2.8GHz Mac Mini better than expected

[strat59uk]

I just purchased a refurbished late-2014 2.8GHz, 8GB, 1TB Fusion Mac Mini for £650 direct from Apple.

I got it primarily because my early-2008 Mac Pro (Quad Core, 12GB, 2x 256GB SSD and still going strong!) isn't supported by macOS Sierra. As I'm an iOS developer I felt I just had to be running the latest OS because, sooner or later, some new Xcode feature would require Sierra (e.g. it happened recently with the watchOS simulator requiring El Capitan).

Since the WWDC announcement of the requirements for running macOS Sierra I've been agonising over whether to "hack" the Mac Pro into working with Sierra (it's definite possible, but I feel uncomfortable with the legality of doing it!) or buy a new machine. After much deliberation and poring over these forums I decided to take the plunge and get the Mac Mini, although nagging doubts remained about if it was up to the task of running Xcode, the simulators, etc.

However, when the Mini arrived (looks brand new/unused to me) all my worries quickly faded away: this is a brilliant little machine! I expected it to be a bit "laggy" on certain Xcode tasks compared to the Mac Pro. But it isn't. In fact, it out-performs the '08 Mac Pro: things like Interface Builder run more responsively, compile times are about 15-20% faster. And disk performance is hugely better:

Mac Pro - Write = 245 MB/s, Read = 269 MB/s
Mac Mini - Write = 674 MB/s, Read = 732 MB/s

So, overall I'm hugely impressed by the Mac Mini (particularly for the price) and I thought I'd shared my positive experiences in case others reading this forum are wondering if they should go for the Mac Mini!

 

[Wavell]

I recently picked up a 3Ghz i7, 16Gb, 1Tb Fusion Mac Mini, it replaces an old Core 2 Duo Mac Mini that was about 6 years old or so.. I use it to host a Windows 2012 R2 VM (which is pretty much permanently running) and as a media server and it barely breaks into a sweat. Totally love this machine, it's far more responsive than I expected it to be. very impressed.

 

[Kaida]

yup you guys keep telling yourself that

 

[keysofanxiety]

yup you guys keep telling yourself that

A little jelly about those PCI-e SSD speeds, are we?

In all seriousness, it would be perfect for Apple to release a quad-core option again and have those delicious new SSDs in. That would make the Mac Mini a proper powerhouse.

 

[strat59uk]

yup you guys keep telling yourself that

Well, I'm sure if my business/hobby was games, video editing or 3D graphics then the mini wouldn't have been such a good choice

But I use the mini for Xcode development work, plus the normal browsing, iTunes, email, etc. I've just been very pleasantly surprised at how capable, responsive and quiet (yet to hear the fans!) the mini is.

I could have purchased (and nearly did) a brand new Macbook Pro (I had full written authority from my wife ) but decided that the mini would be a better option!

I'm honestly very happy with it, that's all

 

[Kaida]

If you do game, the 2014 Iris is actually better than the 2012 HD4000. 2014 minis could play Overwatch but 2012 couldn't

We are indeed a little jealous of the PCIe speed. It's really too bad apple didn't use the normal ngff and choose to have its own connector... Oh well... Let's all wait and see what Apple will remove or add in the new definitely coming mini.

2007 -> 2009 removed the upgradable CPU, added 3rd antenna cable
2009 -> 2010 removed power supply and put it in new sexy unibody case, actually good.
2010 -> 2011 removed the dvd rom (some say good, some say bad)
2011 -> 2012 removed nvidia/ati(amd) gpu (some say good, some say bad), added usb 3.0
2012 -> 2014 removed ram upgrade option and qc cpu option, added PCIe SSD and 1 more thunderbolt/mini dp but still restrict to 2 monitors natively...

 

[tibas92013]

I just purchased a refurbished late-2014 2.8GHz, 8GB, 1TB Fusion Mac Mini for £650 direct from Apple.

I got it primarily because my early-2008 Mac Pro (Quad Core, 12GB, 2x 256GB SSD and still going strong!) isn't supported by macOS Sierra. As I'm an iOS developer I felt I just had to be running the latest OS because, sooner or later, some new Xcode feature would require Sierra (e.g. it happened recently with the watchOS simulator requiring El Capitan).

Since the WWDC announcement of the requirements for running macOS Sierra I've been agonising over whether to "hack" the Mac Pro into working with Sierra (it's definite possible, but I feel uncomfortable with the legality of doing it!) or buy a new machine. After much deliberation and poring over these forums I decided to take the plunge and get the Mac Mini, although nagging doubts remained about if it was up to the task of running Xcode, the simulators, etc.

However, when the Mini arrived (looks brand new/unused to me) all my worries quickly faded away: this is a brilliant little machine! I expected it to be a bit "laggy" on certain Xcode tasks compared to the Mac Pro. But it isn't. In fact, it out-performs the '08 Mac Pro: things like Interface Builder run more responsively, compile times are about 15-20% faster. And disk performance is hugely better:

Mac Pro - Write = 245 MB/s, Read = 269 MB/s
Mac Mini - Write = 674 MB/s, Read = 732 MB/s

So, overall I'm hugely impressed by the Mac Mini (particularly for the price) and I thought I'd shared my positive experiences in case others reading this forum are wondering if they should go for the Mac Mini!

I too am very impressed with my purchase last year from the Apple On-Line Store of a Refurbished MM(Late 2014), 2.8GHz, 8GB Ram, 256SSD along with AppleCare which cost me a total of around $1,000 which included Sales Tax.

 

[Samuelsan2001]

Well, I'm sure if my business/hobby was games, video editing or 3D graphics then the mini wouldn't have been such a good choice

But I use the mini for Xcode development work, plus the normal browsing, iTunes, email, etc. I've just been very pleasantly surprised at how capable, responsive and quiet (yet to hear the fans!) the mini is.

I could have purchased (and nearly did) a brand new Macbook Pro (I had full written authority from my wife ) but decided that the mini would be a better option!

I'm honestly very happy with it, that's all

It's a screenless 13 inch MacBook Pro, so it's Great for most general use.

 

[strat59uk]

It's a screenless 13 inch MacBook Pro, so it's Great for most general use.

Yes, after comparing the Mac Mini and Macbook Pro 13 inch I concluded exactly that! Although I believe the PCIe speeds are even better on the MBP. But the r/w speed of the MM is just fine as far as I'm concerned

 

[MultiFinder17]

I will always tell people that the mini is a surprisingly capable little computer if you give it a chance. Are you going to be doing pro-level CAD work on it? Probably not, but for anything else it's wonderful. U used a 2009 as my main desktop for four years, and I currently have a 2012 as my home server and couldn't be happier with it.

 

[grcar]

I thought I'd shared my positive experiences in case others reading this forum are wondering if they should go for the Mac Mini!

People object to the fact the machine you bought costs $999 for not-state-of-the-art hardware.