My 2018 Mac Mini vs. the 2008 Mac Pro it replaced

[kirkbross]

Okay. When the new Mac Mini came out at the end of 2018, I was ready to replace my 2008 Mac Pro (2x2.8GHz / 8 core). The OS was maxed out at a patched version of High Sierra and it was just time. I use my Mac for Pro Tools.

Looking at the Mac Benchmarks, it looked like the new Mac Mini (i7 / 6 core) scored 5627 while my old Mac Pro scored a 2230. Roughly twice as powerful. I bought the Mac Mini.

Can someone tell me why the Mac Mini is dramatically worse at running the same Pro Tools sessions? I have twice the RAM (32 GB) and theoretically many more CPU cycles so... I'm stumped. I constantly get the "You're running out of CPU power... try deactivating some plugins..." error.

 

[ashleykaryl]

That's a curious one and I don't have an answer. I'm in a similar situation equipment wise, having used a 2010 (8 Core 2.4 GHz) Mac Pro with 32 gigs of ram as main machine since new. The video card was upgraded a while back, so it can run Mojave and I installed an SSD as well a few years back.

Last week I picked up an i7 mini that also has 32 gigs of ram and I have yet to work it hard for any extended period but testing with a video export suggests the mini is almost twice as fast, which backs up the relative benchmark scores. A short HD video took 8 minutes 30 seconds to export on the mini and 14 minutes 20 on the Mac Pro.

The more apparent differences in speed are actually on single core operations where the mini is more like three times faster. I've never used Pro Tools, so my only guess is that you might have some sort of conflict going on, unless there are other factors at play like lack of drive space. I invested in a cooling pad to keep temperatures lower and external SSD drives to avoid clogging up the main drive too much.

 

[kevingilroy]

Hi Kirk, I am getting ready to buy a new mac mini to replace my 2012 mac and basically in the same situation... I use PT and Logic. I'm looking at the benchmark double w the mini and ready to buy then i read your post. Did you resolve the issues. You shouldn't have any problems, i don't get it either. best Kevin

 

[markburris]

Hi, Kirk (and forum): I am on the verge of buying the 2018 Mini to replace my 2014 MacBook Air. Does anyone know what adapter I need, if any, to connect the 2018 Mini to my LED Cinema Display. My display, though aging, works perfectly, and I don't want to replace it.

 

[kevingilroy]

Hi, Kirk (and forum): I am on the verge of buying the 2018 Mini to replace my 2014 MacBook Air. Does anyone know what adapter I need, if any, to connect the 2018 Mini to my LED Cinema Display. My display, though aging, works perfectly, and I don't want to replace it.

I USED THE HDMI TO DVI ADAPTOR THAT I HAD WITH THE CINEMA DISPLAY AND IT WORKS GREAT ON MY MINI

 

[wayne_rowley]

Can someone tell me why the Mac Mini is dramatically worse at running the same Pro Tools sessions? I have twice the RAM (32 GB) and theoretically many more CPU cycles so... I'm stumped. I constantly get the "You're running out of CPU power... try deactivating some plugins..." error.

Could it be thermal throttling? Are you hearing the fans on the Mac Mini? I use mine with Logic and mostly I'm getting much better performance than on my previous Mac, but when the fans come on I know it's likely throttling due to heat.

Also, are you running a later version of ProTools/OS or the same as your previous Pro? If it's a later version it's likely to be more resource hungry.

The more CPUs get faster, the more software expands to use the cycles!!

Wayne

 

[Fishrrman]

Have you visited gearslutz.com to see what folks over there have to say...?

 

[jayducharme]

I'm wondering if ProTools is trying to place some of the workload onto the graphics card (which in the mini is weak at best). It also could be that the two extra cores on your old Mac Pro were enough to give you a bit more headroom. Have you looked at Activity Monitor to see where the bottleneck is?