2012 Mac Mini Stock RAM vs 16GB 1333mhz

Very interesting benchmarks. I have screen prints, but I don't have time to upload them tonight so you'll just have to take my word for it...

Geekbench 32bit (I don't own a license):
Stock 4GB @ 1600mhz - 10734
16GB @ 1333mhz - 10958 (tried it again and got 10997 )

Xbench (first number is stock 4GB, second is 16GB @ 1333mhz):
Overall Score: 334.66 / 329.49
CPU: 266.70 / 271.39
Memory Test: 633.23 / 625.53
Quarts Graphics Test: 526.67 / 505.27
OpenGL: 251.87 / 244.61
User Interface: 267.17 / 261.48


Handbrake encoding*:
Stock 4GB @ 1600mhz - 6:42
16GB @ 1333mhz - 6:43

* I ripped a copy of 10 Things I Hate About You in VOB format and converted it to h.264 at Handbrake's "Normal" Setting

One of two conclusions can be made of the above results:
1. In none of the tests was there a statistical significant difference in the results (meaning that the results were all to close to say either was "faster" than the other by any major margin).
2. If upgrading from the Stock amount of RAM, then going with "slower" RAM will not significantly impact performance. This can be because of one of the following:

A. The Mini is starved for RAM at 4GB and any loss in performance by using slower RAM is made up for by having more.
B. Or in the end the bandwidth loss by going with slower 1333mhz (but lower latency) isn't enough of a performance loss to make a significant difference in the over all performance of our Mini's.

So my point? Buy whatever is a good deal because in the end it probably isn't going to make a significant difference unless money is no object (of course).

G-Mo said:

What's the savings? Both are about $85.

What are your benchmarks for 16GB 1600?

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Actually I picked up the 1333mhz ram for only $48! So for that price it was a no brainer, especially since the benchmarks show no loss in speed compared to stock 1600mhz @ 4gb

fhqwhgads said:

I guess maybe I'm confused, but doesn't having 4 times the RAM @ 1333 and getting almost no benefit vs 1600 show that the bus speed makes a big difference? Wouldn't the helpful test be to compare equal amounts of RAM at the two bus speeds? I look at your results and make the exact opposite conclusion: that having the decrease in bus speed means you need 4 times as much RAM to get basically the same performance.

Help me understand what I'm missing here as I'm definitely not super savvy about this sort of thing.

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More RAM rarely means better benchmarks unless your computer is starved for RAM. More RAM is needed so you can run more stuff at any given time. So basically unless 4gb is too little to handle the OS + benchmarks, 16 vs 4 matters none. More RAM does not equal faster, it just means you can have more applications open before your system slows...

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Che Castro said:

So what is the best cheapest ram 16gb for the 2012 base mini ?

Can you post a link

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You can use any sodimm 1333mhz or better DDR3. It doesn't have to be "Mac RAM". However, if you do buy "pc" RAM be sure to check the reviews for how it works in Macs. There is no difference between Mac and PC ram other than occasionally some of the PC RAM is out of spec for a Mac. With that said as of the Core i series, the memory controller is on the CPU now so there is very little RAM that won't work in a MAC that works in a PC. You can usually save yourself $10-20 by going PC ram