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I ordered an Intel Mac mini i5 8GB 512GB - here is why

V

vddobrev

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Oct 28, 2016
962
833
Haskovo, Bulgaria
I just ordered a heavily discounted 2018 Intel Mac mini i5 3GHz 8GB 512GB in Europe for 800 Euros (from 1 259 Euros). Here is why:

  • I need BOOTCAMP Windows for some of my tasks
  • I can upgrade the RAM to 64GB myself aftermarket. I will upgrade to 32GB as of now, as that is the minimum I need.
  • It has 4 TB3 ports
  • Reportedly HDMI audio rate is not fixed at 48KHz like the M1 mini (this remains to be tested when I receive it)
  • No added "Rosetta" cost when running x86 apps, and I do run such apps
  • Reportedly the power LED "breathes" when the Mac is sleeping, just like the 2014 Mac mini (this remains to be tested when I receive it). For me, this is one of those small things that matter
  • I do not care about video processing or encoding, I only need CPU and RAM for software development
I tested the M1 Mac mini, but it did not make it for me because of these things:
  • HDMI audio rate is fixed at 48KHz, this is my number one complaint
  • Only 16GB RAM
  • Rosetta is fine, but it adds to RAM usage, and when you have only 16GB, it is a problem
  • No BOOTCAMP Windows
  • Power LED is constantly on, annoying while sleeping
  • Only 2 TB3 ports
Let's see how it goes, I will report back when I get it, if anyone is interested in similar use cases as mine stated above.
 
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Yeah I don't think anyone will fault you especially since you got it at a discount. Bootcamp and eGPU are still needed for some people.
 
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Minor quibble... I realize this may have been marketed as a "2020 mini" but it's really a 2018 Mini. In 2020 Apple discontinued the 128gb SSD but there were no hardware changes from 2018.

Personally, I have a 2018 i7 Mini and would buy another one if it needed replacing, for most of the same reasons you cite. I do some audio and video editing, but not as much now that I'm retired, so I find the performance adequate for my needs. And I could always add an eGPU if I wanted better performance. Two years out, still really pleased with my 2018 Mini.

Congratulations on the new Mac!
 
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Boyd01 said:
Minor quibble... I realize this may have been marketed as a "2020 mini" but it's really a 2018 Mini. In 2020 Apple discontinued the 128gb SSD but there were no hardware changes from 2018.

Personally, I have a 2018 i7 Mini and would buy another one if it needed replacing, for most of the same reasons you cite. I do some audio and video editing, but not as much now that I'm retired, so I find the performance adequate for my needs. And I could always add an eGPU if I wanted better performance. Two years out, still really pleased with my 2018 Mini.

Congratulations on the new Mac!
Click to expand...
I know it is 2018, but it is just marketed as a 2020 refresh, and no hardware changed I know. Still, I am pleased, and expecting delivery in a few days.
 
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Reads like an ideal option for you. Some are grabbing Intel iMacs for similar reasons- especially that need for Bootcamp. I just saw a post from someone who had purchased a relatively loaded Intel iMac 2020 for those kinds of reasons.

Enjoy! While Apple is still selling Intel Macs as new, macOS should keep supporting them for that many more years. Once they quit selling any Mac with Intel as "new," macOS days of pretty full support will be numbered. The next solution for those who need to run both will be separates: something like Mac mini Silicon + Mac mini-like PC + a monitor with inputs for BOTH (if you want to use one monitor)... or perhaps dual laptops.
 
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I have the 2018 i7 32GB ram, it has been a great machine since I bought it in early 2019, It was struggling going through a bunch of large cad files, so last month I got the Sonnet Puck which mounts behind the monitor with a vesa puck cup. It made a huge difference in performance. GB5 Compute score went from iGPU 5700 to eGPU 37,000. It seems a little pricey at $599 for the RX 5500 4GB version. But I am hoping to hang onto it for another 3 to 4 years.
 
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I received the Intel Mac mini, and I am liking it very much:

  • HDMI audio rate up to 24/192KHz - yes, see attached photo. This was my number one concern!
  • BOOTCAMP support - yes
  • RAM upgrade - yes (ordered 2x16GB modules)
  • 4 TB3 ports - yes
  • Power LED "breathes" when the Mac is sleeping - NO, it stays on. This is "lazy" and cost saving for Apple!
  • Space grey - I am not into it, but it is not bad. I like more the silver.
Overall, I am satisfied!

Screenshot 2022-04-01 at 9.42.15.png
 
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I upgraded the RAM to 32GB, and the Mac mini is working fine. A few observations:

1. The Bluetooth signal is weaker than MP6,1
2. UI animations feel somewhat choppy. I am running a 4K at looks like 2560x1440@60Hz, but some UI animations like Launcher seem like they are locked at 30Hz
3. It gets warmer than M1 Mac mini
4. Geekbench scores are higher than MP6,1 but the MP6,1 feels more fluid, perhaps due to the GPU.
5. I don't like the power LED staying on while sleeping... Apple take note, is it so expensive to have a pulsating LED?

Overall this was a good buy for me. It will be my "music player" system, as well as a "backup system" for when/if my MP6,1 goes out of order.
 
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I have the i5 with 1TB and I upgraded memory to 32. Cost $1500 in 2018 plus $130 for 32gb memory. I still love it and am not tempted by the Studio (which isn’t much more expensive than my i5). Runs a bit hot, bluetooth sucks (airpods drop every so often), but she works great for me and the software I run.
 
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vddobrev said:
I received the Intel Mac mini, and I am liking it very much:

  • HDMI audio rate up to 24/192KHz - yes, see attached photo. This was my number one concern!
  • BOOTCAMP support - yes
  • RAM upgrade - yes (ordered 2x16GB modules)
  • 4 TB3 ports - yes
  • Power LED "breathes" when the Mac is sleeping - NO, it stays on. This is "lazy" and cost saving for Apple!
  • Space grey - I am not into it, but it is not bad. I like more the silver.
Overall, I am satisfied!

View attachment 1984628
Click to expand...
How are you getting that list of audio rates for HDMI?

It looks the output formats supported from the Audio MIDI Setup control panel, but I don't see anything for "HDMI" on my Macs.
 
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This machine has one golden feature that sets it apart; namely OS compatibility. I gather these can run anything going back to Mojave, and given they are still on sale, likely to run whatever new OS appears for at least five years after they are no longer available from Apple. When you throw in security updates, we are possibly looking at 10+ years of support here.
 
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Fomalhaut said:
How are you getting that list of audio rates for HDMI?

It looks the output formats supported from the Audio MIDI Setup control panel, but I don't see anything for "HDMI" on my Macs.
Click to expand...
Plug in an HDMI Receiver, or monitor with Speakers, or other "player" with HDMI input. Then you will see it in the Audio MIDI Setup.

What happens is the two HDMI devices (the Mac and the player) will negotiate, i.e. the player will tell the Mac what rates it supports, and the Mac will display only the rates that both devices support.

In my case:
Receiver supports up to 24/192KHz (including 44.1, 48.0, 88.2, 96.0, 176.4),
M1 Mac mini only supports 48KHz.
The Intel Mac mini supports up to 24/192KHz (including 44.1, 48.0, 88.2, 96.0, 176.4).
 
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I panic bought the same model late last year just in case Parallels and Windows didn't play nicely with M1 and some essential software I need for work. (As it happens, Windows 11 runs perfectly on the new M1 Pro so I use the mini as my fallback device.). You need to be quite careful with the technical specs on the apple website. The i5 with standard Intel 630 graphics can only run one 5k and one 4k monitor [over thunderbolt] according to apple. Yet, if you have them plugged in at startup, it happily manages to run two 5k monitors... A nice surprise for me anyhow.

Screenshot 2022-04-05 at 13.51.41.png
 
All good reasons. I picked up a second 2012 i7 quad core recently because I also needed x86 virtual machines (windows and Linux) and wanted copious amounts of internal storage at a sane price. I am not sure the M1 even has a 8TB Ssd option.
 
After using the Intel Mac mini 2018 for 12 days, I like it so much that I just ordered another one, an i7 with 1TB storage.

Comparing to the M1Mac mini, I have the following observations in terms of text/font rendering on a 4K display. My main usage is writing code, and text/font rendering is the most important thing to me.

First of all, the available scaled resolutions are different:
Mac mini 2018:
1920x1080
2560x1440
3008x1692
3360x1890
3840x2160

M1 Mac mini:
1504x846
1920x1080
2560x1440
3008x1692
3840x2160

It seems that the M1 Mac mini employs a completely different font smoothing/antialiasing, at any given resolution, here is what I noticed:

I tested all font smoothing settings: 0, 1, 2, 3

The M1 Mac mini font smoothing/antialiasing is better in terms of sharpness and pixel clarity. Text/Fonts look a bit sharper and well antialiased, as if sub-pixel font antialiasing is present and at work.

The Intel Mac mini font smoothing/antialiasing seems a bit worse as it does not exhibit any sub-pixel antialiasing - we can see and notice some minor inconsistencies and artifacts.

However, the text/fonts on the M1 Mac mini seem so pale, they look grey instead of black. Even thought they are perfectly antialiased, the contrast of black-on-white text is very poor, it is more like grey-on-white.

On the contrary, the text color of black-on-white on the Intel Mac mini is just that - black. That makes it a lot better to read, even though it is not "perfectly" antialiased.

Even when turning off the font smoothing altogether, the text color on M1 Mac mini is still grey and lacks contrast.
 
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