New Mac Mini + 20" Apple Cinema Display

[kanpachi]

Hi All,
I am on the verge of buying a new Mac mini with a 20" Apple Cinema display and I was wondering if anyone has any input on this setup. I am also thinking about buying Soundtrack Pro (or some other music software) -- can the Mac mini handle it? How about with other applications like Photoshop? Would really appreciate the help (and please no suggestions to buy a G5 Desktop instead). 🙂

Thanks a lot in advance! 😀

 

[EvilDoc]

When you guy it go directly to Fry's or www.newegg.com and get a Gig of ram.. .

 

[XNine]

Soundtrack Pro isn't necessarily for music editing so much as soundtrack editing to video. Buy Logic Express or Pro or Ableton Live instead.

The 20 Inch display is awesome. I touch mine innappropriately every day.

Get the 699 mac mini. It'll last you quite some time, it's powerful enough to run the music software you want. Then, in a year from now when you wanna buy an intel based system, throw the mac mini into your Home Theater system.

 

[DeSnousa]

Get the 699 mac mini. It'll last you quite some time, it's powerful enough to run the music software you want. Then, in a year from now when you wanna buy an intel based system, throw the mac mini into your Home Theater system.

Exactly what i was thinking, that way you have got a great screen for a future powermac and a media centre.

 

[kanpachi]

Soundtrack Pro isn't necessarily for music editing so much as soundtrack editing to video. Buy Logic Express or Pro or Ableton Live instead.

The 20 Inch display is awesome. I touch mine innappropriately every day.

Get the 699 mac mini. It'll last you quite some time, it's powerful enough to run the music software you want. Then, in a year from now when you wanna buy an intel based system, throw the mac mini into your Home Theater system.

Thanks for the advice Onizuka (including others who posted too). Would you happen to know if Logic Express was anything like Sony Acid Music Studio on the PC? I really thought that program was great, but since my computer got all this Spyware recently (like VirtualBouncer and all these Aurora popups come up), I have become sick of using a Windows PC. I'm going to have to pass on Ableton Live since it looks really complicated and the $500 price point (I think it's around there) seems a bit high for the kind of amateur music "production" I want to do. Thanks for the suggestion, though.

I only hear great things about the 20" Apple Cinema Display. As far as I'm concerned, I'm sold on buying it, although there have been debates about getting the Dell 2005FPW instead, but aesthetics are really important to me (albeit the possibly unjustified premium I am paying for the ACD). I have heard, though, that the 23" ACD has a lot of QC problems with it, so hopefully the shortcomings on the latter won't affect the 20" ACDs.

On a side note, I must say that it is quite frustrating that I can't use my new iBook to be externally displayed on a monitor with a resolution higher than 1024x768. I read about the screen spanning hack software, but it seems a little too risky.

 

[alexeismertin]

I have the mini + 20" ACD

..for precisely the reason of offering an easier/cheaper way to upgrade the intel transition. The results are excellent for my purposes - Adobe CS & Macromedia Studio MX.

I received a Rev B this morning & installed a 80GB 5400rpm WD Scorpio & 1Gb Crucial Ram - I wil post Xbench results later.
Incidently you get OSX 10.4 (not 10.4.2) & the 512mb is by 'Nanya' not the usual orange stickered 'Hynix'.


Xbench
Rev B 1.42Ghz Mini + WD Scorpio 5400rpm 80Gb 8mb + 1Gb Crucial Ram - 132.45

 

[FFTT]

The mini and a 20" ACD is a wonderful combination for a starter system, but you may be happier with an iMac for any mid level audio work.

If you look at the software system requirements for most Pro audio
applications, you'll see that most recommend at least a single G5
and prefer the duallys.

GarageBand comes free with the iLife suite, so I'd try that out first before
you invest too heavily in Pro audio software.