Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

I need some help choosing - apple beginner!

J

jboyd710

macrumors member
Original poster
Mar 29, 2013
39
0
Knoxville, TN
Hi guys and gals,

I really just need some help deciding what mac to make as my first purchase. Things I would like to do would be mainly daily tasks: internet, word processing, itunes, but also it will be for music production(Pro Tools) mainly. I would consider light video editing, but nothing crazy and a tad of photo shop. I talked myself into the mac mini, i7 2.6 quad core, but now having second thoughts. I really thing a laptop would be super nice to take around and as of right now the Mac Pro is out of the question, until it gets a nice upgrade. So please guys help we out with some tips/ advice! Thank you.
 
M

MaxinMusicCity

macrumors regular
Mar 20, 2013
187
69
Nashville
Mac Mini Purchase Experience

Just recently purchased a mac mini w /2.3ghz quad chip and have been running it barefoot with stock 4gb of memmory. It's blowing the doors off my old 2009 model as expected.

Running Parallels w/ Chrome, Ubuntu Linux, Android, Windows XP, Windows 7, and Windows 8. Yes, I'd recommend at least 8gb of memmory standard. I'm going to find out what 16gb will do when it comes in, although it probably won't be that big of an improvement.

Can't advise on the 2.6ghz chip, but the quad 2.3 seems to be just fine :)
 
Fishrrman

Fishrrman

macrumors Penryn
Feb 20, 2009
28,346
12,461
"I talked myself into the mac mini, i7 2.6 quad core, but now having second thoughts. I really thing a laptop would be super nice to take around"

Will a laptop give you enough "screen real estate" to work with ProTools? DAW apps work best with a big display for the scrolling horizontal timeline.

A well-equipped Mini with a 24" or 27" external display would probably hit the spot.

27" would be "room for everything".

If you like this setup, then you can go shopping for a MacBook Air to carry around!
 
B

brendu

Cancelled
Apr 23, 2009
2,472
2,703
In my experience a TV doesn't make for a great computer monitor. Especially text in web browsers and Word becomes difficult to look at and read. If you have it within your budget to get a monitor, even a cheap 20-24" would be a big improvement over a TV.

I agree though that the Mac Mini makes sense and is an awesome computer. If you want a laptop the 13" Macbook Pro is the best bang for the buck you can get.
 
SnowLeopard2008

SnowLeopard2008

macrumors 604
Jul 4, 2008
6,772
17
Silicon Valley
Mac mini should be find for you. It has separate audio input and output so that should help with your audio needs. Not even the iMac has this I believe and none of any laptops. I'd also recommend a monitor over your HDTV. There is a very good reason why there still exists computer monitors and HDTVs in a world where many things are being combined (i.e. GPS and smartphones, PS cameras and smartphones, etc.).
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom