After seeing and hearing tech news from a few different sources, I had an idea for a pretty cool, powerful and affordable Mac computer for your DAW that would be quite a performer, or so I postulate.

First the base computer.

The Mac Mini 2.26GHz Core 2 Duo: $599.00

This is the entry level dual-processor Mac Mini, but I think it’s more than enough (with a few choice upgrades) to do what we want with any modern DAW. I don’t think there’s enough return on investment to spend another $200.00 to move up the Mac Mini 2.53GHz. However, if money is not that much of a consideration, apply the Big Al Rule Of Gear Acquisition, “You’ll rarely be disappointed when you buy the best.”

Next, the upgrades.

Additional 2 Gigs of RAM from MacSales.com (OWC): $57.99

Now, here’s the kicker that I think makes this REALLY go over the top…

OWC Mercury Extreme Enterprise Class SSD 100GB SATA 3.0GB/s Solid-State Drive – 100 Gigs: $399.99

This is a solid state drive that is offered in the 2.5″ form factor that slides right into the Mini, and it’s a DOOZY of a performer.

As you may know, solid state drives are pure silicon, no moving parts (no noise either). And, because of that, they’re FAST (over 260MB/s)!

Just for giggles, let’s add an external Firewire 800 solid state drive for recording and mixing our tracks.

OWC Mercury Elite-AL Pro mini 50GB Enterprise Class SSD – 50 Gigs: $299.00

This drive doesn’t need to be so large as we’ll only being working on current projects on it. We’ll save currently inactive projects to a less expensive USB external drive.

How about a really cool monitor that gives you a nice loooong timeline to work with in your edit window?

HP W2338H 23-Inch Widescreen Monitor: $229.98

Imagine how little space this entire setup would take, and how little noise it would produce.

So, what’s our total?

Not bad for a SCREAMIN’ MEEMEE of a little machine with a nice big monitor!

Of course, the 100 Gig internal SSD isn’t necessary. If you’re recording to an external drive (like you always should), the stock 160 Gig, 5,400 RPM drive should work just fine.

You can also substitute a standard Firewire 400/800 external in place of the 50 Gig external SSD and still be fine (while saving about $180.00).

That would bring the cost of the whole standard setup down to just about $1,000.00.

But what fun would that be?

An Interesting Idea For A Powerhouse (Yet Affordable) Mac DAW Computer? is a post from: Home Recording Studio Guru

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