Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Late 2014 Mac Mini Benchmarks Indicate Decreased Multi-Core Performance
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
What in the world is going on at Apple? Which genius in Apple decided to solder the RAM?
My guess is Apple must have preyed on some dying memory manufacturer(Elpida would be my guess) and then swooped and grabbed the memory for dime a dozen and then solder it to the board and sell it for hundreds more.
And reduced processor performance on top of that?
They could have decently said "We have discontinued the Mac Mini" instead of getting us to hate it.
My guess is Apple must have preyed on some dying memory manufacturer(Elpida would be my guess) and then swooped and grabbed the memory for dime a dozen and then solder it to the board and sell it for hundreds more.
And reduced processor performance on top of that?
They could have decently said "We have discontinued the Mac Mini" instead of getting us to hate it.
Wow...I sympathises with you. I am a big Apple supporter, but in your case I would switch honestly.
Apple kind of have a way to ignore their customers. That Mac Pro really took a long time to upgrade. It had the same aesthetics from 2004 until 2013!
Yeah. He really should upgrade to Windows and shop at Newegg.
The Mac Pro might seem reasonable in price at the high end, but when it comes to longevity and upgradability, you're going to have a tricky time trying to find a compatible set of video cards, RAM, or SSD to fit into the new Mac Pro. I think the SSD card is stuck into one of the video card if I'm not mistaken. How many video cards out there are built that way?
If anything, the current Mac Pro are heading in the same direction as all their other products, one-time-use and throwaways.
I use both Mac and Windows, but in his situation, I think unless whatever application or task he's doing is only available to Mac, he is much better off going with Windows.
Building his own machines, he can always find a newer, more powerful chip as long as it's the same socket on the motherboard. Or if its graphic power he needs, the current is PCIe 3.0, but even if he buys a PCIe 4.0 in the future, it's still more powerful and backward compatible when he (or anyone else) needs the power without having to buy a whole new set of machines.
I wanted the mac mini for the low profile design for the entertainment area, but I don't mind being able to play Battlefield 4 on ultra settings with my current 3 years old machine. Things may turn out beautifully.
I'm sure his reason for the mac mini is mainly space-to-computing power. Newegg has all kinds of miniaturized cases and he can fit a desktop class quad core, 6 core, or even 8 core CPU in it. If he doesn't want to build them, Dell has some Alienware ready to go. They're quad-core i7. The mac mini may have i7 in its previous generation, but they're mobile class, meant for laptops that drains batteries. If he's using it as a server and having them all connected to the power outlet, there's no reason to gimp the computing power. Get a desktop class chip for the servers. They're more efficient than all its predecessors anyway, both the desktop and mobile i7.
http://www.dell.com/us/p/alienware-alpha/pd?oc=dkcwa04
Hopefully he has plenty of options by now.
The Mac Pro might seem reasonable in price at the high end, but when it comes to longevity and upgradability, you're going to have a tricky time trying to find a compatible set of video cards, RAM, or SSD to fit into the new Mac Pro. I think the SSD card is stuck into one of the video card if I'm not mistaken. How many video cards out there are built that way?
If anything, the current Mac Pro are heading in the same direction as all their other products, one-time-use and throwaways.
I use both Mac and Windows, but in his situation, I think unless whatever application or task he's doing is only available to Mac, he is much better off going with Windows.
Building his own machines, he can always find a newer, more powerful chip as long as it's the same socket on the motherboard. Or if its graphic power he needs, the current is PCIe 3.0, but even if he buys a PCIe 4.0 in the future, it's still more powerful and backward compatible when he (or anyone else) needs the power without having to buy a whole new set of machines.
I wanted the mac mini for the low profile design for the entertainment area, but I don't mind being able to play Battlefield 4 on ultra settings with my current 3 years old machine. Things may turn out beautifully.
I'm sure his reason for the mac mini is mainly space-to-computing power. Newegg has all kinds of miniaturized cases and he can fit a desktop class quad core, 6 core, or even 8 core CPU in it. If he doesn't want to build them, Dell has some Alienware ready to go. They're quad-core i7. The mac mini may have i7 in its previous generation, but they're mobile class, meant for laptops that drains batteries. If he's using it as a server and having them all connected to the power outlet, there's no reason to gimp the computing power. Get a desktop class chip for the servers. They're more efficient than all its predecessors anyway, both the desktop and mobile i7.
http://www.dell.com/us/p/alienware-alpha/pd?oc=dkcwa04
Hopefully he has plenty of options by now.
Last edited:
This is a royal screwup on Apple's part. I'm in the market for a Mac mini and it looks like I better snag a leftover 2012 model while I can!
Mark
Mark
I don't know if someone else has already said this (I haven't got THAT much time that I can read through 30 pages of this thread) but it's clear to me that Apple are repositioning the Mac Mini as a starter computer (couldn't be clearer than when Phil Schiller said in the event something about "a computer a lot of our customers love who are getting their very first Mac.")
Maybe this isn't a repositioning as much as a thinning down of the purpose of the Mac Mini. After all, it seems clear that Apple is trying to grow by hitting ever lower price points (testament to this is the retention of three iPad mini models and their "lowest ever price iPad," and the simplification of many products); the same cannot really be said about the iPhone, however.
Maybe this isn't a repositioning as much as a thinning down of the purpose of the Mac Mini. After all, it seems clear that Apple is trying to grow by hitting ever lower price points (testament to this is the retention of three iPad mini models and their "lowest ever price iPad," and the simplification of many products); the same cannot really be said about the iPhone, however.
I'll do you a favor. If you still like to buy the 2012, Best Buy still have them, and they also have a price matching policy, even online e-commerce sites.
There are a few of them online who sells the quad core for $699, a $100 off from the normal price. Print it out and bring it to best buy.
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Global/Low-Price-Guarantee/pcmcat290300050002.c?id=pcmcat290300050002
I was able to print one from abt.com, the i7 quad core for $699, but it looks like they are out of stock or they have removed it from the listing now. I linked it in the other thread yesterday and it soon was not listed. I bet some macrumors readers bought it all.
Good luck.
Last edited:
That's not a very apt analogy for the situation. Imagine rather that one car company made both a Prius and a Model S. Imagine that the Prius of one generation had dual motors and could do a decent 0-60 in 5 or 6 seconds, and then they released the new Prius with only a single motor option and it only could accelerate from 0-60 in 10 seconds.
They had a product that was nice and dumbed it down in order to drive people to the more expensive product, however some people just won't want to be budged to a product that extreme.
I don't have the money for a new Mac Pro, and frankly, I don't even want the new Mac Pro. I have absolutely no need for the crazy dual GPUs with what I do. I Certainly do not want an iMac because I don't want the built-in display. I also have no desire for a laptop because I don't want my machine to be portable.
So I'm left with the options of an under-performing Mini, or an over-performing Pro. Which do I go with? I'll just stick with what I have since it's already faster than the now-current offering of a Mac Mini.
Apple is not even tempting me to upgrade to a more expensive machine with this move. If they want my money, they have to bridge the gap between these two extremes somehow. The quad Mac Mini was the bridge that I (and apparently many) were counting on.
Apple kindly helping to clear out 2012 quad models?
The only explanation that puts Apple in a good light is that they must be doing this to help retailers and themselves clear out all their 2012 quad core models (they probably have too many in stock since so many of us were waiting for the upgrade before purchasing - some couldn't wait and ended up getting imacs). The delay in Broadwell also probably forced their hand to limit offerings to dual core (since quad core would require too much power)? Having soldered ram will also allow Apple to control the amount of power used - as in the past some power uses would install high performance ram that used a bit more power. Perhaps this will allow Apple to push the power utilization to the limits of this or future form factors.
The only explanation that puts Apple in a good light is that they must be doing this to help retailers and themselves clear out all their 2012 quad core models (they probably have too many in stock since so many of us were waiting for the upgrade before purchasing - some couldn't wait and ended up getting imacs). The delay in Broadwell also probably forced their hand to limit offerings to dual core (since quad core would require too much power)? Having soldered ram will also allow Apple to control the amount of power used - as in the past some power uses would install high performance ram that used a bit more power. Perhaps this will allow Apple to push the power utilization to the limits of this or future form factors.
This new Apple (Tim Cook) Virus keeps spreading...something for everyone, in every price range...watered down products for the low end 
so much for Apple being a premium product
Apple is just too darn greedy now (but I will still buy their high end products)
so much for Apple being a premium product
Apple is just too darn greedy now (but I will still buy their high end products)
I think the value of my late 2012 quad core i7 Mac Mini may have just shot up over the last few days.
See ... even better.
If Skylake is around the corner when Broadwell comes out, Apple-being-Apple will mean Broadwell is skipped for most lines, not that Apple will update a model twice within a short time frame.
I see you as lucky. You have a computer that is already faster (apparently you do a lot of multi-core work, and don't need the TB2 or WiFi) than what Apple has on sale now. You don't have to spend any money now, and you can wait patiently for whatever Apple decides to do next, so you can re-evaluate your situation. Apple just saved you a thousand bucks or so (judging from your comments, you wouldn't have been satisfied with the entry-level Mac Mini, which would have been a dual-core underperforming unit).
My advice: Buy ten shares of AAPL instead. In a year or so, take the long-term gains, and buy the computer you want then (even if it's not a Mac).
Think of the Mac mini as a Macbook Air (or even 13" rMBP) where you get to bring your own screen and keyboard, and you won't be disappointed.
As others have said, if you need a professional workhorse, get the Mac Pro.
It seems to me that Apple is realigning it's product portfolio so that there are fewer overlaps between products. The old Mac mini may have sufficed as a server, video processor etc., but Apple wants you to invest in a Mac Pro or 15" rMBP for that now.
As others have said, if you need a professional workhorse, get the Mac Pro.
It seems to me that Apple is realigning it's product portfolio so that there are fewer overlaps between products. The old Mac mini may have sufficed as a server, video processor etc., but Apple wants you to invest in a Mac Pro or 15" rMBP for that now.
Wow. It's an Alienware that doesn't look so cheesy, I want to punch the person who designed it right in their big dumb face. I might actually consider getting one.
That's no reason to exclude quad-cores. Intel has mobile class Haswell i7 quad-core with Iris Pro 5200. They have been available since Q3 of last year. Apple decided to gimp the Mac mini instead. There were plenty Apple could choose from. Even then, a mac mini with Haswell i7 quad-core should have been released last year around this time. Broadwell delays is no excuse. 2 years for a downgrade. Good job Apple.
http://ark.intel.com/products/family/75023/4th-Generation-Intel-Core-i7-Processors#@Mobile
Last edited:
Lets face it, Apple ********d this one up too.
From soldiering on the RAM, upping the upgrade component prices, and now the fact they obviously cheaped out on the CPUs they put in this, the Mac Mini everyone has been waiting for is a no-show.
As for the, "Just get a Mac Pro" comments, NO! I don't need to spend $3000 for a decent box to convert and serve content to my TV. I still am using a 2010 Mac Mini, and will continue to use it, but I was hoping for a decent Mac Mini upgrade so that some of the video conversion I do on it can be sped up dramatically. But I don't need a professional class workstation just for that purpose.
Apple has a terrible habit of thinking that consumers fit into discrete buckets and so make products that place consumers into specific buckets. While I am sure a powerful Mac Mini will drive some people away from a Mac Pro, the Mac Pro is intended for PROFESSIONALS, and its level of customization and power options will fit with what PROFESSIONALS are willing to pay for. But for the typical home user there is no reason why the Mac Mini is not even comparable to the iMac line because I am sure a lot of people want a Mac without having it built into a monitor.
So Apple took a case design from 5 years ago, and put LAST year's parts in it, but are charging for it like its a new product.
So, Apple ********d up another product this year, go figure.
From soldiering on the RAM, upping the upgrade component prices, and now the fact they obviously cheaped out on the CPUs they put in this, the Mac Mini everyone has been waiting for is a no-show.
As for the, "Just get a Mac Pro" comments, NO! I don't need to spend $3000 for a decent box to convert and serve content to my TV. I still am using a 2010 Mac Mini, and will continue to use it, but I was hoping for a decent Mac Mini upgrade so that some of the video conversion I do on it can be sped up dramatically. But I don't need a professional class workstation just for that purpose.
Apple has a terrible habit of thinking that consumers fit into discrete buckets and so make products that place consumers into specific buckets. While I am sure a powerful Mac Mini will drive some people away from a Mac Pro, the Mac Pro is intended for PROFESSIONALS, and its level of customization and power options will fit with what PROFESSIONALS are willing to pay for. But for the typical home user there is no reason why the Mac Mini is not even comparable to the iMac line because I am sure a lot of people want a Mac without having it built into a monitor.
So Apple took a case design from 5 years ago, and put LAST year's parts in it, but are charging for it like its a new product.
So, Apple ********d up another product this year, go figure.
The mac mini is the most elegant .beautiful small form factor ever designed so much so that we never change it .why change the perfection I create in the 2 months I work out of the year. Just in the same way we recycle the same Macbook over and over again ..so I can visit beautiful and elegant places .*nods* while I sniff my own farts .*nods* the mac mini will transcend time and in conjunction with my sweet valley high OS that looks as if a teenage girl designed it well you are starting to understand true perfection..
/Ive
Last edited by a moderator: