3.6 GHz Mac Mini for Video editing

[andychelt]

The base spec Mac Mini 2018 will be great for your needs. I had a mid spec 2011 i5 and the discreet Radeon Gfx card died so I was looking around for a replacement. I predominantly use it as a plex server but then also with some video & photo editing, web browsing, handbraking etc.

Couldn’t really justify a new 2018 so was looking for a 2012/2014 but then got a great deal on a refurb 2018 and.....wow! This thing is fast! It makes the 2011 look like a typewriter! It smokes my 2014 MacBook Pro. I find it even quicker than the new 4K iMacs at work.

I got the base spec 2018 i3 and have my SSD from the 2011 connected in a USB C enclosure which has my home folders etc on like you were planning and it works great. All programs are on the internal SSD which is ridiculously fast and then all home folders, documents, photo folders, iMovie/FCP folders on the external SSD. I need to install a few more programs but internal SSD has 96Gb Free out of the 128. The only thing I’m thinking of doing is upping the ram to 32gb at some point.

Handbrake on my 2011 would ramp up the fans and sound like it’s on fire. Handbrake on my 2014 MacBook Pro you can hear the fans as well. The 2018 Mac Mini you check it’s still on it’s that quiet!
A 45 minute TV program takes around 40-45 mins to handbrake on the MBP but only 12-15 mins on the 2018 Mini. The T2 chip is a great addition.

Trying 4K videos (running at 1080 resolution on the TV) wouldn’t even play on the 2011. On the 2018 I’ve run 3 at once windowed side by side!

I’d say don’t hesitate, jump in both feet with a 2018 base spec, up the ram if you feel like it but otherwise this thing will be more than enough for your needs. 👍🏻

 

[sonofpear]

The base spec Mac Mini 2018 will be great for your needs. I had a mid spec 2011 i5 and the discreet Radeon Gfx card died so I was looking around for a replacement. I predominantly use it as a plex server but then also with some video & photo editing, web browsing, handbraking etc.

Couldn’t really justify a new 2018 so was looking for a 2012/2014 but then got a great deal on a refurb 2018 and.....wow! This thing is fast! It makes the 2011 look like a typewriter! It smokes my 2014 MacBook Pro. I find it even quicker than the new 4K iMacs at work.

I got the base spec 2018 i3 and have my SSD from the 2011 connected in a USB C enclosure which has my home folders etc on like you were planning and it works great. All programs are on the internal SSD which is ridiculously fast and then all home folders, documents, photo folders, iMovie/FCP folders on the external SSD. I need to install a few more programs but internal SSD has 96Gb Free out of the 128. The only thing I’m thinking of doing is upping the ram to 32gb at some point.

Handbrake on my 2011 would ramp up the fans and sound like it’s on fire. Handbrake on my 2014 MacBook Pro you can hear the fans as well. The 2018 Mac Mini you check it’s still on it’s that quiet!
A 45 minute TV program takes around 40-45 mins to handbrake on the MBP but only 12-15 mins on the 2018 Mini. The T2 chip is a great addition.

Trying 4K videos (running at 1080 resolution on the TV) wouldn’t even play on the 2011. On the 2018 I’ve run 3 at once windowed side by side!

I’d say don’t hesitate, jump in both feet with a 2018 base spec, up the ram if you feel like it but otherwise this thing will be more than enough for your needs. 👍🏻

I am really leaning to the mini. I have many reasons why and I like that I can change the ram out. Sure I could in an iMac but the process of that is pretty intense.

 

[dandeco]

Hmmm, all this talk got me thinking. I too currently use a 2012 quad-core i7 Mac Mini, 2.3 GHz with the RAM maxed out to 16 GB and the original hard drive replaced with a 960 GB SSD. But once the time comes to replace it, maybe instead of the 6-core i5 I will be just fine with the quad-core 3.6 GHz i3! I will still buy it configured with a 1 TB SSD, so that would bring the price up to $1199, but I'll still get it with the stock 8 GB of RAM and then upgrade it myself to 16 or even 32 GB for a lesser price. Then I may need to get at least a couple USB-C or Thunderbolt adapters, like a USB 3.0/card reader hub, a FireWire-to-Thunderbolt adapter (for when I digitize others' old home movies), and who knows what...