A Maxed Out Mac Mini With Full Upgrades Will Cost You $4,200

[justperry]

That's the coloquialism from my side. I know proper term is soldered.

Take a look at this. Then take a look at some images from Mac Mini page. It definitely looks soldered. View attachment 799578

The NAND can be seen on some of the internal pictures released today. But the glue and solder issue is trivial compared to the fact that the NAND flash really is just that - it is not an SSD. To function as an SSD the raw NAND needs a controller and on the latest Macs that is provided by the T2.

Thanks

Still not 100% convinced though.
In the picture shown in your (StellarVixen)post it says

"Not User accessible" which to me means you can't really get to it easily.

You, RobbieTT have valid points, if the controller is on the T2 then I guess you must be right, but doesn't it also say it's PCIe which to me means a connector, or am I wrong?

 

[StellarVixen]

Thanks

Still not 100% convinced though.
In the picture shown in your (StellarVixen)post it says

"Not User accessible" which to me means you can't really get to it easily.

You, RobbieTT have valid points, if the controller is on the T2 then I guess you must be right, but doesn't it also say it's PCIe which to me means a connector, or am I wrong?

We will see. I do not have much hope, though.

 

[RobbieTT]

Seems like they're targeting the folks that were using their mac mini's as servers.

I guess I count as one of those with a 2012 i7 Mac mini as a headless server. Part of the appeal of using in that role is low power, low noise and upgradable storage - oh and cheap to own and run.

With a Mac mini pushing MBP prices but with no keyboard, trackpad, GPU, battery, Touch ID or display I am left wondering how they came to that price point. Even if I stay with Apple for a replacement server an MBP in clamshell mode looks more credible and comes with its own inbuilt UPS!

 

[Defthand]

“...this hipster wet dream of a company…

LMAO!!! That is the most apt description of today’s Apple. Gone is the rock-n-roll attitude and demonstratable value.

 

[m00f]

They’ve lost the plot, SJ introduced the mini to make it an impulse buy at a cheapish price, this mini destroys this. Having said that I *might* upgrade from a 2012 quad i7, but I’ll be balking at the price nonetheless.

The Mini was initially designed to be an inexpensive Mac aimed at getting Windows users to switch. Today virtually everyone uses laptops and desktop computers have become a niche product for nerds with specific needs. Apple hasn’t lost the plot, they’ve simply adapted to how use cases for desktop computers have changed over time. Mini’s have long been a utility machine for nerds, this is why everyone (who cared) was so upset in 2014 over the removal of 4-Core options and expandability

 

[duston]

Apple today introduced a long-awaited refreshed Mac mini, which has been reengineered to take advantage of the newest hardware available on the market.

The Mac mini features 4 and 6-core 8th-generation Intel processors, up to 64GB RAM, four Thunderbolt 3 ports, and up to 2TB of flash storage space.

The entry-level Mac mini with a 3.6GHz quad-core processor, 8GB RAM, Intel UHD Graphics 630, and a 128GB SSD is available for $799, which is $300 more expensive than the most affordable Mac mini was previously.

A middle-tier base model is available with a 3.0GHz 6-core processor, 8GB RAM, Intel UHD Graphics 630 and a 256GB SSD for $1,099.

Apple has added plenty of upgrade options aimed at pro level Mac mini users who want the fastest desktop-class machine in the smallest package.

A maxed out Mac mini with a 3.2GHz 6-core Intel Core i7 processor, Intel UHD Graphics 630, 64GB RAM, a 2TB SSD, and upgraded 10 Gigabit Ethernet is priced at a whopping $4,199.

Despite the high price tag, the upgrade options should make Mac mini customers who were awaiting more powerful features happy with this year's refresh. Prior to today, the Mac mini had not been updated since 2014.

The new Mac mini is available for pre-order today and orders will be delivered starting on November 7.

Article Link: A Maxed Out Mac Mini With Full Upgrades Will Cost You $4,200

I’ll be purchasing if it’s confirmed I can swap the RAM without messing with the T2.

 

[RobbieTT]

You, RobbieTT have valid points, if the controller is on the T2 then I guess you must be right, but doesn't it also say it's PCIe which to me means a connector, or am I wrong?

Not a connector as such more like high-bandwidth lanes for direct access to the CPU and back. Many things can utilise the PCIe lanes (GPU, Thunderbolt, storage etc) but in this case the T2 has the PCIe lanes to the CPU rather than a typical CPU/storage topology.

 

[Emanuel Rodriguez]

There's no reason to buy the pricey 2TB storage option on a Mac mini that has fast I/O ports and very few people will get 64GB of RAM, (overkill for most Mac mini uses) so subtracting those extravagances, the price is a lot more reasonable.

The old Mac Pro isn't looking too good right now...

View attachment 799548
View attachment 799547

Exactly. This article is sensationalist nonsense. Very few people need a 2TB SSD or 64GB of RAM. Pointing out the maximum price only shows that Apple has gone all-out with their offerings. You CAN spend over 4k, and get one heck of a computer, or spend less, and still get one heck of a computer, just with less... Seems legit.

 

[RobbieTT]

Just noticed the multi-gig RJ45 option - a very welcome addition and will complement the iMac Pro nicely. I really need RJ45 10Gig switches to come down in price though!

 

[justperry]

Just noticed the multi-gig RJ45 option - a very welcome addition and will complement the iMac Pro nicely. I really need RJ45 10Gig switches to come down in price though!

Is there a reason why 10G is so expensive?
Can't be electronics, those are dirt cheap.
Why not just add an optical/fiber port, oh yeah, I know, optical/fiber cables are fragile, I have fiber at home and some clients (Industrial automation is my job) use them.

 

[RobbieTT]

With 10Gig switches the backplane has to have some serious grunt for line speed on all ports. Prices should come down as they become more of a regular feature in the commodity market but the power and heat issues will need better technology to come along.

Fibre is an established option but for those of us with Cat5E around the house the move to 10Gig via RJ45 is very appealing, especially with my NAS and iMP bringing 10Gig / Multi Gig Base-T as standard.

 

[justperry]

With 10Gig switches the backplane has to have some serious grunt for line speed on all ports. Prices should come down as they become more of a regular feature in the commodity market but the power and heat issues will need better technology to come along.

Fibre is an established option but for those of us with Cat5E around the house the move to 10Gig via RJ45 is very appealing, especially with my NAS and iMP brought NBase-T as standard.

Ah, of course, the higher speed the faster the processing (more expensive) needs to be.

 

[Scooz]

Shame it's (Mac Mini) never perfect, they had the chance but didn't.

Good processors, no Discrete graphics, too expensive too.

If the price included a decent GPU it would be near to perfect.
Just see what iFixit comes up with next week, hope the storage can be upgraded as well.

I actually like the decision since the current GPUs need a larger and well cooled enclosure.

A VR-capable eGPU will cost you about 500..600 and that‘s about what Apple would have made you pay for some kind of mobile GPU that you wouldn‘t be able to replace for a faster one.

Processing need grows much slower than the needed GPU performance these days, so I would say they‘re doing things right here.

I also hope that storage will be upgradeable, though TB3 will be a good option (basically serial ePCI) for storage. Hopefully prices for enclosures will drop now that Apple made TB3 standard on their current lineup. Mac Pro next.

 

[Glockworkorange]

Apple today introduced a long-awaited refreshed Mac mini, which has been reengineered to take advantage of the newest hardware available on the market.

The Mac mini features 4 and 6-core 8th-generation Intel processors, up to 64GB RAM, four Thunderbolt 3 ports, and up to 2TB of flash storage space.

The entry-level Mac mini with a 3.6GHz quad-core processor, 8GB RAM, Intel UHD Graphics 630, and a 128GB SSD is available for $799, which is $300 more expensive than the most affordable Mac mini was previously.

A middle-tier base model is available with a 3.0GHz 6-core processor, 8GB RAM, Intel UHD Graphics 630 and a 256GB SSD for $1,099.

Apple has added plenty of upgrade options aimed at pro level Mac mini users who want the fastest desktop-class machine in the smallest package.

A maxed out Mac mini with a 3.2GHz 6-core Intel Core i7 processor, Intel UHD Graphics 630, 64GB RAM, a 2TB SSD, and upgraded 10 Gigabit Ethernet is priced at a whopping $4,199.

Despite the high price tag, the upgrade options should make Mac mini customers who were awaiting more powerful features happy with this year's refresh. Prior to today, the Mac mini had not been updated since 2014.

The new Mac mini is available for pre-order today and orders will be delivered starting on November 7.

Article Link: A Maxed Out Mac Mini With Full Upgrades Will Cost You $4,200

Forgive my ignorance when it comes to chips—this doesn’t come with a discrete graphics chip?

 

[Duckyduckbumps]

As a creative pro in the market for a small form factor desktop machine, I wanted to be convinced by the new Mac Mini. I am not. It makes sense for people who need to run Logic or Final Cut, but I am veering more towards HP’s machine:

https://www.amazon.com/HP-Z2-Mini-G3-Workstation/dp/B06XPTGMFF
[doublepost=1540942093][/doublepost]

Forgive my ignorance when it comes to chips—this doesn’t come with a discrete graphics chip?

Nope. You could plug in an external GPU. An expensive way to go.

 

[Glockworkorange]

As a creative pro in the market for a small form factor desktop machine, I wanted to be convinced by the new Mac Mini. I am not. It makes sense for people who need to run Logic or Final Cut, but I am veering more towards HP’s machine:

https://www.amazon.com/HP-Z2-Mini-G3-Workstation/dp/B06XPTGMFF
[doublepost=1540942093][/doublepost]

Nope. You could plug in an external GPU. An expensive way to go.

Wow. That’s a lot of money for a machine without a discrete GPU.
[doublepost=1540942547][/doublepost]

I actually like the decision since the current GPUs need a larger and well cooled enclosure.

A VR-capable eGPU will cost you about 500..600 and that‘s about what Apple would have made you pay for some kind of mobile GPU that you wouldn‘t be able to replace for a faster one.

Processing need grows much slower than the needed GPU performance these days, so I would say they‘re doing things right here.

I also hope that storage will be upgradeable, though TB3 will be a good option (basically serial ePCI) for storage. Hopefully prices for enclosures will drop now that Apple made TB3 standard on their current lineup. Mac Pro next.

The market research most show Apple the people who clamor for a new Mini don’t put the GPU at the top of their priority list. TB 3 provides a nice external solution for those customers who need it. I think Apple sells an AMD external GPU for like 599.

 

[viizi]

Well, I wasn't planning on a Mac Mini but seeing this ridiculously overpriced spec upgrade after 4 years really shows something about the company. I started off using computers with Macs in 1993, went to windows shortly after until 2005 and since then Mac. Back to Windows, I go. It's not even so much about the morals of the company as to the hardware I need. 3D, Video just needs better hardware for sensible pricing not to mention not supporting Open CL anymore, still seems like a recent implementation by Apple now it's dead. I am being begged every few days to update to Mojave by my iMac yet if I do, Blender messes up. Apple won't let Nvidia make decent CUDA drivers anymore. What the hell? If only some of the software I use was available in linux. This is going to be my very last post on MacRumors now since I am leaving Apple entirely. My iPhone 5 needs replacing soon as the apps on it are super slow with the hardware, this iMac is late 2012 and is showing signs of ageing with the software I am using and that's it for Apple products. To think I actually used to work for Apple hahaha! Alright, everyone, I hope things go well for you in future no matter which platform you decide to go with!

 

[Glockworkorange]

Well, I wasn't planning on a Mac Mini but seeing this ridiculously overpriced spec upgrade after 4 years really shows something about the company. I started off using computers with Macs in 1993, went to windows shortly after until 2005 and since then Mac. Back to Windows, I go. It's not even so much about the morals of the company as to the hardware I need. 3D, Video just needs better hardware for sensible pricing not to mention not supporting Open CL anymore, still seems like a recent implementation by Apple now it's dead. I am being begged every few days to update to Mojave by my iMac yet if I do, Blender messes up. Apple won't let Nvidia make decent CUDA drivers anymore. What the hell? If only some of the software I use was available in linux. This is going to be my very last post on MacRumors now since I am leaving Apple entirely. My iPhone 5 needs replacing soon as the apps on it are super slow with the hardware, this iMac is late 2012 and is showing signs of ageing with the software I am using and that's it for Apple products. To think I actually used to work for Apple hahaha! Alright, everyone, I hope things go well for you in future no matter which platform you decide to go with!

Wow. Best of luck.

 

[Duckyduckbumps]

I love my iPad Pro but haven’t owned a Mac for a few years. Still don’t see the point of a Mac with these new releases.

 

[fastasleep]

Funny how they show a Mac mini and relate it to server use, yet unless any other decent server, you can‘t change the storage with something that you can cut costs in bulk with, and their storage even maxes out at 2 TB.
Sticking with my 2012 modular one.

Or you could realize you have four TB3 ports on there and toss a pile of 24TB RAIDs in your rack alongside it.

 

[MacSince1985]

Thanks

Still not 100% convinced though.
In the picture shown in your (StellarVixen)post it says

"Not User accessible" which to me means you can't really get to it easily.

You, RobbieTT have valid points, if the controller is on the T2 then I guess you must be right, but doesn't it also say it's PCIe which to me means a connector, or am I wrong?

That's my understanding as well. I believe the drive from the 2009-2012 Mac Mini was also "not user accessible" but it was definitely replaceable. The t2 settings may require Apple-only tools after a SSD change. OWC and iFixit will answer those questions in the next week.

 

[fastasleep]

For me this mac Mini is DOA. Very soon entire Apple will be DOA. I give them 4-5 years tops to realize all their cultists have abandoned them.

Citation needed.
[doublepost=1540950158][/doublepost]

I guess I should be happy they kept two useful USB ports.

It's hard to take anyone who refers to 5Gbps USB-A ports as more useful than 40Gbps Thunderbolt 3 ports seriously.

 

[fairuz]

I can only see using the low-end one. The situation where you just want a new Mac for the least money. Otherwise, if you're trading $ for specs, you'd be better off with an iMac (or of course a regular PC if you don't need macOS). One exception: Niche things like servers that need to be Macs and need to be powerful and can't be the old Mac Pros.

 

[fastasleep]

I think everyone can agree that Apple needs to cut back on the ridiculous upgrade premiums. Seriously, $1,000+ premium over retail price for the flash storage upgrade? It's just silly.

Are you pricing comparable 8.0 GT/s NVMe PCIe x4 storage, or cheap SATA-III drives?

 

[bobmepp]

SSD upgrade pricing is insane and keeps me from getting one.

The memory is user upgradeable, and if the SSD not soldered in, you don't have to pay the upgrade price. If it's like my old late 2012 Mini, it'll be easy to get into. My hope is that the storage is similar in configuration to the late 2013 Mac Pro storage - which would handily fit into a Mini case. Can't wait to see the teardown.
[doublepost=1540952189][/doublepost]It is not cheap, but Apple detractors generally avoid comparing to similarly specced Windows devices, which are almost as expensive. You can't compare if you want to keep pumping the "Apple is too expensive, Apple is greedy meme". Detractors also never mention the Mac OS quality, which is what keeps most of us coming back. No, MacOS is not perfect, but if you've used Windows for many years as I have, you don't soon forget the misery.
[doublepost=1540953371][/doublepost]

That's my understanding as well. I believe the drive from the 2009-2012 Mac Mini was also "not user accessible" but it was definitely soldered on. The t2 settings may require Apple-only tools after a SSD change. OWC and iFixit will answer those questions in the next week.

I changed drives on my late 2012 Mini two times. It was definitely not soldered on. You might be thinking about the 2014 Mini. Today, OWC is advertising MacMini memory - 16 GB for 169.99, 32 GB for 329.99, and 64 GB for 1079.99. Just got the email.