Apple's Mac mini now inexcusably getting trounced by cheap Intel hardware

16791112

Comments

  • Reply 161 of 238
    Mike WuertheleMike Wuerthele Posts: 6,858administrator
    cgWerks said:
    raphoroni said:
    My MacMini6,2 (Late 2012) is still the workhorse it was when i got it....after upgrading to 2x500Gb Samsung Evo Pro SSD's and 16Gb of RAM a few years back i'm still amazed at how well this thing works! I really hope they offer some more powerful minis in the future with better graphics options as thats really the only thing thats lacking with them.
    Yeah, I'd buy a 2012 Mini if I weren't scared about OS support dropping off soon (and the GPU, which could be fixed with an eGPU and some hacking... though with huge performance loss).
    I'm not certain I'd bother with the TB1 in the 2012 and an eGPU. It's doable, but man, the performance hit is rough.
    edited May 2018
  • Reply 162 of 238
    cgWerkscgWerks Posts: 2,952member
    Mike Wuerthele said:
    I'm not certain I'd bother with the TB1 in the 2012 and an eGPU. It's doable, but man, the performance hit is rough.
    Yeah, it's just more of a... what's the alternative (if not going Hackintosh)? I need to buy something in the next month or so here, and it seems my options are 2012 quad-core Mini, Hackintosh, or 2013 Mac Pro. They all have potential downsides. The Mac Pro looks best for me, but I'm concerned about spending that much money if OS support drops off before, say, 4 years or so.

    I'm really hoping we'll see something at WWDC. But, I fear I'm just going to get disappointed.
  • Reply 163 of 238
    cornchipcornchip Posts: 1,945member
    I think that the next gen Mac mini will be Apple’s 1st foray into a custom chip solely powering an actual computer...

    It makes sense that if there are growing pains, or that their 1st attempt doesn’t quite have the power of the latest gen i7, that they don’t put it in MacBook or iMac for another few generations.... However, Mac mini is the perfect platform to deliver such a new technology.

    If that’s true- it may also help explain the delay. That’s an enormous undertaking!
    Agree.

    also, funny this popped up in the links at the bottom of the page...

    https://appleinsider.com/articles/07/05/24/closing_the_book_on_apples_mac_mini
  • Reply 164 of 238
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,718member
    cgWerks said:
    Mike Wuerthele said:
    I'm not certain I'd bother with the TB1 in the 2012 and an eGPU. It's doable, but man, the performance hit is rough.
    Yeah, it's just more of a... what's the alternative (if not going Hackintosh)? I need to buy something in the next month or so here, and it seems my options are 2012 quad-core Mini, Hackintosh, or 2013 Mac Pro. They all have potential downsides. The Mac Pro looks best for me, but I'm concerned about spending that much money if OS support drops off before, say, 4 years or so.

    I'm really hoping we'll see something at WWDC. But, I fear I'm just going to get disappointed.
    As it happens I have both the Macs you mention, no Hackintosh though, the 2012 Mini is nice and I did upgrade its RAM and SSD but it was a bit of a fiddle, mine runs 24/7 as a Windows machine ironically.   I love my late 2013 6 core Mac Pro, I am sure you would too.  It runs Windows in Boot Camp like lightening and supports Catalyst as well as being a phenomenal work horse as a Mac, I use Photoshop and FCPro mostly.  I upped the RAM to 32 GB and put in a 500 GB SSD it and use RAID 0 externals for data.  Best Mac I have ever owned so far and that's a lot. A used one would be a good investment IMHO, it doesn't feel like a five year old Mac for one second. The upgrades I did took less than 5 minutes.  I truly don't see any OS support dropping that model within four years.
    edited May 2018 cgWerks
  • Reply 165 of 238
    sirozhasirozha Posts: 801member
    dewme said:
    sirozha said:
    dcgoo said:
    The NUC is also a solid platform for VMWare ESXi.  I installed ESXi on a Mac Mini once, but quickly became frustrated and took it off. 

    Add to that the demise of OSX Server, I think the handwriting is on the wall for the Mini. Too bad IMO
    I have a 2012 i7 quad core Mac Mini, which I used as the ESXi host at one point, but it's now sitting on my desk powered down. I also have a Skull Canyon NUC being used as an ESXi host. The NUC is running 12 VMs concurrently (with 32 GB of RAM installed). It boots ESXi off my NAS' LUN and all the VMs are hosted on the NAS LUNs as well. The NAS has an option to back up the LUNs, so it's a pretty sweet setup. The NUC has no internal storage at all - all the storage is on the NAS.  
    Yep, a very good use case for showing the NUC's usefulness but also a prime example of why Apple isn't losing any sleep over the Mini. Can you imagine Tim Cook getting up on stage during a keynote and trying to generate excitement and buzz around Apple launching a sexy new Mini to serve as an ESXi host to run multiple VMs, most of which are likely Linux based? This is simply not a market that Apple has decided to compete in. Based on Apple's revenue and bottom line numbers the lack of an updated Mini is costing them less-than-noise losses. Not "nothing" but indiscernible from nothing. Whatever Apple decides to do with a new Mini it has to fit into their portfolio, which is largely consumer, education, entertainment, creativity, etc. Maybe the Apple-IBM partnership could come up with interesting applications for a Mini, but why bother when blade server based platforms are already filling the needs of businesses and Apple doesn't have the domain expertise on the hardware side. 
    I agree. There is no reason for them to continue the Mac Mini line from the profits perspective. From the ecosystem perspective, it makes all the sense in the world, but Tim Cook couldn't care less about the ecosystem. All he wants is to maximize profits. 

    Frankly, IMHO, Apple has all but abandoned the personal computer segment, having realized that most people don't really need computers at home anymore. Windows will be resurgent in the PC segment, while Apple will hold onto their current market share with tablets and iPhones. The once anticipated expansion of Macs in the workplace barely materialized before Tim decided that Macs were not worth Apple's time. One can see this by how much space is dedicated to Macs in Apple stores. Barely a couple tables. 
    edited May 2018 cgWerks
  • Reply 166 of 238
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,718member
    sirozha said:
    dewme said:
    sirozha said:
    dcgoo said:
    The NUC is also a solid platform for VMWare ESXi.  I installed ESXi on a Mac Mini once, but quickly became frustrated and took it off. 

    Add to that the demise of OSX Server, I think the handwriting is on the wall for the Mini. Too bad IMO
    I have a 2012 i7 quad core Mac Mini, which I used as the ESXi host at one point, but it's now sitting on my desk powered down. I also have a Skull Canyon NUC being used as an ESXi host. The NUC is running 12 VMs concurrently (with 32 GB of RAM installed). It boots ESXi off my NAS' LUN and all the VMs are hosted on the NAS LUNs as well. The NAS has an option to back up the LUNs, so it's a pretty sweet setup. The NUC has no internal storage at all - all the storage is on the NAS.  
    Yep, a very good use case for showing the NUC's usefulness but also a prime example of why Apple isn't losing any sleep over the Mini. Can you imagine Tim Cook getting up on stage during a keynote and trying to generate excitement and buzz around Apple launching a sexy new Mini to serve as an ESXi host to run multiple VMs, most of which are likely Linux based? This is simply not a market that Apple has decided to compete in. Based on Apple's revenue and bottom line numbers the lack of an updated Mini is costing them less-than-noise losses. Not "nothing" but indiscernible from nothing. Whatever Apple decides to do with a new Mini it has to fit into their portfolio, which is largely consumer, education, entertainment, creativity, etc. Maybe the Apple-IBM partnership could come up with interesting applications for a Mini, but why bother when blade server based platforms are already filling the needs of businesses and Apple doesn't have the domain expertise on the hardware side. 
    I agree. There is no reason for them to continue the Mac Mini line from the profits perspective. From the ecosystem perspective, it makes all the sense in the world, but Tim Cook couldn't care less about the ecosystem. All he wants is to maximize profits. 

    Frankly, IMHO, Apple has all but abandoned the personal computer segment, having realized that most people don't really need computers at home anymore. Windows will be resurgent in the PC segment, while Apple will hold onto their current market share with tablets and iPhones. The once anticipated expansion of Macs in the workplace barely materialized before Tim decided that Macs were not worth Apple's time. One can see this by how much space is dedicated to Macs in Apple stores. Barely a couple tables. 
    You forgot the /s I hope, otherwise I call B.S. ;)
  • Reply 167 of 238
    cgWerkscgWerks Posts: 2,952member
    MacPro said:
    As it happens I have both the Macs you mention, no Hackintosh though, the 2012 Mini is nice and I did upgrade its RAM and SSD but it was a bit of a fiddle, mine runs 24/7 as a Windows machine ironically.   I love my late 2013 6 core Mac Pro, I am sure you would too.  It runs Windows in Boot Camp like lightening and supports Catalyst as well as being a phenomenal work horse as a Mac, I use Photoshop and FCPro mostly.  I upped the RAM to 32 GB and put in a 500 GB SSD it and use RAID 0 externals for data.  Best Mac I have ever owned so far and that's a lot. A used one would be a good investment IMHO, it doesn't feel like a five year old Mac for one second. The upgrades I did took less than 5 minutes.  I truly don't see any OS support dropping that model within four years.
    Yeah, I'm hoping that because the Mac Pro is pretty powerful and because Apple is still selling them new, that they'd continue OS support for more than they typically would a 2013 product. The Mini, though, might do the job at a lower cost. But, by the time an eGPU is added, there goes the quiet factor, I guess.
  • Reply 168 of 238
    lorin schultzlorin schultz Posts: 2,771member
    macxpress said:
    Even if Apple updated them today with modern specs...how many are gonna actually go buy one?
    I will. All Apple has to do is offer a recent quad-core i7 and I'm in.
    cgWerks
  • Reply 169 of 238
    lorin schultzlorin schultz Posts: 2,771member
    foregoneconclusion said:
    [...] the Mac mini was not released by Apple to compete in a spec showdown with razor-thin margin PC gaming hardware. It was meant as a gateway to Mac OS for people who might not ordinarily buy a Mac. 
    You're right. Thing is, while that may have been the market Apple was targeting, it was an entirely different kind of user that actually wound up buying them. I'd bet my car that three out of four minis are in the hands of hobbyists who use them for jobs that simply require a small, simple, headless computer. How many are (or were) just another home theatre component?

    I think Apple might have more success with the mini by changing the internal perception of it from "gateway device" to "Mac Pro Lite." I don't need Xeons or powerful graphics capability, but do want a reasonable amount of consumer-grade power. The iMac is a great example, but for some of us the screen is not only superfluous but an actual deal-breaker because size matters.

    I don't need a machine I can open up and swap components. In fact, as long as Apple's build-to-order prices are within reason I prefer NOT to. I just want to be able to buy a decent machine with current features at a fair price. If Apple can put a quad-core i7 with decent graphics in a laptop, why can't they do the same for the mini?
    cgWerks
  • Reply 170 of 238
    macxpressmacxpress Posts: 5,801member
    macxpress said:
    Even if Apple updated them today with modern specs...how many are gonna actually go buy one?
    I will. All Apple has to do is offer a recent quad-core i7 and I'm in.
    How about maybe an 8-core Apple designed CPU? Would you be interested in that? Just a general question out of curiosity...
  • Reply 171 of 238
    macxpressmacxpress Posts: 5,801member
    macxpress said:
    Oh boy...here we go! Continuous bitching about the Mac mini. I doubt most here are gonna buy one anyways. 
    Well, that was the most arrogant comment I’ve seen in a while. “Here we go”? Are you one of those who without any basis in fact, dump on AI writers and commenters with a legitimate criticism of Apple? Or are you merely a troll? I rarely see “bitching” on the MM in this forum so your comment has NO basis in fact. 
    Its not arrogant at all. I've been reading and participating in forums since around 2000'ish and its always been the same...except its gotten worse and worse over the years. In my experience, everyone wants to complain about something not being available, but the fact of the matter is that they're not going to buy one anyways so why do they care? As with most people in today's society, we just want something to complain about. We went round and round with this about the Mac Pro with the same results. When/If a Mac mini is released it will be yet more complaining because everyone has their own idea of what they want in a Mac mini and think Apple should design a Mac around their needs because you and few co-workers need this which apparently means the entire Mac user base wants it. 

    If you don't see constant bitching about the Mac mini then you're not paying attention to these forums. Every single thread about Tim Cook or the Mac turns into this Mac mini argument. Its non-stop! I feel some constantly treat Tim so unfairly and its getting really old. If anyone here, anyone thinks Tim Cook was supposed to be a Steve Jobs clone then they might as well just quit and go buy different product without an Apple logo on it. This was never going to be the case. Steve knew it, Tim knew it and so did a lot of other people. Its just the fact that there's this continuous whining about how Apple isn't doing this and Apple isn't doing that and when Steve was here everything was perfect at Apple which was completely and utterly not true. Maybe its just because Apple is large now so some here (and other forums) weren't around to see what Apple was like when Steve was CEO of Apple, but let me tell you it wasn't all roses. We had these exact same periods of shit not getting upgraded or released. MANY delays! Then when it was, sometimes it wasn't really worth the wait. I think a lot of people have this fairy tale version of Apple back in the day and it just wasn't there. 
    edited May 2018
  • Reply 172 of 238
    sirozhasirozha Posts: 801member
    macxpress said:
    macxpress said:
    Oh boy...here we go! Continuous bitching about the Mac mini. I doubt most here are gonna buy one anyways. 
    Well, that was the most arrogant comment I’ve seen in a while. “Here we go”? Are you one of those who without any basis in fact, dump on AI writers and commenters with a legitimate criticism of Apple? Or are you merely a troll? I rarely see “bitching” on the MM in this forum so your comment has NO basis in fact. 
    Its not arrogant at all. I've been reading and participating in forums since around 2000'ish and its always been the same...except its gotten worse and worse over the years. In my experience, everyone wants to complain about something not being available, but the fact of the matter is that they're not going to buy one anyways so why do they care? As with most people in today's society, we just want something to complain about. We went round and round with this about the Mac Pro with the same results. When/If a Mac mini is released it will be yet more complaining because everyone has their own idea of what they want in a Mac mini and think Apple should design a Mac around their needs because you and few co-workers need this which apparently means the entire Mac user base wants it. 

    If you don't see constant bitching about the Mac mini then you're not paying attention to these forums. Every single thread about Tim Cook or the Mac turns into this Mac mini argument. Its non-stop! I feel some constantly treat Tim so unfairly and its getting really old. If anyone here, anyone thinks Tim Cook was supposed to be a Steve Jobs clone then they might as well just quit and go buy different product without an Apple logo on it. This was never going to be the case. Steve knew it, Tim knew it and so did a lot of other people. Its just the fact that there's this continuous whining about how Apple isn't doing this and Apple isn't doing that and when Steve was here everything was perfect at Apple which was completely and utterly not true. Maybe its just because Apple is large now so some here (and other forums) weren't around to see what Apple was like when Steve was CEO of Apple, but let me tell you it wasn't all roses. We had these exact same periods of shit not getting upgraded or released. MANY delays! Then when it was, sometimes it wasn't really worth the wait. I think a lot of people have this fairy tale version of Apple back in the day and it just wasn't there. 
    First off, you don't have to feel sorry for Tim. Tim is doing just fine and is on top of the world. Secondly, Mac Mini bitching is not as much about Mac Mini as it is about Tim gradually and deliberately dismantling what at one point was known as the "Apple's ecosystem". Mac Mini is just one brick in that wall. Thirdly, this forum is based in the US, and in the US there's such a thing as First Amendment, which grants anyone and everyone the freedom of expression. And, lastly, those of us who are Apple shareholders have a natural right to criticize the course that the current leadership of Apple is taking. Take it or leave it. You don't have to agree with everything you read, and by the same token, I don't have to adjust my opinion to be in line with your fanboy party line. 
    edited May 2018 cgWerks
  • Reply 173 of 238
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,718member
    cgWerks said:
    MacPro said:
    As it happens I have both the Macs you mention, no Hackintosh though, the 2012 Mini is nice and I did upgrade its RAM and SSD but it was a bit of a fiddle, mine runs 24/7 as a Windows machine ironically.   I love my late 2013 6 core Mac Pro, I am sure you would too.  It runs Windows in Boot Camp like lightening and supports Catalyst as well as being a phenomenal work horse as a Mac, I use Photoshop and FCPro mostly.  I upped the RAM to 32 GB and put in a 500 GB SSD it and use RAID 0 externals for data.  Best Mac I have ever owned so far and that's a lot. A used one would be a good investment IMHO, it doesn't feel like a five year old Mac for one second. The upgrades I did took less than 5 minutes.  I truly don't see any OS support dropping that model within four years.
    Yeah, I'm hoping that because the Mac Pro is pretty powerful and because Apple is still selling them new, that they'd continue OS support for more than they typically would a 2013 product. The Mini, though, might do the job at a lower cost. But, by the time an eGPU is added, there goes the quiet factor, I guess.
    Right I'd forgotten Apple still sell the Mac Pro!  No way a Mac bought in 2018 won't be fully supported in four or five years IMHO and there is zero change since 2013 other than spec realignment as far as I am aware.  At the time the cost/performance calculation I did made the 6 core the sweet spot not sure what is now.  I am just surprised Apple didn't update the Mac Pro with new I/O and newer GPUs and CPU, how hard would it be?

     The MP is really just a slightly larger, far more powerful dual GPU Mac mini when you think about it.  Disconnect it and it is light as a feather, I have taken mine all over with me even on vacation.
    edited May 2018
  • Reply 174 of 238
    sirozhasirozha Posts: 801member
    MacPro said:
    cgWerks said:
    MacPro said:
    As it happens I have both the Macs you mention, no Hackintosh though, the 2012 Mini is nice and I did upgrade its RAM and SSD but it was a bit of a fiddle, mine runs 24/7 as a Windows machine ironically.   I love my late 2013 6 core Mac Pro, I am sure you would too.  It runs Windows in Boot Camp like lightening and supports Catalyst as well as being a phenomenal work horse as a Mac, I use Photoshop and FCPro mostly.  I upped the RAM to 32 GB and put in a 500 GB SSD it and use RAID 0 externals for data.  Best Mac I have ever owned so far and that's a lot. A used one would be a good investment IMHO, it doesn't feel like a five year old Mac for one second. The upgrades I did took less than 5 minutes.  I truly don't see any OS support dropping that model within four years.
    Yeah, I'm hoping that because the Mac Pro is pretty powerful and because Apple is still selling them new, that they'd continue OS support for more than they typically would a 2013 product. The Mini, though, might do the job at a lower cost. But, by the time an eGPU is added, there goes the quiet factor, I guess.
    Right I'd forgotten Apple still sell the Mac Pro!  No way a Mac bought in 2018 won't be fully supported in four or five years IMHO and there is zero change since 2013 other than spec realignment as far as I am aware.  At the time the cost/performance calculation I did made the 6 core the sweet spot not sure what is now.  I am just surprised Apple didn't update the Mac Pro with new I/O and newer GPUs and CPU, how hard would it be?

     The MP is really just a slightly larger, far more powerful dual GPU Mac mini when you think about it.  Disconnect it and it is light as a feather, I have taken mine all over with me even on vacation.
    The 2012 i7 quad-core Mac Mini, which is the best Mac Mini Apple has ever made, will probably lose support in 2019. 
  • Reply 175 of 238
    cgWerkscgWerks Posts: 2,952member
    lorin schultz said:
    I think Apple might have more success with the mini by changing the internal perception of it from "gateway device" to "Mac Pro Lite." I don't need Xeons or powerful graphics capability, but do want a reasonable amount of consumer-grade power. The iMac is a great example, but for some of us the screen is not only superfluous but an actual deal-breaker because size matters.

    I don't need a machine I can open up and swap components. In fact, as long as Apple's build-to-order prices are within reason I prefer NOT to. I just want to be able to buy a decent machine with current features at a fair price. If Apple can put a quad-core i7 with decent graphics in a laptop, why can't they do the same for the mini?
    Exactly! And, I'm really hoping they go this direction instead of going lower-end (i.e.: initial A-series offering, as intriguing as that is!). If they do go super-entry-level/low-priced, then they also need a Mac Pro Lite device in the lineup. I'm in a similar situation. I don't *need* Xeons and ECC, but I need a reasonable amount of power (that many cheap PCs have, because they use i5 and i7, often quad-core).

    I also don't care if I can open it and monkey around... so long as expansion prices are even somewhat close to reasonable.

    macxpress said:
    How about maybe an 8-core Apple designed CPU? Would you be interested in that? Just a general question out of curiosity...
    Possibly. I'd love to see that, as for Apple to design a chip like that would show commitment to the Mac. But, I think it would have a huge problem doing reasonable virtual machines that need x86. I don't think it would be the right machine for me right now, but I'd like to see something like that in general.

    macxpress said:
    Its not arrogant at all. I've been reading and participating in forums since around 2000'ish and its always been the same...except its gotten worse and worse over the years. In my experience, everyone wants to complain about something not being available, but the fact of the matter is that they're not going to buy one anyways so why do they care? As with most people in today's society, we just want something to complain about. We went round and round with this about the Mac Pro with the same results. When/If a Mac mini is released it will be yet more complaining because everyone has their own idea of what they want in a Mac mini and think Apple should design a Mac around their needs because you and few co-workers need this which apparently means the entire Mac user base wants it. 

    If you don't see constant bitching about the Mac mini then you're not paying attention to these forums. Every single thread about Tim Cook or the Mac turns into this Mac mini argument. Its non-stop! I feel some constantly treat Tim so unfairly and its getting really old. If anyone here, anyone thinks Tim Cook was supposed to be a Steve Jobs clone then they might as well just quit and go buy different product without an Apple logo on it. This was never going to be the case. Steve knew it, Tim knew it and so did a lot of other people. Its just the fact that there's this continuous whining about how Apple isn't doing this and Apple isn't doing that and when Steve was here everything was perfect at Apple which was completely and utterly not true. Maybe its just because Apple is large now so some here (and other forums) weren't around to see what Apple was like when Steve was CEO of Apple, but let me tell you it wasn't all roses. We had these exact same periods of shit not getting upgraded or released. MANY delays! Then when it was, sometimes it wasn't really worth the wait. I think a lot of people have this fairy tale version of Apple back in the day and it just wasn't there. 
    Umm, or it could be actually indicating something? Why has bitching increased? Maybe Apple's actions are prompting it?

    Just because I'm not going to buy every model of every machine that Apple makes, doesn't mean I might not have something to say with my 30+ years of experience on the platform. If they built the right Mini, I'd buy it. I might not buy an iMac Pro, but I still know a thing or two about workstation computing.

    And, I don't think anyone expected Tim to be Steve, but we expected he wouldn't turn our favorite company in a radically different direction to Steve's fundamental values. I think Tim is a brilliant business and operations person... far better than Steve. But, Apple needs vision and to stick to their fundamentals that got them where they are. If Tim can't do that, then he should find people who can. It's OK if Tim isn't like Steve, but Apple can't not have some Steve-like people near the top.

    MacPro said:
    Right I'd forgotten Apple still sell the Mac Pro!  No way a Mac bought in 2018 won't be fully supported in four or five years IMHO and there is zero change since 2013 other than spec realignment as far as I am aware.  At the time the cost/performance calculation I did made the 6 core the sweet spot not sure what is now.  I am just surprised Apple didn't update the Mac Pro with new I/O and newer GPUs and CPU, how hard would it be? 
    Well, they have short-changed other products, like they were still selling the original iPad Mini even after it wouldn't run the latest OS well at all. Apple's new practice of selling old, rather than limited-feature models, to hit lower price points is quite dangerous to end users. But, the Mac Pro shouldn't fall into that category, as besides the GPU and a bit, the ports, the hardware is pretty modern.

    It wouldn't be that hard for them to update the Mac Pro at all, it would just take some effort they apparently aren't willing to take... just like the Mac Mini.

    sirozha said:
    The 2012 i7 quad-core Mac Mini, which is the best Mac Mini Apple has ever made, will probably lose support in 2019. 
    Yep, I'm pretty sure the Mini will, but *hopefully* the Mac Pro is safe for a while yet. I'd be concerned about buying a new Mac Mini right now though... as things like the GPU could push it outside support well before another 4-5 years.
  • Reply 176 of 238
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,718member
    A Mac mini with the new Kaby Lake would seem logical. If they fit in a NUC they could squeeze into a Mac mini. Apple already lean AMD and Intel anyway so why not?

    https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2018/01/kaby-lake-g-unveiled-intel-cpu-amd-gpu-nvidia-beating-performance/
    edited May 2018 cgWerks
  • Reply 177 of 238
    cgWerkscgWerks Posts: 2,952member
    MacPro said:
    A Mac mini with the new Kaby Lake would seem logical. If they fit in a NUC they could squeeze into a Mac mini. Apple already lean AMD and Intel anyway so why not?
    https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2018/01/kaby-lake-g-unveiled-intel-cpu-amd-gpu-nvidia-beating-performance/
    Yeah. With my luck, that's what they'll release, about one week after I buy something else. :)
    So, I suppose I should just 'take one for the team' so you all get this soon.
  • Reply 178 of 238
    DuhSesameDuhSesame Posts: 1,278member
    Isn't the only problem for Mac mini is the lack of update...
  • Reply 179 of 238
    djames4242djames4242 Posts: 651member
    cgWerks said:
    Mike Wuerthele said:
    I'm not certain I'd bother with the TB1 in the 2012 and an eGPU. It's doable, but man, the performance hit is rough.
    Yeah, it's just more of a... what's the alternative (if not going Hackintosh)? I need to buy something in the next month or so here, and it seems my options are 2012 quad-core Mini, Hackintosh, or 2013 Mac Pro. They all have potential downsides. The Mac Pro looks best for me, but I'm concerned about spending that much money if OS support drops off before, say, 4 years or so.

    I'm really hoping we'll see something at WWDC. But, I fear I'm just going to get disappointed.
    I faced this same dilemma last month and finally decided that I didn't want to spend nearly $1000 on a six-year-old quad-core Mac Mini because of the same concern over future support as you have. Since I tend to keep my machines for roughly seven years, I decided that it was worth spending $3000 on an almost fully-loaded iMac (4.2ghz, 1TB SSD, and 24gb RAM) because I wanted the option of adding more than 16gb or RAM down the road.

    My guess is that this is as much of a reason why the Mini isn't being updated. If those looking for a brand new Mac went for a fully-loaded Mac Mini for $2000, spending another $1000 to gain quad core (and a much faster CPU), much better graphics, memory upgradable past 16gb, and it comes with a gorgeous display - for most people that's a new brainer.

    That said, I'd personally still have opted for a $2000 Mini had a modern processor with a quad-core option been available.
  • Reply 180 of 238
    cgWerkscgWerks Posts: 2,952member
    djames4242 said:
    I faced this same dilemma last month and finally decided that I didn't want to spend nearly $1000 on a six-year-old quad-core Mac Mini because of the same concern over future support as you have. Since I tend to keep my machines for roughly seven years, I decided that it was worth spending $3000 on an almost fully-loaded iMac (4.2ghz, 1TB SSD, and 24gb RAM) because I wanted the option of adding more than 16gb or RAM down the road.

    My guess is that this is as much of a reason why the Mini isn't being updated. If those looking for a brand new Mac went for a fully-loaded Mac Mini for $2000, spending another $1000 to gain quad core (and a much faster CPU), much better graphics, memory upgradable past 16gb, and it comes with a gorgeous display - for most people that's a new brainer.

    That said, I'd personally still have opted for a $2000 Mini had a modern processor with a quad-core option been available.
    Yeah, my problem with the iMac, is that I want inputs on my display for other PCs/devices, and already have a monitor. I wouldn't mind the nice display on the iMac (which is better than what I have), but I don't want an all-in-one if I can avoid it. Also, at least in my past experience, the Mini was a bit more reliable under extended load and also more quiet (or at least a tolerable type of noise). But, I don't know about current iMacs, I've just heard they can get kind of loud.

    That would be the sticking point for a modern Mini potentially; the noise. So, I'd be better off with a Mac Pro (2013) in that regard. It just costs a lot more. You do certainly get more for your money with an iMac. It just isn't a great fit for me.
Sign In or Register to comment.