Mac mini 2018 Reviews Roundup: Long-Awaited Update Should Impress Fans and Pro Users, But Upgrade Options Can Get Pricey

[ChrisMoBro]

Agreed, it is. But words do have meaning. We can discuss the reality of how heat affects Macs without distorting the definition of words just so that someone can say

You're being so pedantic though. If the Mac Mini (and all Macs in general) had better cooling, they would be able to sustain better performance over a longer period of time. The example I gave showed the Mac mini working closer to it's base speed as opposed to the turbo boost. It's performance, as the reviewer stated, was being reduced to try and bring the temps down. It was throttling its performance due to extreme temps. How can you argue that? It's like you're arguing with me over the colour of the sky. Yes, it's not the most extreme example but it still is thermal throttling.

 

[Stephen.R]

You're being so pedantic though.

My issue is that you claim failing to overclock to some level you believe is acceptable, is "throttling", with zero acknowledgement of the fact that this is about frequencies higher than base, operating under 'turbo boost' mode.

Throttling is not "less overclocking". It's literally under-clocking, to go below the base frequency.
Conversely, Turbo boost is not some guaranteed performance you will always get. It's overclocking, when power/cores/heat permit. It's dynamic and it's "automatic". But it's overclocking, above the base frequency.

I'm going to use those terms - overclocking and underclocking - in my responses below, and maybe you'll see my point.

I agreed with you that running cooler is better than hotter, but it isn't a binary "do you want hot or cold chips" question.

It was throttling its performance due to extreme temps. How can you argue that?

Because less overclocking is not the same as underclocking.

The definition iMore uses makes the same distinction: https://www.imore.com/base-clocks-boost-clocks-and-thermal-throttling-explained

Thermal throttling
Your CPU has built-in mechanisms that will protect it from damage. One such mechanism is the CPU's ability to throttle or speed-down its frequency if the CPU starts to become too hot. If a CPU becomes too hot, the frequency can and will lower itself below the base frequency speeds if required until such time that the CPU is no longer in danger of overheating.

The Wikipedia article for "CPU throttling" (which redirects to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dynamic_frequency_scaling) covers this too.

Dynamic frequency scaling (also known as CPU throttling) is a technique in computer architecture whereby the frequency of a microprocessor can be automatically adjusted "on the fly" depending on the actual needs, to conserve power and reduce the amount of heat generated by the chip.

It then includes this

A related-but-opposite technique is overclocking, whereby processor performance is increased by ramping the processor's (dynamic) frequency beyond the manufacturer's design specifications.

I'm done with this now, so make whatever claims you want. I won't be reading it.

It's like you're arguing with me over the colour of the sky.

I always wonder if people who say this have ever looked at the sky other than at noon on cloudless days, outside the polar circle.

 

[ChrisMoBro]

My issue is that you claim failing to overclock to some level you believe is acceptable, is "throttling", with zero acknowledgement of the fact that this is about frequencies higher than base, operating under 'turbo boost' mode.

Throttling is not "less overclocking". It's literally under-clocking, to go below the base frequency.
Conversely, Turbo boost is not some guaranteed performance you will always get. It's overclocking, when power/cores/heat permit. It's dynamic and it's "automatic". But it's overclocking, above the base frequency.

I'm going to use those terms - overclocking and underclocking - in my responses below, and maybe you'll see my point.

I agreed with you that running cooler is better than hotter, but it isn't a binary "do you want hot or cold chips" question.


Because less overclocking is not the same as underclocking.

The definition iMore uses makes the same distinction: https://www.imore.com/base-clocks-boost-clocks-and-thermal-throttling-explained



The Wikipedia article for "CPU throttling" (which redirects to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dynamic_frequency_scaling) covers this too.

It then includes this


I'm done with this now, so make whatever claims you want. I won't be reading it.



I always wonder if people who say this have ever looked at the sky other than at noon on cloudless days, outside the polar circle.

Ok you clearly don’t know what overclocking is - that’s where you alter the settings on the motherboard so the frequency is higher than the frequencies the chipmaker officially support. That’s not the same as what we’re talking about. But I’m done with this. You clearly don’t know what you’re talking about and just want to argue.

 

[roaminghere]

The first round of Mac mini reviews were published online this morning. Below we've highlighted some of the key takeaways from around the web ahead of Apple's official November 7 launch.

Four years in the waiting, the new Mac mini comes in Space Gray, features 4- and 6-core 8th-Generation Intel Core processors, four Thunderbolt 3/USB-C ports, support for up to 64GB RAM, and up to 2TB of solid-state storage. It also includes Apple's T2 chip for added security.

Review Highlights

On the new Mac mini's largely unchanged design:

Six Colors's Jason Snell:On Apple's port choices for the Mac mini:

TechCrunch's Brian Heater:Developer Marco Arment:On Apple's upgrade choices for the Mac mini:

Macworld's Roman Loyola:Six Color's's Jason Snell:On the new Mac mini's performance:

Marco Arment:
CNET's Lori Grunin:TechCrunch's Brian Heater:On the Mac mini's price:

Marco Arment:TechCrunch's Brian Heater:Review and Unboxing Videos

More Reviews
Tom's Guide's Brian Westover
MobileSyrup's Patrick O'Rourke
AppleInsider's Andrew O'Hara
ZDNet's Jason CiprianiPricing on the Mac mini starts at $799 for the base model with a 3.6GHz processor, 128GB of storage, and 8GB RAM and goes up to $4,199 for a maxed out machine with 3.2GHz Core i7 processor, 64GB RAM, a 2TB SSD, and the upgraded 10Gb Ethernet option.

The Mac mini is available for purchase from Apple's online store. Orders will be delivered on November 7, the day that it will be available for purchase in retail stores.

Article Link: Mac mini 2018 Reviews Roundup: Long-Awaited Update Should Impress Fans and Pro Users, But Upgrade Options Can Get Pricey

As a dual Mac Os and Windows 10 user, check it out. That's my advice.

I purchased the $1099 in-stock i5 6-core / 8GB / 256GB model at my nearby Apple store. It includes Apple's standard 14-day return policy (for any reason) for a full refund. I would suggest doing the same if you are interested in evaluating how well software you typically use on other hardware actually performs on the new Mac Mini.

You see the key thing here, which seems to be left out of many YouTube reviews and even a few of the online reviews, is that individual software programs make use of individual hardware components to varying degrees. Some hardware components may be used relatively infrequently. In fact, some well-known professional-standard software programs with 3D components rely almost entirely on CPU rendering. Such programs aren't written to heavily utilize a GPU for manipulating 3D objects.

This point is entirely relevant to any discussion of the Mac Mini.

And yet, many people aren't being made aware of this key consideration. The YouTube reviews I have seen often leave it out, instead focusing almost exclusively on performance of Gaming and 4K Video Editing software. And that's a shame. More people would try out the new Mac Mini if there were greater awareness of the differences in software design.

To help illustrate this point, I will share my experience:

On my first day with the Mini, I ran the usual native Mac OS home and home office productivity software programs without any issues. As you would expect. Very nice.

Since I will also use my new Mini for professional CAD work, photometric calculations, and photometric renderings, I then spent some time installing Windows 10 Pro on a 128GB partition using Boot Camp. During the installation, I used the free twocanoes ISO converter to avoid hang-ups caused by installation errors.

With Windows 10 Pro installed, I than spent two days stress testing the Mini's hardware capabilities.

I created and edited large 3D models in AutoCAD 2019 and AGI 32 photometric software (both running under Windows). I was very pleased with the Mini's performance using each program. The Mini's 6-core Intel CPU did all of the heavy lifting. Meanwhile, the Intel integrated graphics rested comfortably off to the side, occasionally called upon for a few minor tasks.

The AGI 32 software made use of all 6 processor cores to perform photometric calculations in full radiosity mode. The i5's Turbo Boost feature was a big help here, raising the 3.0GHz base processor speed up to 3.9GHz (according to Windows 10's Task Manger). Impressively, Apple's new internal layout and fan design allowed the i5 processor to maintain the boosted 3.9GHz processor speed over the 35-minute duration required for the largest calculation file. According to Windows Task Manager, no thermal throttling of the processor speed occurred - over a 35-minute operation utilizing all 6 cores. Very nice hardware, indeed.

Next, I exported the AGI 32 photometric calculation file, comprised of a 25,000 square foot building containing (12) individual 2,000 square foot office spaces and 1,600 light fixtures, into an AutoCAD format 3D drawing. Opening and editing the newly created 3D CAD drawing in AutoCAD 2019 posed no problems for the Mac Mini in the stock i5 6-core / 8GB / 256GB configuration. As in the AGI 32 software, the AutoCAD 2019 software relied on the i5 CPU for most of the task work. The Intel Integrated Graphics performed the role of an assistant to the CPU, hoovering nearby, waiting to be called on for some relatively light work.

Justifiably impressed thus far with the Mac Mini's performance running AutoCAD 2019 and AGI 32 under Boot Camp and Windows 10 Pro, I will next evaluate it using 3DS Max 2019 modeling software. The goal being to create far more polished photometric renderings than (the largely technical) AGI 32 software is intended for.

At this point, I am pleasantly optimistic, as 3DS Max 2019 includes the Arnold rendering engine which, just like AutoCAD 2019 and AGI 32, is written to rely heavily on the CPU, and not the graphics processor, making it another potentially good match with the new Mac Mini 2018.

 

[ChrisMoBro]

My issue is that you claim failing to overclock to some level you believe is acceptable, is "throttling", with zero acknowledgement of the fact that this is about frequencies higher than base, operating under 'turbo boost' mode.

Throttling is not "less overclocking". It's literally under-clocking, to go below the base frequency.
Conversely, Turbo boost is not some guaranteed performance you will always get. It's overclocking, when power/cores/heat permit. It's dynamic and it's "automatic". But it's overclocking, above the base frequency.

I'm going to use those terms - overclocking and underclocking - in my responses below, and maybe you'll see my point.

I agreed with you that running cooler is better than hotter, but it isn't a binary "do you want hot or cold chips" question.


Because less overclocking is not the same as underclocking.

The definition iMore uses makes the same distinction: https://www.imore.com/base-clocks-boost-clocks-and-thermal-throttling-explained



The Wikipedia article for "CPU throttling" (which redirects to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dynamic_frequency_scaling) covers this too.

It then includes this


I'm done with this now, so make whatever claims you want. I won't be reading it.



I always wonder if people who say this have ever looked at the sky other than at noon on cloudless days, outside the polar circle.

Oh wait, even more evidence of thermal throttling (even though you don’t know what that is)

 

[Sabelonada]

Oh wait, even more evidence of thermal throttling (even though you don’t know what that is)

I saw that video and was surprised. Yet the post directly above yours seems to indicate no such issues.