Considering Mac Mini - Already own 2016 MBP

[RyanC1384]

I have a 2016 MacBook Pro with TB that I use around the house and for travel, and plug into an LG 38 inch monitor in my office. I already own a Logitech MX2 and apple keyboard, but I'm kind of annoyed with having to use the laptop as a Desktop upstairs and was considering a Mac Mini.

Do you think that's worth it?
What should I take into consideration? Will the 2 machines integrate at all?
Which Mac Mini configuration should I go with for just a basic home desktop? I was thinking of the i5, 8gb with 256gb and having external hard drive / adding more memory myself down the road if necessary.

 

[pl1984]

The base model should be more than sufficient for a basic home desktop.

 

[ElectronGuru]

Do you think that's worth it?
What should I take into consideration? Will the 2 machines integrate at all?
Which Mac Mini configuration should I go with for just a basic home desktop? I was thinking of the i5, 8gb with 256gb and having external hard drive / adding more memory myself down the road if necessary.

This is a short term question: will they compliment. But this is also a long term question. The real power of the mini is not its ability to compliment a 15 MBP. The real power is that when the MBP is ready to retire, having a dedicated desktop means not having to buy another MBP. So the next laptop can be a travel specialist like the MBA, more portable and lower cost. So now the mini is paying for itself by offloading the big jobs. And if its doing that, it will benefit more power like 6 cores.

 

[RyanC1384]

This is a short term question: will they compliment. But this is also a long term question. The real power of the mini is not its ability to compliment a 15 MBP. The real power is that when the MBP is ready to retire, having a dedicated desktop means not having to buy another MBP. So the next laptop can be a travel specialist like the MBA, more portable and lower cost. So now the mini is paying for itself by offloading the big jobs. And if its doing that, it will benefit more power like 6 cores.

This is a great point! I'm thinking of going with this one out of the box, the move to an i7 doesn't seem necessary from my previous research and I can upgrade to 16 or 32 GB of memory on my own, seems pretty straightforward from the videos I've watched. I'll also have an external 1TB drive for additional storage.

3.0GHz 6-Core Processor with Turbo Boost up to 4.1GHz
256GB Storage

• 3.0GHz 6-core 8th-generation Intel Core i5 processor
• Turbo Boost up to 4.1GHz
• 8GB 2666MHz DDR4 memory
• Intel UHD Graphics 630
• 256GB PCIe-based SSD storage1

Thoughts on need to upgrade from i5 to i7?

 

[ElectronGuru]

Thoughts on need to upgrade from i5 to i7?

This is a speed and a value question. Obviously more is better, but is it helpfully so?

Before there were cores, there was ghz. Apple charged 15% more money for 5% more speed and at a certain point, unless you needed every possible cycle, it stopped paying dividends. 6 cores is 50% more power for only 25% more money, totally worth it. But i7 is another 20% more money for perhaps 15% more power. Meanwhile, extra SSD size may yield chunks more speed with the same dollars. So given the balance, i5 with larger SSD makes more sense than i7 with smaller SSD. More space can also do more things than just add speed.

 

[RyanC1384]

This is a speed and a value question. Obviously more is better, but is it helpfully so?

Before there were cores, there was ghz. Apple charged 15% more money for 5% more speed and at a certain point, unless you needed every possible cycle, it stopped paying dividends. 6 cores is 50% more power for only 25% more money, totally worth it. But i7 is another 20% more money for perhaps 15% more power. Meanwhile, extra SSD size may yield chunks more speed with the same dollars. So given the balance, i5 with larger SSD makes more sense than i7 with smaller SSD. More space can also do more things than just add speed.

Another 2 quick questions...

1) should I buy now or wait for the possibility of a Black Friday special?

2) will the Apple store match the out the door price of online sites with no tax?

 

[ElectronGuru]

Another 2 quick questions...

1) should I buy now or wait for the possibility of a Black Friday special?

2) will the Apple store match the out the door price of online sites with no tax?

I bought my iPhone 7 after the 8's came out on BF. I got a $50 store card. I wouldn't expect cash off and I wouldn't expect apple to discount a hot new product. BF will be more useful for things like displays.

I've never heard of apple price matching. i5/256 is a good configuration and should be available everywhere. If there's a place with a good price, just order from there.

 

[Fishrrman]

There's nothing that beats having a nice desktop "for desktop things", and a nice laptop "for laptop things".

You might wait for Black Friday specials.
Do you have a Micro Center store anywhere near? They often have discounts.