Late 2012 mac mini or late 2012 imac?

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Hello
i want to buy a new mac for my home studio and i am between
the new mac mini :
2.3 GHz Quad-core Intel Core i7
4gb ram ...later i will upgrade to 8gb
1TB Serial ATA hard drive or Fusion Drive( what is better?)

or the new Imac:
Intel Quad Core i5 2.7 GHz
8gb ram
etc

witch of these two machines are better for a home studio?im looking mostly for better performance
im using mostly: logic, pro tools, many samples and virtual instruments simultaneously
my budjet is maximum 1500 euro
thank you
 
C

chas_m

Guest
You're going to need a lot more than 8GB if you're planning on doing "many samples and virtual instruments simultaneously," so this is where the decision is going to be made. The Mac mini can support up to 16GB. The iMac (I presume you mean the 27-inch since that's the only model that can have its RAM upgraded later) can support up to 32GB of RAM, so that makes it a clear winner in the expansion department. The i5 isn't quite as powerful as the i7 but its still quad-core and RAM is far more important to what you're doing than just processor speed. You'll want either the 7200rpm Fusion drive or another 7200rpm drive, don't go with 5400rpm for pro audio work, you will regret it if you do.

The Fusion Drive combines the best of the SSD technology with the vast storage and relatively low cost of traditional HDs, so again you want the Fusion Drive over a traditional HD if you can get that.
 
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hello
i mean the 21.5 imac
Intel Quad Core i5 2.7 GHz
8gb ram
etc
i dont have the money for the new 27 inch imac

either mac mini i7 or imac i5 21.5 inch?
 
C

chas_m

Guest
Tougher call, but I'd still lean towards the iMac because a) you get a GORGEOUS screen with that and b) you can max out the RAM at the time of purchase and get the Fusion Drive.
 
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Your Mac's Specs
27" iMac (Mid 2011), 3.4GHz Intel Core i7, 16GB RAM, 2GB Video Card, 2TB HDD
RAM and CPU will be your priorities when building your machine on apple's website. If you have to forgo the fusion drive in favor of more RAM or a bump in the CPU speed, do it. 7200 rpm drives still work just fine and SSD/Fusion drives will have little performance increases with recording audio and especially when running soft synth sample libraries (most libraries just load their samples in the RAM anyway). The biggest performance increase you'd get with a SSD or Fusion drive would be Logic itself opening much faster.
 

CrimsonRequiem


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Your Mac's Specs
MBP 2.3 Ghz 4GB RAM 860 GB SSD, iMac 3.4 GHz Intel Core i7 32GB RAM, Fusion Drive 1TB
iMac cause you can upgrade to 32GB of RAM if you get the 27" version. Not to mention the graphic performance is better as it has a dedicated GFX card.
 

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