I use a Lacie 5big with my 6,1.
It's only TB2 though.
I see the same performance with USB3 disks, but as I have 6 TB2 ports and only 4 UBS3 ports, I went with TB as I have many other USB devices that need to use those ports.
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Anyone replacing Mac Pro 5,1 with the new mini?
- Thread starter bzollinger
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I use a Lacie 5big with my 6,1.
It's only TB2 though.
I see the same performance with USB3 disks, but as I have 6 TB2 ports and only 4 UBS3 ports, I went with TB as I have many other USB devices that need to use those ports.
I bought my 5,1 used for economic reasons a few years back. It has been a great machine but it wont last forever. All i did to it was add an SSD, 16gbs ram, and a GTX 670. I had planned to extend its life with a hex core 3.3, more ram, and possibly newer fx card, but now with this mini i wont need to. I just use the mac pro as long as i can then replace it with a new mini and egpu down the line. Save some energy and floor space too.
Yes!
I picked up a 4,1 when the trashcans came out and it’s been fun. But I’m not a scientist or mathematician, so it’s always been a little overkill as a family pc.
I’m glad this is finally getting an update so I can keep my current display. I’ll just pull out my rx580 and toss it in an eGPU enclosure.
I picked up a 4,1 when the trashcans came out and it’s been fun. But I’m not a scientist or mathematician, so it’s always been a little overkill as a family pc.
I’m glad this is finally getting an update so I can keep my current display. I’ll just pull out my rx580 and toss it in an eGPU enclosure.
I'm even considering replacing my Mac Pro 6,1 with the 2018 Mini 
CPU wise the Mini will probably outperform my current setup, it'll have a better "upgrade path" due to faster I/O (TB2 vs TB3), supports 4K or 5K @60Hz, SSD speed is probably double of what I have now and the user upgradeable RAM is cheaper to come by than ECC RAM.
The only department where the Mini is lacking is GPU, but I guess that can be remedied with an eGPU.
CPU wise the Mini will probably outperform my current setup, it'll have a better "upgrade path" due to faster I/O (TB2 vs TB3), supports 4K or 5K @60Hz, SSD speed is probably double of what I have now and the user upgradeable RAM is cheaper to come by than ECC RAM.
The only department where the Mini is lacking is GPU, but I guess that can be remedied with an eGPU.
Run Cinebench and get back to us.
Or anything that requires graphics.
Geekbench is next to useless.
Yes, I’m well aware. And a 12 core 3.33 or 3.46 GHz 5,1 destroys the new 6 core MBPs, and, presumably, the new 6 core i7 Mini as well, despite the rough parity in geekbench results.
Based on my experience using Handbrake and assuming QuickSync is not in use I will predict a 3.33GHz 12 core Mac Pro will outperform the new i7 based Mini.
The new iPad Pro has a Geekbench 4 Multicore score that is in the neighborhood of my cMP5,1 with 6-core 3.33 Ghz CPU. And its single core score obviously obliterates it.
The Geekbench results tell you nothing about the sustainable load of a particular machine, how long it can run full cpu/gpu power before it throttles down. It´s more of a paper benchmark, as it shows you the theoretical maximum power envelope regarding all I/O systems. All new Macbooks e.g. throttle quite fast and can´t give you the full performance for an indefinite period of time.
That´s where the classic Mac Pro shined, as it never throttles and can offer you its full potential for any period of time you need to use it while staying silent.
We need to get tests about real sustained workloads for the new Mac Mini and it´s coooling system efficency. I doubt that it can sustain long heavy workloads - but we´ll see.
That´s where the classic Mac Pro shined, as it never throttles and can offer you its full potential for any period of time you need to use it while staying silent.
We need to get tests about real sustained workloads for the new Mac Mini and it´s coooling system efficency. I doubt that it can sustain long heavy workloads - but we´ll see.
I received the Mac mini i7. I worked with it for two days, then I started looking for HDs enclosure and immediately realized that it's not the Mac for me. For my tasks, GraphPad Prizm, Excel, Word, Photoshop, InDesign it's plenty of power but I cannot imagine my desk full of external enclosure (my"MP 3.1 has 4 internal and 2 external), no startup chime etc... I went back to my Mac Pro 3.1 and will wait patiently for the new one, although if beleive it will be outrageously expensive. This i7 will replace the i5 for my older kid.
I did a basic comparison here: very basic, just launch some applications and fuse levels with Photoshop. MacPro 3.1 to the left with 23" display and Mac mini 2008 to the right with 20" display.
I did a basic comparison here: very basic, just launch some applications and fuse levels with Photoshop. MacPro 3.1 to the left with 23" display and Mac mini 2008 to the right with 20" display.
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I switched some months ago from Mac Pro 5.1 (motherboard failed after 8 years). The Mini is very satisfying but one must accept lots of external enclosures. A new Mac Pro will be too expensive for me.
The Mini and the 8 TB external I use take up approximately 5% of the volume that my old cMP had… your reasoning is flawed.
Some one should make some sort of space grey enclosure with a few shelves that you could fit the mini in, and a few external peripherals.
If all you're going to add is external storage then I can see where you'd think the reasoning is flawed. However the Mac Pro can accommodate much more than a single hard disk. Start building a comparable Mini configuration to that of a cMP and you'll find his reasoning is completely on the mark.
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This is a really cool idea!
For my use the mini has the hardware I want. My 2012 MP 3.46 24GB 1TB was replaced by a 2018 mini i7 16GB 1TB. My office is currently on wifi rather than hard wired. The mini's faster wifi speed makes the MP seem sluggish when communicating through my current gen Time Capsule.
I don't always need my data drives (photography, movies, music backups). Having them in an OWC Thunderbay 6 is really convenient in that they remain shut off when I'm YouTubing or fiddling around on the Net. The backup drives are also in a Thunderbay 6. The previous backup data path was 4TB HDs in the SATA2 MP out through FW 800 to an OWC Mercury Rack Pro. The current setup of Thunderbay 6 in one TB channel to Thunderbay 6 out through the other TB channel seems much faster.
I don't always need my data drives (photography, movies, music backups). Having them in an OWC Thunderbay 6 is really convenient in that they remain shut off when I'm YouTubing or fiddling around on the Net. The backup drives are also in a Thunderbay 6. The previous backup data path was 4TB HDs in the SATA2 MP out through FW 800 to an OWC Mercury Rack Pro. The current setup of Thunderbay 6 in one TB channel to Thunderbay 6 out through the other TB channel seems much faster.
You're right, but it is a matter of being used to tower desktops since the PowerMac 8600. The future MacPro will be very expensive, but if you consider that it can last longer, the price per year is the same or lower. This new mini at 2500 euro in europe, is only marginally faster than a MP middle 2012 with Xeon X5690. Moreover I work innan environment where I still need CD, ethernet, floppy (yes 1.44 floppy to grab data from an Ibm laptop connected to a laboratorry instrument) and even Zip drive! I have 4 internal HDs and a couple of external sata hd cases to plug other HD. With a mini I would end up with more wires, more enclosures more stuff.
Ok, so I just bough a MacPro 5.1 2x2.4 for 1000 euros and will upgrade to Xeon X5690 for another 300 euros, then will try to sell my 3.1 for 300. These are the prices here jn Italy. So, basically for 1000 euros I have a viable upgrade from my 10 years old 3.1 and a couple more years to wait and see what Apple gives us in term of pro machine. My older sonnis happy with my i7 Mac mini 2018 (see above).
Yeah the tower Macs tend to last a long time. I'm typing this on an original Mac Pro (2006) that somebody gave free on craigslist. Still works fine.