Want to switch my Mac Pro 5,1 over to Mac Mini M1

[dalesladx]

Hi All, My Mac Pro 5,1 is beginning to show it's age just like me at 89. I'm having some intermittent problems with the PSU so I've decided to bite the bullet and make the switch to a Mac Mini M1. After looking at the Mac Mini's available slots and my old peripheral connections it's a bit of a scary situation for me.
So to give you an idea of what I've got to change I've made a list of every thing I've got plugged into my machine and hopefully you can help me sort through it.
USB slots (3)
Keyboard - Apple Extended Silver
Mouse - Steel Series Sensei 310
Scanner - Epson Perfection V600 Photo

Firewire 800:
External OWC 1 TB drive (Backup)

HDMI:
32 inch Samsung monitor

Analog Audio Out Port:
Pair of powered bookshelf speakers 42 watts

Looking at the Mac Mini it has: Ethernet (1) Thunderbolt/USB 4 (2) HDMI (1) USB-A (2) 3.5 mm headphone jack.
So my first question is about the USB slots, I need 3 but there only 2 on the mini and would my USB connector be compatible with the USB-A slots.
Second question is where would the Firewire 800 connect to ?
Third question can I plug into the 3.5mm headphone jack with my speaker setup?
There may be other problems that you might find also.
Thank you, hope you all had a great Thanksgiving and serves you right if you are suffering today. lol

 

[Fishrrman]

Firewire is out -- unless you want to try using a daisy-chain of adapters. And even that may not work, unless the firewire drive has an external power source.

If there's any way that you can work it into your budget, a base model Mac Studio would be a FAR better buy. (and I'm writing this on a 2018 Mini, I had a 2012 Mini before that)

 

[Ethosik]

I agree that the base Mac Studio would be better. I also have the OWC Thunderbolt 4 dock for all my Macs and it has been very nice. Its a bit pricey, but I heard horror stories from people here about $50 USB docks that don't work so I am glad I got a good one.

OWC 11-Port Thunderbolt Dock for M1 and Intel Macs and Thunderbolt 4 (USB 4) PCs

Add three Thunderbolt ports, 4 USB ports, along with Ethernet, audio, and card reader functionality to your Thunderbolt-equipped Mac or Thunderbolt 4 PC.

eshop.macsales.com

I would replace that OWC drive with a more modern one as was mentioned Firewire is dead. You can get it to work with chaining dongles, but better to get it upgraded to a USB-C device.

 

[eicca]

I'm having the same dilemma, though my Mac Pro hasn't shown any signs of failure yet. But I'm sure it's coming. The thing is old after all.

What I'm thinking is a Satechi dock stand and a second Thunderbolt hub of some kind tucked under the desk. Should offer plenty of IO expansion and still look clean.

 

[Basic75]

Second question is where would the Firewire 800 connect to?

As @Fishrrman wrote, FireWire is, for better or worse, dead, and has been for a while. If your backup drive is that old you might consider getting a new one and hooking it up to one of the USB-C ports. Or, if the drive also has USB, you can hook that up to the USB-C port. Otherwise you can just get an empty USB hard disk enclosure and transfer the drive from the old FireWire box to the new one.

 

[Basic75]

Does that keyboard model not have USB-A ports that you could connect the mouse to?

 

[Boyd01]

I agree that the firewire disk has to go. But 1tb USB disks are cheap and much faster than firewire. Seems to me the big issue that you haven't mentioned is software. Will all your apps run on the M1? Are you still using 32-bit apps?

 

[dalesladx]

Hi Fellows, first off let me apologise for not getting back to you all sooner but I was out of town for Thanksgiving and just now getting back and catching up.
Also thanks so much to all of you for helping me out, it is great that with all of the bad stuff that's happening around us there are still lots of good guys out there willing to offer a helping hand. I'm going to try to tick off a few items so that we can dispense with them and move on from there.
Fishrrman I took your advice and took a look at the Mac Studio and decided that I would get the barebones model plus a 1 TB of storage which bottoms out to $2,199.00. As for getting a more up to date external backup drive to replace my old OWC Mercury Elite Pro. well I might as well go whole hog and update that also. I'm open to suggestions for an external backup 1 TB drive.
Basic75 thanks for that reminder about my keyboard I just had to slap my hand to my forehead when I read that. Yes it does have a port in each end and I stuck in my mouse and it works fine so that is one less usb connection to worry about.
If I end up getting another usb external drive I guess I could just use the other end of my keyboard and plug it in there whenever I do a back up.
I have just remembered that I am using a 1 TB Sata drive in one of the slots on my Mac Pro for Time Machine. So I guess I need another external drive for that.
That's a good question Boyd01, thanks for reminding me about 32-bit apps. I know there is an easy way to check that but it's just another one of a thousand things I've forgotten. Could you refresh my memory and I'll check it out, thanks.

 

[Boyd01]

That's a good question Boyd01, thanks for reminding me about 32-bit apps. I know there is an easy way to check that but it's just another one of a thousand things I've forgotten. Could you refresh my memory and I'll check it out, thanks.

For starters, what operating system are you currently running on the Mac Pro? If it's Catalina or newer, then 32-bit apps don't work anyway. Mojave was the last version to support 32-bit apps although support officially ended with High Sierra.

Otherwise, this might help

How to Find All 32-Bit Apps on a Mac

MacOS High Sierra is the last macOS release to support 32-bit apps “without compromise” (presumably meaning without performance degradation, and with maximum compatibility), and betas o…

osxdaily.com

But beyond that, you should make sure your other apps will run on the M1, either natively or through emulation. Sorry, no experience there as I am still (happily) using my 2018 Intel Mini.

 

[hoo-man-b-ing]

As for external drives, Western Digital has the 1TB SanDisk Portable SSD (SDSSDE30-1T00-G25) on sale for $59.49. It’s USB C so you can plug it (or a couple of them) into your Mac with no adapters. It’s also on sale at Adorama and should be plenty fast for backups.

As for finding 32-bit apps, I’d recommend using Activity Monitor by looking at the “Kind” column (other options and more detailed instructions: https://www.macworld.com/article/232735/how-to-check-if-mac-software-is-32-or-64-bit.html)

Note that the Activity Monitor approach only identifies running apps, which could be an advantage if your Mac is full of software you no longer use and don’t care about. However, I recommend you use the System Information approach if you want to know about every app on your system.

 

[EugW]

In this situation, personally I think a Mac Studio might be a waste of money, unless the OP really needs the power and memory. I know all those ports are nice, but there isn't that much need for ports in this case. A Mac mini would suffice:

HDMI port - Monitor
Headphone jack - Analogue audio out
USB-A port #1 - $15 hub to connect keyboard and mouse. Maybe even attach the scanner to that hub.
USB-A port #2 - Maybe scanner or else empty.
USB-C port #1 - External backup drive. (Get a new drive. No point in trying to use the FireWire drive in 2022.)
USB-C port #2 - Empty. Can use that for other devices or else get a hub for that too for additional ports.

BTW, good quality USB-C to USB-A adapters cost less than US$5.

 

[dalesladx]

For starters, what operating system are you currently running on the Mac Pro? If it's Catalina or newer, then 32-bit apps don't work anyway. Mojave was the last version to support 32-bit apps although support officially ended with High Sierra.

Otherwise, this might help

How to Find All 32-Bit Apps on a Mac

MacOS High Sierra is the last macOS release to support 32-bit apps “without compromise” (presumably meaning without performance degradation, and with maximum compatibility), and betas o…

osxdaily.com

But beyond that, you should make sure your other apps will run on the M1, either natively or through emulation. Sorry, no experience there as I am still (happily) using my 2018 Intel Mini.

Thanks Boyd01, I checked on the 32 bit and I'm ok, nothing I'll be missing that I can't live without. I'm running Mojave right now, it's as far as I can go with my rig.

In this situation, personally I think a Mac Studio might be a waste of money, unless the OP really needs the power and memory. I know all those ports are nice, but there isn't that much need for ports in this case. A Mac mini would suffice:

HDMI port - Monitor
Headphone jack - Analogue audio out
USB-A port #1 - $15 hub to connect keyboard and mouse. Maybe even attach the scanner to that hub.
USB-A port #2 - Maybe scanner or else empty.
USB-C port #1 - External backup drive. (Get a new drive. No point in trying to use the FireWire drive in 2022.)
USB-C port #2 - Empty. Can use that for other devices or else get a hub for that too for additional ports.

BTW, good quality USB-C to USB-A adapters cost less than US$5.

I have to say that after reading your post EugW that it does make a lot of sense to go with the mini. The Mac Studio is definitely overkill for what I'd be using it for. I've priced out the Mini and added some extra memory also upped storage to 1TB SSD. The money I'd be saving would go a long way to purchasing 2 external USB drives for Time Machine and extra backup.
I've looked at the Western Digital has the 1TB SanDisk Portable SSD that Hoo-man suggested and I could get both a 1TB and a 2TB SSD.
I did have a question about the two USB-C ports you are using for my external drives. Where are you finding them. If is the two Thunderbolt/USB-4 ports what would be the best way to connect my USB cables to them.

 

[EugW]

I've looked at the Western Digital has the 1TB SanDisk Portable SSD that Hoo-man suggested and I could get both a 1TB and a 2TB SSD.
I did have a question about the two USB-C ports you are using for my external drives. Where are you finding them. If is the two Thunderbolt/USB-4 ports what would be the best way to connect my USB cables to them.

I use an external SSD for data, but I use an external hard drive for Time Machine. There isn't really a need to have an SSD for Time Machine.

Yes, Thunderbolt / USB4 uses the USB-C port type.

Nowadays many external drives have both USB-C cables and USB-A cables in the box. Or else they may have a version with that for say $10 extra. For example, my Samsung T7 Shield SSD (2 TB) came with both cables, as did my Toshiba Canvio Flex portable hard drive (4 TB).

BTW, for external SSDs on Apple Silicon Macs, you're much better off using USB-C rather than USB-A. My Samsung T7 Shield is twice as fast on my Mac mini's 10 Gbps USB-C ports (> 800 MB/s) than it is on its 5 Gbps USB-A ports (< 400 MB/s), for obvious reasons.

If you have an older USB-A drive, you can just plug it into the Mac mini's USB-A port, or else you can buy a $5 USB-A --> USB-C adapter/dongle and plug it into a USB-C port.

 

[dalesladx]

I use an external SSD for data, but I use an external hard drive for Time Machine. There isn't really a need to have an SSD for Time Machine.

Yes, Thunderbolt / USB4 uses the USB-C port type.

Nowadays many external drives have both USB-C cables and USB-A cables in the box. Or else they may have a version with that for say $10 extra. For example, my Samsung T7 Shield SSD (2 TB) came with both cables, as did my Toshiba Canvio Flex portable hard drive (4 TB).

BTW, for external SSDs on Apple Silicon Macs, you're much better off using USB-C rather than USB-A. My Samsung T7 Shield is twice as fast on my Mac mini's 10 Gbps USB-C ports (> 800 MB/s) than it is on its 5 Gbps USB-A ports (< 400 MB/s), for obvious reasons.

If you have an older USB-A drive, you can just plug it into the Mac mini's USB-A port, or else you can buy a $5 USB-A --> USB-C adapter/dongle and plug it into a USB-C port.

I was looking at external hard drives on Amazon and Toshiba drives came up I noticed that all of the drives came with USB 3.0 cables. It looks like the USB 3.0 and USB-C are interchangeable, is that right.

 

[EugW]

I was looking at external hard drives on Amazon and Toshiba drives came up I noticed that all of the drives came with USB 3.0 cables. It looks like the USB 3.0 and USB-C are interchangeable, is that right.

Not quite. USB-C is the port shape. USB 3.0 is the transfer protocol, but often implies USB-A ports.

However, you can get different cables to work with same drives. My Toshiba Canvio Flex came with both cables in the box.

Toshiba Canvio Flex 4TB Portable External Hard Drive USB-C USB 3.0, Silver for PC, Mac, & Tablet - HDTX140XSCCA

Combining compatibility and portability, the Canvio Flex portable external hard drive is designed to work interchangeably with most major USB devices and operating systems. The Canvio Flex is compatible with both Mac and Windows PC, as well as supported tablet devices with USB-C port (2). Enjoy t...

www.amazon.com

 

[Fishrrman]

OP wrote:
"As for getting a more up to date external backup drive to replace my old OWC Mercury Elite Pro. well I might as well go whole hog and update that also. I'm open to suggestions for an external backup 1 TB drive."

I'd suggest the Samsung t7 Shield:

SAMSUNG T7 Shield 1TB, Portable SSD, up to 1050MB/s, USB 3.2 Gen2, Rugged, IP65 Rated, for Photographers, Content Creators and Gaming, External Solid State Drive (MU-PE1T0R/AM, 2022), Blue

Samsung T7 Shield Portable SSD delivers high performance on-the-go, not matter the terrain. It has an IP65 rating for water** and dust* resistance, with Dynamic Thermal Guard to manage heat control. Transfer huge files instantly. USB 3.2 Gen 2 and PCIe® NVMe™ achieve soaring sequential read/write...

www.amazon.com

(if you get 2, be aware they come in 3 different colors)

I purchased one of these some weeks' back -- great drive, especially on sale.

You DON'T want to connect these to the keyboard (its USB ports are too slow).

Rather, connect to the USBc ports on the Mac.

 

[EugW]

OP wrote:
"As for getting a more up to date external backup drive to replace my old OWC Mercury Elite Pro. well I might as well go whole hog and update that also. I'm open to suggestions for an external backup 1 TB drive."

I'd suggest the Samsung t7 Shield:

SAMSUNG T7 Shield 1TB, Portable SSD, up to 1050MB/s, USB 3.2 Gen2, Rugged, IP65 Rated, for Photographers, Content Creators and Gaming, External Solid State Drive (MU-PE1T0R/AM, 2022), Blue

Samsung T7 Shield Portable SSD delivers high performance on-the-go, not matter the terrain. It has an IP65 rating for water** and dust* resistance, with Dynamic Thermal Guard to manage heat control. Transfer huge files instantly. USB 3.2 Gen 2 and PCIe® NVMe™ achieve soaring sequential read/write...

www.amazon.com

(if you get 2, be aware they come in 3 different colors)

I purchased one of these some weeks' back -- great drive, especially on sale.

You DON'T want to connect these to the keyboard (its USB ports are too slow).

Rather, connect to the USBc ports on the Mac.

That's overkill for a backup drive.

 

[Boyd01]

I have two 2tb T7's constantly connected to my Mac and struggle to keep any free space on them (I work with lots of big datasets). I also have a second pair that are Carbon Copy Clones of the primary drives. In this case, I don't think it's overkill to use SSD's as backups. It would take a long time to restore 2tb of data from a hard drive, one of those SSD's has at least 40 million individual files on it! So, if I have a failure, the SSD clone can just be plugged in and I can continue right where I left off, then get a replacement and clone it at my leisure.

So, it really depends on how you use your computer and the amount of data you have. Hard drives would probably be a good backup solution for many (if not most) people. For Time Machine, I use hard disks attached to a 2012 Mini fileserver on my LAN.

 

[dalesladx]

Well fellows I bit the bullet last night and purchased an Apple Mini computer, I did bump up the memory to 16GB and chose a 1TB drive. So I'm pretty excited but also apprehensive about transferring everything from my Mac Pro to the Mini. It's been 10 years or more since I've needed to do any of that and frankly haven't got a clue where to start when I get the new Mini.
Anyhow I'm putting that on the back burner for now seeing as the Mini won't arrive until around Dec. 18th.

Not having had to shop for drives for a very long time, I'm amazed at how small everything is now. It seems like all of the drives I look at are portables and pretty reasonable priced.
I think if I were making a choice it would be based on the longevity of the drive. Of course I'm not moving large amounts of data around so it doesn't have to be fast. But the fact that the SSD drives have no moving parts and are quiet has me leaning that way. I figure I'd get a 1 TB and a 2 TB drive, I'd use the 2 TB for the Time Machine and the 1TB for an extra backup.

 

[dalesladx]

I can't thank you fellows enough for all of the great advice and suggestions that you have given me to help me on to the right path. I realise that I'm not there yet but hopefully I will manage to make the transition from my Mac Pro to the Mini without having to bug you again for help.
Thanks again, I can't tell you enough how grateful I am for all of your help. Cheers.