Apple Announces New Space Gray Mac mini With 4-Core or 6-Core Intel Processor and Up to 64GB RAM, Starting at $799

[imageWIS]

Outside of arguing about Apple's SSD pricing – which isn't going to change unless there is a drastic drop in SSD chip prices, and even then – what is a good, reliable, outboard, NVMe capable SSD enclosure that works with USB 3 or Thunderbolt 3 and preserves the 3.3Gb read speeds? It is the cost of such an enclosure PLUS a NVMe SSD card that folks will have to shell out to expand the Mini's base storage. Any such enclosure that doesn't provide near native speeds doesn't count.

Hell, I'd like such an enclosure to expand my USB-C MBP's storage, forget about the mini.

This: https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/netstor-na611tb3-thunderbolt-3-nvme-portable-ssd,5359.html which is $360 for just the enclosure. On the plus side it has two (2) M.2 sockets... and it comes with a Thunderbolt 3 cable, although a very short one.

Here it is @ Beards & Hats: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1381233-REG/dynapower_usa_netstor_na611tb3_thunderbolt_3.html

 

[Zdigital2015]

Thanks! I will look closely at these. I did notice that the angelbird model only supports up to 1GB/s read so that's less desirable though in real world usage it might not make that much of a difference.

But the fact that such outboard options are not exactly cheap does mean that low 3rd party NVMe SSD prices are somewhat moot because once you buy an enclosure, you have lost the initially perceived savings (but have gained other benefits from a portable or non-portable SSD enclosure).

Does your real-world usage include 4K video editing? If not, is there something else that demands a certain sustained data rate of a Thunderbolt 3 enclosure and PCIe NVMe? I use a SanDisk Extreme Portable 500GB USB-C drive with my 2016 MacBook Pro and it works just dandy for most of what I need to do. I would not use it day in and day out for 4K editing, mind you. I would also say that if you need a portable solution, perhaps the Mac mini is not the right one for your use case.

Thunderbolt 3 enclosure are sparse and expensive to roll your own at this time and seem to roughly equal the cost of a decent NVMe drive (970 EVO or PRO, depending on size).

I would expect more solutions to arrive in 2019 for both USB-C Gen 2 and for Thunderbolt 3.

 

[scoobs69]

2018 iMac Pro (Base model; no BTO options)
- Xeon W 8c/16t
- 32GB DDR ECC DRAM
- 1TB SSD
- Vega 56 8GB
- 10Gbps Ethernet

Total - $4999.00

2018 Mac mini (BTO)
- Core i7 6c/12t
- 32GB DDR4 DRAM
- 1TB SSD
- 10Gbps Ethernet - $2599.00
- EDIT: Magic Keyboard w/Numeric Keypad and Magic Mouse - $248.00
- BlackMagic eGPU Pro (Apple Store, DUH!)- $1199.00
- LG UltraFine 5K Display (Apple Store) - $1299.00

Total - $5345.00 ($2599+$1199+$1299+$248)

Difference - Mac mini 2018 BTO +$346.00

2018 Mac mini (Roll your own)
- Core i7 6c/12t
- 32GB DDR4 DRAM - (OWC) $329.00
- 1TB SSD
- 10Gbps Ethernet - $1999.00
- EDIT: Magic Keyboard w/Numeric Keypad and Magic Mouse - $248.00
- Sapphire Tech Nitro+ Vega 56 and Sonnet Technology eGFX Breakaway Box 650 (Amazon) - $898.00
- LG UltraFine 5K Display (Apple Store) - $1299.00

Total - $4773.00 ($2328+$898+$1299+$248)

Difference - Mac min 2018 Roll Your Own -$228.00

How about

2018 Mac Mini
3.2GHz 6-core i7
8GB ram
256GB boot drive
$1,300

32GB memory kit = $300 (about)
eGPU case = $200 (hoping)
MSI 8GB Radeon RX 580 - $210 (Finally the video cards are cheap again)

1TB SSD External - $230
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/…/samsung_mu_pa1t0b_am_t5_1tb_…

Totals...
$1,300
$300
$200
$210
$230

= $2,240

I already have a perfectly good color accurate NEC MultiSync display. Why waste that money on an iMac, much less an iMac Pro?

 

[Sabelonada]

This: https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/netstor-na611tb3-thunderbolt-3-nvme-portable-ssd,5359.html which is $360 for just the enclosure. On the plus side it has two (2) M.2 sockets... and it comes with a Thunderbolt 3 cable, although a very short one.

Here it is @ Beards & Hats: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1381233-REG/dynapower_usa_netstor_na611tb3_thunderbolt_3.html

For that money, I'd skip it and go with this
http://www.qnapworks.com/TS-453BT3.asp

 

[Zdigital2015]

Also consider that an i5 8400 out performs an i7 7700 and it's frustrating that the iMac line didn't receive the generational update. The i5 is a great processor and the i3 is no slouch neither.

I know it would require at least a chipset upgrade as well because the 8th generation isn't just a drop in replacement.

It's frustrating to me as well. I can only counsel patience for so long, because Apple is so opaque about its intentions. Clearly, Intel's 8th Generation would have been a welcome sight back in July when the MacBook Pro was updated. However, I clearly think (HOPE) that Apple wanted to wait for the Z390 PCH and AMD had NOTHING for them GPU-wise to move on from the Radeon Pro 580 in that timeframe.

Remember that Intel did not flesh out the entire Coffee Lake S-Series until April 2nd of this year and that the Z370 seemed like another repeat of the Z270, while the H370 didn't show it's face until April either (not that Apple would use it, anyways).

If iMacs are MIA for 2018, then I suspect we are in for a wait of at least March, or more likely, June WWDC 2019 and the iMac will skip 8th Gen altogether and skip straight to 9th Gen.

Now, Apple could pull a rabbit out of its hat and silently update the iMac on November 13, right after the other Macs and iPads are released, two days before the Radeon RX590 is supposed to be shipped/announced and that is still a week before Black Friday, so time to get the base configs into Apple Stores and pre-orders taken but then will not ship for 7-10 days. Remember, this is mostly Intel's fault with their scramble to keep up with 14nm and moving the chipsets to 14nm prematurely without making sure capacity was there.
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How about

2018 Mac Mini
3.2GHz 6-core i7
8GB ram
256GB boot drive
$1,300

32GB memory kit = $300 (about)
eGPU case = $200 (hoping)
MSI 8GB Radeon RX 580 - $210 (Finally the video cards are cheap again)

1TB SSD External - $230
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/…/samsung_mu_pa1t0b_am_t5_1tb_…

Totals...
$1,300
$300
$200
$210
$230

= $2,240

I already have a perfectly good color accurate NEC MultiSync display. Why waste that money on an iMac, much less an iMac Pro?

No offense, but I think you skipped a paragraph.

 

[SuperMatt]

SSD is soldered to the motherboard. RAM is upgradeable but replacing it in the first year yourself will void the warranty.

Do you have a reference for that claim? As far as I know, Apple doesn't void your warranty if you replace a user-serviceable part.

 

[LeeW]

Do you have a reference for that claim? As far as I know, Apple doesn't void your warranty if you replace a user-serviceable part.

I can only speak for the EU, if there are user replaceable parts, i.e. RAM that is socketed then they cannot void your warranty at any time unless the fault is specifically in relation to the RAM you put in.

 

[Zdigital2015]

Do you have a reference for that claim? As far as I know, Apple doesn't void your warranty if you replace a user-serviceable part.

I am not sure where that came from unless Apple has changed policies and I have failed to update myself.

My understanding was that if you upgraded the DRAM yourself and at some point had an issue with your Mac, to make sure and replace the DRAM you installed with the DRAM that came from the factory before bringing a Mac still under AppleCare to an Apple Store/Service Provider for warranty service work/troubleshooting. This way, they could not blame it on the RAM and could not blame it on the user and refuse to service the computer. Someone else might have a different experience than what I had, so YMMV.

 

[vailr]

Do you have a reference for that claim? As far as I know, Apple doesn't void your warranty if you replace a user-serviceable part.

There may be a difference between "voiding your warranty": outright refusal of any repair service, versus: requiring that the device be returned to "only factory installed components" before any "in warranty" repairs can be attempted by Apple's service department.

 

[brendu]

Well I'm happy for you, but we forget that the Mac mini was the affordable Mac for people to try the macOS without having to spend 1000-2000$ ,this is why it's "bring your own screen keyboard mouse" Moto .
If they want to have a high end model then they should but they should also keep a 500$ model in play.

To have a $500 model it would likely still have a mechanical hard drive and people would have gone crazy about that. There is very little need for an entry to the Mac. Very few people buy cheap desktop PCs anymore. Apple is not going to sell a ton of Mac mini’s regardless of what’s inside them so it was wise of them to focus on the higher end where the likely Mac mini buyers have their wants/needs filled. I doubt very much there are many people who are online bitching about the price who would have bought a $500 mini in the first place. The people who really want this thing and have been hoping to buy one are happy with what they are getting as far as I can tell.

 

[PickUrPoison]

Take a look at the Samsung specifications and reconsider your statement. A certain premium is OK but the prices are too high.

People always complain that Apple’s prices are too high. For decades people have been complaining. Decades.

The RAM and SSD upgrade prices are exactly the same as they are for MBP, iMac, Mac Pro etc. Were you expecting something different, and if so, why?

Yes, the upgrade prices are high. That’s reality. They’ve always been high, and they’re not going to lower them just because now you’re the one doing the complaining. It is what it is. Pay it or don’t, it’s your decision.

It’s simple economics, really. Are prices high? Sure. Are they too high? No, apparently they’re not. If they were too high Apple wouldn’t be selling the quantity they expect to, and they would lower them.

 

[Zdigital2015]

Well I'm happy for you, but we forget that the Mac mini was the affordable Mac for people to try the macOS without having to spend 1000-2000$ ,this is why it's "bring your own screen keyboard mouse" Moto .
If they want to have a high end model then they should but they should also keep a 500$ model in play.

As another user on this forum aptly commented, the iPhone is the gateway drug of choice these days, followed by the iPad with the Mac coming in third (soon to be fourth, if the Watch continues its upward trajectory).

Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you see it), those days of converting people to the Mac and macOS are long gone.

 

[PickUrPoison]

SSD is soldered to the motherboard. RAM is upgradeable but replacing it in the first year yourself will void the warranty.

No, your warranty is void if you break something while you’re attempting the upgrade. Simply upgrading it, even on day one, doesn’t void the warranty. That’s true in the US and EU, at least, and other areas too I’m sure.

 

[anson42]

Does your real-world usage include 4K video editing? If not, is there something else that demands a certain sustained data rate of a Thunderbolt 3 enclosure and PCIe NVMe? I use a SanDisk Extreme Portable 500GB USB-C drive with my 2016 MacBook Pro and it works just dandy for most of what I need to do. I would not use it day in and day out for 4K editing, mind you. I would also say that if you need a portable solution, perhaps the Mac mini is not the right one for your use case.

No, 4K editing is not my use case and a 1Gb/s transfer is more than adequate. The problem ultimately boils down to native, built-in speeds vs outboard speeds and ones ability to try to save $ by avoiding Apple's seemingly outrageous SSD upgrade prices. It seems to me to perserve the fastest possible SSD transfers that you should pay the Apple tax for built-in SSD if you need it. If you can live without 3Gb/s read and 2Gb/s write, then cheaper SATA SSDs will suffice, because it certainly doesn't seem worth it to go NVMe in an outboard fashion. If one can justify the expense because an outboard NVMe solution offers greater portability and sharability in addition to greater speed then it might make sense.

 

[Zdigital2015]

People always complain that Apple’s prices are too high. For decades people have been complaining. Decades.

The RAM and SSD upgrade prices are exactly the same as they are for MBP, iMac, Mac Pro etc. Were you expecting something different, and if so, why?

Yes, the upgrade prices are high. That’s reality. They’ve always been high, and they’re not going to lower them just because now you’re the one doing the complaining. It is what it is. Pay it or don’t, it’s your decision.

It’s simple economics, really. Are prices high? Sure. Are they too high? No, apparently they’re not. If they were too high Apple wouldn’t be selling the quantity they expect to, and they would lower them.

I remember having to decide between a MacPlus ($1799) or a Macintosh SE ($2,799) and I had to be able to print, so I ended up with the MacPlus, an ImageWriter II ($595) and a second floppy disk drive ($495) in 1989. I bought what I needed and could afford and my sole upgrade for the MacPlus was to get it to 4GB of RAM ($???) and add a LaCie 40MB Hard Drive ($599). It is what it is, people want Apple to give them Dell, and that is just not how it works.

 

[mi7chy]

How about something much smaller like a MacMicro?

 

[tom53092]

Looking good, but the 64GB RAM is a gimmick. Probably a marketing move to shut up some bashers...

Sure, for now, but since we'll probably have to wait another four years for the next Mini, by then 64GB might be the minimum requirement for the OS . At the very least, it may be cheap.

 

[Spectrum]

One thing we can't complain about is the CPU grunt in the new Minis.

According to both Userbenchmark and Geekbench, even the base CPU in the 2018 Mini (8th gen, non hyper-threading, quad i3) is a decent jump up from the top model 2012 Mini (3rd gen, hyper-threading 2.6GHz, quad i7):

Userbenchmark (2018 i3 v. 2012 i7)
73rd v. 246th out of 1135.
https://cpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Intel-Core-i3-8100-vs-Intel-Core-i7-3720QM/3942vsm1619

Geekbench (2018 i3 v. 2012 i7)
Single-Core = 4575 v. 3295
Multi-Core = 13381 v. 10520
https://browser.geekbench.com/processors/2395
https://browser.geekbench.com/processors/743

The top model of the new Mini (i7 hex core) gives more than twice the multi-core performance of the top model 2012 Mini:
Single-Core = 5304 v. 3295
Multi-Core = 23010 v. 10520

Exactly, and I am looking at it to replace at 2011 i7 quad, so the gains are even greater. Probably 2x single core speed and close to 3x multi core. I can hope that the graphics are also 2-3x compared to the HD3000...but not entirely sure where the HD630 sits.
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Well I’m a bit disappointed personally, no hard drive changing, I have an SSD and HDD in mine, and ridiculous prices, with the Space Grey colour this is clearly the Mac mini Pro that was rumoured, so no, the normal Mac mini has yet to be updated.

I mean I can’t remember exactly how much I paid for my 2008 model but I’m sure it was close to half this base price and the 2012 model wasn’t much more. I feel like Apple just want people to buy an iMac.

Not true for me. I paid around £1000 for the 2011 quad version with 256SSD + 750GB HD and only 4GB RAM.
So compared to that, the new hex core has two more cores (without hyper threading though...) twice the RAM, similar graphics (in relative terms), but only lacks the 750GB HDD. For a similar price.

 

[citysnaps]

Does your real-world usage include 4K video editing? If not, is there something else that demands a certain sustained data rate of a Thunderbolt 3 enclosure and PCIe NVMe? I use a SanDisk Extreme Portable 500GB USB-C drive with my 2016 MacBook Pro and it works just dandy for most of what I need to do. I would not use it day in and day out for 4K editing, mind you. I would also say that if you need a portable solution, perhaps the Mac mini is not the right one for your use case.

Thunderbolt 3 enclosure are sparse and expensive to roll your own at this time and seem to roughly equal the cost of a decent NVMe drive (970 EVO or PRO, depending on size).

I would expect more solutions to arrive in 2019 for both USB-C Gen 2 and for Thunderbolt 3.

I'm keeping my eye on Plugable for fast external TB 3 NVMe storage. Hopefully they have drives with more storage in the pipeline.

 

[Sabelonada]

How about something much smaller like a MacMicro?

Apple probably considers the iPad as serving any sub-Mac mini market.

 

[Spectrum]

Does anyone have an real word information to know how important it is to have matching RAM sticks?
I currently have 16GB RAM in the 2011 mini, so wondering about dropping in a single 16 GB RAM stick into the new mini for 20GB total, then if needed in the future replace the other 4GB stick for another 16, or even 32 (for 48GB total) when prices drop and if I find I need more ram.

 

[Zdigital2015]

Does anyone have an real word information to know how important it is to have matching RAM sticks?
I currently have 16GB RAM in the 2011 mini, so wondering about dropping in a single 16 GB RAM stick into the new mini for 20GB total, then if needed in the future replace the other 4GB stick for another 16, or even 32 (for 48GB total) when prices drop and if I find I need more ram.

Your 2011 Mac mini uses DDR3-1333MHz, the new 2018 mini uses DDR4-2666MHz. They are not compatible at all. Any DRAM you need for a new 2018 Mac mini you will need to buy new from the store or online. They should be matching size and speed to get the most benefit from the dual channel memory controller.

 

[Spectrum]

Your 2011 Mac mini uses DDR3-1333MHz, the new 2018 mini uses DDR4-2666MHz. They are not compatible at all. Any DRAM you need for a new 2018 Mac mini you will need to buy new from the store or online. They should be matching size and speed to get the most benefit from the dual channel memory controller.

No. I didn't mean moving the RAM from the 2011. I meant that the 2018 will come with 2x4GB, so I am wondering about tossing out one of them, and adding a new 16GB RAM stick for 20GB total. Thus a short term upgrade that gets me back where I was (~16GB) without committing to buying 2x8GB (that I might need to throw away in the future) or 2x16GB (perhaps more than I need, ands currently costly).

The question is what "is the most benefit" in terms of matching sticks? Does it actually matter for real world tasks, or only visible in benchmarks?

 

[Zdigital2015]

Looking good, but the 64GB RAM is a gimmick. Probably a marketing move to shut up some bashers...

Most users will not want to spend the $1000-$1100 on two 32GB DDR4-2666 SO-DIMMs for the Mac mini, but keep in mind that the top end Core i7 Mac mini has a Core i7-8700 desktop CPU inside it and is no different than a mini-ITX Windows PC in terms of CPU speed and performance. Right now, 16GB of DRAM is still the sweet spot for most everyday user and 32GB for power users/professionals, but I can see plenty ponying up for 64GB depending on their use case (4K/8K video, audio production, et al.).

 

[Peperino]

It is truly a sad day for Apple users.

Looking at the way Apple is going with the prices with new Mac Mini, Macbook Air, and recent Macbook Pro, I do not expect good things for the Mac Pro.

Furthermore, it is kind of insulting that after 4 years of not upgrading the Mac Mini, Apple puts such a lame overpriced, disposable computer.

- Core i3 - When most computer use core i7.
- Non-replaceable hard drive. So if hard drive fails, which is quite common on SSD drives, you need to trash the computer. So much for environmentally friendly responsibility.
- The pricing is beyond ridiculous for the underperforming specs compared to other products. I rather get an iMac, Macbook Pro or iMac Pro even.

Or not anymore Macbook Air under $1000. Now $12000 they raised the price 20%, and still they deliver with 8GB Ram and 128SSD. A phone or iPad has more memory than that.

It is sad to see how Apple is alienating many long time Apple users. They are tired of overpay for way overpriced, underspec products. Many of them are either switching to PC or looking at building Hackintoshes.
I think that after 20 years of being an Apple user, I better start looking for Hackintoshes.

Tim Cook greed is beyond belief. Zero Innovation and way overpriced products.