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.Just browsing threads in this forum, though, it does appear that a lot of people have ordered the I7 and not near as many an I5.
The most of the forum members are techies, though. As a counter argument, I have an 2010 iMac 21.5” which has a 3.06GHz i3 processor (2 cores, 4 threads) which does photo-editing without a problem - although not in Photoshop but in Photos and Apperture before that. It used to be fast enough for the 12 MP cameras from the time (Nikon D90, D700, Canon 5D II) and handles the 24 MP Nikon D5600 well.

Regarding music, no problems with Cubase (albeit only MIDI files), Sibelius. I mean, this 8-year-old processor is up to the most of tasks I use it for today.

Where it fails miserably is exporting a HD video from iMovie - atrociously slow. Not suitable for any video work at all.

But the new 4 core i3 processor is more than twice faster in single core and 4 times faster in multi core. Speaking of the i5, it’s like 5 or 6 times faster, and the i7 is like 8 times faster. Is there a reason to spend that much on a processor that will stay idle most of the time?

If you get it for professional work, then i7 makes a complete sense. You stay in front of the computer for 8 hours daily and will benefit from the seamless operation. If you are a techie and want the fastest - again. If you are none of these, the i3 or the i5 should be enough. These new computers have SSD inside so they are as fast as they can get.

All in all, it’s a matter about how much you can stretch your budget. .

For most home users the base i3/8/128 should be enough - you are buying an external SSD anyway. I’d go for i3/16/128 but as I, like you, tend to keep my computers for longer, a i5/16/256 might be better. I always try to remind myself that the computer I buy today should solve the problems of today, future-proofing makes no sense. Even if I’d got an i7 back in 2011, it would have been crippled today by the lack of SSD and the slow USB2.
 
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I might compromise on processor or memory but the internal Apple SSD is FAST (much better than external). If you do a lot of disk I/O you will love the snappy response of the internal SSD I think.
 
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apple sales people = ppl who briefly read the brochure 10 mins before the store open

Sometimes yes, sometimes no. Doesn't hurt to listen to them, especially if they tell you that you may be making a mistake (I've had it happen, to their credit).

Given where you are apparently from, doesn't hurt to add that I'll be dropping by the Manhasset store. No idea what to expect in terms of expertise.
 
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oh man i hate the manhasset store with a passion. they hire clueless teenagers and sales people who used to work at bestbuy in westbury and what not.

ur better off asking ur questions here, honestly.
 
oh man i hate the manhasset store with a passion. they hire clueless teenagers and sales people who used to work at bestbuy in westbury and what not.

ur better off asking ur questions here, honestly.

You might be right about the store. Nice space, though, never crazy crowded, and I have to go out there tomorrow morning anyway.

I've been purchasing computers for a long time, I think that I know what I'm doing, and I've asked quite enough questions here already :)

It's time to make a decision. Just go for the i5 on the spot or wait for an i7. I'll decide at the store, and right now I think that it's close to a flip of a coin.

In some ways, I'm more concerned about getting the right monitor.
 
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i went with this girl i was seeing to have her phone fix there, they wanted 380, went to a tech repair shop on bell blvd called tech guru and the guy fixed it for 80 bucks.

i honestly would only talk to the sales folks when i'm truly bored and ask them tech questions and watch them stutter.

you can tell they truly don't know jack outside of brochure manual and can only tell you whats already printed on the website.
 
i went with this girl i was seeing to have her phone fix there, they wanted 380, went to a tech repair shop on bell blvd called tech guru and the guy fixed it for 80 bucks.

i honestly would only talk to the sales folks when i'm truly bored and ask them tech questions and watch them stutter.

you can tell they truly don't know jack outside of brochure manual and can only tell you whats already printed on the website.

Ha! Now you're getting me spooked. I could go to 14th Street (also convenient tomorrow), or are you down on them too :)
 
14th street is fine, tad busy, honestly i dont have high opinions of any apple store in general, they just hire ill informed ppl who really don't research into the apple products like the folks on this forum,

i was at the apple store near my apartment in upper east side, and the sales lady insisted force touch does work on the XR and because its a floor model its not activated. que?
 
14th street is fine, tad busy, honestly i dont have high opinions of any apple store in general, they just hire ill informed ppl who really don't research into the apple products like the folks on this forum,

i was at the apple store near my apartment in upper east side, and the sales lady insisted force touch does work on the XR and because its a floor model its not activated. que?

A few years ago, I got some very, very good advice from one of the people at the 5th Avenue store. So my attitude is to listen and then evaluate.

Yes, 14th Street is "a tad busy". Which is why I'm inclined to go to Manhasset. Anyway, it will be one or the other, and I'll walk out either with an i5 or a receipt for an i7 that will show up whenever.
 
i keep my macs for more than 5 years plus, i gave my 2009 mbp to my mom and she still uses it for media.

when push comes to shove 6 core with 12 threads is alot more future proof than 4 core on i5.
 
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Just to play devil's advocate for a moment...

If I go with the i5 and 256GB of flash storage, I'll pay US$1100 and save $400.

I can put that into an external GPU or into a monitor or into upgrading my external drives. Of course, I'm conveniently ignoring the fact that the 32GB of RAM is going to cost me $300.

I take monitors pretty seriously. I have an Eizo Color Edge, which is a few years old now, but which I still think is the best monitor I've ever used, and an iMac with a 5K Retina display. I'm going to need to purchase a monitor for the mini, and I intend to spend some money on it.

For me, it's a matter of balancing out the whole system, having regard to what I can spend. The computer is just a part of that.
 
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Thank you everyone for your replies. I’m definitely going to take the i7 into account.

I’m wondering if I shouldnt just go with the base unit, and upgrade the processor. I’ve replaced iphone batteries so opening it up and putting in more RAM in a year or so doesn’t scare me.

The real crux is the SSD. I have a 512 gig 3.1 external ssd drive so I was thinking of putting all of my photos, music and videos on that and leave the 128 gigs for booting and apps. That should be enough, yeah?
 
Thank you everyone for your replies. I’m definitely going to take the i7 into account.

I’m wondering if I shouldnt just go with the base unit, and upgrade the processor. I’ve replaced iphone batteries so opening it up and putting in more RAM in a year or so doesn’t scare me.

The real crux is the SSD. I have a 512 gig 3.1 external ssd drive so I was thinking of putting all of my photos, music and videos on that and leave the 128 gigs for booting and apps. That should be enough, yeah?

So basically:

i7
8GB RAM to be expanded as needed
128GB flash drive
512GB external storage

Assuming that the operating system and your apps take up about 15GB, that leaves you a bit over 100GB as a workspace. Personally, I'd be more comfortable with 256GB, but 128GB is doable. The one point that I'd make is that I had an 11" MacBook Air several years ago, and while I loved it as a portable computer (it wasn't much bigger than an iPad), I felt that I was constantly fighting its 128GB flash storage limit. I just felt constrained, and I made sure that the next portable computer that I purchased had more.
 
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FWIW, if you worry about security, yet another processor hardware vulnerability has been discovered -- PortSmash -- which plays upon hyperthreading as the attack vector. It seems that all the tricks that have been used to increase processor speed are now having their vulnerabilities exposed, if not exploited.

That said, I'd still probably opt for the i7. It's not that costly of an upgrade, SMT can always be disabled (like OpenBSD already does), and a slightly higher clock turbo can provide some slight compensation. Practically speaking, I'd be wondering how comfortable the thermal margin is in the mini enclosure.
 
The most of the forum members are techies, though. As a counter argument, I have an 2010 iMac 21.5” which has a 3.06GHz i3 processor (2 cores, 4 threads) which does photo-editing without a problem - although not in Photoshop but in Photos and Apperture before that. It used to be fast enough for the 12 MP cameras from the time (Nikon D90, D700, Canon 5D II) and handles the 24 MP Nikon D5600 well.

Regarding music, no problems with Cubase (albeit only MIDI files), Sibelius. I mean, this 8-year-old processor is up to the most of tasks I use it for today.

Where it fails miserably is exporting a HD video from iMovie - atrociously slow. Not suitable for any video work at all.

But the new 4 core i3 processor is more than twice faster in single core and 4 times faster in multi core. Speaking of the i5, it’s like 5 or 6 times faster, and the i7 is like 8 times faster. Is there a reason to spend that much on a processor that will stay idle most of the time?

If you get it for professional work, then i7 makes a complete sense. You stay in front of the computer for 8 hours daily and will benefit from the seamless operation. If you are a techie and want the fastest - again. If you are none of these, the i3 or the i5 should be enough. These new computers have SSD inside so they are as fast as they can get.

All in all, it’s a matter about how much you can stretch your budget. .

For most home users the base i3/8/128 should be enough - you are buying an external SSD anyway. I’d go for i3/16/128 but as I, like you, tend to keep my computers for longer, a i5/16/256 might be better. I always try to remind myself that the computer I buy today should solve the problems of today, future-proofing makes no sense. Even if I’d got an i7 back in 2011, it would have been crippled today by the lack of SSD and the slow USB2.

Isn't the T2 chip supposed to help with video encoding/decoding? Any eGPU could handle that, offloading the CPU..
I initially thought of buying the i7 myself but I'm not doing video encoding that often to justify it. Maybe in 2-3 years I'll buy the i7 as well.
 
My minimum specs for a new 2018 Mini would be an i7, 16GB RAM, 512GB drive (256GB if you really absolutely don't need the storage and plan to use external drives but IMO 512GB would be my minimum to future proof the system). The i7 I believe has more onboard CPU cache and some professional internal features including hyperthreading. While you can probably run everything ok with an i5 it's simply worth the extra to have the full Intel professional feature set that the i7 offers. With the i7 you should be good to go with all past, current and future software you choose to run with optimal performance. That's my opinion but it's based on a lot of past computer ownership experience.
 
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The only thing an i7 does is get hotter and throttle sooner.

Total waste of money.
 
gonna have to disagree there, always spend more on stuff you cant upgrade urself later, ram is upgradable and its cheaper if you do it urself later.

i would opt for the 1k i7 256gb ssd option. i believe thats the best bang for the buck.
That's okay, you are more than welcome to disagree with me. For the record I never said give that money to Apple, you inferred that.

The OP is coming from an old White MacBook (I used to have one....loved that thing) and may or may not have a monitor, keyboard and mouse or they may be a bit long in the tooth. Certainly a realistic prospect given the age of their current hardware.

My point was that the OP could use that money for something that was going to benefit them now, rather than something that may or may not benefit them at all later. Of course with the caveat of a slightly faster processor, but I really don't think they'll notice the difference with their current workflow.

Bottom line is if you have money to spare...go nuts. However since the OP is holding on to hardware for a long time my guess is that he/she is being more frugal with theirs which makes the i5 a much wiser investment.
 
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I'm probably going for the i5. I see most people here seem to think in terms of performance and unlimited budget (even though the upgrade isn't that costly). What about temperature and fan noise? What about the fact that generally speaking the maxed out Mac has never been the best value Mac (it's usually the base model or the i5 model). Even though I will be using the Mac Mini for the next 6-10 years, I'd much rather get a cooler, less audible Mac that's slower than the maxed out Mac that ramps up the fans even without heavy workloads. I read on another thread that the i5 model is much closer to the i3 than the i7 in terms of temperature and fan noise.

Obviously this all depends on the workloads but the OP did say the intended use concerned only light projects.
 
Thank you everyone for your replies. I’m definitely going to take the i7 into account.

I’m wondering if I shouldnt just go with the base unit, and upgrade the processor. I’ve replaced iphone batteries so opening it up and putting in more RAM in a year or so doesn’t scare me.

The real crux is the SSD. I have a 512 gig 3.1 external ssd drive so I was thinking of putting all of my photos, music and videos on that and leave the 128 gigs for booting and apps. That should be enough, yeah?
I highly recommend going for at least 256GB drive, especially if you are planning on keeping the machine as a main machine for many years.
For two main reasons, always considering that the drive is not replaceable.

1) You can't be 100% certain that your needs for programs installed (capacity) won't change. Perhaps updates will vastly increase the size of the software you need to use, perhaps you decide to try other things, whatever. 128GB is not enough unless you plan on using the machine for the 10 years for emails or something.

2) SSDs have a limit on how many times they can write. The larger the capacity the more lifetime you get on them. If you are planning on keeping the computer and using it for 10 years and you plan on using it a lot, going for a 128GB could be a huge mistake. Minimum 256GB although if I were buying one now I would go even higher, though I wouldn't plan on using the mini for a decade.
 
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