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2011 Mac Mini with dGPU - avoid?

Could this be almost generalized? Looks like this is true for all Macbooks and iMacs as well that the dGPU versions fail much sooner than the ones with integrated graphics.
 
MarvinHC said:
Could this be almost generalized? Looks like this is true for all Macbooks and iMacs as well that the dGPU versions fail much sooner than the ones with integrated graphics.
Click to expand...

I'll generalize it even further: All computers with discrete graphics processors tend to have those processors fail more quickly.

One reason why is that, at least in the past, most computers with discrete GPUs would mount those GPUs into the computer using a motherboard slot. In this way, not only can the GPU be upgraded, it can also be replaced if it goes bad. Therefore, GPU manufacturers have more freedom to construct chips and boards that they know will go bad, overheated and overclocked silicon that burns out much more rapidly than ordinary chips.

Companies like ATI and NVidia have been rewarded for this practice. When dealing with graphics, many people value speed over lifespan, and that is what has been delivered.
 
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jpietrzak8 said:
I'll generalize it even further: All computers with discrete graphics processors tend to have those processors fail more quickly.

One reason why is that, at least in the past, most computers with discrete GPUs would mount those GPUs into the computer using a motherboard slot. In this way, not only can the GPU be upgraded, it can also be replaced if it goes bad. Therefore, GPU manufacturers have more freedom to construct chips and boards that they know will go bad, overheated and overclocked silicon that burns out much more rapidly than ordinary chips.

Companies like ATI and NVidia have been rewarded for this practice. When dealing with graphics, many people value speed over lifespan, and that is what has been delivered.
Click to expand...
Very interesting perspective that was new to me. I have stopped building my own PCs some 15 years ago, so before the really heavy duty GPUs started to become a big thing in the market. But your argumentation makes a lot of sense, another reason for me to avoid macs with discrete GPUs in the future.
 
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I have a 2.7 i7 ( got very hot and noisy ) and el crapitan bricked it , now I'm on a 3ghz new one and it's much quieter , runs cooler too
 
Note: Internal dGPU can conflict with an eGPU. If you ever plan to use an eGPU better buy a Mac Mini with Intel HD graphics only.
 
MarvinHC said:
But your argumentation makes a lot of sense, another reason for me to avoid macs with discrete GPUs in the future.
Click to expand...

This remark has been wandering around in my head for a little while, and I've finally realized why. To my mind, the key here is not to avoid Macs with discrete GPUs in the future. No, the key is to avoid Macs in the future.

I agree that one wants to avoid purchasing computers with parts that will fail. The real problem with Apple products, however, is that they are now manufactured without any thought towards maintenance. If a part goes bad on your iPhone? Oh well, throw it in the trash and buy a new one. A part goes bad on your iPad? Yup, ditch the whole thing and buy a new one. And these days, if any single part goes bad on your Mac? Throw the whole thing away and get a new one.

I'm really disgusted with this practice, especially as engineering desktop computers to be repairable and upgradable is such a well-understood process today. It isn't that Apple can't make reliable machines with discrete GPUs; it's that Apple refuses to make reliable machines with discrete GPUs. Heck, Apple refuses to make machines that can ever be fixed if anything goes wrong. At best, they will replace your entire machine if a fault occurs; at worst, you're just stuck.

It is infuriating. And it is one of the reasons I'm leaving the Apple world and going back to Linux...
 
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jpietrzak8 said:
This remark has been wandering around in my head for a little while, and I've finally realized why. To my mind, the key here is not to avoid Macs with discrete GPUs in the future. No, the key is to avoid Macs in the future.

I agree that one wants to avoid purchasing computers with parts that will fail. The real problem with Apple products, however, is that they are now manufactured without any thought towards maintenance. If a part goes bad on your iPhone? Oh well, throw it in the trash and buy a new one. A part goes bad on your iPad? Yup, ditch the whole thing and buy a new one. And these days, if any single part goes bad on your Mac? Throw the whole thing away and get a new one.

I'm really disgusted with this practice, especially as engineering desktop computers to be repairable and upgradable is such a well-understood process today. It isn't that Apple can't make reliable machines with discrete GPUs; it's that Apple refuses to make reliable machines with discrete GPUs. Heck, Apple refuses to make machines that can ever be fixed if anything goes wrong. At best, they will replace your entire machine if a fault occurs; at worst, you're just stuck.

It is infuriating. And it is one of the reasons I'm leaving the Apple world and going back to Linux...
Click to expand...
I am a rather late comer to the Apple world (3 years ago) and not yet ready to leave, luckily most of my hardware is still more or less serviceable. But I am intrigued by Linux, last time I tried it was some 10 years ago so I guess things have come a long way in the meantime. Any recommendation with which Linux to get started? I might give it a part of my harddrive on one of my macs and play around with it a bit.
 
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MarvinHC said:
Any recommendation with which Linux to get started?
Click to expand...

Well, I have been testing out Ubuntu lately; this distribution was created with end-user friendliness in mind, and I have to agree that it is a generally easy-to-use and solid flavor of Linux. I may not be the best person to ask, though, as I don't test out many different distributions myself. :)
 
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jpietrzak8 said:
Well, I have been testing out Ubuntu lately; this distribution was created with end-user friendliness in mind, and I have to agree that it is a generally easy-to-use and solid flavor of Linux. I may not be the best person to ask, though, as I don't test out many different distributions myself. :)
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Thanks will look into Ubuntu.
 
MarvinHC said:
I am a rather late comer to the Apple world (3 years ago) and not yet ready to leave, luckily most of my hardware is still more or less serviceable. But I am intrigued by Linux, last time I tried it was some 10 years ago so I guess things have come a long way in the meantime. Any recommendation with which Linux to get started? I might give it a part of my harddrive on one of my macs and play around with it a bit.
Click to expand...

For someone starting out, Mint is the usual suggestion
 
twalk said:
For someone starting out, Mint is the usual suggestion
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Could you, perhaps, elaborate on that? I'm not totally familiar with Mint myself. I had thought that Ubuntu was probably the easiest for someone coming from a Windows / OS X background...
 
jpietrzak8 said:
Could you, perhaps, elaborate on that? I'm not totally familiar with Mint myself. I had thought that Ubuntu was probably the easiest for someone coming from a Windows / OS X background...
Click to expand...

Ubuntu's focus is mostly corporate installs and is huge on servers. Mint uses Ubuntu as a base and puts a much more beginner friendly interface on top of it for home users

There's a few other "easy to get into" versions of Linux out there, but Mint has pretty much become the default suggestion for beginners. It's not the choice that I'd make for someone who's an expert, but it's a great place to start and is still a solid choice for long-term usage. If you'd lean the Red Hat direction, then CentOS would be the beginner choice with long-term usage
 
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jpietrzak8 said:
I'm really disgusted with this practice, especially as engineering desktop computers to be repairable and upgradable is such a well-understood process today. It isn't that Apple can't make reliable machines with discrete GPUs; it's that Apple refuses to make reliable machines with discrete GPUs. Heck, Apple refuses to make machines that can ever be fixed if anything goes wrong. At best, they will replace your entire machine if a fault occurs; at worst, you're just stuck.
Click to expand...

Yeah, it's becoming a hard pill to swallow - says a man who's now faced with the prospect of baking his Mac Mini's motherboard in an oven to try and recover the GPU. I know there are trade offs when you want a system that's compact and light weight, but seriously with our resources, climate and economy in the $hitter it's quite frankly obscene what they are doing.

The Mac Mini needs to be more like an Intel Nuc, not more like an iPad.

MarvinHC said:
But I am intrigued by Linux, last time I tried it was some 10 years ago so I guess things have come a long way in the meantime. Any recommendation with which Linux to get started?
Click to expand...

As other have mentioned. Ubuntu is a great gateway into Linux. I use it daily in my job. It lacks some of macOS's killer features but it's improving with each release.

I used to recommend Mint but I don't anymore. Clem has made some pretty arse-headed decisions of late and coupled with several hacks, I've lost faith in it as a viable distro.

These days I recommend Ubuntu Mate or Elementary OS (more Mac-like). I hear good things about Solus too.
 
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