mac mini configuration 4 logic

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hi there

i've just bought the current i7 2.3ghz mac mini which already got 16gb ram off course
now i've bought the owc hdd kit to upgrade the system hd with a samsung 840 pro
but now, i'm not sure if it's the right way

my advisment was as followed:

the ssd for the system only
the second hd for recording (only midi data from plugs with few audio/samples)
cause
there's a drobo pro attached, where all librarys are stored (apple loops, samples, plugin libs etc)

as the new mini has 1tb but only with 5400rpm, i want to change it too
- with a 7200rpm hd
- or another option is a new 500gb momentus_xt which lies around

it's some years ago since i produced something and it was on a mac pro, which i sold last year
so all stuff was stored on the drobo
i've checked some sites and forums, and my conclusion was, that the drobo is fast enough for streaming the samples, sounds etc neither over firewire or iscsi...
if not, i've got a problem ;-)
then i need the second internal hd for store all the main used librarys. i think then it's usefull to change the 5400 with an 7200.

so what you guys thing should i do, cause i only want to disassemble the mini one time ;-)

thx alot and kind regards
 
No experience to date with SSD so hopefully others will offer their insights. But the Mini or iMac is a consideration here in a year or so as my Mac Pro1,1 reaches an end point other than as a Rosetta/archive machine.

Regarding the OWC upgrade kit, make sure you have another computer or mobile device to view the installation video. Many steps to follow compared to installing the OWC Data Doubler in a MBP which I completed a few months ago.

My impression is that SSD are good for non-write functions like running the OS/apps and sample libraries on separate drives. Some say that the write functions shorten the life of the SSD.

A fast (7200 rpm) mechanical drive is still a very good choice for recording audio.

Does your Drobo have a FW800 connection?
How many GB of sample libraries on the Drobo? If a lot, then it makes sense to keep them there. A FW800 should be fast enough.

With regard to containing cost and time (disassembling/reassembling the Mini just once...)
You could swap out the current internal drive with the SSD drive as your OSX and apps drive.

What to do next?
Install the Momentus XT for recording audio, or...
You could install the current internal drive in the OWC kit and use it as general storage and project back ups and hook up the Momentus XT via an external USB 3 enclosure for recording audio for now.

If money were less of an issue, I'd add a second large capacity SSD drive via the OWC kit for the most frequently used sample libraries, then use the various TB, FW800, and USB-3 connections for hooking up your interface, MIDI controller, a drive for recording audio, the Drobo, and the former internal (5400 rpm) drive for back ups.
 
thx alot for your thoughts

at this point, i think the best solution will be this version: ssd for system and a 7200 second hd for recording (with 1tb there's only the hitachi).
cause the momentus hybrid is more like the fusion drive, for faster reading not writing.

another option are two internal ssd, one small one (128gb) for system and another 500gb (the samsung basic) for recording.

and yes
a. there are many gigabytes on the drobo containing librarys, samples etc
b. there's another mini for viewing the reconstruction manual, but the one from ifixt (really the best)
 
I recently bought the Mini i7 2.6 GHz with OWC 16 GB ram. I checked with Mac and music techies and the consensus was that using a 5400 rpm drive for the system drive would be fine. I also spoke to a composer friend who had recently bought the same Mini and was using the stock drive and he, too, had no problems.

I bought the LaCie Thunderbolt Hub and run 2 eSATA 7200 rpm drives for my sample libraries. My LogicPro projects run from a USB 3.0 drive coming out of the Mini. My MOTU uses the FW 800 port and I have 2 monitors connected to the Mini as well. It works really well!! Hope this helps..
 
JGS said:
I recently bought the Mini i7 2.6 GHz with OWC 16 GB ram. I checked with Mac and music techies and the consensus was that using a 5400 rpm drive for the system drive would be fine. I also spoke to a composer friend who had recently bought the same Mini and was using the stock drive and he, too, had no problems.

I bought the LaCie Thunderbolt Hub and run 2 eSATA 7200 rpm drives for my sample libraries. My LogicPro projects run from a USB 3.0 drive coming out of the Mini. My MOTU uses the FW 800 port and I have 2 monitors connected to the Mini as well. It works really well!! Hope this helps..
Click to expand...

Very useful information.
Thank you for offering it.
 
I have a similar question...what type of External Hard Drive should be used with Logic to ensure ability to record 8 tracks at a time...?

I just purchased from the Apple Refurb store a 2.6Ghz 2012 Mac Mini with 1TB hard drive and 4GB RAM and want to put Logic Pro on the internal 2.5" 5400 RPM drive and write the tracks to an external drive over USB 3.0 to a 7200 RPM, 64MB cache, 3.5" drive.

I will get an 8GB DDR3-1600 MHz SODIMM PC3-12800  CL9 (or should it be lower?) and get the machine to 10GB RAM (any recommended specs for the RAM?)

I see G.SKILL SQ Series 8GB DDR3 1600MHz CL11 SODIMM Memory (F3-1600C11S-8GSQ) for $50 at Canada Computers and wondering if there is something wrong with this as the price is low...?


Will this work writing 8 tracks at once...?  Anyone try this regularly...?

I have read how an external drive would never write as fast as an internal drive because of the translator software on the external drive's controller to convert USB3.0 signals to hard drive IO language (i.e. data/info).

Should I have purchased the 2.3GHz Mac Mini Server version that has two internal 5400 RPM drives to write the data at that speed instead to ensure 8 tracks at a time can get written successfully to the drive without "Disk Too Slow" errors (or whatever the exact error message is)...

Thanks for your advice!
 
Just started a new thread as mine is specific to 8 tracks - unsure if a new thread is appropriate here - please give me feedback if my forum approach is incorrect here to either use this thread for this type of question or to start a new thread. Thanks in advance.
 
Mac Mini configuration

Best to buy the OWC 16 GB ram kit for the mini. That's what I did. I don't think a 2nd internal HD that's 5400 rpm would be of much use as a recording HD. USB 3 is much faster than FW800 so you'll probably be fine using an external USB 3 drive. If not, there's the LaCie thunderbolt hub which gives you a 2nd thunderbolt port and 2 eSATA ports.
 
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