Early Impressions and Benchmarks on Apple's 2012 Mac Mini

[bchreng]

You obvilusly want this product to be used for something it's not intended to be used. The iMac 27 will be availble for you before Christmas.

or for some more useful advice... He should seriously consider an Alienware X51. It's a desktop with a small footprint, similar to the Mac mini and can be configured with an i7 and an nvidia GTX 660 GPU. Here's a link: http://www.dell.com/us/p/alienware-x51/pd.aspx

Another option would be the Digital Storm Bolt, which can be configured with an nvidia GTX 680.
http://www.digitalstormonline.com/bolt.asp

It's either that, or wait for a more moderate integrated GPU upgrade with next year's Haswell refresh.

 

[binba]

Between this and the iMac, the only pros that need the Mac Pro have been dwindled down to maybe 750-1000 potential customers possibly?

I have 10 Mac Pros here at the company, and switching to integrated solutions like all the lower-end models would just be a big compromise. We don't need slick hardware - we want slick software with modular hardware, which is what the OSX+Mac Pro experience offers.
I love the multiple 3.5" HDD bays (larger capacity and faster speeds for less than 2.5" drives, plus I can swap drives and OS's between machines), but most important are the PCIe slots. Platforms switch from CPU-based to GPU-based so suddenly you want the latest and greatest GPUs.... new interfaces come and go (eSATA, USB3)... and we're invested in $10K's worth of fiber channel and video I/O boards that can still serve us for years. Modular and upgradeable is good, even though it's not as fashionable as Apple likes to be.

And yes, annual Mac Pro sales figures will be 6-7 figures.

Our workstations should last us into 2013, so we'll see what the "new exciting" Mac Pro news is all about. If it's not the right thing, we'll probably go Hackintosh, or PC...


Back on topic: The Mac Mini is an awesome machine, and the least overpriced - you get the best (genuine) Mac experience for the money. TB and USB3 make it even better. I recommend it to anyone who wants a new ready-to-go Mac, doesn't need a laptop, and doesn't want to break the bank.

 

[englishman]

I'm picking one up to act as the main workhorse at home. We both have iPads and one ageing MBP, which should last a while longer yet. I get edu discount, so @ £430 it seems like a good buy. Will upgrade the RAM, obviously!

£430 - £448 for me?

 

[d21mike]

or for some more useful advice... He should seriously consider an Alienware X51. It's a desktop with a small footprint, similar to the Mac mini and can be configured with an i7 and an nvidia GTX 660 GPU. Here's a link: http://www.dell.com/us/p/alienware-x51/pd.aspx

Another option would be the Digital Storm Bolt, which can be configured with an nvidia GTX 680.
http://www.digitalstormonline.com/bolt.asp

It's either that, or wait for a more moderate integrated GPU upgrade with next year's Haswell refresh.

You say similar small footprint. They seem MUCH larger then the Mac Mini. I have not see a machine on the market that comes close to the mac mini size with similar performance. But still looking.

 

[MacDav]

While true, a lot of pro users have shifted away from FCPX and onto more traditional editoing packages.

And while horsepower is nice, for your average and even prosumer user an iMac or mini is going to be more than enough for most work they'll do. Even for your average designer/developer it's more than adequate.

I certainly hope Apple continues to create Pro machines, I'm just not sure if the market is nearly what it used to be.

Well you are correct. It will never be again what it once was. Still there are Billions of Dollars waiting for them if they build a great new Pro machine.
Tim Cook has said one is coming sometime in 2013. Hope it's January.

 

[mentaluproar]

The idea of Thunderbolt is that performance-oriented GPUs will become a peripheral item, swappable and upgradeable like any other external device. We're not quite there yet, with an external graphics chassis costing as much as the Mac mini itself, but within a year, prices will have dropped significantly.



I'm struggling to think how a dedicated GPU would improve HTPC performance. These will handle any video format available without missing a beat.

HTPCs can be used for gaming too.

 

[CplBadboy]

Looks as though from the picture that Foxconn still cannot apply Thermal paste correctly and they still use cheap ass ****.
My advice is tear down your Mac mini and get some Arctic silver 5 on there. I recently did it to my Blackbook and Temps dropped by 10 deg C. My lasses MBP dropped by at least 15 deg C.
In fact Im looking forward to iFixits tear down of the new iMac. If im to purchase one Ill be stripping it down and reapplying the thermal paste for improved cooling and preventative maintenance. People should seriously consider it because that enclosure is gonna get hot, very hot due to the overlooked correct Application of the paste by Apple. Premium prices for badly constructed hardware is a serious flaw in Apples production and QC

 

[mentaluproar]

Badboy, it can't be that bad. I have my mini running BOINC full throttle all the time, and other than the noise from the fan, I can't even tell it's under a heavy load.

Besides, the bar for thermal paste application has been set pretty low for me. I recently had to completely redo a machine for a friend that best buy's geek squad screwed up...

 

[xraydoc]

I use "LaCie esata hub thunderbolt series" to connect my esata disk arrays to my macmini. Works great.

Thanks. I'll have to check this out!

 

[Larry-K]

Tim Cook said this:
Note that he said "something really great" not "a new mac pro". His wording is just vague enough so that if they do not release a new mac pro, they can say they never promised it. They are purposefully stringing along mac pro owners.

Apple is calling the iMac the premiere desktop computer.

Well, they can call me an ex-user then.

 

[DesterWallaboo]

Obviously, there's nothing little about these Mac Minis. Awesome requirements on board.. the Ivy Bridget i7 and 1600MHz DDR3 will hit you away if you know what I mean.

Except for the GPU.... which is pretty much worthless....

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High-performance Hackintosh's are easy to build. We've been building them for our render farm since Apple has dropped the ball on the Mac Pros. Hopefully we'll see a truly updated Mac Pro next year. The current 'update' is laughable.

 

[bolen]

Yeah, it's one ugly ****************. But you can bet your sorry little ass that it runs circles around everything that Apple currently sells.

Apple gives you form over function. This machine gives you raw computing power over everything else. And guess what, some people prefer raw power and saving money over expensive, fragile nice looks. Some people want to USE their stuff while others only want to adore things in a glass cabinet.

Yes, like I said. People who prefer these types of computers shouldn't even be thinking about buying Macs. At two ends of a spectrum..



PS. It's not more powerful than anything that Apple sells, it's a poor AMD A6 cpu and a mid-range GPU. DS.

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I've been buying Macs for over a decade, I've also been buying PCs.

Looks are 100% irrelevant. And are meaningless to system performance and longevitiy.

Thats the issue with Apple these days, they sacrifice hardware health for form factors.

Why not make the mini slightly bigger and put real hardware in it? I'd have to see how hot this one gets, if my Imac is any indication.

My maxed out 2010 iMac isn't particularly hot. During regular use it's completely silent and quite cool. During gaming it does get fairly hot, but it's still not maxing the fans.

I see your argument with having a slightly bigger body and putting more things in there.. but the new iMac is specced out with all of the top-of-the-line component (i7, 680MX, SSD etc.) so I cannot see why they would need more room. The previous generation obviously needed the bigger chassis to make room for the then current type of component. The slim design is a bonus feature.. it would have been different if the new model was slower or the same performance. But it isn't, it screams!

 

[KindredMAC]

Ignorance is bliss I see. Sorry, but with FCP X's latest upgrade it's quite clear the Mac Pro arriving will be thee box to buy for one looking to work and I mean do serious work.

Why is it that no one ever reads ALL of the words typed in a post???

I said "NEED a Mac Pro". An iMac with externals CAN do the job. Maybe not as fast as the 12 core Mac Pros but it still can do it.

No one NEEDS a Corvette, Porsche or BMW...

 

[Marlor]

Except for the GPU.... which is pretty much worthless....

A dedicated GPU would be pretty much worthless to most Mac mini buyers. Its only purpose is gaming, and I'm sure the percentage of Mac mini owners who play games requiring dedicated graphics would be measured in single digits.

 

[Larry-K]

A dedicated GPU would be pretty much worthless to most Mac mini buyers. Its only purpose is gaming, and I'm sure the percentage of Mac mini owners who play games requiring dedicated graphics would be measured in single digits.

Not So, I carry mine around with ZBrush and Modo, why do you assume you know what all users need?

 

[macsmurf]

It can do. Say you're a design or video or production house. You NEED one or two high end work stations for crunch but the rest of the seats can all be iMacs or MacBook. Then the workstation goes. So you need another platform. Then you don't want a mixed environment. So you get rid of the iMacs too. Perhaps the iPads as well.

And random 'prosumer' types that cream themselves over having something similar to the 'pros' stop buying Apple stuff because it's not used much for key content creation anymore and that bit of cachet goes too.

Bottom line hurt.

That isn't really Apple's core customers these days (if ever). It's a drop in the ocean. Apple's focus is, for all intent and purposes, on the average consumer, which make sense since this is where they make their money. Why not just make it official and drop the Mac Pro?

 

[Larry-K]

That isn't really Apple's core customers these days (if ever). It's a drop in the ocean. Apple's focus is, for all intent and purposes, on the average consumer, which make sense since this is where they make their money. Why not just make it official and drop the Mac Pro?

Might as well. Apple's core users used to be innovators and content creators, now they're just people that walk into windows while staring at their shiny phones and tablets.

 

[Marlor]

Not So, I carry mine around with ZBrush and Modo, why do you assume you know what all users need?

Firstly, there are only a handful of users in your situation. That's the point - Apple have focused on creating a product for the 90% of users who just want a basic Mac.

Secondly, it sounds like you have several thousand dollars worth of graphics software on your Mac. With that sort of investment, it sounds like you can afford to spend a bit extra for better performance. Why not just buy a Thunderbolt graphics card? You'll get far better performance for your rendering than any internal GPU Apple could have fit into the Mac mini.

 

[Larry-K]

Firstly, there are only a handful of users in your situation. That's the point - Apple have focused on creating a product for the 90% of users who just want a basic Mac.

Secondly, it sounds like you have several thousand dollars worth of graphics software on your Mac. With that sort of investment, it sounds like you can afford to spend a bit extra for better performance. Why not just buy a Thunderbolt graphics card? You'll get far better performance for your rendering than any internal GPU Apple could have fit into the Mac mini.

So let's see, the number of people who might want to game on a Mini, and need would like a dedicated GPU is in single digits, and there are only a handful of people, like me, who want to drag around a Mini with some Professional Graphics Software on it.

You want to know what constitutes and even smaller group? The number of people who want to spend a thousand dollars to upgrade the video on an $800 computer because Apple's too short-sighted to include a $50 part and mark it up a hundred bucks. You can probably divide that group into the one person that wants to drag around a Mini with a bunch of external junk attached for that High-School Science-Project Look.

Small businesses always do well when they throw lots of money after half-baked solutions.

Of course those people could always better spend the money on the mid-range headless Mac. Oh wait, there is no Mid-range headless Mac because apparently, only a "handful" of people would want that.

People who are serious would, of course, buy the new MacPro Powerhouse Tower. Sure it's a little heavy, but I don't mind driving around with it! Oh, wait a second, I did that over two years ago. There is No New MacPro for all practical purposes, and I'm just dying to spend $7K on a new machine without Thunderbolt or USB3, and a Graphics Card I could probably dig out of a clearance bin at WalMart.

I guess I should just but a Mini iPad and fingerpaint for a living like the other 90% of Mac Users, maybe if I impress the Baristas at Starbucks they'll give me a buck out of the tip jar.

Apple should just sell the computer division, or at least the Non-Shiny part of it to someone who actually can innovate and cares about the 10% you're so eager to dismiss.

 

[EmpireITtech]

Except for the GPU.... which is pretty much worthless....

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High-performance Hackintosh's are easy to build. We've been building them for our render farm since Apple has dropped the ball on the Mac Pros. Hopefully we'll see a truly updated Mac Pro next year. The current 'update' is laughable.

So true mate, I've built 2 here at the office for kicks and it wasn't too difficult. Just make sure you read up on the forums on the hardware needed.

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So let's see, the number of people who might want to game on a Mini, and need would like a dedicated GPU is in single digits, and there are only a handful of people, like me, who want to drag around a Mini with some Professional Graphics Software on it.

You want to know what constitutes and even smaller group? The number of people who want to spend a thousand dollars to upgrade the video on an $800 computer because Apple's too short-sighted to include a $50 part and mark it up a hundred bucks. You can probably divide that group into the one person that wants to drag around a Mini with a bunch of external junk attached for that High-School Science-Project Look.

Small businesses always do well when they throw lots of money after half-baked solutions.

Of course those people could always better spend the money on the mid-range headless Mac. Oh wait, there is no Mid-range headless Mac because apparently, only a "handful" of people would want that.

People who are serious would, of course, buy the new MacPro Powerhouse Tower. Sure it's a little heavy, but I don't mind driving around with it! Oh, wait a second, I did that over two years ago. There is No New MacPro for all practical purposes, and I'm just dying to spend $7K on a new machine without Thunderbolt or USB3, and a Graphics Card I could probably dig out of a clearance bin at WalMart.

I guess I should just but a Mini iPad and fingerpaint for a living like the other 90% of Mac Users, maybe if I impress the Baristas at Starbucks they'll give me a buck out of the tip jar.

Apple should just sell the computer division, or at least the Non-Shiny part of it to someone who actually can innovate and cares about the 10% you're so eager to dismiss.

You sound upset lol, but I will agree with you: Apple has seemingly dropped the ball on their "PC" division. Probably bc they're doing just fine with their iPads, iPhones and iMacs lol. I've really been wanting a Mac Mini for about 6 months now, but have been waiting for this "update" to happen (thanks to the awesome "Buyer's Guide" here at MacRumors) but now that it has, I'm kinda disappointed. A simple $50 - $100 GPU wouldn't be that hard to add and the external options are WAY too expensive.

 

[Larry-K]

You sound upset lol, but I will agree with you: Apple has seemingly dropped the ball on their "PC" division. Probably bc they're doing just fine with their iPads, iPhones and iMacs lol. I've really been wanting a Mac Mini for about 6 months now, but have been waiting for this "update" to happen (thanks to the awesome "Buyer's Guide" here at MacRumors) but now that it has, I'm kinda disappointed. A simple $50 - $100 GPU wouldn't be that hard to add and the external options are WAY too expensive.

I went to a lot of trouble to configure my 2011 Mini to be the best it could be. I ordered the fastest processor, with the optional GPU, loaded it with RAM, stuck in an SSD and a secondary 750 and voila, a truly, almost adequate, mobile solution.

So I was excited that the new Mini would include more processing power, and of course, a better GPU solution. Well, guess again.

Is it really just a handful? or is Apple turning its PC using audience into a handful by giving up such poor choices?

 

[adlirazali]

i just made up my mind on the low end mac minis until i saw the benchmarks on macminicolo, which put meup ion the air again; low end or mid mini? $200 diifference is quite big for me, but will it be worth the spending? any comments on this will be much appreciated..

 

[KenAFSPC]

Personally, I am waiting for a Mac Mini based on Intel's next-generation "Haswell" (4th generation Core) architecture. Intel will reportely introduce those new CPUs in April (http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20120718PD208.html). "Haswell" is expected to improve performance per MHz by about 10%, enable higher MHz designs that consume less power, and double the GPU performance of Intel's current integrated HD4000 graphics. Like many on this forum, I use a relatively large monitor and am not satisfied with the performance of Intel's current integrated HD4000 graphics solution, but I would be more than satisfied with twice the performance of the HD4000. The Haswell's GPU also adds support for OpenCL 1.2 and OpenGL 4.0 like the latest nVidia and ATI solutions.

Assuming Intel releases "Haswell" in April as expected, I figure we could see a refresh of the Mini in June or July.

More information:
http://m.extremetech.com/extremetec...reat-to-nvidia-amd,50534c2e94f4be7169236e79/1
http://www.anandtech.com/show/6355/intels-haswell-architecture

 

[jowie]

i just made up my mind on the low end mac minis until i saw the benchmarks on macminicolo, which put meup ion the air again; low end or mid mini? $200 diifference is quite big for me, but will it be worth the spending? any comments on this will be much appreciated..

Macworld are saying that the $799 Mac mini is the best bang-for-buck out of the two. Depends whether money or performance is most important for you. If you can afford it, I would go for the $799 model because you will last you longer... Quad core i7 and an extra half terabyte is worth an extra $200 I think.

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Personally, I am waiting for a Mac Mini based on Intel's next-generation "Haswell" (4th generation Core) architecture.

You could say that every year though... There's always a faster architecture just around the corner. For about another decade, anyway...

 

[KenAFSPC]

You could say that every year though... There's always a faster architecture just around the corner. For about another decade, anyway...

True enough, although Haswell will be the first Intel CPU with an integrated GPU that delivers what I deem to be acceptable GPU performance. General compute performance has been "good enough" for a few years now, but we've had to buy MacBooks or MacPros to get the desired level of graphics performance. Next year will be the first year that we get relatively high-performance graphics (and OpenCL/OpenGL) performance in a Mini.

Is superior GPU performance in a Mini worth a 6-9 month wait? It may not be for most folks, but it is for me.