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TheBigApple2006

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Feb 20, 2006
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I am currently preparing an order for the new Mac Mini, and am pondering whether to get the i7 upgrade, up from a 6 core i5. Is it worth the extra 135 Pounds I would be charged? I don’t game, and besides the usual multi-tabbed Chrome browsing and Office software, my resource-intensive tasks are mostly image and PDF manipulation with Adobe Acrobat and Prizmo and Scan Tailor. All are resource-intensive, but am not sure whether the Hyper Threading on the i7 would be a benefit in this case.

Many thanks for any assistance in this regards!
 
I am currently preparing an order for the new Mac Mini, and am pondering whether to get the i7 upgrade, up from a 6 core i5. Is it worth the extra 135 Pounds I would be charged? I don’t game, and besides the usual multi-tabbed Chrome browsing and Office software, my resource-intensive tasks are mostly image and PDF manipulation with Adobe Acrobat and Prizmo and Scan Tailor. All are resource-intensive, but am not sure whether the Hyper Threading on the i7 would be a benefit in this case.

Many thanks for any assistance in this regards!

The Mac Mini used 8th gen desktop class CPUs. The i5 Will be more then enouth for your needs. The Mac Mini i5 will outperform the MBP i7 in almost every way.
 
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So, to sum up, am I right in assuming that the upgrade to i7 would be a bit of an overkill, and I could be just fine with the 6-core i5? I have to start from scratch, and want to get the LG Ultrafine 22" monitor too, so unless there is a compelling case for getting the i7, I would go for i5...
 
So, to sum up, am I right in assuming that the upgrade to i7 would be a bit of an overkill, and I could be just fine with the 6-core i5? I have to start from scratch, and want to get the LG Ultrafine 22" monitor too, so unless there is a compelling case for getting the i7, I would go for i5...
I think there are better screens for the money. Few people here have listed a couple in the $400-$550 range.
 
I think there are better screens for the money. Few people here have listed a couple in the $400-$550 range.
Thanks, but I want a screen with 220dpi, Retina like. Unless I am not mistaken, only the LG models have this.
 
Open up "Activity Monitor" and perform some of your tasks. It should give you an idea of how much CPU those tasks consume.
 
I might consider buying the i7 (the extra cost doesn't bother me), BUT.... ONLY if the fan/cooling system proves capable of "handling the extra heat".

I'll wait to read the user reports from others before making that decision.

This is similar to the reports from buyers of the 2017 iMac i7 models, that the i7 was "noisier" due to increased heat/fan use.
 
I might consider buying the i7 (the extra cost doesn't bother me), BUT.... ONLY if the fan/cooling system proves capable of "handling the extra heat".

I'll wait to read the user reports from others before making that decision.

This is similar to the reports from buyers of the 2017 iMac i7 models, that the i7 was "noisier" due to increased heat/fan use.

I am ready to accept loud fans, but I am not in any way ready to accept thermal throttling.
 
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While I agree that the i3 is just fine for what he described, I'm interested to know what benefits (if any) someone like him might get from the higher CPUs. Would the system feel snappier overall with the i5 or i7, or would you only really get benefits when doing something like video editing or Photoshop?
 
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