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I regret my i7 2018 purchase

H

HeavyMantra

macrumors regular
Original poster
Dec 11, 2018
100
37
I was discontent even before the M1 reveal, but now that the data is in I deeply regret buying my i7 32gb 1tb Mac Mini 2018. I was going to use this for Logic only but then those plans changed, so now I'm pretty much just browsing the internet on this machine.

I have to run the third party app Turbo Boost Switcher constantly, or else the fan goes absolutely crazy whenever the machine is pressed. I have no idea how Apple thought this was OK. This includes watching 4k video on my 32" 4k monitor, running my Logic projects, any type of light 3D gaming. With Turbo boost turned off, the machine cannot handle 4K video and Logic without stuttering.

Sure, it could be argued that I'm sensitive to fan noise but the fact that I have to gimp the computer to find it usable is just sad especially considering the M1 is absolutely silent from what I've heard.

The worst part is that it seems like I would get a much, much better computer for less than half the money if I had gotten a M1.

So I'm not sure what to do now. Find a very silent eGPU and hope that this fixes the fan noise? Take the loss and sell the machine even though I would lose a lot of money?
 
Well, it’s not increasing in value so if your needs have changed you should just sell it.

You will probably get a better browsing experience from an iPad if you only “consume” content.

The processor will keep using the TDP headroom it has so it won’t get quieter if you use processor intensive tasks or things with a persistent load.

Buying into eGPU is just sunken-cost-fallacy kicking in. The base model Mac mini with M1 is probably the cheaper option unless your workload calls for a lot of compute power or need specific x86 only software that isn’t proven yet with Rosetta 2.
 
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Pressure said:
Well, it’s not increasing in value so if your needs have changed you should just sell it.

You will probably get a better browsing experience from an iPad if you only “consume” content.

The processor will keep using the TDP headroom it has so it won’t get quieter if you use processor intensive tasks or things with a persistent load.

Buying into eGPU is just sunken-cost-fallacy kicking in. The base model Mac mini with M1 is probably the cheaper option unless your workload calls for a lot of compute power or need specific x86 only software that isn’t proven yet with Rosetta 2.
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I'm not looking for an iPad, I'm quite happy with my 32" monitor and Magic peripherals. Everything about this setup is ideal except for the fan noise and iGPU.
 
Apple_Robert said:
Sell it for what you can get, and buy the M1.

I have the 2018 i7 Mac mini and I rarely ever hear the fan And when I do, it isn’t very loud or sustained. Sounds like you are overly sensitive or had unrealistic expectations from the device.
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Unrealistic or not, for me it's unacceptable for this amount of fan noise just from watching 4K videos on youtube. Yes, I am sensitive because I have an ear condition. Considering the M1 is silent my expectations are hardly unrealistic. I was just unaware and surprised at just how bad the iGPU in this thing is, and that Apple feels this amount of fan noise is fine.

You either don't press your machine very hard or mine is defective. Sure, when just browsing this machine is silent but as soon as I try to use the power I paid for to do actual work this thing just crumbles apart.
 
HeavyMantra said:
Unrealistic or not, for me it's unacceptable for this amount of fan noise just from watching 4K videos on youtube. Yes, I am sensitive because I have an ear condition. Considering the M1 is silent my expectations are hardly unrealistic. I was just unaware and surprised at just how bad the iGPU in this thing is, and that Apple feels this amount of fan noise is fine.

You either don't press your machine very hard or mine is defective. Sure, when just browsing this machine is silent but as soon as I try to use the power I paid for to do actual work this thing just crumbles apart.
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I don’t use my Mac mini to view 4K on YouTube so, our usage day to day is different. I believe the fan on most Macs (not just the Mac mini) would kick in with your type usage.

If i was in your tech space with a ear condition, I would get the M1.
 
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HeavyMantra said:
Unrealistic or not, for me it's unacceptable for this amount of fan noise just from watching 4K videos on youtube. Yes, I am sensitive because I have an ear condition. Considering the M1 is silent my expectations are hardly unrealistic. I was just unaware and surprised at just how bad the iGPU in this thing is, and that Apple feels this amount of fan noise is fine.

You either don't press your machine very hard or mine is defective. Sure, when just browsing this machine is silent but as soon as I try to use the power I paid for to do actual work this thing just crumbles apart.
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The Mac mini fan always runs at 1,700 RPM, the same base speed as the 2018 model.
 
Apple_Robert said:
I don’t use my Mac mini to view 4K on YouTube so, our usage day to day is different. I believe the fan on most Macs (not just the Mac mini) would kick in with your type usage.

If i was in your tech space with a ear condition, I would get the M1.
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Pressure said:
The Mac mini fan always runs at 1,700 RPM, the same base speed as the 2018 model.
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Yeah that's the baseline level right? That's more or less completely silent

When watching a 4K video it ramps up to just under 4400 RPM and CPU temps up to 100c, and to my ears this is very loud.

The problem here is that I overestimated Apple and didn't research enough (My 2009 MBP finally died and I didn't have a lot of time to replace it). Buying a "prosumer" specced machine with this weak of an iGPU was my mistake.
 
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HeavyMantra said:
I have to run the third party app Turbo Boost Switcher constantly, or else the fan goes absolutely crazy whenever the machine is pressed. I have no idea how Apple thought this was OK. This includes watching 4k video on my 32" 4k monitor, running my Logic projects, any type of light 3D gaming. With Turbo boost turned off, the machine cannot handle 4K video and Logic without stuttering.
Click to expand...
Something is not right there. I have a 2018 i5 and the only time my fan runs is when my Mac gets to ~100ºC and it throttles. That is about once a month when I'm sorting or processing hundreds of RAW photo files. I use the iStat Menus app to monitor the CPU PECI temp.

I did manage to pick up a silent eGPU, but the only time that really gets used is for photo editing and Zwift (gaming). Never, ever had fan noise from video playback prior (or after) picking up the eGPU.
 
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Just for the record, if you have a high standards for acoustics, none of the full-size fan-having eGPU enclosures on the market (except perhaps the Blackmagics) are quiet. You have to get into replacing their entire PSUs and their case-fans with high-end parts. Total cost gets expensive quick.

(Cue a bunch of cloth-ears insisting that such and such enclosure (which comes with low-end PSU and fan) is dead silent 😛)
 
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weaztek said:
Something is not right there. I have a 2018 i5 and the only time my fan runs is when my Mac gets to ~100ºC and it throttles. That is about once a month when I'm sorting or processing hundreds of RAW photo files. I use the iStat Menus app to monitor the CPU PECI temp.

I did manage to pick up a silent eGPU, but the only time that really gets used is for photo editing and Zwift (gaming). Never, ever had fan noise from video playback prior (or after) picking up the eGPU.
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What's your fan speed when watching 4K video without the eGPU? My CPU temps shoot up to 100 within seconds and the fans rev up to about 4400 RPM
 
Sorry that it didn't meet your expectations. Got mine in June and am completely delighted. In fact, I'd go so far as to say it's the best Mac I've owned... and my first was the 512k "Fat Mac" in 1985. I don't watch 4k video however, and am only using one 32" QHD screen with the internal video. Yes, the fan is loud when I push it, but that was completely expected - just the same as my 2012 quad-core Mini. That just doesn't bother me, I turn up the music a little louder. :)

The M1 Mini looks cool, but doesn't do it for me. I have 64gb and make heavy use of Windows 10 in Parallels, also Mountain Lion and Sierra MacOS virtual machines.
 
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OK guys since we're on the subject
hagjohn said:
I do not have a loud fan on my 18 Mini. Maybe your fan is faulty. Try exchanging it.
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Are you driving a 32" 4K monitor and watch 4K video with it, and it's quiet? Mine is quiet most of the time when watching HD video, browsing and so on.
 
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Even the old fanless MacBook 12" with super weak Intel CPU can decode 4K video just fine. If 4K video is causing your Mini's fan to blast, this suggests that the application you're watching video in is not enabling hardware-accelerated video decoding for some reason.
 
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HeavyMantra said:
OK guys since we're on the subject


Are you driving a 32" 4K monitor and watch 4K video with it, and it's quiet? Mine is quiet most of the time when watching HD video, browsing and so on.
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I have a 27" 4K monitor. I came from a Windows tower with like 4 fans in it. I've never heard my Mini (without eGPU) be overly loud when pushed by 4K movies but it is not something that has ever bothered me. I've never heard the fan from my 18 Mini over the sound of the movie. If you are expecting not to hear anything, then that isn't a very realistic.
 
Isn't it also possible that there's something wrong with the machine? Bad or clogged up fan or thermal paste not applied quite correctly. Common cause for laptop fans spinning up quickly.
 
I used my i7 4790 Lenovo ThinkStation P300 SFF with 32GB RAM and 1TB SSD and a NVideo 1050ti 4GB GDDR5 video card for the same purpose using a 27” 4K Dell monitor. Switch out the power supply(210 watt) to a silent fan type brand with 400 watts as well as all the fans inside to silent fans. Very little noise if any when P300 is going. Boot up is around 20 seconds! Have a Linksys AX4200 mesh router ethernet connection. 140 mps wi-fi service. Vizio sound bar with subwoofer. Web surfing is instantaneous and 4K video streaming is solid. Have lifetime VPN too. Windows 10 Ultimate is solid too. No complaints! It is around 5-6 years old PC! New $2K. Add the extra 24GB of memory much later on for only $120, power supply was expensive $450 2 years ago, now $700, 1TB SSD was cheap $200 2 years ago but now $130, 1050ti was pricey when I brought 3 years ago, $300 but it is still around the same price now!
 
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Love my $679 M1 Mini base!

It runs circles around the now retired and sold: 2012 i7 Mini Server (CTO/BTO) that costed $1500.

Because the M1 Mini runs ice cold all day and no fan noise, I got rid of the cooling fan I had underneath the old Intel Mini!
 
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Boyd01 said:
My 2018 i7 Mini boots Windows 10 in Parallels in just 10 seconds! That really surprised me, maybe a virtual machine doesn't need to do the same startup RAM/hardware tests as a "real" PC?
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I have a lot of add on software during boot up like Spybot in activate mode, Lenovo Advantage, Windows Defender, Dell monitor software, NVidia graphic utility, VPN software, Samsung Magician SSD utility, etc... My boot time is finish when the mouse pointer arrow on the screen, not when Windows screen first appears! Nothing is loading in the background afterwards is included in my boot time.
 
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hagjohn said:
I have a 27" 4K monitor. I came from a Windows tower with like 4 fans in it. I've never heard my Mini (without eGPU) be overly loud when pushed by 4K movies but it is not something that has ever bothered me. I've never heard the fan from my 18 Mini over the sound of the movie. If you are expecting not to hear anything, then that isn't a very realistic.
Click to expand...

I think it's more helpful to talk in terms of RPM here, I understand if you don't have iStat menu though
 
HarryWild said:
My boot time is finish when the mouse pointer arrow on the screen, not when Windows screen first appears! Nothing is loading in the background afterwards is included in my boot time.
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Happily, I don't need any of those add-ons. :) After 10 seconds I can start opening files from the desktop and working. Anyway, I've been really impressed with Windows on Parallels but understand that it wouldn't meet everyone's needs. And it was great to get rid of my old, slow desktop PC.

Sorry for the off-topic diversion....
 
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