MacMini ... M2s

mose said:

I need an upgrade and the last two Macs I have are PowerBook Pros

The most recent a really, really good 2015 2.8 MHz 16 gig RAM and a 512 SSD I installed. Also Ext SSDs

It is a really really great box.

But, old.

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I'm glad to hear you are still in the land of the living and managing fairly well I gather and your conditions sound rather familiar but I won't dwell on that, considering this old 82-year-old spent too many months in the local hospital last year, that also started with a medical screw up back in 2013.

Anyway back to the subject at hand, why would you think you need to upgrade just because you think your 2015 MacBook Pro is old, especially as it seems to be able to do everything you want to do and more.

Heck, it even has the capacity to run almost the latest macOS if you would even want to or if there was anything you can't do, why bother.
You've already got a nice good working machine without any problems associated with it, or at least you didn't mention any.

"New and improved" is something that Apple flogs that doesn't really exist in actual life.

As EveryMac.com says:
"This model is compatible with the final version of macOS Mojave (10.14), macOS Catalina (10.15), and macOS Big Sur (macOS 11), as well. It additionally supports the final version of macOS Monterey (macOS 12), ..."

With that in hand or available, I would agree with you that you've already got a pretty damn good Mac with that 2015 MacBook Pro.

Maybe I'm just too old-fashioned, but I like my old 2011 27in iMac and I just upgraded from Mavericks 10.9.5, which I really preferred, up to El Capitan 10.11.6 only because the software I was wanting to need was a minimum. Unfortunately, El Capitan remove some of the features I liked and used from their OS applications.

Anyway, just my two bits worth, and welcome back to the ehMac forums and did you get Owen to do the light upstairs and Ellen I hope everything regarding your health continues to improve.

Good grief, my eldest son just dropped in with a surprise visit from White Horse. So must go and visit. Wow what a great neat surprise!!!



- Patrick
=======

pm-r said:

I'm glad to hear you are still in the land of the living and managing fairly well I gather and your conditions sound rather familiar but I won't dwell on that, considering this old 82-year-old spent too many months in the local hospital last year, that also started with a medical screw up back in 2013.

Anyway back to the subject at hand, why would you think you need to upgrade just because you think your 2015 MacBook Pro is old, especially as it seems to be able to do everything you want to do and more.

Heck, it even has the capacity to run almost the latest macOS if you would even want to or if there was anything you can't do, why bother.
You've already got a nice good working machine without any problems associated with it, or at least you didn't mention any.

"New and improved" is something that Apple flogs that doesn't really exist in actual life.

As EveryMac.com says:
"This model is compatible with the final version of macOS Mojave (10.14), macOS Catalina (10.15), and macOS Big Sur (macOS 11), as well. It additionally supports the final version of macOS Monterey (macOS 12), ..."

With that in hand or available, I would agree with you that you've already got a pretty damn good Mac with that 2015 MacBook Pro.

Maybe I'm just too old-fashioned, but I like my old 2011 27in iMac and I just upgraded from Mavericks 10.9.5, which I really preferred, up to El Capitan 10.11.6 only because the software I was wanting to need was a minimum. Unfortunately, El Capitan remove some of the features I liked and used from their OS applications.

Anyway, just my two bits worth, and welcome back to the ehMac forums and did you get Owen to do the light upstairs and Ellen I hope everything regarding your health continues to improve.

Good grief, my eldest son just dropped in with a surprise visit from White Horse. So must go and visit. Wow what a great neat surprise!!!



- Patrick
=======

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Hi

Sorry to hear about your healthcare run-ins.. They are just evil and the system is broken. The cure? DO NOT GET OLD!

Enough of that.

The 2015 MBP works well for normal stuff but the LOGIC app is a beast as well as the VSTs and the three e-drums I have connected.

I suspect and hope - but I have NO WAY OF TESTING - a newer Mac will help or maybe solve the recording issues.

This is also getting tired . I use two monitors and it is on a stand with a fan. I took it out yesterday to use in another room. The bottom has the same curvature as a damn BEACH BALL! Yeah the heat thing and it occasionally just goes "Nope, not doing that! I need a nap!"

Like me!

And as a long-time Mac cultist since '85 I know how to run and maintain a Mac. PLUS as I sit here (Blind and can't walk) well it is getting a lot of almost 24/7 use.

Anyway great insight and yep it is a great 'puter but the apps are getting bigger and more demanding and the stuff I wanna do is NOTwanting less processing power - it wants more. In fact the guy I did a ton of recording with bought a MBP ... "For the price of a small house you too could own this Mac!"

If I was working it would be client work that would buy that for $5400 ...

Jesus, Mary, Joseph, and the lil wee donkey...

Also there are a couple of Accessibility things only available on Ventura. And in that area ANYTHING that can help is more than appreciated!

Anyway I wan ta try and get something - more than likely a M2 MacMini (Not the Pro) for like 1400 bux

Thanks again!

pm-r said:

@mose
I guess that depends on where you live. We live just up and over the hill just up from Butchart Gardens, in the southwest corner of Central Saanich, known as the Brentwood Bay Area.

That Apple Store in the basement of Eaton's department store was independently owned and run by Mike Fox, a very pleasant fellow, but that was certainly several years ago. Long gone now.


- Patrick
=======

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I remember meeting him through a buddy who was with Apple and then Claris.

I am Central Vic

No longer drive but as you know the BC Transit is as good as I have seen?


And please refrain from saying "over the hill!"


If you ever find yourself the urge to be downtown - lemme know.

Well, a few hours of setting up a new M2 Mac mini. the 16/512 config - pretty standard.

Frog in a blender.... The old MBP had some weirdness in the audio out - right channel. As I have been listening to it sort of constantly for 8 years ... it must have degraded and I never picked up on it.

Plugged the DAC in and tada!

Oh right!!!! That.

Also a smallish thing. No mic on this.

I have mics and Bluetooth headphones with mics .. the MBP ... just yell at it the mic was fine..

Not sure yet about that "Use Mic from iPhone" thing? But early days.

It is awfully FAST!

pm-r said:

I'm not sure I understand your meaning that I put in bold above. Does that mean your DAC can actually produce some decent sound when everything is connected and set up???

And no big deal on not including a microphone, as there are lots of reasonable price choices out there these days depending on your needs, and I dare say Apple could have pretty well left out their speakers on those models as well as they are pretty pathetic for any half-decent sound quality, so a set of decent speakers is almost a must-have add on.



- Patrick
=======

Click to expand...

Oh yeah

Logic Pro

pm-r said:

I'm not sure I understand your meaning that I put in bold above. Does that mean your DAC can actually produce some decent sound when everything is connected and set up???

And no big deal on not including a microphone, as there are lots of reasonable price choices out there these days depending on your needs, and I dare say Apple could have pretty well left out their speakers on those models as well as they are pretty pathetic for any half-decent sound quality, so a set of decent speakers is almost a must-have add on.



- Patrick
=======

Click to expand...

I use Logic X ... through a Focusrite DAC into a 300 watt amp into near-field monitors. i have two mixers but took them out of the chain ( 12 and 16 channel Mackies) as I am not recording any audio instruments nor other instruments than what I use (V-drums, Keyboard and Zendrum.) I occasionally have to record brushes son a snare but not with a mixer for that one occasion in a year!

So year great sound and as I mainly use high qhality headphones (Blind guys record at night!)

I did not notice the degredadtion in the audio!

Kinda nice!!!

Mics? Got tons. But it was nice and easy just yelling at the computer to do a quick voice to text...

No biggie.

All groovy and is this unit FAST!!!!

mose

``

mose said:

Oh yeah

Logic Pro


I use Logic X ... through a Focusrite DAC into a 300 watt amp into near-field monitors. i have two mixers but took them out of the chain ( 12 and 16 channel Mackies) as I am not recording any audio instruments nor other instruments than what I use (V-drums, Keyboard and Zendrum.) I occasionally have to record brushes son a snare but not with a mixer for that one occasion in a year!

So year great sound and as I mainly use high qhality headphones (Blind guys record at night!)

I did not notice the degredadtion in the audio!

Kinda nice!!!

Mics? Got tons. But it was nice and easy just yelling at the computer to do a quick voice to text...

No biggie.

All groovy and is this unit FAST!!!!

mose

``

Click to expand...

Oh goodie, replying to himself. Sheesh!

Anyway ...

M2 Mac mini up running and all configured.

It was a flawless setup.

As for the mic thing, my ex (Yeah one of em) had an old Logitech webcam. Plugged it in and ... I now have a cam and a mic. Again flawless.

This new Mac has solved all the tracking and latency issues with my V-Drums (Yay!)

Very impressed with the speed using all the big apps like Logic, Adobe Creative Suite and ... well they are all the heavy apps I have, eh? The rest, very smooth, silky and well, happy as a clam.

nite