Mac Discussion

[Antwan]

The Mac PC!
You guys only know half of the termoil I've faced with laptops and even a few desktops.
So I want to know what you Mac users have found good for what you do.
Someone recently reached out to me about the Mac Mini.
More than happy to take this gift but just curious if anyone has experience with those.
It is the only type they are willing to send my way but any model is permitted.
If not, tell me what Mac you've used for what.
Apologies for all the clutter. I'll default to this thread from now on.
Out of commission for too long and a bit antsy.

Here's what I want out of an end all be all:
HD everything capable, graphics creation, file format conversion, capturing video, editing video, rendering video, making music and producing it aswell as making beats (instrumentals.)

I hear the mini isn't an end all be all but still wonder about it.
I will use it strictly for music and graphics if I must.
Always Appreciate any response. Enjoy your day fluckers.

[emericaridr11]

Specs please?

[Antwan]

Ah, yeah so I think it differs depending on hardware you want with it.
The less that can be spent and do those things effectively the better.

The standard for a Mac Mini without upgrades:

1.4GHz Dual-Core Intel Core i5 (Turbo Boost up to 2.7GHz)
500GB Serial ATA Drive 5400 rpm
4GB 1600MHz LPDDR3 SDRAM
Intel HD Graphics 5000
Mac OS X Yosemite

[Tabloid]

my dad has had a mic mini for ages that he uses for torrenting heaps of stuff

as you said, definitely not the highest end computer, would not recommend for the stuff that you have listed

if you really wanted a mac for that sort of stuff i would honestly just get a macbook pro

[Antwan]

my dad has had a mic mini for ages that he uses for torrenting heaps of stuff

as you said, definitely not the highest end computer, would not recommend for the stuff that you have listed

if you really wanted a mac for that sort of stuff i would honestly just get a macbook pro

Thanks for the reply! Kinda in limbo here trying to figure it all out haha.
There has been a new Mac mini release since it first came out however.
So that's the model in question.
You can upgrade some of its hardware too.

[emericaridr11]

Thanks for the reply! Kinda in limbo here trying to figure it all out haha.
There has been a new Mac mini release since it first came out however.
So that's the model in question.
You can upgrade some of its hardware too.

Mac Pro Tower from Craigslist (2008-recent, Mac 3,1 and above are decent), I got mine for $600 (was listed for $900 and I talked him down)
Macbook Pros are NOT MEANT for editing, sure they can do ok but if you want a Mac for editing and multi media I would recommend a Tower

my specs are:

2x 2.8 GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon (so 8 Cores)
12 GB RAM (upgradable to 34 or 64 depending on the model)
ATI Radeon 5770 (a bit outdated)
3TB and a 750 GB Hard Drives (7200 rpm)
OSX Mountain Lion (I didnt like the way Mavericks and Yosemite use more RAM even on Idle)

and a Dell S2340M Glossy Monitor (cause I cant afford a Mac one)



if I had to guess the Mac Mini would work just fine for Multi Media type stuff, your main problem is going to be with the Processor Speed.. then probably would want more RAM (8-16) to keep the Comp from slowing down when you have multi Adobe Apps open (or similar apps)
if you can find a 4,1 Mac Tower for a decent price I wouldn't hesitate to grab that sucker

if you want a Macbook Pro, I would just go with the Mini honestly... unless you can get a i7 Macbook Pro with 8 gb RAM for a damn good price
but having said that Im sure a Macbook Pro would do what you want as well, but they get HOT AS FUCK!! (not sure about the Mini but my tower stays at 30-37 Celsius constantly unless Im rendering out a big file, then it can jump to 50)


if you do get the Mini you can upgrade some things like the RAM, I'm not sure about upgrading your Video Card or Processor though
but if I had to guess I bet the Mini in Stock form wouldnt actually be that bad at all, just a tiny bit slow cause of the 4 gb RAM

[Antwan]

Cheers E, Gonna keep my options open.
I am learning though, that setup sounds like it would run fast!

Got two old laptops a Dell and Toshiba.
Dell needs a new power and battery might be its only issues really.
Toshiba needs a new HDD, considering an SSD thanks to hitman's advice.

May have a Mac mini coming my way aswell. I wouldn't ask the person sending it to waste their money though, unless it was a viable option.

Mac mini specs/upgrades;
1.4GHz, 2.6GHz, or 2.8GHz dual-core Intel Core i5. Or 3.0GHz dual-core Intel Core i7.
Apparently something called turbo boost comes with it and can reach 3.5GHz.

Integrated memory controller, 1600MHz.

Intel Iris Graphics and HD Graphics 5000.

Not seeing a ram upgrade on Apple.com but pretty sure I saw one on Amazon.com.

[Antwan]

Don't know if anyone messes with the mac for music but curious what all is out there as far as free music software goes.
Should I really spend the money on a program, or a suite?
Got the Mac Mini, screen with the pc built in by the way. Not lightning fast but it gets things done and should last.
The instrumentals I've made so far have been in Linux on a new laptop.
Linux recently got some FL Studio type apps.. only catch is the samples and what not are limited, as far as I have searched anyway, not seeing many resources. Not sure how to sample things myself.

[emericaridr11]

I use Reason 5..... but FL has a Mac Version too and will most likely be your cheapest option
or Pirate, you know

I like Reason 5, but it aint the best... but mad mad fun
Ableton, Cubase, Reason, FruityLoops, Avid ProTools, Apple Logic, Sony Acid, Audacity, GarageBand even

after talking with my brother some about it he says that being a Rap type guy, Ableton would be your best bet probably, but he also says try out Logic cause you wont be disappointed
as far as free goes, well you know what to do... you got a mac, everything can be free... wink (to a point of course)

[Antwan]

Cool, Ive heard good things about ableton. Already use audacity, might need something better though, pretty basic. I am learning too, but man hip hop is tough for me haha. Ive just had a mic and some things to say for a long time. Whole new beast.

[Noah eh]

My MacBook Air has basically the same specs except for a 1.6 GHz processor and a smaller hard drive. Definitely not ideal for video editing, but it you can still get decent performance with video nonetheless. But it's great for graphic design, Photoshop and Illustrator run great, Cinema 4D did too when I had it. As for music, great option. I use Logic Pro X for producing and recording, and it doesn't lag too often. iZotope Ozone 6 runs amazing for mastering. It would definitely be worth getting that Mini, or an Air, if your budget is slim. But, if you have some spending money, go for a Pro.

[Antwan]

Meant to say iMac, that's what I ended up gettin fo free!
Someone offered to get me one so I couldn't say no without a setup.
Helps a little bit if you disable the effects on the mac though but I was planning to edit video on a different laptop.
So's all good!

[emericaridr11]

Meant to say iMac, that's what I ended up gettin fo free!
Someone offered to get me one so I couldn't say no without a setup.
Helps a little bit if you disable the effects on the mac though but I was planning to edit video on a different laptop.
So's all good!

I assume you are on Yosemite or El Capitan, man I have to say I have tried them all and I went back to Mountain Lion

if you only have 4gb ram or lower it might be a wise idea to go back to Mountain Lion, and let me tell you why.....
everything after Mountain Lion uses your Ram differently than ML did, the new OSXs use AS MUCH RAM as possible even in idle.... now usually with newer machine with 12gb ram or more this ain't a problem and even more with that amount of ram this new Ram Allotment might work better and snappy-er

but I can assure you if you don't have 8gb ram or above you would benefit from Mountain Lion, your computer would be less stressed (even in idle it can get stressed on these new osx's)

of course I am just giving you my opinions and experiences, my brother has a 4gb Mini that runs EL Capitan and he loves it, but my dad has a imac 4gb and it keeps restarting and freezing and all kinds of goofyness... we put him back on ML and everything is running Super Smooth

you said you had to Disable the Mac Effects.... and Im sitting here like what the fuck is he talking about? then thought to myself "Oh yeah Yosemite and El Capitan have this bullshit transparency crap that just uses unnecessary ram for no good reason).... El Capitan is weak, Mavericks was the last good OS (and I personally think Mountain Lion was and still is the most stable OS I have ever used)

just a thought, if you do decide to revert back to ML, make sure you got the programs that will work with that OSx.... or just keep El Capitan and try to wait on more updates, some people like it... but I don't


and yes if you got mac GRAB LOGIC!!

[Antwan]

I was trying to figure out what it's running myself, the person who got it for me even set it up before hand.

Processor 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
Memory 4 GB 800 MHz DDR2 SDRAM
Graphics ATI Radeon HD 2400 XT 128 MB
Software OS X 10.9 (13A603)
I took that software number to google and it says something about Maverick but the source only implied it was.
I didn't know graphics cards could have a size either? Confused about what that means haha. 128MB seems low?

[emericaridr11]

I was trying to figure out what it's running myself, the person who got it for me even set it up before hand.

Processor 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
Memory 4 GB 800 MHz DDR2 SDRAM
Graphics ATI Radeon HD 2400 XT 128 MB
Software OS X 10.9 (13A603)
I took that software number to google and it says something about Maverick but the source only implied it was.
I didn't know graphics cards could have a size either? Confused about what that means haha. 128MB seems low?

that is a low Video Card Speed, but I wouldn't worry about that too much just yet... that's the same video card I had in my imac when I had one, and I did all kinds of editing on it with no problems other than it being a little slow
Mavericks is what you have and is actually my 2 fav OSX, so that is good news haha

I'm hoping you got a white imac honestly, I had a white one and a metal case one and the white plastic one didn't get nearly as hot as the metal one
and Mac peeps will say that is because the metal one acts like a 2nd heat sink to drive heat away from your components, and it does do this somewhat but what I have noticed is that the heat on the metal ones cause the screen to do wild things (like screen burns and discoloration) because of the location of the heat

shame, but if you need any help with the Mac and programs involved hit me up I can usually help


EDIT: grab SMCfancontrol (it is free) if you do get worried about heating

[Thick]

I'm on a 2011 iMac i7, and it's still doing good - been editing 4K music videos without too much pain. I do music music production too (Cubase/Ableton), and doesn't really take too much of a toll on the system until you preview multitrack projects with effects. Crack yourself a DAW and spit your darts!! People stress getting the right equipment for good sound, but thing is: if you have decent mic, a working sound card and recording software - you're money. Just make sure you find a space with acceptable acoustic surroundings when you do vocals. You can find someone who can mix your stuff to make it sound killer (or teach yourself if you have a good ear). All my friends make music in kind of a big way (for a small country), my main homie is an award winning artist, and we do everything out of his iMac (with similar specs to yours) with "free" (hehe) software.. voicing done behind the couch, with the TV on.. No help, no record contract, no promotion team.. go get it!!

For graphics/video though, getting a SSD/SATA combo was a quantum leap for me, paired with a gig of allocated video memory.. watching glitchy previews really kills your flow. I was working on a subpar PC before investing, and I'd spend 4-5 times as many hours completing video tasks. I have 16GB of ram now, but 8-12 is usually good enough until you start multitasking heavy stuff.

[Antwan]

Yeah update for me, got a laptop where I'm editing video with 8 gigs of ram I managed to scrounge up.

Up to this point I was experimenting with a controller and a brand new studio software in linux but my IMac is looking like it will be my recording and producing platform.
So far I really dig Ableton, real easy to jump into and start making things happen and all of my hardware so far just works when I plug it in.
Someone is sending me the Logic Program Suite down the line so I'll be messing around with that too at some point.
I guess all there is left to do now is to start building up my sound libraries.