2012 vs 2014 Mini. How to boost everyday single-core tasks

[tennisproha]

So although the 2012 quad Minis are much better than the 2014 multicore performance-wise; it seems the 2014 does beat out the 2012 is single core processing speed.

Is there anything that can be done to boost single core everyday performance in the 2012?

Also, what do your average everyday tasks like Safari, Mail, video streaming, documents utilize, single or multi cores?

 

[waveboreale]

Safari, Mail, video streaming use single cores while tasks like video editing and video converting or very heavy Photoshop work use multi cores.

According to :
http://www.everymac.com/systems/app...luminum-late-2014-performance-comparison.html

the 2014 Mac Mini i5 2.6GHz (mid range) is just 6% faster than 2012 i7 2.3GHz (mid range) in single core mode, hardly perceptible. Nothing to be envious of. In multi core mode in the contrary the 2012 quad core beats the 2014 dual core even i7 to the ground.

Just enjoy your Mac Mini 2012.

 

[qcmacmini]

The best way to boost performance is to put the best possible SSD in your 2012 mini. I put in an 850 Pro 1TB and haven't looked back, everything is nearly instantaneous.

 

[tennisproha]

Safari, Mail, video streaming use single cores while tasks like video editing and video converting or very heavy Photoshop work use multi cores.

According to :
http://www.everymac.com/systems/app...luminum-late-2014-performance-comparison.html

the 2014 Mac Mini i5 2.6GHz (mid range) is just 6% faster than 2012 i7 2.3GHz (mid range) in single core mode, hardly perceptible. Nothing to be envious of. In multi core mode in the contrary the 2012 quad core beats the 2014 dual core even i7 to the ground.

Just enjoy your Mac Mini 2012.

yeah you're right. I didn't realize it was only a 6% difference.

well just for kicks, is there a way to see how many cores the machine is utilizing at any given moment?

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The best way to boost performance is to put the best possible SSD in your 2012 mini. I put in an 850 Pro 1TB and haven't looked back, everything is nearly instantaneous.

that's almost as much as the Mini itself! was it a perceivable difference?

 

[crazzapple]

The best way to boost performance is to put the best possible SSD in your 2012 mini. I put in an 850 Pro 1TB and haven't looked back, everything is nearly instantaneous.

This is true, going from mechanical disk to SSD is a huge difference. Everything loads faster and seems to happen faster. Hands down the best upgrade you can do, as long as your ram situation is good, and even then it can help make ram swapping less painful.

 

[Tsavo]

So although the 2012 quad Minis are much better than the 2014 multicore performance-wise; it seems the 2014 does beat out the 2012 is single core processing speed.

Is there anything that can be done to boost single core everyday performance in the 2012?

Also, what do your average everyday tasks like Safari, Mail, video streaming, documents utilize, single or multi cores?

You won't miss anything. I have a number of Windows boxes, all 4.2GHz. 4 cores, 6 cores with hyperthreading. 2 cores with HT. Can't really tell them apart until I really put the throttle into them.

My main PC is a 4 core non-HT box using the same era CPU as a 2012 Mac Mini, and for everyday use, I can't tell the difference between it, my new (base) Mac Mini, my Thinkpad (same CPU as 2 core 2012 mac Mini), or my 6 core box.

Don't sweat it, you aren't missing out on anything unless you don't have an SSD.

 

[Mr. Retrofire]

Safari, Mail, video streaming use single cores...

No, that is wrong. Check the OS X Activity Monitor or the output of the Terminal command "top"!

sudo top -o threads

OS X needs also at least one "free" processor core for the "kernel_task" (the OS core).

 

[Mr. Retrofire]

Is there anything that can be done to boost single core everyday performance in the 2012?

Yeah.

Make sure you use a modern OS like Linux, Windows 7 or newer or OS X 10.9 or newer.

All three support timer coalescing, which reduces the CPU temperature and increases therefore the maximum Turbo Boost speed for single core tasks.

From:
http://www.intel.com/content/www/us...ology/turbo-boost/turbo-boost-technology.html

“Intel® Turbo Boost Technology 2.0 automatically allows processor cores to run faster than the rated operating frequency if they’re operating below power, current, and temperature specification limits.

Intel Turbo Boost Technology 2.0 is activated when the Operating System (OS) requests a frequency higher than the rated frequency of the processor. Whether the processor enters into and the amount of time the processor spends in the Intel Turbo Boost Technology 2.0 state depends on the workload and operating environment.

Maximum turbo frequency indicates the highest possible frequency achievable when conditions allow the processor to enter turbo mode. Intel Turbo Boost Technology frequency varies depending on workload, hardware, software and overall system configuration.”

You can use also the "renice" command via the Terminal or via a 3rd party app.

 

[qcmacmini]

yeah you're right. I didn't realize it was only a 6% difference.



well just for kicks, is there a way to see how many cores the machine is utilizing at any given moment?

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that's almost as much as the Mini itself! was it a perceivable difference?

Yes it was expensive, but that drive comes with a 10 year warranty, and I'll be using it long after my Mac mini is out of date. Maybe as an external portable later on.

The difference is like night and day. I am so used to it now that my iPad 4 seems so laggy on holidays I want my Mac back.

You can literally transfer files in seconds instead of minutes, and like I said loading applications is now instantaneous.

 

[tennisproha]

Thanks for all the quality responses everyone. Lots of good info. Appreciate it.