Is Intel Iris 5100 a good graphic card?

[Andrea Filippini]

Hi everyone,
I would like to purchase another Mac mini especially the late 2014 (specs here https://everymac.com/systems/apple/mac_mini/specs/mac-mini-core-i7-3.0-late-2014-specs.html).
I have found a model with i7 dual core 3,0 GHz (boost up to 3,5 GHz), 16 GB Ram (onboard), 256 GB SSD.
My main doubt is the performance of the integrated graphic card (Intel Iris 5100).
I would use the machine for web browsing, mail, microsoft office suite, iTunes, .mkv films on VLC, Photoshop.
Is Intel Iris 5100 a good graphic card to perform well the apps previously quoted?
Can it run 1080p 60 fps videos on YT without buffering?
Thank you.


Best regards
Andrea Filippini

 

[yellowhelicopter]

More than enough. BTW i7 dual core isn't much better than i5 dual core, so if there is considerable difference in price, I'd take i5 (2.6 or 2.8 Ghz) one. Just don't buy the lowest model (1.4Ghz 4GB RAM) and you'll be ok.

 

[Ungibbed]

I do most everything you plan to on my 2012 Mini with the HD4000 (which is terrible from what I read). I’m in the same boat on getting a very similar 2014 Mini with the hopes of better graphics performance with Complete Anatomy ’21.

 

[yellowhelicopter]

HD4000 (which is terrible from what I read)

It's only terrible for modern games or 3d software. With 2014 mac mini graphics chip you won't get notably better performance. The only real bonus you'll get is possibility to officially install Big Sur and perhaps other few OS versions beyond.

 

[Boyd01]

I created a website to display LIDAR terrain in three dimensions using WebGL. Did most of the development on my 2012 quad-core Mini with the HD-4000. Got a 2014 2.8ghz i5/8gb Mini to use as a media server last year and was curious to see if there was any difference in performance with the Iris 5100 vs HD 4000. But they seem exactly the same to me. So I agree with @yellowhelicopter , don't expect to see much difference with the 2014 Mini vs 2012. Now I was using 1080p screens on both computers - the Iris might be better with a higher resolution screen. Graphics aside, also consider that the 2012 2.6ghz quad i7 Mini is actually 50% faster than the top 2014 dual 3ghz Mini.

To be fair, my 2018 Mini with the integrated UHD 630 chip feels about the same when I use my site too, although it is driving a 1440p screen. If you can get a good price on that 2014 Mini, it should be a decent machine for general use - I got my 2014 2.8ghz/8gb/fusion Mini for $500 new at B&H photo. But for any more than that, I would forget the 2014 Mini and get the base i3 2018 Mini. It is faster than any of the 2014 Mini's, has upgradeable RAM and a number of other improvements.