VO-BB - 20 YEARS OLD!

Rena · Lovely and Talented Joined: 10 Apr 2013 Posts: 63

Thank you, everyone for your input. George, yes... I've read the entire "fan" thread, so I did see your post already. LOL! I appreciate you having me read it again though.

The hardest part about this is that I am not super tech-savvy. Everyone has a different idea of what the best computer is, so I am really very lost!

I just looked at my old MAC mini. It's from 2006, but I don't know the specs. If I'm going to set up a legitimate studio here, I might as well invest in a computer that will last me a while.

I just really appreciate your help, guys. I will try to figure out what some of those acronyms mean too. Wink

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Rena
I am officially Rena for good.

captain54 · Lucky 700 Joined: 30 Jan 2006 Posts: 744 Location: chicago

Your 2006 Mac mini can be upgraded for a fraction of the cost of a new Mini and be a perfectly usable vo computer. I have a 2007 mini that I've upgraded that is still going strong on a daily basis

The 2006 mini has an Intel processor, ram and drive that can be upgraded to the specs of a practically new machine. Even just upgrading the RAM to the max would be enough to do vo work.

OWC has an upgrade service that I heard is pretty good

http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/mac-mini/install
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Lee Kanne
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FinMac · Posted: Thu Apr 18, 2013 1:17 am Post subject: Mac mini

Hei Rena,

WGS (what George said). He gives great advice because he knows his stuff. I just had him adjust my audio chain and it was money well spent!

I have a new mac mini and it sits outside my recording area. Long cables that run under a sound absorbing sheet and it works great.

Welcome to the forum too.

All the best,

Mac
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"If you want to get to the top, you have to get off your bottom". (Unknown)

georgethetech · Posted: Thu Apr 18, 2013 10:34 am Post subject:

Rena, my perspective comes from the experience of working on hundreds of home VO studios over the years. I also eat my own dog food, which is to say I use the computer I recommend highest for everything I do. From office duties, to audio, and live video webcasting, video encoding, you name it, the Mac Mini i7 does it well. Good things do come in small packages, it's not the size that counts Laugh

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If it sounds good, it is good.
George Whittam
GeorgeThe.Tech
424-226-8528
VOBS.TV Co-host
TheProAudioSuite.com Co-host
TriBooth.com Co-founder

Monk · Posted: Thu Apr 18, 2013 2:05 pm Post subject:

I'm in the Bish-George camp on this.

My studio has a MacPro tower as my MOTU 2408 requires a Pci slot, it's overkill for VO, but the studio does more than VO. It also has extra internal drives for archiving and backups. Although I record to an external firewire drive. (Glyph) Plus with software I can control the fan speed when needed. It lives in an enclosure that's pretty quiet

When I'm on the road, I use a MacBook Pro, one of the newer 13" units, I don't hear the fan often. Then I use a PreSonus USB for audio connectivity.

I do use the new OS 10.8 on the MacBook Pro with ProTools and I like it a LOT! (Although I'm not a huge fan of the iLok)

But the portability and readability of the MacBook Pro screen is great, I would get an SSD drive next time though. For even more stealthy whisper quiet and durable performance.
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Rena · Lovely and Talented Joined: 10 Apr 2013 Posts: 63

Wow, this is really helpful! Thank you for helping out a newbie. Wink

So George, can I just bring my Mac mini somewhere to have it upgraded? Like Best Buy? Can I could on it still working for a few years? How much should that cost me (so they don't try to overcharge me!)
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Rena
I am officially Rena for good.

captain54 · Lucky 700 Joined: 30 Jan 2006 Posts: 744 Location: chicago

Not that it will matter, but I'll give it another go, what the hell

OWC has an upgrade service that I heard is pretty good

http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/mac-mini/install
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Lee Kanne
www.leekanne.com

heyguido · Posted: Fri Apr 19, 2013 8:01 pm Post subject:

Don't take it personally, Lee.... Sometimes it's hard to be heard above the din....
Wink

And with the money she saves, she can probably pick up a used macbook air for the road. Smile

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Don Brookshire
"Wait.... They wanna PAY me for this?"

Rena · Lovely and Talented Joined: 10 Apr 2013 Posts: 63

Lee, is this legitimate? I wonder if anyone here has used this service. Ideally, I'd like to soup it up totally. I'm sure I'll want more memory too.
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Rena
I am officially Rena for good.

heyguido · Posted: Fri Apr 19, 2013 8:11 pm Post subject:

Yep.... It's legit. I'm not a mac guy, but I've got an IT bud who's used them more than once.
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Don Brookshire
"Wait.... They wanna PAY me for this?"

markt · Been Here Awhile Joined: 14 Aug 2009 Posts: 217

Go for it, Rena!

Mark
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"Dammit Jim, I'm a voice actor, not an audio engineer!"
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georgethetech · Posted: Sat Apr 20, 2013 1:44 pm Post subject:

Between OWC and ifixit.com you'd be amazed at what you can do to upgrade a Mac Mini. CPU swaps are also possible on the older Intel Core Minis.
_________________
If it sounds good, it is good.
George Whittam
GeorgeThe.Tech
424-226-8528
VOBS.TV Co-host
TheProAudioSuite.com Co-host
TriBooth.com Co-founder

Rena · Lovely and Talented Joined: 10 Apr 2013 Posts: 63

Ohhh... I'm excited, as this will save some money! So, I'm not super tech-savvy (but I'm not using that as an excuse--I WILL work through this!), so after the upgrade, will I have more memory added as well? Also, will I be able to run the latest version of Mac OS?

Like I said, I have no additional monitors, so I can't boot up my Mac right now. I have no idea how much RAM it has. Can I increase the RAM using OCW?

You all rock! Lee, I'm sorry, did you post that link already? I didn't notice it... sorry!
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Rena
I am officially Rena for good.

Rena · Lovely and Talented Joined: 10 Apr 2013 Posts: 63

Oh wait... I just realized that I'm going to have to open up the Mac Mini and do this on my own! LOL! Hmm...
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Rena
I am officially Rena for good.

captain54 · Lucky 700 Joined: 30 Jan 2006 Posts: 744 Location: chicago

Wow.. They do CPU, Ram and HD upgrades.

http://www.minicpuupgrade.com/upgrade.html

$220 to upgrade a 2006 Mini from Core Solo to 2.0 ghz Core 2 Duo + 2GB Ram. Including shipping

The equivalent used Mini used on EBay is more, but not much more
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Lee Kanne
www.leekanne.com