For grins, I just did a Geek Bench 4 on my new 2018 Mac mini i7 16GB RAM, 256 GB.
https://browser.geekbench.com/v4/cpu/12018019
https://browser.geekbench.com/v4/cpu/12018019
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Hands-On With Apple's New 2018 Mac Mini
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For someone (me!) that doesn’t understand what the numbers mean… Where they good?
The base model i3 Mac mini with 128 GB storage and 8 GB memory that I have, has scores in the Geekbench list of about: 4700 and 14000. So the high end i7 really shows a big difference compared to the low end i3 Mac mini. Your 5900 and 26300 scores are over 25% better on the single core and 88% better on the multi-core compared to the i3 configuration. I, also, checked the price difference with your 16 GB memory i7 configuration. It appears that the price is $1499(?) compared to the $799 base configuration price. So that is a difference of 88% more $ which agrees with the 88% better multicore performance! Nice! In some ways I wish I had gone for the high end.
I originally purchased the base i3. After a few days, I realized that I made a mistake and needed to get the 256GB drive with the extra RAM. I am glad I did the return, even though the upgrade cost more.The base model i3 Mac mini with 128 GB storage and 8 GB memory that I have, has scores in the Geekbench list of about: 4700 and 14000. So the high end i7 really shows a big difference compared to the low end i3 Mac mini. Your 5900 and 26300 scores are over 25% better on the single core and 88% better on the multi-core compared to the i3 configuration. I, also, checked the price difference with your 16 GB memory i7 configuration. It appears that the price is $1499(?) compared to the $799 base configuration price. So that is a difference of 88% more $ which agrees with the 88% better multicore performance! Nice! In some ways I wish I had gone for the high end.
Over the weekend, Apple had a lot of Mac minis on their refurb store. And several had some great pricing. If I hadn't just made the purchase, I would have jumped on the refurb store.
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I saw that news about the minis on the Apple refurb. You know I still like that i3. It's not really about speed for me.
I was dumb-lucky enough to order a quad-core BTO Mac mini in 2014 right before the Great Mac mini Lobotomization. And then for four years there was no Mac mini worth buying. So I bought the i7 Mac mini a month ago specifically for future-proofing, in case they pull another bone-headed lobotomization stunt like that in a couple years and devastate the lineup again.
I was, actually, hoping they would introduce an A-chip version of the mini. I guess the iOS or macOS crossover software and applications are not there yet to unseat Intel chips. But as I have mentioned my needs are pretty basic ... otoh, I do need a full blown Xcode on the A chip platform.
Geekbench of i9 9900 5Ghz Hackintosh 64GB DDR4 RAM Nvidia GTX 1080 MacOS 10.13.6 Z390 Mobo
Price for build $2,100
CPU
https://browser.geekbench.com/v4/cpu/12030560
COMPUTE - METAL
https://browser.geekbench.com/v4/compute/3654866
COMPUTE - OpenCL
https://browser.geekbench.com/v4/compute/3654870
EDIT: Price was actually $2,100
Price for build $2,100
CPU
https://browser.geekbench.com/v4/cpu/12030560
COMPUTE - METAL
https://browser.geekbench.com/v4/compute/3654866
COMPUTE - OpenCL
https://browser.geekbench.com/v4/compute/3654870
EDIT: Price was actually $2,100
Hacks = not germane to this thread. Besides, a hack'n'tosh is not a legitimate Macintosh!
Yes, I traded in my trusty little 'old (2018)' i3 for the M1 (2020). Hard to compare the performance gain with numbers I quoted above with GeekBench 4 ... so, recalibrating to the GeekBench 5 the single core i3 Mac mini is now 895 and the multicore is 3185. The M1 numbers are 1710 and 7412. Basically, a doubling of the performance. I used the Apple Trade In service to trade my i3. The net cost was $699 - 320 = $379 (not including tax) for a doubling of raw performance. I, subsequently, also decided to trade in my 2017 Intel iMac for the 2021 M1 iMac ... which is still in process.
Yeah, I'm still happy with my M1 mini. Outside of a few things (like no Windows emulation) it's been one of the best Macs I've ever owned. I can't wait to see what's in the pipeline at Apple over the next few years. At this rate, they're going to leave all other PC manufacturers in the dust.
Well, in this tech business it seems no one is in control for long. It looks like Qualcom and Samsung are teaming up for 4 nm ARM design & production. Apple and TSMC are looking like they are trying for 3 nm in the next couple of years. The question that's paramount to this thread with the 2018 mini is the relevance of the Intel CISC vs the Arm RISC? You sort of have to lean to M1 RISC with the energy and performance efficiency gains until Intel sees if CISC is still valid. Oh, don't need to run any applications that utilize Windows so that is not an issue for me but it is important for 2018 Mac mini owners looking to go to M1. Parallels with Windows for ARM ... not sure about the ARM Windows applications. I guess it comes down to the availability of ARM applications.
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