Just curious, what is locking you into the system and why can't you switch to PC? Is it required for your job? Are you an iOS developer? Or is it really the average Apple fanboy's hatred of PC that has "locked" you in?
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2018 Mac mini Teardown: User-Upgradeable RAM, But Soldered Down CPU and Storage
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It is but so are Android and Windows. Whatever you use there will be compromises. For me macOS and iOS are worth the compromises I make because I prefer these systems.
Amazing to think this same case used to fit 2x SATA6 2.5-inch drives.
I'm sure Apple did their diligence, but having the RAM directly above the CPU seems like it would cause heat problems with the RAM.
I'm sure Apple did their diligence, but having the RAM directly above the CPU seems like it would cause heat problems with the RAM.
I'm surprised how little attention is being paid to the soldered CPU. The only component not upgradable (internally or externally), and Apple put the cheapest-possible Coffee Lake Core i3 into a pro-focused Mac without providing any upgrade path.
There is another downside of soldered storage that I haven't seen anyone mention yet. I have seen a few times in the past that when an internal drive fails, the Mac would not boot with in recovery mode nor an external boot drive.
While SSDs might be less prone failures, they still do fail and usually without warning. There is a chance that a failed soldered SSD would render the Mac Mini useless.
While SSDs might be less prone failures, they still do fail and usually without warning. There is a chance that a failed soldered SSD would render the Mac Mini useless.
Yeah I haven't found buying a windows machine a mess. I go to HP, Dell Toshiba find the 1 I want, configure the 1 I want, how I want and done.
I truly beleive Apple loses the average consumer doing this. Wait til someone buys Apples 128GB storage system and adds a few photos and storage is gone. Most consumers aren't technical or want to buy additional egpu or storage
This is just a guess, but I think that CPUs are less likely to get upgraded when compared to storage and RAM. This is probably why it is getting little attention.
Any suggestions for:
External 2TB SSD storage
External graphics card - for high end gaming like Ultra settings on Starcraft 2
eGPU box
Is a 4K tv better than a computer monitor? Which computer monitor is good and again for high end gaming?
Or just get an Retina 5k iMac?
Please advise. Any help or suggestions will be greatly appreciated. Thanks
External 2TB SSD storage
External graphics card - for high end gaming like Ultra settings on Starcraft 2
eGPU box
Is a 4K tv better than a computer monitor? Which computer monitor is good and again for high end gaming?
Or just get an Retina 5k iMac?
Please advise. Any help or suggestions will be greatly appreciated. Thanks
128GB is fine for servers, which is actually a very popular use of the Mac Minis. So having the lowest tier be 128GB is fine. I agree though that the upgrade pricing is a bit steep...
If you have to resort to accessing your data off your main drives in the event of a computer failure, on any computer Mac or PC, then you've already f**cked up a long time ago. Backup backup backup! Backups are so cheap and easy these days, how are people still worried about accessing their data in the event of a board failure? It's crazy.
The trouble is the price, the i3 is a fine quad-core processor but indeed comes with 128 GB of storage (and upgrading the storage is prohibitively whacked).
The i5 adds an even better hexa-core processor and 256 GB of storage, but the price makes little sense given the model's entry-level nature (the processor is fine, but coupled with "only good-enough" parts, especially no second drive or GPU options); the i5 model is 1250 euros where I live, that makes it a terrible purchase for what you get.
Apple charges an additional $800 for 1TB. A 1TB Samsung 979 EVO NVMe SSD costs $228 at the moment. It’s disappointing and it makes Apple look bad.
Soldered storage and a huge Apple Tax on storage upgrades is very disappointing.
I was going to get a new Mini to replace my daughter's aging Mac, but maybe I might mess around with a Hackintosh option.
I agree with the iMac remaining a better value if a good display is needed. But at this point it hasn't been refreshed to match the Mac mini, which means a wait for the 2019 models if you want equivalent CPU performance.
They technically can, but it isn’t easy and requires expensive equipment.
Soldered down CPU and storage. Makes repair a breeze. I swear Apple just can’t seem to keep from stepping on their own genitalia.
The repair experts at iFixit have completed their teardown of the new Mac mini, providing a look inside the portable desktop computer.
Disassembly of the new Mac mini remains fairly straightforward. iFixit popped off the plastic bottom cover with its opening tool and then used a Torx screwdriver to unfasten the familiar antenna plate underneath.
With access to the inside, iFixit then unscrewed the fan and popped out the logic board with some old-fashioned thumb pressing. While the RAM in the previous-gen Mac mini from 2014 was soldered to the logic board, the new Mac mini has user-upgradeable RAM, as discovered earlier this week.
As seen in older iMacs, the RAM is protected by a perforated shield that allows the memory modules to operate at a high frequency of 2666 MHz without interfering with other device functions, according to iFixit. To upgrade the RAM, the shield can be removed by unfastening four Torx screws.
Other silicon on the logic board of this particular Mac mini includes the Apple T2 security chip, a 3.6GHz quad-core Intel Core i3 processor, Intel UHD Graphics 630, 128GB of flash storage from Toshiba, an Intel JHL7540 Thunderbolt 3 controller, and a Gigabit Ethernet controller from Broadcom.
Despite the good news about the RAM, the CPU and SSD are soldered to the logic board, as are many ports, so this isn't a truly modular Mac mini.
iFixit awarded the new Mac mini a repairability score of 6/10, with 10 being the easiest to repair, topping the latest MacBook Air, MacBook, MacBook Pro, iMac, and iMac Pro, and trailing only the 2013 Mac Pro.
"Back in the day, a Pro Mac meant a computer you could upgrade, configure, and connect as you pleased," iFixit's teardown concludes. "This new mini aligns so well with that ideal that we're surprised it didn't earn itself a "Pro" title--especially compared to the increasingly closed-off MacBook Pro line."
The new Mac mini earned its higher repairability score thanks to its straightforward disassembly with no tough adhesive or proprietary pentalobe screws and user-upgradeable RAM. However, it didn't earn a perfect score due to the soldered-down CPU, storage, and ports, impacting repairs and upgrades.
Article Link: 2018 Mac mini Teardown: User-Upgradeable RAM, But Soldered Down CPU and Storage
Why do you ruin your valid point by being disingenuous about it? The valid point being that if you are happy with a slower SSD (aka SATA), you cannot get that from Apple internally at an appropriate price and essentially have to pay a big premium.
Instead you create the impression that one could get an SSD with a comparable speed to internal one for $325 at Amazon, when you know that those use SATA internally and are limited to around 550 MB/s whereas the internal SSDs in Apple's latest computers are up to 5x as fast (2018 MBP: 2500 MB/s) as they connect via PCIe.
Probably because in 4 years cpu will use different socket so it does not really matter, and would be probably better money wise to sell the old mac mini for a new one instead of having new cpu e old everything else.
Not to talk about thermal/power issue you may run into since the machine has been tested and warrant for those cpu only.
Is not a modular computer is a mac mini Apple never said it would have been, and no there was no reason to expect it to be.
Yes Apple is expensive.
Yes you can buy a intel NUC with a 28/15W CPU, max 32GB RAM of slower ram, only one thunderbolt port and no T2 real time encodign/decoding, no 10gb ethernet, and no bluetooth 5.0 and then purchase a windows license and save some money.
True, and still a 150% increase over Apple--for a possibly better SSD (or it is a multi-sourced part). And, again, that doesn't consider the loss of the base drive which, granted, in the base mini is about $50--but you would keep it you upgrade.
That said I'd be okay to just boot from a Tbolt 3-connected nvme ssd, which should make its speed match or at least come close to the speed of the internal drive. But I'd have to confirm there are no issues first.
Mike
Any suggestions for:
External 2TB SSD storage
External graphics card - for high end gaming like Ultra settings on Starcraft 2
eGPU box
Is a 4K tv better than a computer monitor? Which computer monitor is good and again for high end gaming?
Or just get an Retina 5k iMac?
Please advise. Any help or suggestions will be greatly appreciated. Thanks
if Starcraft is all the gaming you need than the iMac with the 580 is plenty, I would wait for the refresh tho...gpu performance should be similar but cpu should get a considerable boost.
I'm thinking of someone who buys the Core i3 model (either new now or used later on) being able to upgrade to the current i5 or i7 in a few years, after the warranty has expired and the price of those processors has come down.
You'd be looking at a huge boost in multi-core performance even going from the i3 to the current i5, since Apple didn't make the i5 standard for the $799 model.
Then it is no longer a Mac Mini, as it defeats the "mini" purpose. I wonder why they did not include a discrete GPU option. They can do it in the Macbook Pro 15", so not sure what would be the physical limitations for that.
But, I am so glad the Mini is back anyways.