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Now that the RAM is not soldered so that's nice but who really cares about the SSD or CPU? It comes with a huge assortment of plugs - thunderbolt or regular USB and if you have any issues with that SSD, you can easily replace it or it's the external is Time Machinesd, you can just switch over instead of having to crack it open, insert a drive and hoping that's the issue or isnt it easier just to plug in an external? and the CPU? Come on - it's not 1996 where you "might" want to spend $500 to upgrade a $2,500 PC - you really going to spend $400 to fix a $799 Mac Mini CPU in 2028? If you need the speed, you can spend $400-$600 for the GPU external or of course, buy a faster mac anyway. It's AN OPTION.

So what? Can you find a single product either hardware of software made by Apple were people don’t complain about something?
Be unhappy about everything is our second job.
 
Lol at blackmagic GPU.
Razercore with vega 64. Upgrade ram yourself.

A) You have to compare Apples to Apples.
B) Blackmagic is the ONLY stable eGPU currently working on Macs. This has been well documented.
C) Moving the goalpost is a logical fallacy and I won't respond to another.
 
I was disappointed when the iMac didn't get a bump but now I'm glad. The new mini is a beast! I went with the i7 and 1TB. Then added an LG 32" 4K monitor on sale from Costco for $349 and 32GB RAM from Crucial for $285. Took 15 minutes to upgrade the RAM with the right tools. It's not hard. And what an amazing Mac! Logic Pro screams.

Very pleased. :apple:
 
B) Blackmagic is the ONLY stable eGPU currently working on Macs. This has been well documented.

That is absolutely not true, first egpu presented by Apple wasn’t even blackmagic, what is true is that you have a loss in performance with egpu plus not all software may use it, some may be more affected by other from the limited thunderbolt bandwith.
Also iMac pro will keep his value way better. A vega 64 gpu + case will be worth peanuts in two years time when navi will be out and perhaps thunderbolt 4
 
...

why would you loose data? I never lost data and if I did it would be my fault, but since you guys are burning ssd like crasy and writing tb every day and MLC is no different can’t you use one of the thunderbolt port you paid to plug beloved samsung ssd on it? I don’t think anyone runs computer without backup so you can plug 2ss in the esternal enclosure and use one of them as primary and the other as backup

I would lose data if an SSD failed either from being faulty or from extensive use. Which yes has happened to me on every Mac I have owned with an SSD. I'm not blaming Apple for the SSD's dying (unless it happens within the warranty period, then I'd certainly consider that a faulty component) but I am blaming them if the SSD can't be reasonably replaced. When did I say Samsung was my beloved SSD? I just expressed that I'd like to be able to replace the internal one if/when if fails, without wasting the rest of the internal MoBo components or using up other ports when there could be an otherwise perfectly good storage port internally dedicated to the storage.
 
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iMac Pro w/ Vega 64: $5,599.00

Mac Mini with same amount of RAM and SSD as the iMac Pro + 6-Core 17 + 10 Gigabit Ethernet = $2,599.00 + LG UltraFine 5K 27" ($1,299.95) + Blackmagic eGPU (which is only a Vega 56 and not a 64) ($1,199.00) + Magic Mouse 2 Space Gray ($99) + Magic Keyboard Space Gray ($149) = $5347.

For an extra $252 you get a better GPU and a better CPU with 2 extra cores. It's a no brainer.
Not only that but egpu cripples gpu performance e
I was disappointed when the iMac didn't get a bump but now I'm glad. The new mini is a beast! I went with the i7 and 1TB. Then added an LG 32" 4K monitor on sale from Costco for $349 and 32GB RAM from Crucial for $285. Took 15 minutes to upgrade the RAM with the right tools. It's not hard. And what an amazing Mac! Logic Pro screams.

Very pleased. :apple:
I looked at the screen. It’s got nothing on the iMac 27 screen. Unfortunately the iMac is stuck on 4 core for now
 
I looked at the screen. It’s got nothing on the iMac 27 screen. Unfortunately the iMac is stuck on 4 core for now

The closest screen LG has to the Ultrafine 5K, but for A LOT less is the LG 4K 27" 27uk600, 27UK650, and 27UK850; the only changes is the monitor stand and the top model has USB-C and speakers.
 
That is completely beside the point and looking at it the wrong way. Apple bang on about how much they care about the environment and yet they create machines that cannot have their life extended once a part fails. If they made it extremely simple for users to upgrade/replace components in their machines, more people would do it, or pay their local repair company to do it for them. I guarantee that.
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You should qualify what you said by saying "in your opinion." You are entitled to your opinion, but so am I. Why are people here so disrespectful of others opinions, and so quick to start out their posts with things like "you are so wrong" or "get a clue." You would never talk to someone that way in any face to face encounter.
As to your point about the environment... Apple does not support devices after what... five years? They get end-of-lifed... and you won't be able to continue updating them. if they now use components that statistically are expected to last longer than that... it's a moot point. For example, HDD's had a much shorter life span, much higher fail rate, than SSD. So it made a lot more sense to have them accessible.
But I suspect you don't really care about the environmental issue... it's just an excuse for you to gripe about not getting what you want.
 
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You should have included the 4th reason - the boot drive fails and MUST be replaced. This is the main reason NOT to buy a Mac Mini with the HDD option. Secondly is the speed of the SSD usage.

The cost of the upgraded SSD also includes the labor cost. I'm not sure how many tiny solder points are on the SSD, but that would preclude doing the SSD replacement on this Mac Mini.
With MTBFs longer than the probable ownership of my computer and warranties from 5-10 years, I don’t worry about SSDs failing. Maybe I should, as a solid state drive can certainly fail theoretically, but I don’t.

Your argument only has legs if you propose it at the extreme of 2TB and you ignore time.

Anyone with familiarity knows I've been waiting for an updated, upgradeable mini. Ideally, I wanted swap-able RAM, SSD, CPU, and graphics. Knowing that my "ideal" mini was pure fantasy, I'd settle for RAM and SSD. Settling for half that? The mini was to be my tinker toy. Since I really can't tinker... Nope. Now to your argument.
Everyone doesn't desire 2TB of storage... at least not immediately. There are less expensive capacities available. When you factor in time, even that 2TB SSD is going to be less expensive. That's the thing about most people who upgrade... they do it over time. Is it fair to assume you upgraded your '12 mini over time?
1. Outgrowing storage occurs over time. Over that same time period cost of storage reduces.
2. Non-issue unless the drive or some component ends up being defective.
3. Desired capacity and time make this argument a bit impotent.
The new Mini has five TB3 ports. Outgrow your internal drive and easily deploy any number of external storage solutions. I did upgrade my drive later (the hard drive was getting worrisome at 5 years; a solid state drive wouldn’t’ve) but from the beginning I’ve had two external volumes, plus a 20TB media NAS. As I mentioned, a couple of native Apple apps do like their libraries on the local drive, but this is fading away and can already be worked around.

You said you wanted to get a new Mini and basically replace everything in the enclosure. The Mini hasn’t had a socketed CPU in something like 10 years, so I don’t think it was reasonable to hope for one. The SSD upgrades are indeed unfairly pricy but as I’ve said storage solutions really aren’t an issue. We’ve got our RAM upgradability. And as to graphics, don’t forget about an eGPU, which would turn this new Mini into a monster. The Mini was designed more as a hub than a tinker box. If you really want to gut-and-swap, your ideal Mac is not a new Mini but a new Pro (which, annoyingly, we didn’t get).
 
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Yikes... I'd rather they keep the ram soldered and have removable storage. I mean I guess you can do external storage but that's probably even more expensive if you want something that competes in speed.
 
Compared to the previous model it seems Apple decided to ditch the 2.5" spinner in an effort to give us removable RAM in the same form factor. Let's face it, Apple was never going to increase the thickness of the Mac Mini to allow for both swappable RAM and storage. They only want to make things smaller and thinner.

It's six of one, half dozen of another. Be stuck with factory size RAM and upgradable storage, or factory size storage and upgradable RAM.

I'm split on their decision knowing the premium they charge for both RAM and SSD storage. In the end though, I think they made the right choice between the two. I can add external storage, but you can't add external RAM. It doesn't mean I'm happy with either option, but this one seems the most reasonable of the two.

I'll probably just hold off and wait to see what the new Mac Pro brings instead.
 
Then just get a normal sized eGPU instead?
Have you ever seen an eGPU enclosure? Their normal size is huge and bulky compared to the footprint of the Mac mini.

And opting for a ‘smaller’ one usually means more noise due to the lack of extra cooling. Which is also very contradictory to the point of getting a Mac mini.

Therefore you might end up with an setup like the one Apple officially sells:

blackmagic-egpu-pro-with-mac-mini-800x426.jpg
 
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
...
NUCs come with BT 5.0 now.

https://simplynuc.com/8i7beh-full/

The NUC RAM is only a little slower (2400MHz), and I doubt the average user is going to need more than 32GB RAM.

NUCs have a better iGPU (Intel Iris 655), an SD card slot, and much cheaper storage options (including a dual bay case). (I don't know if NUCs use TLC/MLC/SLC chips for their storage. That could account for a big chunk of the price difference for that component.)

NUCs have only one TB3 port, and no 10GB Ethernet or hex-core option, but they are just not factors for some of us. There is an HMDI 2.0 port to handle the monitor, leaving the TB3 port free. And I will bet that NUCs have hex-core before long.

The big advantages of NUCs is that they are considerably cheaper up front, and much more upgradeable and repairable. They also are not potentially restricted or even locked out by a T2.

But they don't run MacOS (far as I know).

Pros and cons both ways. I like both the NUCs and the new Minis, and appreciate the competition.

trackpads are 1000% better than PC,
Privacy is also much better.
+1

anyone that can reasonably follow instructions and had a bit of patience should be able to swap out this ram
I would argue that if you can build an Ikea piece of furniture you should be able to attempt at replacing the RAM on a mini.
True, but they are not obliged to either. They might just place a higher value on time with family, or playing golf, or gardening, or....

Soldered SSD stinks :(

Does it really, iPhones have that too you know....;)
And wouldn't Apple just love us to replace our Minis as often as our iPhones. ;)
 
You should qualify what you said by saying "in your opinion." You are entitled to your opinion, but so am I. Why are people here so disrespectful of others opinions, and so quick to start out their posts with things like "you are so wrong" or "get a clue." You would never talk to someone that way in any face to face encounter.
As to your point about the environment... Apple does not support devices after what... five years? They get end-of-lifed... and you won't be able to continue updating them. if they now use components that statistically are expected to last longer than that... it's a moot point. For example, HDD's had a much shorter life span, much higher fail rate, than SSD. So it made a lot more sense to have them accessible.
But I suspect you don't really care about the environmental issue... it's just an excuse for you to gripe about not getting what you want.

I would have thought that it being my opinion was implied but fair enough, this was indeed, *my opinion*.

As for “not getting what I want”, that’s not even close to my reasoning. If you look back to events hosted by Steve, it was obvious that his entire vision was to solve problems for people. Tim’s seems to be to create problems for people.

In my opinion.
 
I would have thought that it being my opinion was implied but fair enough, this was indeed, *my opinion*.

As for “not getting what I want”, that’s not even close to my reasoning. If you look back to events hosted by Steve, it was obvious that his entire vision was to solve problems for people. Tim’s seems to be to create problems for people.

In my opinion.

I remember 2005 people complaining for the single ram slot, not only expansion was limited but no dual channel support was present, there weren’t welded ssd in any computer at that tine obviously.

Second mac mini people complain for limited sata speed that was crippled at half speed for whatever reason and 2.5 inch bay instead of 3.5, loss of dedicated gpu, cpu get soldered just after 2 years with the revision under jobs

These are just two common people complains there were many others, I used to work for Apple I remember professionals complaining for steve jobs caring more about ipods than macs, probably same people that want him back now.
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I would lose data if an SSD failed either from being faulty or from extensive use. Which yes has happened to me on every Mac I have owned with an SSD. I'm not blaming Apple for the SSD's dying (unless it happens within the warranty period, then I'd certainly consider that a faulty component) but I am blaming them if the SSD can't be reasonably replaced. When did I say Samsung was my beloved SSD? I just expressed that I'd like to be able to replace the internal one if/when if fails, without wasting the rest of the internal MoBo components or using up other ports when there could be an otherwise perfectly good storage port internally dedicated to the storage.

I’m genuinely surprised you keep loosing your work data when backups are the clear solution, I can understand if your entire house goes on fire as not everyone can afford cloud solution backups or two physical location to store them, but if it’s just the ssd failing it’s all on you man, not trying to be disrespectful just to push you thinking how much a cheap backup drive can do for you
 
Is the i3 in the base model a desktop chip? How would it compare to a 2016 MacBook Pro 15" with a i7?
 
Is the i3 in the base model a desktop chip? How would it compare to a 2016 MacBook Pro 15" with a i7?

Macmini would be way faster, desktop class, same cache but steady higher frequency, few architecture improvements, faster ram, faster ssd, but you probably would not notice improvements in light tasks p.s. weaker gpu!
 
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I’m genuinely surprised you keep loosing your work data when backups are the clear solution, I can understand if your entire house goes on fire as not everyone can afford cloud solution backups or two physical location to store them, but if it’s just the ssd failing it’s all on you man, not trying to be disrespectful just to push you thinking how much a cheap backup drive can do for you

I haven’t said anything about backups or not, nor did I say anything about “work” data vs personal data. of course I have in house backups. so don’t put words in my mouth to make your case please.
regardless an irreplaceable SSD is nothing short of trying to make a device waistful to repair for a component the will fail either from use or being faulty it is just a matter of when. some of us do use our machines for more than web browsing, this is a machine that even Apple is advertising as for professions, server racks, etc. so they obviously expect high utilization.

Rather than taking the angle of personal attacks and telling me how hardware failure is “all on me” how about you explain the tangible benefits of a soldered SSD vs non soldered. does it help performance, repairability, environment, longevity of the device, price. what are the tangible benefits you’re defending?
 
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I would lose data if an SSD failed either from being faulty or from extensive use. Which yes has happened to me on every Mac I have owned with an SSD. I'm not blaming Apple for the SSD's dying (unless it happens within the warranty period, then I'd certainly consider that a faulty component) but I am blaming them if the SSD can't be reasonably replaced. When did I say Samsung was my beloved SSD? I just expressed that I'd like to be able to replace the internal one if/when if fails, without wasting the rest of the internal MoBo components or using up other ports when there could be an otherwise perfectly good storage port internally dedicated to the storage.
I didn’t lose any data when my MacBook 12” died because I have automatic daily backups using CCC. Logic board and of course including the soldered in ssd was replaced under warranty and within few minutes of restoring from the CCC backup, I continued from where I left.

If someone loses data for whatever reason, it’s their own fault for not having a backup.

It’s true that one cannot recover data from the soldered in ssd, but then again it shouldn’t be necessary.
 
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I haven’t said anything about backups or not, nor did I say anything about “work” data vs personal data. of course I have in house backups. so don’t put words in my mouth to make your case please.
regardless an irreplaceable SSD is nothing short of trying to make a device waistful to repair for a component the will fail either from use or being faulty it is just a matter of when. some of us do use our machines for more than web browsing, this is a machine that even Apple is advertising as for professions, server racks, etc. so they obviously expect high utilization.

Rather than taking the angle of personal attacks and telling me how hardware failure is “all on me” how about you explain the tangible benefits of a soldered SSD vs non soldered. does it help performance, repairability, environment, longevity of the device, price. what are the tangible benefits you’re defending?

Calm down, you mention loose drive and data not me! Mine was just a friendly advice, can’ Blame me if you tone down the drama and change version.
 
I didn’t lose any data when my MacBook 12” died because I have automatic daily backups using CCC. Logic board and of course including the soldered in ssd was replaced under warranty and within few minutes of restoring from the CCC backup, I continued from where I left.

If someone loses data for whatever reason, it’s their own fault for not having a backup.

It’s true that one cannot recover data from the soldered in ssd, but then again it shouldn’t be necessary.

Again, Innever said I did or didn’t have backups at home but in a mini or most other machines they aren’t running a mirrored drive array or anything on the internal drive so scheduled backups even if not a lot of data will have some data loss, sometimes more important than others. still looking for what the actual benefit of soldered SSD is ...
 
I’m looking forward to the next iMac release to compare to these minis. Hopefully SSD is standard across the board.
 
You did and now you’re pissed because people is giving you advice
from my perspective I’ve only responded in the tone presented me. saying things like “it’s all on you” doesn’t convey friendly advice.

I mean tio we losing data, I didn’t mention my backup methods. which unless the mini supports an internal RAID we typically have timed backup solutions and by definition will sustain some level of data loss.

If you feel I’ve responded in a pissed manor then I appogize for my part, from my view I’m mearly explaining my position and inquiring as to the benefits that I don’t understand of having a soldered SSD which from my view has none really.
 
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