Mac Mini 2011 runs slow (GeekBench 5100)

[KittyKatta]

Let me start by saying I don't know anything. My Mini has. Always felt sluggish and I read I could test it with Geek Bench. I tried and I'm scoring significantly lower than everyone else even after going to 8GB RAM.

Mac Mini (2011) 2.3ghz i5 (The number is the geekbench score)
6000 - Average result on Geek Bench Comparisons for exact same machine
5100 - Mac Mini after 7mo use
5100 - Stock Mac Mini after restore
5300 a Mac Mini after making 8GB RAM

So does anyone have a clue on why It would be slower than everyone elses? The only heavy app I use is aperture and it's agonizingly slow. I've tried the memory upgrade and bought a FireWire 800 drive but it's still very slow.

Thanks!

[T4R06]

5400rpm is the culprit!

I did a little experiment.. Changing the RAM up to 16gb didn't do the job. Now try SSD. It will fly!!!

[Darby67]

What version of Geekbench are you using, 64-bit or 32-bit? The 5400 rpm drive you likely have in your mini could very well be a culprit of the sluggishness but it shouldn't have any effect on the Geekbench score as it doesn't take your drive into the equation.

[KittyKatta]

Originally Posted by Darby67

What version of Geekbench are you using, 64-bit or 32-bit? The 5400 rpm drive you likely have in your mini could very well be a culprit of the sluggishness but it shouldn't have any effect on the Geekbench score as it doesn't take your drive into the equation.

32bit since its free and I'm pretty sure that's what many of the other tested systems used. I also read that HDD speed doesn't factor in terms of GeekBench testing but in attempts to boost the speeds a bit for regular use then I did buy a seagate FireWire 800 drive but I still didn't give me much of an improvement. I was going to put my 7200rpm drive from my old MacBook Pro in it but I got a few steps into doing the upgrade myself and chickened out.

I'm just not sure what to do next. Maybe I'm just spoiled by the Air and SSD, but it feels more like the machine just has a problem and I want to figure it out before I give up and sell it. (I know I should go to genius bar but phone support already blamed it on software installed which is why I reformatted and reinstalled everything and it gave the same results. I just don't feel like going through that again if I can get board advice instead)

[Poki]

If you used a MBA with a SSD it's clear that the Mini is MUCH slower! However, if you build in your own SATA-3 SSD, it's going to be faster, as the SSD chips in the Air aren't the fastest on the market.

[shortcut3d]

Significantly lower Geekbench could be a result of thermal paste application because the CPU is getting hotter faster than comparable machines, thus throttling down the clock speed. I would monitor your temperatures to see if there is a compelling reason to try and reapply thermal paste. If you were to do that, I'd also swap the drive with an after market SSD. There are many deals around $1 per GB. Ultimately, 700 Geekbench points is well within the margin of error for an installation.