Thinking of moving over to Mx Pro Mac Mini. Use case mostly music production and general use (web, docs, video). I understand some/most use an external HD to supplement the internal. How does one judge how large their internal drive should be ? How much is left after OS, ect ? When installing software such as say Studio One or Logic Pro what has to be on the internal and what can go to the external ? Obviously samples, midi files, audio files and such can be installed on the external, but what 'has to be' on the internal drive to function properly ?
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How to judge internal ssd size
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I have the base M4 Max Studio, which comes with 512GB of storage, I found that size to be adaquate, where the OS and apps can be hosted on the internal drive.
there are ways to move the home drive and have some of your apps on an external drive. I didn't want to go that route, and so 512 is good for me now and the future.
I think the 256GB may be ok for now, but I don't think there's enough head room for future needs.
The problem with the Mini, is that its a fantastic price at 500 (edu pricing), but once you start increasing storage, ram, or cores, the costs increase dramatically and its a slippery slope.
I went from a M4 Mini, to the M4 Mini Pro for that very reason, and then I found the core count and cooling of the M4 Pro Mini was such that I would be better off with the M4 Max Studio - so I went from a $500 dollar computer to a $1,800 dollar computer in less then a week's time.
there are ways to move the home drive and have some of your apps on an external drive. I didn't want to go that route, and so 512 is good for me now and the future.
I think the 256GB may be ok for now, but I don't think there's enough head room for future needs.
The problem with the Mini, is that its a fantastic price at 500 (edu pricing), but once you start increasing storage, ram, or cores, the costs increase dramatically and its a slippery slope.
I went from a M4 Mini, to the M4 Mini Pro for that very reason, and then I found the core count and cooling of the M4 Pro Mini was such that I would be better off with the M4 Max Studio - so I went from a $500 dollar computer to a $1,800 dollar computer in less then a week's time.
My experience (mainly Final Cut Pro) has been that Apple’s own programs are coded to work better for cache and transient data storage if it is on the internal SSD.
Everything ‘can’ be stored externally, but the programs will function more fluently if you are letting them do their own ‘scratch disk’ thing with the internal drive.
All long term projects data assets work fine on external Thunderbolt 3 storage, and everything is moved onto the external drives as soon as it’s not immediate ‘work in progress’, so as to leave the internal storage relatively clear.
I upgraded to a 1TB internal SSD when I bought a M4 Pro mini, and that has been worth it.
I’ve had no problems with fan noise, because media production is mainly an intensive database operation, which needs to be ’instantaneous’ but isn’t maxing the system.
Everything ‘can’ be stored externally, but the programs will function more fluently if you are letting them do their own ‘scratch disk’ thing with the internal drive.
All long term projects data assets work fine on external Thunderbolt 3 storage, and everything is moved onto the external drives as soon as it’s not immediate ‘work in progress’, so as to leave the internal storage relatively clear.
I upgraded to a 1TB internal SSD when I bought a M4 Pro mini, and that has been worth it.
I’ve had no problems with fan noise, because media production is mainly an intensive database operation, which needs to be ’instantaneous’ but isn’t maxing the system.
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Essentially I'd go with 512GB (adequate) or 1TB (generous) internal + external storage as needed. Personally I'd grit my teeth and fork out the 200 dollarpounds for the 512G-to-1TB upgrade. No need to pay Apples exorbitant prices for more than 1TB unless you have a specific need for that much "working space".
I'd want to keep applications, libraries, samples, temporary files etc. on the internal SSD - for speed and so everything will at least run if the external isn't plugged in. Also probably means you don't then need a top-end Thunderbolt external. Anything else can go on external storage.
I've got a 1TB Studio, for general stuff including messing around with Logic and various plug-ins, and only need to use external for offloading "archive" stuff and movie libraries etc. With a bit of discipline, housekeeping and more aggressive "archiving" I could probably get on OK with 512GB + externals. However, my Apps, MacOS and system data currently add up to > 200GB, so 256GB + externals would not do - but that's irrelevant if you're going for the M4 Pro.
Hint: SSD performance will degrade if the disk is nearly full. You want plenty of "headroom" on your system drive.
On the TB5 equipped Macs, such as the M4 Pro Mini, and M5 Max Studio, you can get the same drive performance with the an external drive as you do with the internal.
My external drive is as fast as internal - I'm using the OWC Envoy Ultra, and the speed is amazing
Run your current, working project from the internal drive.
Get one large enough so that you're not worried about space.
At least 1tb. If you have LOTS of LARGE libraries, 2tb is better.
When done, archive onto an EXTERNAL drive.
For music production, you probably want "quiet", right?
In that case, you might find a basic Mac Studio (with added drive space) better, as it may be "more quiet under load" than an mXpro Mini, which (according to some) has more fan noise...
Get one large enough so that you're not worried about space.
At least 1tb. If you have LOTS of LARGE libraries, 2tb is better.
When done, archive onto an EXTERNAL drive.
For music production, you probably want "quiet", right?
In that case, you might find a basic Mac Studio (with added drive space) better, as it may be "more quiet under load" than an mXpro Mini, which (according to some) has more fan noise...
...at $400 for 2TB I'd hope so! Yet... still cheaper than the $600 Apple wants for 512 -> 2TB!
I think the economics depend on what you're doing on the external... If its for finished media and archived projects then I doubt you'd notice the benefit of TB5 over USB3.2. For that money you could get 1TB external plus a bog standard 2TB, maybe even 4TB external SSD. For audio work you're unlikely to hit the sort of continuous read/write levels that need Thunderbolt 3/4/5.