realistic performance jump expected from next mini?

[mrklaw]

I know we all want a refresh, the current one is 'old' etc etc. But what practical performance improvements do you expect?

The fastest mini I can find on primate labs is the 2009 2.66GHz C2D @ 3700 (geekbench). Current 2010 mac mini 2.66 is similar on 3634

if they put in the current 13" MBP i5-2415M 2.3 GHz, that comes in at 5945, so a healthy bump. But would that work in the current mini form factor?

I don't think there are any macs with i3 sandy bridges in, and the i5-2415m is still a 35W part like the i3s, so would that be the most likely option or would apple put an i3 in it?


I'm looking at options around how more capable such a machine would be at my worst case scenario - playing back a HD 1080p movie while realtime transcoding another 1080p stream to an appleTV or ipad using plex media server

[Westyfield2]

As I said here, I reckon they'll just stick the innards of the current 13" MacBook Pro inside a Mac Mini.

My reasoning: The Mac Mini as we know it came out June 2010, with an Intel P8600 or P8800. The 13" MacBook Pro of the day came out April 2010 and had an Intel P8600 or P8800.

The Mac Mini came out two months after the 13" MacBook Pro with exactly the same processors. Consequently, I'd say expecting the specifications of the current 13" MacBook Pro is realistic.

Having said that, the volume of the 13" MacBook Pro is 25% bigger than the volume of the Mac Mini... but if they did it once I can't see why they can't do it again.

[philipma1957]

this is the fastest non-soldered 2009 mac mini score. had a patriot inferno 200gb ssd and 6gb ram. I still own it. score is 4090 in 64 bit geek bench ..


2011 2.3 GHz cpu macbook pro 13 inch models get scores of 6445 in 64 bit

2011 2.7 GHz cpu macbook pro 13 inch models get score of 7484 in 64 bit .

This is why buying a 2010 mini which scores lower then a 2009 mini on geekbench 64 bit instead of waiting to see how this plays out is not the thing to do. If the 2011 mini gets scores like 6400 and 7400 vs 4100 for the best current score plus has the t-bolt option all the owners of 2010 minis will not like it very much. Yeah i know the graphics for gamers are sooo much better in a 2010. Come on the mini is not a gaming machine.

[lvlarkkoenen]

Originally Posted by philipma1957

Come on the mini is not a gaming machine.

It indeed isn't but if I can get away with playing WoW on it (WoW isn't very GPU intensive and it appears to run fine on 13" MBP's, check youtube if you don't believe me) I will buy it. If I can't get away with it, ie I can only run it on very low settings and probably not at all come next Xpac, I will put my money elsewhere.