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Fully Loaded Mac Mini Ok for Premiere Pro?
Hello all,
I’m looking to upgrade a Mid-2010 Mac Pro (old silver tower, specs below) and was curious if you all thought a fully decked out 2016 Mac Mini (specs below) would be OK? Unfortunately, using a PC is not an option as my job/department is already heavily invested in Mac. I’m currently using Adobe CS6: Premiere and After Effects mostly.
I work for a community college doing basic 1080p videography for online distribution. No 4K (no plan to upgrade in the near future), no intense color grading (i.e. no Davinci Resolve), rarely doing intense graphic work in After Effects. Very basic use of Photoshop/Illustrator.
The Mac Pro would be wonderful but simply overkill for my needs. I already have a beautiful 27″ Mac Monitor so the iMacs seem to be a waste as well. Am I really killing myself by not going with a quad-core, even though this Mac Mini is an i7?
Current Mid-2010 Mac Pro (Silver Tower):
Proposed New Mac Mini:
3.0GHz Dual-Core Intel Core i7 (Turbo Boost up to 3.5GHz)
16GB 1600MHz LPDDR3 SDRAM
2TB Fusion Drive
Intel Iris GraphicsThanks in advance for any help you all can offer!
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10 Replies
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As long as you convert all the footage to an edit codec, like ProRes or DNxHD. There’s no way a Mini is going to be able to deal with many camera formats natively…
Shane
Little Frog Post
Read my blog, Little Frog in High Def -
I wouldn’t suggested buying a Mac Mini. The last update was in 2014 and in some regards that was actually a down grade from the previous version released in 2012.
Why are you looking to upgrade from your 2010 tower and what is your budget? Honestly, right now the only Mac worth buying IMO is an higher-end iMac, but they are due for a refresh too.
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Either that or make a Hackintosh. But warning, that’s harder than one might think. But yes, if you want good and MAC and simple, and works with Premeire…gotta get an iMac
Shane
Little Frog Post
Read my blog, Little Frog in High Def -
i don’t really know that, is it necessary to do it like that?
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Thanks for the quick advice everyone!
Yes, I do convert all footage from a Panasonic AF100 to ProRes. I didn’t realize the latest makes were still 2014 models. Yikes. You all have confirmed what I was worried about.
Honestly, I think the current Mid-2010 MacPro I have is working just fine. It has a few kinks that worry me: I have to push the power button three times before it actually powers up, can’t restart the computer as it’ll just shut down regardless and never cut back on but once she’s going, and if she’s in a good mood, she purrs haha! My external 8TB HDD RAID array from 2010 just failed as well so it just seems like it’s on the last leg.
Budget isn’t too much of an issue: I just submit a form asking for it and it might get approved, it might not – so I was trying not to give my VPs sticker shock. The new MacPro (trashcan) price (the $3,000 model) is feasible, but I’ll need to buy all new HDDs as well. I suppose I’ll just have to bite the bullet and ask for it :/
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For some formats, like AVCHD and some H.264…yes. Because unless you have a computer with a very fast processor and good gfx card…the stuff needed to decode that footage…your machine might struggle. A MacMini doesn’t have those resources, where older MacPros might, and newer iMacs also have.
Shane
Little Frog Post
Read my blog, Little Frog in High Def -
[Alexander Freedman] “Honestly, I think the current Mid-2010 MacPro I have is working just fine. It has a few kinks that worry me: I have to push the power button three times before it actually powers up, can’t restart the computer as it’ll just shut down regardless and never cut back on but once she’s going, and if she’s in a good mood, she purrs haha! My external 8TB HDD RAID array from 2010 just failed as well so it just seems like it’s on the last leg.”
Is it possible to get the 2010 serviced because there might just be something physically faulty with the power button or power supply. If you can hold on to your MP for a few more months I think/hope Apple is going to roll out new hardware this fall.
I have a 2009 MP that I’ve been wanting to upgrade from for over a year but I just can’t pull the trigger given Apple’s current offerings. I mean, even the ‘new’ Mac Pros are still the original models from 2013 yet they are still charging top dollar for them. New CPUs from Intel and new GPUs from AMD and Nvidida have been released recently so it’s my hope that Apple has been holding off until this new tech came out before they announced new hardware, but we will see.
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The biggest problem with the Mac mini is the installed GPU… At least with an iMac you can, and should, upgrade to the highest level GPU Apple installs in the model you’re looking at.
BTW, using your existing monitor as a second monitor with the 27″ iMac is NOT overkill… You will quickly find that Adobe Premiere is much easier to use with lots of real estate. I have three 27″ monitors connected to my older Mac tower, and I love it.
BTW, your older Mac might work just fine if you simply replace the existing GPU with a one of the latest powerful cards, such as a GTX Titan. You’ll need to get one flashed for Mac from https://www.macvidcards.com, because there are no more Mac Edition cards being manufactured any longer.
David Roth Weiss
Director/Editor/Colorist & Workflow Consultant
David Weiss Productions
Los AngelesDavid is a Creative COW contributing editor and a forum host of the Apple Final Cut Pro forum.
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[Andrew Kimery] “Is it possible to get the 2010 serviced because there might just be something physically faulty with the power button or power supply. If you can hold on to your MP for a few more months I think/hope Apple is going to roll out new hardware this fall. “
Wow, I didn’t realize the MacPro’s weren’t refreshed either! With that in mind, I think I can certainly hold on to the 2010 a few more months to see what Apple’s fall lineup is. It really doesn’t deserve to be put down just yet haha. Great info!
[David Roth Weiss] “BTW, using your existing monitor as a second monitor with the 27″ iMac is NOT overkill… You will quickly find that Adobe Premiere is much easier to use with lots of real estate. I have three 27″ monitors connected to my older Mac tower, and I love it.”
I didn’t even think about a second monitor – What a wonderful idea! Well, that opens the door again for iMacs as a possibility but I think I’ll definitely just hold off and make my decision when/if Apple gives us a refresh.
The Mid-2010 lives to see another day! Thanks everyone for your great advice! What an A+ community!
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[Alexander Freedman] “Wow, I didn’t realize the MacPro’s weren’t refreshed either! With that in mind, I think I can certainly hold on to the 2010 a few more months to see what Apple’s fall lineup is. It really doesn’t deserve to be put down just yet haha. Great info!”
The website MacRumors has a buyer’s guide that let’s you know at a glance how long it’s been since a new product (Mac Pro, iPhone, etc.,) has shipped.
https://buyersguide.macrumors.com/#Mac
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