Old Macbook Pro or Mac Mini?

thomasw88 · October 2023

I'm primarily a windows user.

I have a main PC with dual monitors I use with studio one which is great.

For some bands I use a Ipad pro M1 for forscore etc. I'm thinking it would be good to have Macbook or mini that I could swap in/out using a switcher for my PC.

Usage would be forscore/logic possibly studio one and general stuff as swapping files between windows/apple is always a bit of a pain.

Ideally I'd be looking for something thats eiither a) very cheap and would be fine for a couple of years or b) something a bit more long term like a mac mini m1 / m2 with 16gb ram or a 2018 I5/I7?

Also something that will work with existing Windows/pc cables ie I could connect the mouse/keynboard to a USB hub and swap it between the pc/ mac, and will be able to work with 2 monitors.

Just how far back generation wise/spec wise can you go with this and what would people recommend?

Stratavarious · October 2023

I use a Mac mini with dual monitors (both via HDMI) I have a dock for it with an extra 2TB SSD and a bunch of usb and SD slots for media, interfaces, extra monitor, etc. I use an old Dell PC keyboard and wireless mouse with it, just some keystroke differences to know.

Unless you want the portability of a laptop, the extra connectivity options of the mini are great for me as I have several laptops for events, also max update lifespan, as I’m not buying several years old.

thomasw88 · October 2023

Stratavarious said:

I use a Mac mini with dual monitors (both via HDMI) I have a dock for it with an extra 2TB SSD and a bunch of usb and SD slots for media, interfaces, extra monitor, etc. I use an old Dell PC keyboard and wireless mouse with it, just some keystroke differences to know.

Unless you want the portability of a laptop, the extra connectivity options of the mini are great for me as I have several laptops for events, also max update lifespan, as I’m not buying several years old.

Yeah I'm thinking that. What age/specs are good enough?

Stratavarious · October 2023

thomasw88 said:

Stratavarious said:

I use a Mac mini with dual monitors (both via HDMI) I have a dock for it with an extra 2TB SSD and a bunch of usb and SD slots for media, interfaces, extra monitor, etc. I use an old Dell PC keyboard and wireless mouse with it, just some keystroke differences to know.

Unless you want the portability of a laptop, the extra connectivity options of the mini are great for me as I have several laptops for events, also max update lifespan, as I’m not buying several years old.

Yeah I'm thinking that. What age/specs are good enough?

I got a new Mini M2… with the dock, I added loads of extra SSD storage and an extra external back up drive.

thomasw88 · October 2023

Stratavarious said:

thomasw88 said:

Stratavarious said:

I use a Mac mini with dual monitors (both via HDMI) I have a dock for it with an extra 2TB SSD and a bunch of usb and SD slots for media, interfaces, extra monitor, etc. I use an old Dell PC keyboard and wireless mouse with it, just some keystroke differences to know.

Unless you want the portability of a laptop, the extra connectivity options of the mini are great for me as I have several laptops for events, also max update lifespan, as I’m not buying several years old.

Yeah I'm thinking that. What age/specs are good enough?

I got a new Mini M2… with the dock, I added loads of extra SSD storage and an extra external back up drive.

how much ram?

marxski · October 2023

I have an old Mac Mini from 2013. I7 Quad with 16gb RAM and 2 SSD drives. It runs Logic and loads of plugs really well. You can get these cheap cheap used now. Caveat is I deliberately stopped upgrading OSX at Mojave even though it can go a couple higher. It’s very stable.

thomasw88 · October 2023

marxski said:

I have an old Mac Mini from 2013. I7 Quad with 16gb RAM and 2 SSD drives. It runs Logic and loads of plugs really well. You can get these cheap cheap used now. Caveat is I deliberately stopped upgrading OSX at Mojave even though it can go a couple higher. It’s very stable.

Do you have to run an old version of logic or can it run the latest versions?

do you not have concerns over support as mojave is out of support?

marxski · October 2023

thomasw88 said:

marxski said:

I have an old Mac Mini from 2013. I7 Quad with 16gb RAM and 2 SSD drives. It runs Logic and loads of plugs really well. You can get these cheap cheap used now. Caveat is I deliberately stopped upgrading OSX at Mojave even though it can go a couple higher. It’s very stable.

Do you have to run an old version of logic or can it run the latest versions?

do you not have concerns over support as mojave is out of support?

Highest Logic version you can go on Mojave is 10.5.1. Not had any compatibility issues with plugs it’s still widely supported.

Not concerned about Mojave no longer receiving support no.

Fingers657 · October 2023

I’m a longtime time MacMini user.
Imo it’s best to get the latest SSD version because of its own Apple operating system it will except all the yearly OS updates for the next 10 years .
John Lewis offer interest free financing in the UK.

thomasw88 · October 2023

Fingers657 said:

I’m a longtime time MacMini user.
Imo it’s best to get the latest SSD version because of its own Apple operating system it will except all the yearly OS updates for the next 10 years .
John Lewis offer interest free financing in the UK.

8gb ram enough for the next 10 years? 16gb is very expensive so I don't think I could afford that much

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Old Macbook Pro or Mac Mini?

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