Using a mini pc with Studio One

[SCartz]

Looking to purchase a new pc - anyone else using a ‘mini pc’ successfully with S1 - the mini format looks inviting price and size wise but I’m unconvinced as to their suitability - I’m a hobbyist user not Pro…?

 

[Gerran]

Plenty of people use a laptop as well, so it comes down to the specs I guess.
I've got the feeling that especially heath management is more easily manageable in a tower and that seems to me to be better in the long run. But that's all speculation on my part..

 

[tpittman]

Looking to purchase a new pc - anyone else using a ‘mini pc’ successfully with S1 - the mini format looks inviting price and size wise but I’m unconvinced as to their suitability - I’m a hobbyist user not Pro…?

Gerran said it: Spec's matter. I run a Mac Mini. It as 1tb Drive w/ 4tb external drive, four (4) Thunderbolt 3 Ports, 2 USB Ports
HDMI ect. Run's great and it's a little older (Intel Mac). Does what I need. I run less than 20 tracks per song with 2-3 being VST
Instruments (ezdrummer & ezbass normally)

 

[TimC340]

There are plenty of mini PCs available that are more than capable of running Studio Pro, and doing so with plenty of plugins and tracks - exactly as there are plenty of Windows laptops capable of doing so, and they have far less room inside - though they’ll have very specific cooling setups.

I’d look for something running an AMD Ryzen 7 6800 or 7840HS (Intel i7-13700H is roughly equivalent) or better, with at least 16Gb of RAM (preferably 32 - it’ll be shared RAM so the integral GPU will be using it too). 1 or 2 Tb M.2/SSD drive should give you enough storage, and any extra you need can be external. Connectivity will be key - as many USB C ports as possible, Bluetooth 5.2 or better, WiFi 6, capability of triple displays.

There are loads available - the Mac Mini has serious competition!

 

[3BoxesEast]

Looking to purchase a new pc - anyone else using a ‘mini pc’ successfully with S1 - the mini format looks inviting price and size wise but I’m unconvinced as to their suitability - I’m a hobbyist user not Pro…?

Hi - I went for this one from Beelink, summer last year...

Beelink | Beelink GTi Ultra Series & EX Pro Docking Station Bundle

www.bee-link.com

This bundle with the docking station came to just under £1K at that time (64Gb Ram, 2TB drive). It was too good a deal, when trying to 'future proof' myself a little, for when I can afford/justify getting a decent graphics adapter (e.g. at least a 40 series Nvidia card). I currently have a 27" MSI monitor running at 1440P.

As others have mentioned, these miniPC's are like running a decent and very capable laptop. I opted for as much RAM as I could afford.

Right now, I'm so happy with it running S1 v6 or Cubase or Dorico Elements; a bit of dabbling in Affinity online, some MS Office stuff. All happy as Larry... Usual project size is around 40 - 50 tracks (mixing live concerts, folk-rock band album releases), with plenty of plugins on each, around 10 Groups and a few Reverb/Delay FX tracks. Main DAW is Cubase and S1 gets an outing quite often too - especially for CD/DDP prep and production.

Oh, and I must mention, this little beauty runs absolutely silent.! Which is bliss, compared to when I have to fire up the other (old) tower PC... Jeez, over the years, stopped noticing how much 'noise' I've actually been putting up with for so long... Not just when you're not on headphones; it's that constant, general low-level 'ambience' that pervades the room - it's just not there any more... Nice.

Good luck.!

 

[tpittman]

Hi - I went for this one from Beelink, summer last year...

Beelink | Beelink GTi Ultra Series & EX Pro Docking Station Bundle

www.bee-link.com

This bundle with the docking station came to just under £1K at that time (64Gb Ram, 2TB drive). It was too good a deal, when trying to 'future proof' myself a little, for when I can afford/justify getting a decent graphics adapter (e.g. at least a 40 series Nvidia card). I currently have a 27" MSI monitor running at 1440P.

As others have mentioned, these miniPC's are like running a decent and very capable laptop. I opted for as much RAM as I could afford.

Right now, I'm so happy with it running S1 v6 or Cubase or Dorico Elements; a bit of dabbling in Affinity online, some MS Office stuff. All happy as Larry... Usual project size is around 40 - 50 tracks (mixing live concerts, folk-rock band album releases), with plenty of plugins on each, around 10 Groups and a few Reverb/Delay FX tracks. Main DAW is Cubase and S1 gets an outing quite often too - especially for CD/DDP prep and production.

Oh, and I must mention, this little beauty runs absolutely silent.! Which is bliss, compared to when I have to fire up the other (old) tower PC... Jeez, over the years, stopped noticing how much 'noise' I've actually been putting up with for so long... Not just when you're not on headphones; it's that constant, general low-level 'ambience' that pervades the room - it's just not there any more... Nice.

Good luck.!

Did I read the spec sheet right? It comes with an PCle port or is that an add on? It was a little hard for me to read the sheet.
Could not find my glasses...geez. If a PCle port is included or even an add on a decent price that IMO is outstanding as I own
two UAD effects cards which I have installed in an xMac mini server which is expensive but very nice also. The mini pc market
may indeed be something to look at as my 2018 mac mini gets older. For me (at the time) it's more the OS between the Mac & PC that makes the difference in the long run...

 

[SCartz]

Thanks for the responses….

I have a Mac mini for general home/office use but I currently use a desktop tower pc Windows 10 with Studio One Pro v7, which is getting a bit old in the tooth and that’s what I’m looking to replace - potentially with a mini pc.

The spec’s on a mini pc may well be suitable but what concerns me (maybe irrationally) is whether the mini format is up to the task of being on for hours on end, potentially being pushed CPU wise, overheating etc so I was looking for reassurance from long term users of the mini pc format with Studio One.

Thanks again…. Steve

 

[TimC340]

Did I read the spec sheet right? It comes with an PCle port or is that an add on? It was a little hard for me to read the sheet.
Could not find my glasses...geez. If a PCle port is included or even an add on a decent price that IMO is outstanding as I own
two UAD effects cards which I have installed in an xMac mini server which is expensive but very nice also. The mini pc market
may indeed be something to look at as my 2018 mac mini gets older. For me (at the time) it's more the OS between the Mac & PC that makes the difference in the long run...

The advert is for a bundle of the mini PC and a PCIe5.0x8 docking device. However, despite the advertising ballyhoo, remember that most modern GPUs are PCIex16 devices, and an x8 docking port will severely limit their potential. I would avoid that particular device if attaching a modern GPU was your aim.

 

[tpittman]

Thanks for the responses….
I was looking for reassurance from long term users of the mini pc format with Studio One.

Thanks again…. Steve

If you end up getting a mini pc, maybe after using it some you could advise how it's going? I am Interested but had enough
of Windows BS a long time ago. I hope that as changed. I realize there are plenty of PC users here. Maybe I had just owned
a PC at the wrong time (Windows Vista) I lost a lot of hair to that OS lol. I did upgrade it to Windows 7 which was much better
but the PC just keep throwing nasty curveballs at me. Anyways, good luck!! Peace Out..

 

[Gus]

Thanks for the responses….

I have a Mac mini for general home/office use but I currently use a desktop tower pc Windows 10 with Studio One Pro v7, which is getting a bit old in the tooth and that’s what I’m looking to replace - potentially with a mini pc.

The spec’s on a mini pc may well be suitable but what concerns me (maybe irrationally) is whether the mini format is up to the task of being on for hours on end, potentially being pushed CPU wise, overheating etc so I was looking for reassurance from long term users of the mini pc format with Studio One.

Thanks again…. Steve

My two cents on this Scartz, hope this helps to clearify your worries or posible concerns in order to help you making a buying decision.

I use Studio one mainly doing orchestral music, so in every "song" there are always lots of tracks and vst, also using UAD plugins for mixing mastering . Instead of buying a gaming or super powerful laptop when I need to compose on the go or when I need to go making some demos, I decided to buy a chinese mini pc instead. The thing is that is super light, portable, has better cooling that a laptop, and in every hotel, studio, house, everywhere you will have access to a BIG TV screen with an hdmi to plugin it in ... Add a portable keyboard, mouse and a small audio interface...and voila, a mini studio on the go. I never, repeat, never found that any project that was running perfectly well on my desktop failed after intense use on that mini pc . It is a Minisforum (there are other chinese brands that I presume will do the same thing properly), it has an intel i9 12900HK cpu with 32gbRAM and 4Tb of SSD....for me is more than enough... it is of course a little noisy under super heavy load but when you use headphones or when studio monitors are sounding, you won't notice it that much, obviously a BIG PC with proper cooling is always more silent... I bought it in July 2024 and until now it is working perfectly well with no issues so far... Zero problems.

 

[SCartz]

Many thanks Gus - still doing my research but feel happier now about switching to a mini pc.