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Early Impressions and Benchmarks on Apple's 2012 Mac Mini

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macrumors bot
Original poster
Apr 12, 2001
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Colocation data center Macminicolo has already gotten its hands on the new Mac mini, putting all three stock models through benchmarking tests and sharing initial impressions of the machines.

Geekbench results, which focus strictly on processor and memory performance, show a marginal increase in performance for the entry-level machine compared to the previous generation, with more substantial gains coming in the higher-end models tapping into quad-core Ivy Bridge processors. Early impressions of the latest models include:
- Don't look now, but the new Mac minis are getting comparable to the last gen Xserve and 2010 Mac Pros as far as benchmarks. Tech progress marches on.
- All Mac minis now come standard with 4GB of RAM. Thank goodness. As of last week, the base Mac mini had 2GB of RAM and that was brutal with Mountain Lion.
- The Mac mini can officially be upgraded to 16GB now. It's been possible for over a year, but it had to be done after ordering. Now, Apple offers the 16GB of RAM.
- The base mini is still i5, but the middle and high end minis are quad core i7 Ivy Bridge processors. That middle mini is the most interesting. Many customers prefer the quad core for things like an Xcode build server or for plenty of cores to spread between virtual machines. That $799 Mac mini is going to be very popular.
- The machines now come with 1600MHz DDR3 Memory. Seriously, 16GB of 1600MHz RAM in such a small machine. It's really quite amazing.
Click to expand...
macminicolo_2012_benchmarks.jpg
Another colocation center, Mac Mini Vault, has also taken a look at the new Mac mini, noting that their machine arrived running a custom Build 12B2080 of OS X 10.8.1. The company also performed a quick teardown of the machine, noting that Apple has tweaked the fan design since last year's model and also made some changes to the wireless antennas.

mac_mini_2012_quick_teardown.jpg

Article Link: Early Impressions and Benchmarks on Apple's 2012 Mac Mini
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2012/10/24/early-impressions-and-benchmarks-on-apples-2012-mac-mini/
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polaris20

macrumors 68020
Jul 13, 2008
2,491
753
I'm thinking the 2.6Ghz quad is in my future. I don't really need a laptop as much anymore, with the iPad, and I've got a 24" Samsung LED LCD that I'm quite fond of.
 
M

MacintoshMan

macrumors regular
Feb 16, 2006
158
20
Don't insult us with Xserves and say that the two are comparable. Does the new Mac Mini support ethernet bonding? oh wait, it only has one ethernet port.
 
T

tkatz

macrumors 6502
Dec 14, 2009
258
208
MacintoshMan said:
Don't insult us with Xserves and say that the two are comparable. Does the new Mac Mini support ethernet bonding? oh wait, it only has one ethernet port.
Click to expand...

But the Mac Mini has a thunderbolt port which you can add at least another ethernet "port" with.
 
flopticalcube

flopticalcube

macrumors G4
Sep 7, 2006
10,456
186
In the velcro closure of America's Hat
Seriously, 16GB of 1600MHz RAM in such a small machine. It's really quite amazing.
Click to expand...

Reminds me of a quote I overheard 25 years ago. Company director was conducting a tour and pointing out one of the "new" VMS workstations (about twice the size of a Mac Pro). "The amazing thing is that is a 1 MIPS machine! It's incredible!"

Plus ça change...
 
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paulrbeers

macrumors 68040
Dec 17, 2009
3,963
123
MacintoshMan said:
Don't insult us with Xserves and say that the two are comparable. Does the new Mac Mini support ethernet bonding? oh wait, it only has one ethernet port.
Click to expand...

Thunderbolt to Ethernet dongle + built in Ethernet
Thunderbolt Display with Ethernet + built in Ethernet
USB3.0 to Ethernet dongle + built in Ethernet

I'd say that's three ways (two fairly cheap) to get two GB Ethernet ports on the Mac Mini wouldn't you?
 
zombierunner

zombierunner

macrumors 68000
Jan 18, 2011
1,682
2,122
UK
I think for the prices apple charge for their macs, a ssd should come as standard across the board.
 
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Pathologos

macrumors newbie
Oct 23, 2012
2
0
Anyone going to use the new Mac mini to build a render farm? Looking for some tips... I.e. is CPU the most important variable?
 
Small White Car

Small White Car

macrumors G4
Aug 29, 2006
10,966
1,463
Washington DC
MacintoshMan said:
Don't insult us with Xserves and say that the two are comparable. Does the new Mac Mini support ethernet bonding? oh wait, it only has one ethernet port.
Click to expand...

Geez, sensitive much?

You were 'insulted' by a tech review?

It was a helpful comparison to give a rough estimate of how far the mini has come. I found it useful and not once did I think "Ha ha, Macrumors sure stuck it to MacintoshMan!"
 
F

Fifemacuser

macrumors member
Mar 16, 2012
55
0
I was considering the new low end, but I think that this has just made my mind up. Want the machine to last a good while so the mid it is! :D
 
4

435713

macrumors 6502a
May 19, 2010
834
153
Scores are good. Imagine the increase if the case was...dare I say...a little bigger and fatter, with the ability to have a nice GPU as well as a desktop CPU. Wait I said bigger? WHOA Johnny Five Ive don't pass out.

Mini is a good machine though not knocking it really, it could be so much more.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
limesmoothie

limesmoothie

macrumors 6502a
Apr 20, 2009
917
697
Edinburgh, Scotland
I'm picking one up to act as the main workhorse at home. We both have iPads and one ageing MBP, which should last a while longer yet. I get edu discount, so @ £430 it seems like a good buy. Will upgrade the RAM, obviously!
 
KindredMAC

KindredMAC

macrumors 6502a
Sep 23, 2003
975
218
I absolutely love my 2010 mini and would love to replace it with the quad core version.

The mini has really become a nice little machine for everything from home theater use to graphic design to mini server use.

Between this and the iMac, the only pros that need the Mac Pro have been dwindled down to maybe 750-1000 potential customers possibly?
 
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