I am looking to replace my Mac Pro 1,1 (2006) as it will not run Mountain Lion and even ML is about to be superceded by Mavericks so I will be 2 OS iterations behind and if Aperture 4 ever materialises I would not be surprised if ML or Mavericks was a requirement.
Looking at the cost of the various Mac options, I am wondering about using the Mac Mini in 'Super Mini' form, with the fastest i7 chip, the 1Tb Fusion Drive, 16Gb RAM and so on, hooked up to a Thunderbolt 4Tb RAID unit.
This will cost about NZ$600 less than a fully specced iMac 27”. I have a 27” Dell monitor and Apple keyboard. mouse etc already. I would gain a very fast RAID storage unit into the bargain, though, which could supplement my Drobo. Another reason to consider the Mac Mini is that it retains the FW800 port and my Drobo uses that.
My plan would be to use it for 2 years and sell it with 12 months of Apple Care. This will give time for the 'Garbage Can' Mac Pro line to settle in and for us to see what sky high prices it has etc.
Has anyone used a Mac Mini of this spec for Aperture and if so how did it go?
Hi Marcus
My current set up is a 2.3GHz i7 QC that came with 4GB RAM and a 1TB HDD. I upped the RAM to 16GB (bought from Crucial) and added a 250GB SSD which I then fused with the 1TB HDD myself.
I use my old (2009) iMac in Target Display mode and drive it from the Thunderbolt port.
It flies. Aperture is a breeze on this.
I initially toyed with keeping the SSD separate for the OS and Apps (including the Aperture Library) and put my images on one of my external FW800 HDDs. But in the end I opted to make my own Fusion Drive (easy with Disk Utility and the Terminal) and have put everything on there. I reasoned that whilst I know my way around a computer, I may as well let the OS worry about shifting files around and I can concentrate on working on images.
The only issue I have is that using Target Display mode makes calibration a bit tricky but it’s close enough for jazz.
Russell
Marcus
Sounds like a good plan for temporary use. The the only thing that the 27” will have is a better Video card which AP takes advantage of. But sticking to a one or two year plan to tide you over is a good Idea. Like you said when AP 4 arrives it will need lots of horse power both in cpu and Video. I did a similar plan but went with the 27” and told my wife Im upgrading her iMac in one to two years. cheers
davidbmoore@mac.com
Twitter= @davidbmoore
Scottsdale AZ
Thanks; sounds as though this will work then!
Whilst a larger Fusion Drive would be better (say a 250gb SSD and a 1.5Tb HDD) I would need to stick with Apple’s official offering if I want to sell with Apple Care because tinkering will void the warranty I suspect.
My Aperture library is 761GB now so my only concern is the transfer speed of the attached Thunderbolt drive, as the library will have to live there because with the normal Apps and OS on the main drive there won’t be a lot of headroom left on a 1Tb disc if I put the library on there.
I’ve never used or seen Thunderbolt in action so have no idea what to expect.
Marcus,
2 suggestions:
1). Consider a 27” iMac. Use the dell 27” as a second monitor. Aperture directly supports dual monitors and it is great! I was using a Dell U2711 in the office, and you could either use a mini-DP to DIslplayport cable, or a Mini-DP to Dual-link DVI to connect to the iMac.
2). FireWire connectivity is trivial with a $30 adapter.
BTW: I use an 8TB Pegasus thunderbolt array and it is capable of running Aperture great. However, my 400GB aperture library fits on my iMac’s SSD, so I typically run it from there.
/Jim
/Jim Pappas
Hey guys
Rather interesting conversation. I currently use a 2007 iMac (which cannot be used as an extra monitor) an am considering a new Mac but am torn between a new 27i iMac or a full spec Mini with the 27i Thunderbolt monitor.
I would get a solid HDD and my Aperture collection would be on a Firewire 2TB hard drive.
Do you think that set up would be strong enough do deal with Aperture?
REALLY appreciate your advice
Thanks
Alex
It would be, IMHO. Would consider a Thunderbolt drive over FW though any day. Especially since FW seems to be unsupported by newer Macs anymore. The iMac would be more powerful, though. The SSD is a good idea as well.
Bill Jurasz
Austin Texas