grand difference. So I think it’s relevant.

yeah, because if i can't tell the difference, i am paying $1000 for bragging rights and more ports.

 

[Boudoir Guitar]

The problem with the Mini vs Studio cost topic is that it’s not a $100, $200, or even $600 difference. It’s about a grand difference. So I think it’s relevant.

It also presumes that there is no such thing as a used computer market. Is it annoying you can't upgrade RAM 8 years from now if at that time "modern" plugins begin to bog things down? Sure. But...you'll still be able to get a decent chunk of change for a Mac mini 8 years from now, making an upgrade to whatever they're making then a lot less painful.

The Studio would be more compelling if it were more OP with regard to I/O - I'd probably still need a hub with it so the added I/O is a bit of a "why am I paying for extra ports when it's still not enough?" scenario.

 

[paisleywookiee]

yeah, because if i can't tell the difference, i am paying $1000 for bragging rights and more ports.

Yeah, and I’d recommend a Satechi USB-C hub that sits perfectly underneath, which also has an SSD slot for more drive space. Solves that issue.

It also presumes that there is no such thing as a used computer market. Is it annoying you can't upgrade RAM 8 years from now if at that time "modern" plugins begin to bog things down? Sure. But...you'll still be able to get a decent chunk of change for a Mac mini 8 years from now, making an upgrade to whatever they're making then a lot less painless.

The Studio would be more compelling if it were more OP with regard to I/O - I'd probably still need a hub with it so the added I/O is a bit of a "why am I paying for extra ports when it's still not enough?" scenario.

Yeah I regular get 33-50% for Macs, even 8 years down the road. Reason enough for getting a Mac.

 

[Digital Igloo]

Back when I was producing for a living, a new studio computer every three years was the norm. Now it's more like every eight to ten years, so I'd prefer something that won't feel throttled years later. Just got a Mac Studio Ultra (64GB of RAM, 2TB SSD). LOVE it.

 

[andergtr]

Back when I was producing for a living, a new studio computer every three years was the norm. Now it's more like every eight to ten years, so I'd prefer something that won't feel throttled years later. Just got a Mac Studio Ultra (64GB of RAM, 2TB SSD). LOVE it.

i am tempted to get the mac studio now. :)

the mac mini is on backorder so i could probably just order an in-stock mac studio.

 

[Digital Igloo]

i am tempted to get the mac studio now. :)

the mac mini is on backorder so i could probably just order an in-stock mac studio.

Dude, it's incredible. Stupid fast and incredibly quiet. The only complaint I have is that you (presumably) can't turn it on remotely. Have it hiding inside my studio desk but I'll have to move it up and behind the monitor so I don't have to go digging every morning.