M4 Mac Mini questions

[sakini madinina]

Hello
Now that the Mac mini has been out for several months, I'm considering purchasing the base model (256GB/16GB) exclusively for music production. I'm thinking of using an external SSD (thunderbolt port): to store
- projects
- samples
- presets
- plugin data
I'm thinking of installing on the internal drive (programs only):
- Studio One Pro 7.2.2
- Arturia VCollection
- Arturia FX Collection
- NI Komplete Standard
- Vital
- Plugin Alliance Bundle
- UAD Bundle
- Spitfire Audio
- UVI Falcon
- a few other plugins
My projects generally include 20/30 MIDI tracks + 6 Waves tracks

I'm new to Mac and I'm afraid of making rookie mistakes.
1) Does macOS handle using internally installed programs with external data?
2) Will 256GB be enough for programs, even if most of it is on the external SSD? Will Mac OS have enough space to run properly for a long time?
3) If you have a basic Mac mini, what problems do you have after several periods of use?
4) I'd also like feedback on the use of efficient cores since version 7.2.

 

[Lukas]

This thread is already 4 months old, so I moved your post into a new one.
We try to keep things tidy by starting a fresh thread when new questions come up - especially after a long pause. Just something to keep in mind for next time

As for your question: I'll leave the detailed recommendations to the more experienced macOS users here.

But I had a MacBook Pro (i5 / 256 GB) back in 2014 and quickly ran into storage limits - and I wasn’t even using it intensively, just for occasional coding, video, and music projects while traveling. Given how affordable Mac Minis are these days, I'd recommend going with at least 512 GB, even if you plan to store most of your user data on external SSDs.

 

[js1]

1. Mac OS has no issue with using external data with programs on the main drive. I have all my sound libraries (Toontrack, NI, Arturia, etc) and my songs on an external nothing special SanDisk SSD.

2. IMO, 256 Gb is too small. My wife uses her 256 Gb for browsing and mail almost exclusively, and I had to go through a major cleanup because she ran out of drive. Now, she was backing up her phone and IPad to it (which I switched to ICloud) and there was some useless large logs that were on by default for email. Even with all that turned off and removed, she was still sitting at about 150 Gb on the drive. I agree that 512 Gb should be viewed as a minimum.

3. I have a Mac Mini Pro, not the base machine, so I can't address directly. But on the areas that are common (ports, noise, user experience), it's been great.

4. In my case, efficiency core supported hasn't helped. But that's because I have more power than I would ever need with the performance cores of the Mini Pro, leaving the efficiency cores for everything else that I have running (like browsers, email, Apple Music, etc). This results in a stable experience on large projects with 64 sample buffers without having to close all the other apps. Turning on the efficiency core support led to spiking that I could have optimized my way out of .. but why bother?

With the base Mini with only 4 performance cores, you'll probably want to take advantage of the efficiency cores. You'll likely have to play around with what apps you have running, and your buffer sizes. FWIW, I have run Studio One on an M2 Air (4 performance, 4 efficiency cores) prior to the efficiency core support, and it was slightly better performing with S1 than my previous I9900K DAW.

Hope this helps.

 

[Gary Shepherd]

I have the Mac Mini M4 but I opted for 32GB RAM memory and 2 TB of storage - 256GB is barely adequate. I went for Apple storage (yeah I know - expensive) but it avoids the faff with external SSD's. So far everything that has been thrown at it has been dealt with - not sure you need a Pro for music as the M4 Mini is powerful. Concentrate on your RAM and storage needs.

 

[tacman7]

I've always been a PC person, had a pagemaker class on early macs.

I wanted to get a TB interface with latency so low I hear it before I hit the guitar.

That meant mac and the learning curve wasn't that bad, challenging but doable.

I just had macrumors but google AI is like a research assistant and can make the process quicker.

If you already know PC well, the translation is reasonable.

Once I got my apps up and running then it's just like using windows for the most part.

I always bought the plain jane model and a regular USB external drive.

Had an M1, then M2 and now an M4. I wound up going back to the M2 because Antelope Audio Zen Go wouldn't work with the newer OS on the M4.

I run an HD2 on the M4

I run Luminar Neo on the M4, works lot better then my PC's.

I've never had a problem with the plain Jane's
depends on what you're doing and if you need bleeding edge or not.

I also replaced my PC with a mini PC, this is the way to go for me.

 

[Jemusic]

32G RAM is a preferred minimum and at least 512 G internal SSD. Have you checked into the Mac Studio version. Mac MIni gets a little warm apparently but Mac Studio runs stone cold. All of your audio recording must be on an external drive as well as all your libraries. Do not install any sample libraries on the internal drive. It will fill up in a flash. Especially Native Komplete! You will need two external drives one for audio and the other for sample libraries.

SSD drives wear out faster if you are recording audio say and then erasing again and re recording etc. They last longer when you install apps and plugins etc that don't get changed much. That is why you should not record audio to your internal drive either. An external audio drive can be replaced easily. I invested in a drive enclosure with 5 drive bays inside. I have got a bunch of 2 TB 7200 rpm SATA drives which actually work really great. You can also install SSD drives into the enclosure. Highly recommended. You may need a decent USB hub as well for hooking up more things than what is available on the Mac. Get one with a 12V decent powersupply also. Efficiency cores do help but only with the right combination of buffers and DP. But with the M4 you should not need them.

It is smarter to build a computer that is more powerful than what you need currently. Then it will last longer, 5 years or more. Software will only tax your computer more as time goes on. Building a machine that just does the job in the meantime is not a good idea. It wont be that long before it runs out of puff and storage and you will have to upgrade anyway.