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Is Mac Mini a Viable Alternative to New Mac Pro?

Mac minis are too weak. Had one. For the same price, I built a ridiculous PC. But I know you want to stay on MacOS.
 
CPU, GPU, storage, and RAM. "But you can upgrade the CPU, install bigger RAM, buy an external graphics card, and buy an enclosure for more hard drives". Right, and at the end of the day you're within spitting distance of the cost of a Mac Pro, so just go Mac Pro and don't look back. It's worth the extra $1-2K to future-proof and not have to buy another new computer in a few years.

At least, those were the numbers a few years ago when I was making my Mac Mini vs Pro decision.
 
CPU, GPU, storage, and RAM. "But you can upgrade the CPU, install bigger RAM, buy an external graphics card, and buy an enclosure for more hard drives". Right, and at the end of the day you're within spitting distance of the cost of a Mac Pro, so just go Mac Pro and don't look back. It's worth the extra $1-2K to future-proof and not have to buy another new computer in a few years.

At least, those were the numbers a few years ago when I was making my Mac Mini vs Pro decision.

I highly doubt that. The new Mac Pro starts at $6000 USD, that's substantially higher than a top-spec'd mini (probably triple the price). There are several composers using the new mini's, I haven't heard about any issues (yet).
 
I highly doubt that. The new Mac Pro starts at $6000 USD
I'm talking about my experience with the Mac Pro 2013. My Mac Mini was underpowered, so I built a PC Slave which ultimately cost $3500 and hundreds of hours of research, build, and maintenance time. And at the end of the day, I hated the workflow with the slave, so I sold it and bought a Mac Pro 2013.

My point is that saving money is sometimes the worst path, because you still have to make up for its deficiencies. I wish I had just done the Pro in the first place. But if a current Mac Mini is powerful enough for your needs, then sure, it's a viable alternative.
 
The Mac Mini is fundamentally flawed by having a limit of 64GB RAM. This is not enough to grow with this computer for a number of years. Also, again, I do not understand why a desktop computer such as this has no internal drive bays, at least for today's compact sized SSDs.
The new Mac Pro might cost a boatload but I like to be able to service it myself and expand it to my liking. That way I get a lot more years out of the initial investment.
 
Also, again, I do not understand why a desktop computer such as this has no internal drive bays, at least for today's compact sized SSDs.
The new Mac Pro might cost a boatload but I like to be able to service it myself and expand it to my liking. That way I get a lot more years out of the initial investment.

But it’s not about what you would like to be able to do; it’s about what Apple wants to do to their profits.

For several years now, we’ve been in the era where Apple removes features and then charges you more money to get them back. And it’s going swimmingly for the shareholders.

A user-upgradable computer doesn’t fit with the program anymore unless Apple can charge an enormous amount of money for it. It’s why the new Mac Pro “has” to start at twice the price of the old ones.
 
I'm considering getting a Mac mini.

For $4598.98 CAD, I could get:

- 3.2GHz 6‑core 8th‑generation Intel Core i7 (Turbo Boost up to 4.6GHz)
- 64GB 2666MHz DDR4
- Intel UHD Graphics 630
- 2TB SSD storage
- 10 Gigabit Ethernet (Nbase-T Ethernet with support for 1Gb, 2.5Gb, 5Gb and 10Gb Ethernet using RJ‑45 connector)
- Final Cut Pro X
- Logic Pro X

My plan is to use Logic Pro X along with ComposerCloud to learn how to create good mockups.

I might also like to use Sibelius along with NotePerformer to compose.

I believe the hardware would serve me well for a number of years, you don't think so?
 
I'm considering getting a Mac mini.

For $4598.98 CAD, I could get:

- 3.2GHz 6‑core 8th‑generation Intel Core i7 (Turbo Boost up to 4.6GHz)
- 64GB 2666MHz DDR4
- Intel UHD Graphics 630
- 2TB SSD storage
- 10 Gigabit Ethernet (Nbase-T Ethernet with support for 1Gb, 2.5Gb, 5Gb and 10Gb Ethernet using RJ‑45 connector)
- Final Cut Pro X
- Logic Pro X

My plan is to use Logic Pro X along with ComposerCloud to learn how to create good mockups.

I might also like to use Sibelius along with NotePerformer to compose.

I believe the hardware would serve me well for a number of years, you don't think so?

It would indeed, my 2013 MB Pro is still going strong six years later. You could save yourself at least $1000+ by ordering it with 8GB Ram and buying your own....and going with a 1TB internal. All of your samples should be stored externally, 1TB is plenty. Get yourself a good Thunderbolt 3 station, a couple of Samsung T5's, and you're good to go!
 
I'm considering getting a Mac mini.

For $4598.98 CAD, I could get:

- 3.2GHz 6‑core 8th‑generation Intel Core i7 (Turbo Boost up to 4.6GHz)
- 64GB 2666MHz DDR4
- Intel UHD Graphics 630
- 2TB SSD storage
- 10 Gigabit Ethernet (Nbase-T Ethernet with support for 1Gb, 2.5Gb, 5Gb and 10Gb Ethernet using RJ‑45 connector)
- Final Cut Pro X
- Logic Pro X

My plan is to use Logic Pro X along with ComposerCloud to learn how to create good mockups.

I might also like to use Sibelius along with NotePerformer to compose.

I believe the hardware would serve me well for a number of years, you don't think so?

I don't want to start a discussion war between mac & pc, and i know you probably want to stay to MacOS. But seriously for the price of a this Mac mini you can have a mega big power pc with at least twice RAM & cores.
 
I'm considering getting a Mac mini.

For $4598.98 CAD, I could get:

- 3.2GHz 6‑core 8th‑generation Intel Core i7 (Turbo Boost up to 4.6GHz)
- 64GB 2666MHz DDR4
- Intel UHD Graphics 630
- 2TB SSD storage
- 10 Gigabit Ethernet (Nbase-T Ethernet with support for 1Gb, 2.5Gb, 5Gb and 10Gb Ethernet using RJ‑45 connector)
- Final Cut Pro X
- Logic Pro X

My plan is to use Logic Pro X along with ComposerCloud to learn how to create good mockups.

I might also like to use Sibelius along with NotePerformer to compose.

I believe the hardware would serve me well for a number of years, you don't think so?

You can do this for less!
- Mac mini 3.2 6-core w, LPX and FCP installed, 8gb Ram, 10GB option 2098.99
- OWC 64GB ram upgrade (DIY) 388.99
- Akitio Thuder3 Quad Mini drive bay - 279.95
- A couple of TB SSD drives 107.50 x 2

2982.93 US = 3,942.02 CAD.

Save even more but not doing the Quad bay and just doing external enclosures that are about $15 each (used many quite well).

That would drop you down to 2732.98 US or 3611.36 CAD.
 
I don't want to start a discussion war between mac & pc, and i know you probably want to stay to MacOS. But seriously for the price of a this Mac mini you can have a mega big power pc with at least twice RAM & cores.
Yeah, I got such a powerful PC with lots of SSDs, an i9 9900k and 128gb of ram. But it runs macOS! ;) Seriously, a Hackintosh isn't that nerdy and difficult to do anymore ... you just need to know that you should keep a backup of a working system in addition to constantly backing up you files via Time Machine and you should not update your machine during projects. Other then that, there is some time you need to spend looking at threads in certain forums regarding major updates and you should not be the jerk who always has to jump on the latest upgrade, just because you are curious about that one feature that is new ...
Actually, it is all stuff you should do running any real Mac and care about a working system and data loss.
 
I was considering the i7 Mini but ended up building a much more powerful and flexible Ryzen PC.

Bad thermals, soldered components, poor 4k support with Intel gpu, etc. I love macOS but having to shell out $6-7k to get a real desktop PC is a bit ridiculous.
 
Yeah, I got such a powerful PC with lots of SSDs, an i9 9900k and 128gb of ram. But it runs macOS! ;) Seriously, a Hackintosh isn't that nerdy and difficult to do anymore ... you just need to know that you should keep a backup of a working system in addition to constantly backing up you files via Time Machine and you should not update your machine during projects. Other then that, there is some time you need to spend looking at threads in certain forums regarding major updates and you should not be the jerk who always has to jump on the latest upgrade, just because you are curious about that one feature that is new ...
Actually, it is all stuff you should do running any real Mac and care about a working system and data loss.

Would you mind sharing the specifics of your build?
 
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