I'm very happy with my new 2018 Mini. Are others as well?

[Dr. Stealth]

Of course I've only had it one day but so far I'm very pleased with it. It replaced my 2014 Mini. Graphics are awesome running on a 32" 4K Dell UP3216Q at 60Hz. SSD is getting about 2800 MB/s R/W which is great. Around 25800 Geekbench.

No issues some others are posting about. Coil whine, heat, T2 related crashes, etc, etc.

Mine is running rock solid, quiet and very smooth. i7 model with 1TB SSD and 32GB Crucial ram, 10.14.1.

 

[archer75]

Have you maxed the CPU for extended periods of time? What are your temps? Mine arrives today and i'll test later tonight.

 

[expensivefruit]

Have you maxed the CPU for extended periods of time? What are your temps? Mine arrives today and i'll test later tonight.

Also interested to know this, especially for gaming and rendering video. I'm hearing cases of thermal throttling already!

 

[archer75]

Also interested to know this, especially for gaming and rendering video. I'm hearing cases of thermal throttling already!

I've heard 2 people now hit temps in the upper 90's but no reports of thermal throttling. Though Intel says the limit is 100 and it's supposed to throttle then. That's how the CPU is designed.

 

[blenditall]

Did you do the RAM upgrade yourself?

 

[wlossw]

I’m waiting on thermal throttling reviews before I pull the trigger, but the early reviews look great.

 

[rmdeluca]

Yep, loving it. I can now play software guitar amp simulators live through Logic with small buffers (low latency) and have other things going on at the same without crackling or dropout. Everything is snappier.

Slightly annoyed that it took Apple four years to refresh the Mini, leaving us BYODKM folks up a tree for way too long, but I'm quick to forgive as long as they don't do it again.

 

[ncrypt]

Can you hear the fans at all when it's idling or performing basic tasks such as web browsing?

 

[Dr. Stealth]

Did you do the RAM upgrade yourself?

Yes, I installed the RAM yesterday before I powered it on the first time. Took about 20 minutes, but taking pictures the whole time. Just go slow and easy and it's no big deal, with the right tools. Saved about $320.00 over Apples price for the 32GB upgrade.

I haven't done any stress testing yet checking temps. But I'll get around to it.

The Mini is my secondary computer. I have a PC Workstation for my heavy work. CADD & 3D Graphics.

 

[kaibob]

That's great news--especially graphics on a 4K monitor.

 

[jdmagoo1]

Yes please do thermal throttling test please

 

[tedson]

Yes, I installed it yesterday before I powered it on the first time. Took about 20 minutes, but taking pictures the whole time. Just go slow and easy and it's no big deal, with the right tools. Saved about $320.00 over Apples price for the 32GB upgrade.

I haven't done any stress testing yet checking temps. But I'll get around to it.

The Mini is my secondary computer. I have a PC Workstation for my heavy work. CADD & 3D Graphics.

Did you need to use a P5 pentalobe screwdriver at any time to do the upgrade? iFixIt says you need one but none of the online guides tell you where to use it.

 

[yourtoys7]

They removed optical 3.5mm, grrr..... no HT server Called support and not one person knows, unbelievable.......
looks like it’s going back unless USB to optical gonna work, so far not impressed.

 

[14IS4]

Did you need to use a P5 pentalobe screwdriver at any time to do the upgrade? iFixIt says you need one but none of the online guides tell you where to use it.

It’s the RAM shroud cage, there are 4 of the P5 Pentalobe screws to remove it.

 

[wlossw]

They removed optical 3.5mm, grrr..... no HT server Called support and not one person knows, unbelievable.......
looks like it’s going back unless USB to optical gonna work, so far not impressed.

Get an HDMI to HDMI and optical breakout box.

I use this:

https://www.amazon.com/Switch-FosPo...+audio+out&dpPl=1&dpID=51owHEV3wPL&ref=plSrch

 

[Dr. Stealth]

I've heard 2 people now hit temps in the upper 90's but no reports of thermal throttling. Though Intel says the limit is 100 and it's supposed to throttle then. That's how the CPU is designed.

Thats correct. I just ran some CPU stress tests from terminal. It instantly pushes the temp of each core (6) to 100c at which point the CPU throttles back. Which is by design as you say. And it was spot on 100c.

The test I ran is a Max Stress Test which basically pushes up the CPU until it throttles. So not an indication of what you will see during actual use. It depends what apps or games you're using.

Oh, and the fan kicked up to the max 4400 RPM. First time I've heard my Mini....

 

[xylitol]

Did you need to use a P5 pentalobe screwdriver at any time to do the upgrade? iFixIt says you need one but none of the online guides tell you where to use it.

The iFixit guide (not an official teardown) has been updated. It now says T5.

I'm beginning to think that Apple is screwing us with different screws.

 

[archer75]

It’s the RAM shroud cage, there are 4 of the P5 Pentalobe screws to remove it.

I’ve heard people use a t6 on those.

 

[archer75]

They removed optical 3.5mm, grrr..... no HT server Called support and not one person knows, unbelievable.......
looks like it’s going back unless USB to optical gonna work, so far not impressed.

It can still be a server. Just use a atv as a client. Much better experience.

 

[Dr. Stealth]

Did you need to use a P5 pentalobe screwdriver at any time to do the upgrade? iFixIt says you need one but none of the online guides tell you where to use it.

No pentalobe screws at all. I saw the iFixit article this morning after I did my own upgrade. Their article is junk, completely wrong. It's a mix of 2014 Mini, 2018 mini and Mac Book Pro. They even said they didn't actually HAVE a 2018 Mini. They pulled stuff from their other articles and cut and pasted the article together without even having the 2018 Mini. They even said they "borrowed" some of the pictures from this forum.

 

[F-Train]

It’s the RAM shroud cage, there are 4 of the P5 Pentalobe screws to remove it.

Well that's interesting, because not one of the written or video descriptions of the exercise say that

The written descriptions on the internet, all of them, say that a P5 is needed, but not where.

The video descriptions use Torx drivers exclusively.

The new Apple Insider video says at the beginning that a P5 is necessary, but appears to never use one.

David Gewirtz keeps saying throughout his video that all the screws are Torx Security screws, but it is perfectly obvious, just looking at them, that several of them are not.

How hard can it be to get the tools right

 

[archer75]

Well that's interesting, because not one of the written or video descriptions of the exercise say that

The written descriptions on the internet, all of them, say that a P5 is needed, but not where.

The video descriptions use Torx drivers exclusively.

The new Apple Insider video says at the beginning that a P5 is necessary, but appears to never use one.

David Gewirtz keeps saying throughout his video that all the screws are Torx Security screws, but it is perfectly obvious, just looking at them, that several of them are not.

How hard can it be to figure out what tools are needed and say what they are

T6 security screws to open the bottom. T9 for removing the fan. T6 for everything else. Only the outer screws are security screws.

This is what I gather at least.

 

[Dr. Stealth]

I’ve heard people use a t6 on those.

Nope...

I used a TR6 Torx to open the case
T6 Torx or TR6 Torx to remove the fan
T6 Torx or TR6 Torx to undo the wifi cable
T10 Torx for the two motherboard screws (they were tight)
T5 Torx for the RAM cage

No Pentalobes at all.

 

[F-Train]

T6 security screws to open the bottom. T9 for removing the fan. T6 for everything else. Only the outer screws are security screws.

This is what I gather at least.

That's my understanding so far as well.

There are people who have used a T5 or a T6 on the same screw, and a T9 or a T10 on the same screw, but this doesn't surprise me. There's enough tolerance with Torx screws to explain this. In my case, I have a full set of Torx drivers anyway, so it doesn't matter.

I don't own an Apple Pentalobe P5, and have now ordered one, but for all the statements that it's necessary, I've yet to see anyone demonstrate it in use for this project.
[doublepost=1541716356][/doublepost]

Nope... I used a TR6 to open the case. T6 or TR6 to remove the fan, T6 or TR6 to undo the wifi cable, T10 for the two motherboard screws (they were tight), and a T5 for the RAM cage. No Pentalobes at all.

I'm assuming that what you are saying is that the fan and the wifi cable have standard Torx screws, on which one can of course use a Torx security driver as well as a standard driver. In other words, you weren't using a standard Torx driver on a Torx Security screw. Right?

 

[wardie]

Thats correct. I just ran some CPU stress tests from terminal. It instantly pushes the temp of each core (6) to 100c at which point the CPU throttles back. Which is by design as you say. And it was spot on 100c.

The test I ran is a Max Stress Test which basically pushes up the CPU until it throttles. So not an indication of what you will see during actual use. It depends what apps or games you're using.

Oh, and the fan kicked up to the max 4400 RPM. First time I've heard my Mini....

Would be interesting to see the impact of turning off turbo boost, as on my i7 iMac I’ve just found this helps the temps/fan a lot for a small performance hit...
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/reducing-2017-5k-imac-i7-fan-noise.2152445/