Hey guys

Im a Mac guy and Ive successfully managed to avoid PC's pretty much my entire life. I now find that I need a pc to run as an ancillary device for VEP7. I guess what I need is something like a Mac Mini, just a pc in a small box. Does such a thing exist and what would you recommend?

Thanks in advance.

 

Yeah, Ive been using Parallels with some success. Id just prefer to have a dedicated PC slave server.

 

Right, I am only replying from what I have seen without any practical knowledge, but my understanding is you need something with grunt, but without the constraints of things like noise and heat, as these are usually located in a server room, hence a lot of people go for blades, and I did share this ages ago, but may be useful for you

Or given your dislike for PC, maybe a refurb Mac Pro or newer Mac Mini may serve your needs.

hope it helps, but if not, sorry, been drinking

 

Why PC? Would you prefer to stay Mac only? New or Refurbed? North America, Europe or?

Vienna Ensemble Pro 7 - System Requirements

• PC Windows 8/10 (latest Update, 32/64-bit), Intel Core 2 Duo or AMD Athlon 64 X2
• macOS 10.10 (latest update), Intel Core 2 Duo
• Working Gigabit connection between master and networked computer(s). Also works on a one-computer setup.
• ViennaKey (Vienna Symphonic Library USB protection device) or other USB eLicenser (e.g., from Steinberg or Arturia)
• eLicenser Control Center software (get the latest version from www.eLicenser.net)

Other configurations may work but are not actively supported.


Recommended

• PC Windows 10 (latest Update, 64-bit), Intel i5/i7/Xeon
• macOS 10.12 (or higher), i5/i7/Xeon
• Fast separate hard drive (7200 rpm or faster)
• Supported plugin formats: AU/VST/VST3/AAX Native/MAS
• 88 key master keyboard

 

I guess I was hoping to run PC plugins natively. I suppose I could dedicate a mac to Bootcamp but I don't imagine Id get the performance.

 

There is the audiogridder thing people have been raving about too?? As I say, if you have server room or similar space, there are options. Watch the vid, it helps.

 

Audiogridder is pretty terrible. I already have VEP pretty well integrated into my Logic workflow. My issue is more to do with grunt, space/cooling/machine room/acoustics etc are not the issue. Thanks for the vid though.

 

https://store.minisforum.com/collections/game-mini-pc

 

They look pretty good. I guess I don't really need any kind of high end graphics card. I just want the cpu.

 

.....hm you got to put a tiny bit of effort in
like click.........check............categories

 

There are literally hundreds of choices. Before i make suggestions, i 'd need you to set a price limit and a specific purpose. VEP7 slave for what please. Kontakt ? Various VSTi ? FX? All of these ? How much ram would you want it to have? You want loads of storage or prefer less but really fast?
Ready made popular choices include various configurable models from series like Intel NUC, ASRock NUC, HP Z2 mini Workstation, HP Pro Desk 600 G5 and many others.
Example: https://www.tomsguide.com/reviews/intel-NUC-9-Pro

 

Just came across this & thought about your post.

System76 Meerkat

They do premade & custom computers primarily for Linux but, there systems will Dual Boot or run Windows Natively.

 

HP Z2 G5 Mini Workstation can be equipped with something like i9-10900K, 32GB RAM, 1TB NVME SSD,
but be aware all those mini computers are severy limited for future expansions,
depends how much performance you need from that VEP 7 server,
you might even get something like 2012 MacPro with TONS of RAM and dual 6-core Xeons which would probably work just as good....

 

These are all pretty good responses, thanks.

Hmm, another cheese grater? That never occurred to me. Thanks, I'll investigate.

 

should be possible to install Windows there through Bootcamp just fine as far as I know, and you can squeeze shitton of RAM there

 

A small problem with PCs, literally, is that small PCs like Intel NUC cost as much as a normal, well specced PC. Blade servers are expensive and noisy, so unless you have it[them] in the server room like JunkieXL they're out of the picture, too. If you want a mini PC, I would suggest you to just buy a decent miniATX motherboard and case, then add a CPU, memory, and SSD you like. That won't cost much and it can run quietly.

Although, if money is not the problem, Intel NUCs are exactly what you need, if you're not very knowledgeable about assembling a miniATX PC yourself.

Cheers!

 

Intel has their NUC line which is sort of a mac mini format. Some of them expect you to supply your own SSD and RAM to be mindful.
My recommendation if you have the space, is to look into some refurbished Dell - the kinds that the schools/universities use. Ones with with i7-6700 should now be on the market for $250-300

 

as an owner of previously powerful mini-ITX rig, I can tell the limitation of only 2 ram slots and 1 PCIe slot becomes crucial problem later,
I'd say microATX form factor with 4 ram slots and 3-4 PCIe slots (of various speeds though) provides best compromise in terms of space and I/O;
right now my workstation is regular ATX with 8 ram slots and 6 PCIe slots (of which some are disabled with my cpu though) and it offers all the connectivity I need, which is more important than slightly smaller form factor of the computer build

 

I can tell HP 800 G1 office desktops with i7-4770 and up to 32GB ram sell for as low as 70-ish $$ and offer tremendous value, even as budget Big Sur hackintosh