Mac mini 2.7ghz i7 best HD configuration? – Forum Post & Discussion Thread : macProVideo.com

Burafao

Posts: 48

Joined: Aug 2nd, 2007, 02:35

Mac mini 2.7ghz i7 best HD configuration?

Aug 13th, 2011, 04:30

Hi there, just got my new Macmini 2.7ghz i7 with a 750gig 7200rpm hd and 8gig's of Ram. Got a geek bench score of 7570, so its going to be a heck of a lot faster than my old G5 iMac i-sight. I want to know the best way to set the Macmini up regarding hard drives. With Thunderbolt HD's just around the corner i am thinking of getting one of these http://www.lacie.com...ct.htm?id=10549 when they come out, and run the audio from one of the ssd's ( the Little Big Drive has 2 SSD's inside ) and the Logic project from the other ssd and run the Logic app from the internal drive. With Thunderbolts very fast speed i could imagine this would work well. I have seen several threads on the web of people running the project on a seperate drive from the app and audio and samples on yet 2 other drives. What are your thoughts on this? Also now that the MINI can have 2 internal drives, what about having the App and project on the boot drive and running the audio on the other? and samples on an external drive? and backing up onto another external drive? Another question is will a SSD help more with the boot drive or the audio/ sample drive? I could go all out money wise and get 2 internal SSD's and a Lacie little big drive with its 2 SSD's. I know SSD's are really expensive for now, but the speed that they run on video's on Youtube are amazing. Would they have a big advantage over HDD's when using Logic 9? Thanks for any help. tOM

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Rounik Admin

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Joined: Dec 16th, 2006, 08:13

Re: Mac mini 2.7ghz i7 best HD configuration?

Aug 14th, 2011, 06:48

Hi Tom! That's a lot of questions :) SSD's are great! Thunderbolt is great too. In fact, I've just received an SSD by Crucial.com to review - which I'll be doing as both a Boot Disk inside my MBP and in a FW800 enclosure. So, far (in the FW800 enclosure) it is very zippy and amazingly quiet. I'll write up the review for The MPV Hub i the next week or two. You can also get Hybrid drives as Mo Volans uses: [url]http://www.macprovideo.com/hub/mac-osx/how-to-upgrade-your-mac-without-breaking-the-bank[/url] In short, depending on the type of projects you're running (I'm assuming a lot of virtual instruments?) then running your projects from a separate FW800 or Thunderbolt drive would be great and a separate one for your samples even better. If the boot drive is SSD or Hybrid you'll notice that Logic and OSX in general will like you a lot. Certainly, placing samples on another drive is a great idea... and then you can experiment having your project folders on the boot drive or an external and see whether you notice much benefit. Check out Mo's article above and let me know what you think... :)

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Burafao

Posts: 48

Joined: Aug 2nd, 2007, 02:35

Re: Mac mini 2.7ghz i7 best HD configuration?

Aug 14th, 2011, 09:32

Hi Rounik, thanks for your reply. I look forward to reading your review. I have the 7200rpm drive, 8 gig of ram and the i7 processor in the mini, so there is nothing to upgrade apart from going SS for the boot drive. (though OWC has got 8gig ram cards for around $700.00, guess we will wait for the price to drop:)) Please excuse my "beginnerness" regarding computers. Rounik what do you think about using the 2 drives inside the Macmini? Are the 2 drives in the Macmini connected by the mother board? Does that mean they have PCI express kind of speed between each other? If so would it be good to have both of them SSD drives? the boot drive having the the app and project and the other INTERNAL drive having the audio and the samples on an external drive? I have been warned not to use the second internal drive as a back up, so i guess this could be a good set up. 1. boot drive SSD Logic app and project 2. second internal drive SSD audio 3. 1st external drive SSD samples 4. back-up drive for the whole project HDD To make the most of the thunderbolt connection i assume only a SSD is going to make use of its mega speed? So many questions Rounik, i really appreciate your help. Thanks tOM

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Rounik Admin

Posts: 8713

Joined: Dec 16th, 2006, 08:13

Re: Mac mini 2.7ghz i7 best HD configuration?

Aug 14th, 2011, 04:19

Hi Tom, Sounds like you have a similar setup to me except I'm on a MacBook Pro these days with i7, 8GB and 7200rpm drive. I'd certainly wait a good few months until 8GB ram modules drop in price. I'm hopeful they'll be about 50% cheaper in 6 months or so... It's usually the way things go in the computing world. I'm not 100% about the connection with the internal drives on a Mac Mini. I believe they are connected via eSATA? Not sure on the Bus speed. It depends on your budget really. If you feel the Hybrid SSDs won't do the job, then certainly go for an SSD. Also, can you describe what kind of projects you're running? e.g. on average how many audio tracks, how many SI tracks - and instances of Instruments (e.g. 5 separate Omnisphere's, etc) If you've got a lot of money to burn then going for 2 SSD internally would be great. I think that might be overkill for now... As to your questions: 1. Agree 2. What do you mean by audio? Do you mean your projects? If so then you'll want to find which drive is faster the 2nd internal SSD or the external SSD in no.3. 3. Good idea. 4. I'd go as far to say you should have a drive which you clone your system drive to. Backing up a system drive is such a good idea!! Thunderbolt hasn't really been tested in the real world with Logic... so it's quite possible that 7200rpm drives will also get a performance boost when using a Thunderbolt connection. I couldn't really speak with any authority on this as I haven't tested out SSD or HDD in Thunderbolt. Hope it doesn't seem like I'm trying to evade your questions ;-) btw, I vaguely remember seeing a flyer for you to play at Sheikinashram in Glastonbury some time ago..? Or perhaps I'm confusing you with someone else? Cheers Rounik

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Burafao

Posts: 48

Joined: Aug 2nd, 2007, 02:35

Re: Mac mini 2.7ghz i7 best HD configuration?

Aug 14th, 2011, 11:39

Hi there Rounik, thanks for your reply. Yes that's me a the Shekin Ashram. My Facebook name is Tom Simenauer, i can let you know when i am doing concerts. By audio, sorry i mean audio tracks. So would you recommend putting the audio tracks on the second internal drive, with the project and Logic on the boot? Can you explain a bit more about hybrid ssd's. Was that with a firewire enclosure? Most of my projects have around 10 to 20 tracks of audio 5 to 10 SI. I don't have any third party SI's. I am getting the feeling that as i mainly deal with small to medium size projects and mainly with audio tracks, i have if i add another 7200rpm internal drive for audio tracks and have 2 external drives, 1 for the samples ( 7200prm firewire800 or the hybrid ssd you mention ) and the other a back-up drive, i will have a system more than fast enough for these tasks. Do you back up the system drive and all your audio tracks on the same back up drive? Thanks for your excellent help. tOM

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Rounik Admin

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Joined: Dec 16th, 2006, 08:13

Re: Mac mini 2.7ghz i7 best HD configuration?

Aug 15th, 2011, 01:04

Hi Tom, Cool! Well, the audio files should be in your project folder. So, keep them in there and place your project folder either on the 2nd internal or your system drive. To be honest, when running sessions of about - 10 audio tracks - 10 Software Instruments (and some of these 3rd party) - About 20-30 Effects Plugins (including Space Designer, etc.) I still tend to run my project off the internal system drive. Bear in mind I'm on a MBP i7, Quad-Core, 2.2Ghz with 8GB Ram and a 7200rpm drive. On this Mac I haven't yet needed to run projects from a separate external. Although I don't tend to record more than 2 audio tracks simultaneously either. I think you're right - with the setup you mention in your last post you should be flying! Definitely go the Thunderbolt & SSD route in the future. Personally, with Logic 9.1.5 I don't know yet whether the price of admission for SSD and Thunder is worth the performance gains. Once prices drop... Ha! Good question at the end... Sometimes I do. For example, because my project folders can often be found on my System Drive then yes they get backed up when I clone my drive. However, I also do a weekly backup of important data (includes my Logic projects) to another external drive. Thanks tOM & hope that helps Rounik

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Burafao

Posts: 48

Joined: Aug 2nd, 2007, 02:35

Re: Mac mini 2.7ghz i7 best HD configuration?

Aug 15th, 2011, 11:29

Hi Rounik, thankyou. I feel after reading your posts on this thread that until i am taxing the cpu up to 70%-90% i will also run my audio tracks on the same drive as the project, so that will be the system drive. Later i will add another internal drive and that might as will be a SSD when they become cheaper. And eventually i'll get something like Lacie's Little big drive when they are cheaper. I generally put my space designers on a bus and i might have a maximum of 5 running in a biggish project. After coming from a workstation like the AKAI DPS16 where there was a TOTAL of 4 effects for the whole project i think it helped me to be creative with a few effects. Now having up to 15 effects per channel haha, i mean thats like out there. So this thread is really me trying to figure the best way to work with Logic and the mini, not to max-it -out just cause its possible, though thats fun. Thanks for the tip about back up. I will back the system drive up and then another back-up for the Logic work. Thanks Rounik, your a star. tOM

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Rounik Admin

Posts: 8713

Joined: Dec 16th, 2006, 08:13

Re: Mac mini 2.7ghz i7 best HD configuration?

Aug 17th, 2011, 03:25

Hey tOm, I think that sounds like a good idea - in terms of upgrading. I'd say test out your new Mini and see how far you can push it in a real-world test. It is kind of crazy how many inserts you can have per channel - and, although I barely use this feature anymore, freezing tracks can be a god send to reduce that CPU meter! You know, if you're recording say 4 audio tracks simultaneously you'll probably notice a difference if recording to an internal (or external) SSD - but at the same time 7200rpm should be absolutely fine... and the benefit, IMHO, wouldn't be worth the extra cost just yet. If you want to clone your system can I recommend a free application to use? Carbon Copy Cloner. It's very, very useful and I do a clone of my 500GB system drive once a week which after the initial clone doesn't take more than 25-30 minutes. Stay well & ask away with any questions & of course would love to know how you get on! Rounik

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