New mac: will this do ?

Hi,

I am thinking of buying a 2018 macmini, i7, 64 GIG RAM, 1TB SSD.
I am aware of the fact that the macmini GPU is pretty weak and Nuendo’s GUI (osx version) is pretty demanding.
So i could add an eGPU to the macmini, for extra GPU power, with the intention to have no (or minimal) GUI laggy behaviour in Nuendo.
My Projects are always not that really heavy.

Are there maybe people with a same setup (macmini or macmini+eGPU) and would like to share their experiences ?

TIA !

I have a 2018 mac mini, 32gig ram & 256g drive & a black magic multidock for more drives. Not working with video at the moment but I run 2, 4k monitors with no issues…well no issues other than the random steinberg issues. Had the same thought though- next video project, if it starts getting wonky I’ll add an egpu.

I have a mac mini 2018, with three screens to it, and a SDI output as well. And a eGPU from black magic (pro version). All running with a XSAN fibre channel storage. No problem, just nice music perfectly in sync with video on my SDI screen.

quiet machine.

Thanks guys, thats good to know.

I will only use 1 external monitor, a Dell 4k.
Attached via usb-c (thunderbolt 3) <> display port.
Lag free GUI in Nuendo is very important to me.
I wonder if it is mandatory to have an eGPU for that, or that 64 gig ram in the macmini will do.

vanhaze3000- you could try the ram & add the eGPU later if necessary. Also if budget’s a concern, installing the RAM yourself is the way to go.

helgetjelta- does the eGPU keep your mini quiet? Mine’s pretty quiet most of the time but the fan does get going from time to time & I’ve wondered if an eGPU would make a difference.

Thanks for the tip !
And curious also about the answer to your question towards helgetjelta.

Seems like it could be a solid machine but worth reading this first:

See for example Best Graphics card for cubase? - Steinberg Lounge - Steinberg Forums

IMO, there is far too much concern about the GPU here, DAWs require very little; this only comes into play with film production or gaming. Intel UHD Graphics 630 for Cubase or Nuendo should be more than fine. Related, in my experience eGPUs are generally a waste of money and time (for all sorts of reasons, including being vastly overpriced for those models with bundled AMD GPUs; OS bugs, stability etc.) Just go with a ‘proper’ internal GPU model in the first place - better value, better performance (relative to the model).

I suggest the primary considerations here then not be related to GPU but rather: CPU cores /speed; ports (as in how many dedicated buses vs daisy-chained ‘virtual’), SSD storage etc. There are certainly many who use the mini for DAW work successfully, but there is also a quarter that signals thermal concerns (depending on how hard you drive it). Otherwise the mini is atypically Apple ‘overpriced, underpowered, unrepairable’ as some say, but certainly the current i7 spec is quite old in the general PC market. Perhaps wait for a new model? Speaking of new models (if one must go with Apple) next-gen iMacs may be far more appropriate in the terms of CPU, thermals and w/ a gaming GPU for that matter. A macbook pro 16 would also be another useful choice as well. Of course there’s the $$ factor, but then that’s Apple, eh?

I have to respectfully disagree with profdraper, at least in my current reality. I’ve had issues recently with video stuttering or freezing in Nuendo during playback, especially when I have one or two iZotope plugins open. Activity Monitor shows that my GPU is frequently maxing out. Memory & CPU usage never get above about 15%. Nad it’s not just the video player window – the iZotope displays get very choppy too.

When I recently bought a new Mac mini, I too thought the GPU wasn’t a big deal, so I left it at the standard. I’m now regretting that decision, and I’m going to try installing an eGPU.

Current setup (with video problems):
Mac mini (2018)
macOS Catalina 10.15.5
3.2 GHz 6-Core Intel Core 7 Processor
32 GB 2667 MHz DDR4 RAM
Intel UHD Graphics 630 1536 MB GPU

Thank you for your info, highly appreciated and very valuable to me.