gusping
macrumors 68020
You can use an eGPU, but the price of them for the terrible power you get (580) is awful. You may as well get an iMac rather than a Mac Mini and eGPU.
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2018 Mini Spec/Price Predictions/Hopes
- Thread starter krause734
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You can use an eGPU, but the price of them for the terrible power you get (580) is awful. You may as well get an iMac rather than a Mac Mini and eGPU.
LarryNyquil
macrumors member
But with an eGPU you have the option to upgrade and the option to use a separate display.
If you buy an iMac you cannot upgrade your graphics whatsoever, you're stuck as-configured. Further, if you intend to use an eGPU with an iMac, you MUST get an external display, since target display mode doesn't exist on the new iMacs.
The Asus STRIX RX Vega 64 is $590, and let's assume a full-tilt i7 32GB + 512GB SSD Mac Mini is $1200 (hopefully that's high, but knowing apple I doubt it.). The required box for that is $400 (Sonnet 650W).
Assuming you have a monitor already, total cost for a VERY capable Mac mini is $2190.
Contrast with a full kit iMac, where you don't even get close to Vega 64 graphics performance, you'd be paying $2600 ($410 difference)
$410 can get you a 4K monitor (or a couple 1080p monitors), and you'd still be exceeding any iMac performance, unless you got an iMac Pro.
I hope they're not stupid with this though. I think they'd gain a lot more money on updated Mac minis and selling GPU enclosures than from snubbing the Mac mini and pushing harder on iMac/Pros.
RyanXM
macrumors 6502a
They won't be using a Core i3, that would be a step backwards from the current generation and with the exception of the MacBook, they don't use it in any other model. Look for it to be a carbon copy of the 13" MBP without Touch Bar and go up from there.
I do believe they will use something similar to what they have in the HomePod as the Apple logo on top. They can use the same chassis as they do now and use the space they use for the 2.5" as space for other needed components. I would assume ZERO upgradeability after purchase. They might even be able to make it as small as the AppleTV 4K.
gusping
macrumors 68020
True, but spending $590 (more here in the UK) on a GPU, plus more on an enclosure is very expensive considering it is bandwidth limited by TB3 still. Plus, you're stuck with the weak CPU in the upcoming Mac Mini vs the iMac 5k. I guess it depends if you need a more powerful CPU or GPU. I'd never consider spending the same amount i spent on the machine on an eGPU, it just seems wrong.
As much as i want a powerful GPU in a Mac, i'm going to buy a Mac Mini and then build a powerful £2k PC. It's just crazy money to get good graphics power in a Mac these days.
LarryNyquil
macrumors member
Same. I have the Windows PC already but I'm really wanting that to be for gaming and windows dev only. I'd really like a decent Mac mini for browsing the web and doing daily driver types of things, but the current offerings are just... yea.
Can you please tell me about (or link to) these rumors? I look down around the Mini subforum but can’t find it,
I am very happy to hear of this. I need a new desktop computer and was worried that I would have to switch to Windows 🙁
All the latest rumors are summarized here: https://www.macrumors.com/roundup/mac-mini/
The newest one is pretty vague, but it's the first we've had for a long time...
https://www.macrumors.com/2018/07/11/apple-product-updates-fall-kuo/
- Mac mini - Kuo didn't have a lot of information to share on the Mac mini, but he says a processor upgrade is expected. The Mac mini has not been updated for more than 1,300 days, aka over 3 and a half years. It's not clear if additional upgrades will be included, such as a redesigned chassis, but at least some kind of refresh is on the horizon.
Surely the most likely outcome is a very minimal spec bump and nothing more.
It seems very unclear who the Mac mini is for and what it is for, and therefore what role it plays in Apple’s line-up. Which perhaps explains Apple’s lack of attention to it.
It seems very unclear who the Mac mini is for and what it is for, and therefore what role it plays in Apple’s line-up. Which perhaps explains Apple’s lack of attention to it.
I see it as being an entry level desktop computer. Something that will allow people to get into using Mac computers for a reasonable price.
It’s like the MacBook Air of desktops.
It’s like the MacBook Air of desktops.
supermegaarbuz
macrumors newbie
This might be interesting: Intel already published the specs for the unreleased Coffee Lake NUCs: https://www.intel.com/content/dam/s...s/NUC8i3BE_NUC8i5BE_NUC8i7BE_TechProdSpec.pdf
The CPUs are exactly the same as the ones proposed post #15 (i3-8109u, i5-8259u & i7-8559u). The 2nd and 3rd tier are the quad-core CPUs used in the 2018 13" MBP with Touchbar, btw.
Apple really has a no-brainer here, just repackage the Coffee Lake NUCs as the new Mac Mini and call it a day.
The CPUs are exactly the same as the ones proposed post #15 (i3-8109u, i5-8259u & i7-8559u). The 2nd and 3rd tier are the quad-core CPUs used in the 2018 13" MBP with Touchbar, btw.
Apple really has a no-brainer here, just repackage the Coffee Lake NUCs as the new Mac Mini and call it a day.
redheeler
macrumors G3
I was hoping for a hex-core H-series (i7-8850H) in the high-end model of Mac mini, as found in the 15" Touch Bar MacBook Pro. Something that can rival the performance of a 12-core Mac Pro 5,1 with a fraction of the power consumed would be worthy of the $1,099 price tag.
But it's more likely that Apple will only engineer one logic board to fit in the mini, based on the 13" Touch Bar MacBook Pro (even though the 8,2 in post #15 based on the 15" Touch Bar MacBook Pro is perfectly doable); and in that case, the quad-core i7-8559U with Intel Iris Plus Graphics 655 is the best we will ever see, priced at $999 instead of $1,099.
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George Dawes
Suspended
redheeler
macrumors G3
If you go back to post #15, you'll see that I'm not asking for or expecting 16 GB RAM, only 8 GB of RAM that isn't soldered to the board.
As for the SSD, Apple has needed to make that standard for years. Selling a Mac with only a 5400 RPM HDD in 2018 is simply unacceptable, especially as prices for high-end but smaller-capacity (32 GB / 128 GB / 256 GB) SSDs have come down.
Hope you get what you want - I would like the same thing. But that implies that Apple would significantly lower their prices as well as greatly improve performance. That sure isn't what happened in 2014. 😉
The cheapest i7 2014 mini is $1200 with 8gb and your choice of either a 1tb fusion drive or a 256gb SSD. And if I was spending that much, I'd go another $200 and get 16gb of RAM, since it can't be upgraded. If Apple goes back to user-upgradeable RAM, that would be great but it seems very un-apple like to me.
The cheapest i7 2014 mini is $1200 with 8gb and your choice of either a 1tb fusion drive or a 256gb SSD. And if I was spending that much, I'd go another $200 and get 16gb of RAM, since it can't be upgraded. If Apple goes back to user-upgradeable RAM, that would be great but it seems very un-apple like to me.
I’m a little different than you guys. I just want an entry level computer with today’s entry level hardware. I don’t expect better cooling or upgradeable RAM. I do think a 128gb SSD is reasonable to expect in an entry level computer these days, and for people like me it’s more than enough space.
macduke
macrumors G5
A lot of delusional people in there. I hope you guys are right. I'd love to buy a new mini for my grandpa. His MacBook Pro is over 10 years old now and it shuts down randomly a couple times per day and he loses his work if he doesn't save frequently which is really slow on an old spinning drive.
What if the Mac Pro really is modular? Like layers that you stack. What if the Mac Mini is like the most basic configuration? It would be pretty weird but it would let people go as simple or as crazy as they want. They're clearly working on something we haven't seen before because it wouldn't take them this long to bring back the cheese grater (unless they're waiting on their ARM chip for desktops).
What if the Mac Pro really is modular? Like layers that you stack. What if the Mac Mini is like the most basic configuration? It would be pretty weird but it would let people go as simple or as crazy as they want. They're clearly working on something we haven't seen before because it wouldn't take them this long to bring back the cheese grater (unless they're waiting on their ARM chip for desktops).
Jeez... why haven't you just gotten him a MacBook Air? I still have my ten year old MacBook Pro but it has been forgotten in the closet for years now. I replaced that computer in 2011 with a MacBook Air and it was an amazing upgrade back then. With all the sales we've seen on the MacBook Air at big box stores, this seems like a real no-brainer. If not that, then the 2014 mini would also be a huge upgrade for him.
I'm a grandpa.... But it's always been me who ends up buying the computers for everyone else. 😀
macduke
macrumors G5
Well he started out buying me my first computer and he helped me fix up my second computer I bought used and then towards the end of high school we built a computer together and he taught me how to do that. I might just give him my 2012 MBP early and upgrade to an iMac or Mac Pro in the next year. For now I have a 2015 MacBook Pro from work with full admin privileges that I can use at home as well if I want. His computer has only gotten worse recently and I've only just recently had enough disposable income to be buying/giving away to other people expensive things. He wants a bigger display because it's hard for him to see it. They travel down to Florida to stay for a few months over the winter so it needs to be fairly portable. I suppose an Air connected to a display would work as well as a Mini. But I figured with the Mini I could upgrade it somewhat over time and keep it going for him. He actually does a lot of photo, video editing and CAD work so something a little beefier is actually worthwhile. The current machine has worked well for converting his old home movies but now he's trying to work on newer ones he shoots in 4K on his iPhone 7 and that doesn't really work at all on the 2008 machine. They have a TV in Florida that he could hook it up to but IDK if he wants to do that.
Boyd, I am from NJ too, Bergen county.
I currently have a MacBook Air. In addition to the extra cost for buying a laptop I also paid an extra $40 for a stand to put it into on my desk. I thought i would be a good idea to have a computer that I could take with me if I needed, but it has never left my desk.
I don't want to do that again, I just want a desktop computer without putting all that extra money into portability. And I definitely don't want to have to spend more money for dongles to plug in a network cable or USB device. That's why I have been waiting for a Mini for so long.
I currently have a MacBook Air. In addition to the extra cost for buying a laptop I also paid an extra $40 for a stand to put it into on my desk. I thought i would be a good idea to have a computer that I could take with me if I needed, but it has never left my desk.
I don't want to do that again, I just want a desktop computer without putting all that extra money into portability. And I definitely don't want to have to spend more money for dongles to plug in a network cable or USB device. That's why I have been waiting for a Mini for so long.
Sure that makes perfect sense for you. I was responding to @macduke , who was sort of blaming his grandfather's computer problems on the lack of a new Mini. His followup did a good job of clarifying that situation.
But my point was that nobody should suffer with a computer that "shuts down randomly a couple times per day and he loses his work". That sounds like a situation needing an immediate remedy, and there are a variety of new/used/refurbished Macs available right now.
Well that's sort of my point. Who buys entry level desktop computers? At this point that must be a pretty small market, so no wonder Apple doesn't really care about it. Hence why the most likely outcome (in my view) is a minimal spec bump and nothing more.
The argument that it's "Something that will allow people to get into using Mac computers for a reasonable price" only makes sense if people commonly still have desktop PCs at home and therefore have external screens, keyboard and mouse, and I don't believe that's true.
You say that like it's a bad thing. It sounds great to me. 🙂
I think those hoping for a hex-core Mini are going to be disappointed.
Millions upon millions of people.
I am not sure why you would possible think this is not true.
Amen! This "always on the bleeding edge of the thermal envelope" type of cooling that Apple has been doing alot really sucks.