Can I use this Mac mini?

My current mac can't install FCPX, so I need a new machine.

I'm looking to get this one. Will this run FCPx? My needs are modest, just need to do some basic editing but can't see using the crappy or very expensive FCP alternatives. Thanks and sorry if this question has been asked before.

Apple Mac mini 1.4 GHz Desktop Computer (Late 2014)

www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home...7442%2C&Q=&A=details

You probably found the slowest computer to edit on that Apple is selling (except for the Macbook).

Two things: the internal HD is slow (5400rpm) and the newer 2014 models don't have user upgradable ram. So you'd be stuck with 4GB. The graphics is also pretty slow, which means renders that are GPU assisted (are they on Intel?) will be slow.

Take a look at some older bare feats articles and see what you'd be ok with for render times:
barefeats.com/macmin14.html

cosmos275 wrote: .... just need to do some basic editing ...

So, why not using iMovie?
for basic editing, it offers all bells&whistles, incl. greenscreen and basic color corrections… and is designed for 'low powered' Macs.

I am using a MacMini, late 2012, 16GB, i5 … for my amateur projects fully functional; 6x Multicam, 4k video, projects with 60-80min - all nice.
Render times? 'hours', LOL, but I'm in no hurry, I'm no newsroom.

Trouble with your config is:
the MacMini has no designated GPU, so the over-all Ram has to be used as 'VRam' - and 8GB were on my machine sloooow, but 4GB as you plan to purchase? No fun.

iMovie looks pretty bare bones as far as I can tell. I want to be able to crop videos, set in and out times, do cool transitions. Also, I need to be able to export the audio separately so I can do the soundtrack in Digital Performer. I have FCP v7 on an old G5 and it seems to have plenty of capability. The problem is that machine (shock victim) needs to be retired and my main mac (iMac 15years old) can't download FCPx (says graphics card issue). It seems you can't get older versions of FCP. So, I'm thinking to retire both and consolidate onto a not break the bank machine and buy the new FCPX. I've checked ebay, etc. and I can get a new Mac mini for about the price of a well used bigger one. I'd prefer longer render times for a new machine with a warranty I suppose. I was planning to get an external hard drive, will that help much with performance?

Couple other options in my area (more powerful mac minis, although used):

ames.craigslist.org/sys/5767405641.html

ames.craigslist.org/sys/5723797954.html

My ambitions are to make product videos for my business. Bigger goals would be kickstarter videos. So, 5 minutes will be probably the longest video I'll need to make.

I appreciate all the help! Thanks

FCPX should run fine on that as it meets the minimum requirements, however I don't recommend editing anything more than a single stream of 1080 or lower res video, (i.e. no multicam clips, no 4K, etc...) stay away from complex 3D titles, and don't expect any speed records.

Keep in mind that if you ever want to edit 4k or run Motion 5, you really need 8GB of RAM.

If you can manage to afford the 2.6 GHz or better,
www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1086736-R...ac_mini_2_6_ghz.html
you will have a much better computer all around, that is more comparable with the rest of apple's systems.

Also, on any given system, FCPX and iMovie should perform about the same, as they use some of the same underlying frameworks.

And no matter what you chose, get a fast external HD (USB3 7200 rpm) for your media and projects as it will make world of difference.

I can get the better one, but would prefer not to if I can help it.

I was going to get an SSD external hard drive:

www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1158727-R...e_500_240gb_ssd.html

seems speedy. Thoughts?

Thanks all the the input. I will debate dropping the extra couple hundred 2.6GHz mini.

Thanks!!

Ok, maybe last question. Let's say I bump up to this bad boy, SSD drive mac mini:

www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1109804-R...6ghz_8gb_256ssd.html

Can I ditch an external drive in this case? I'm not sure how important it is to have an external drive. Same with audio, I know you're supposed to write all your audio to a separate drive, but I've not been doin that without issues, although, again, not large projects. I appreciate any advice! Thanks

I do not recommend the 2011 or earlier mac mini's as the graphics cards are fairly slow, and may even struggle to play back high quality 1080 60p video smoothy.

Well you still haven't told us what format of video you will be editing, but if you are ok with renders up to 4+ times slower than real time depending on the effect, that computer will do the job, but the biggest issue is the 4GB of ram, so maybe consider ordering it with 8GB instead? (memory is non-replaceable, so what you order you are stuck with)

An external HD is much more important for video than for audio, and 256 GB is no where close to enough space.
I recommend a 2TB (or more) 3.5in 7200rpm spinning drive, as an external SSD is pretty much a waste unless you are editing uncompressed video, and/or prores multicam clips.

Hope this helps,
-Mark

Quick reply here meaning several days lag for moderator to approve my post

I went ahead and got the 2014 mini with ssd hd, 8Gb ram and I got another ssd external.

I will be editing whatever formats I have to work with. I have a cheaper Panasonic camcorder that defaults to .MTS files but I can change that to MP4. I also have a couple year old Canon Eos 7D which can also do .MP4. 1080 I think is the max they can do and should be plenty for my purposes. Like I said, my projects will be small by most people's standards on the forum. I appreciate all the expertise and advice and should be up and running next week. Thanks!