So, my desktop Mac died. There is a slim chance I can replace the motherboard at great cost. In all likelihood though I will be looking for a new option.
What do you Mac users out there use for desktop Macs for your DAWs? I had a quad-core 2.6GHz Xeon Mac Pro. I don't want to downgrade to only a dual-core. Quad-core options in Apple's current lineup are very expensive though. I might look for a previous generation quad-core Mac mini but I'm not sure.
Old quad-core Mac mini (can't get one new)
Quad-core iMac/iMac retina (could be good)
Quad-core Mac Pro (super expensive but possibly a fun toy)
Time for a new Mac
- jb
- Hot for Teacher
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Re: Time for a new Mac
MacBook Pro (Retina, Mid 2012)
2.7 GHz Intel Core i7
16 GB 1600 MHz DDR3
2.7 GHz Intel Core i7
16 GB 1600 MHz DDR3
blippity blop ya don’t stop heyyyyyyyyy
- fluffy
- Eruption
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Re: Time for a new Mac
I have a trashcan Pro (base config w/ 512GB storage) and love it, but reportedly the Retina iMac is a little bit faster, and the built-in monitor makes it a way better deal if you aren't attached to your current monitor.
- Chumpy
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Re: Time for a new Mac
I love my i7 quad core mac mini @2.3Ghz. It's still a nice fast box, lots of ports on the back, and thunderbolt. I've got a Promise thunderbolt chassis and a bunch of drives attached. You can pick up a similar mini on eBay for around 1k. Seems like a good price performance spot to me.
If you're feeling like an adventure you can build out a Hackintosh out of very compatible PC parts to get even a better price/performance deal, which I used to do, but what can I say, I love Apple hardware, and the mini is a nice machine IMHO.
If you're feeling like an adventure you can build out a Hackintosh out of very compatible PC parts to get even a better price/performance deal, which I used to do, but what can I say, I love Apple hardware, and the mini is a nice machine IMHO.
"I don't recommend ending on a bad joke." --ken
- Lunkhead
- You're No Good
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Re: Time for a new Mac
Long time later end of the story, I wound up splurging and getting a new Mac Pro. It's complete overkill for my needs, frankly, but I'm glad for how little space it takes up compared to my old Mac Pro aluminum tower. It's a little annoying not to have an optical drive. Apple won't let you use their "disc sharing" feature to share audio CDs, so when I get an audio CD now I have to rip it on my laptop (which is old enough to still have an optical drive) and copy the mp3s over. #1wp
- fluffy
- Eruption
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Re: Time for a new Mac
Yeah I've been rocking a Mac Pro since 20...14? I think? It's pretty great. Just the lowest-end CPU and it's more than enough for most audio projects even with craptons of softsynths and whatever. It's totally changed the way I work on music because now I use a lot more plugins and mixing busses and whatever.
If you still rip a lot of CDs it might be worth getting a cheap external USB drive. I think those run around $50-75 now. I actually don't have any computers with optical drives anymore so the rare times I need to get something off of a disc (like reinstalling Kontakt or whatever) I'm dusting that damn thing off. And there's still the rare album that doesn't come out in a downloadable format, what is up with that?!
If you still rip a lot of CDs it might be worth getting a cheap external USB drive. I think those run around $50-75 now. I actually don't have any computers with optical drives anymore so the rare times I need to get something off of a disc (like reinstalling Kontakt or whatever) I'm dusting that damn thing off. And there's still the rare album that doesn't come out in a downloadable format, what is up with that?!
- Caravan Ray
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Re: Time for a new Mac
I bought a new iMac last year and was surprised to find it didn't have a disk drive. I have no TV and use the iMac to watch stuff - Netflix, iTunes, ABCiView and streaming ABC News. Also sometimes watch DVDs - so I bought a cheap drive for $50. That works well.