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

[BigBoy2018]

Not necessarily. Port is the same. But TB3is faster than USB 3.1 and 3.2. Most external SSDs are NOT thunderbolt speeds. They usually max out at 550 MB/s since they use SATA 3.

Exactly. So for all the cheerleaders of TB3, I ask you, is there anything at all that you use it with that even comes close to leverwging its speed? Probably not

 

[Justanotherfanboy]

Sadly, depending only on the integrated Intel GPU, not even an Iris GPU (like on the 13" MBP) is killing my plans of switching to the Mac mini.

This would have been the right choice:



A little bit less CPU Performance (the new Mac mini has a lot, it wouldn't really matter) but much better GPU Performance. A more balanced system overall.

Yeah, but you can run an eGPU, not an eCPU.

 

[Darmok N Jalad]

Probably would have been more expensive too.

Considering one can spec a mini into the stratosphere, cost couldn’t have been too much of an issue with Apple or its customers. The Vega option didn’t need to be the default, but it would have certainly been an awesome option. I know it would have given me pause.

 

[Sabelonada]

If the four (4) Thunderbolt 3 ports are just USB ports to you...well, that is your issue, not mine. Having access of up to 160Gbps of aggregate bandwidth, while still having the choice to repurpose a TB3 port as USB-C Gen 2 with 10Gbps of bandwidth for cheaper peripherals or if I need more than two USB 3.0 Type-A ports is of great value to me. So is the option of upgrading to 10Gbps Ethernet.

I am curious about the total TB 3 bandwidth. Will all of it be available or not? I think this is something we can't answer until someone verifies.

 

[opeter]

OK, so here is another info from MacWorld:

The $799 Mac mini comes standard with 8GB of 2666MHz DDR4 memory, installed as a pair of 4GB SO-DIMMs. The mini supports a maximum of 64GB, and you can upgrade the memory later, but Apple doesn’t consider the Mac mini to be user-configurable, and it recommends that memory upgrades be performed by a certified Apple service provider. Doing it on your own will void the warranty.

 

[Zdigital2015]

Somehow Apple always manages to find an excuse not to use the best CPUs (and GPUs to that matter).

Conversely, Intel always manages to find an excuse not ship a complete lineup of CPUs when introducing a new product family. Or even a cutting edge CPU, like a 10nm CPU that is 2 years overdue...but I digress.

As for GPUs, what are the best GPUs currently shipping that Apple could incorporate into this design? Wait, never mind...when you say the best GPUs in the generic sense, what I think you really mean is "the best NVIDIA GPUs", or am I wrong?

 

[OldSchoolMacGuy]

I agree with you that its not an ‘investment’ in the strict sense of the word, but since for some people who make money by the work they do, it is a business asset, and a very important one.
So I agree with him in that to call it an ‘appliance’ excessively diminishes its importance to many peoples workflows.
And for that reason I completely agree with him that it should be upgradable.

The only way it's 'an investment' is if you are going to use the computer primarily for revenue generating tasks (i.e. work) and the money generate will make the computer 'pay for itself'. Outside of that, it's a sunk cost.

In that case it would be considered a capital expense and the computer itself would be considered a capital asset. Still not an investment in that sense as it's an asset that is understood to lose value over time and depreciate.

 

[rmdeluca]

Sigh, no.

1) They could have installed Iris Pro graphics instead of UHD which AT LEAST have some GPU dedicated RAM built into the system.

2) The expandability option comes from the ability to (theoretically, since only the Blackmagic seems to work without issues) an eGPU in the future... but that doesn't mean Apple shouldn't have if not included stock, at least offered a discrete graphics card option.
A) Adding an external eGPU on top of a dGPU would only make the computer better, not worse.

3) You're willing to compromise your money by overpaying for what Apple is giving you COMBINED with then having to additionally spend either $699 on the Blackmagic or $1,199.00 on the Blackmagic Pro. The numbers simply don't add up and it has already been demonstrably shown on the MacRumor forums ad nauseam that the new Mac mini is a bad value proposition.

There is no Iris Pro graphics option in any 8th generation 6-core i7:

https://ark.intel.com/products/series/122593/8th-Generation-Intel-Core-i7-Processors

There is one 4-core with Iris Pro and several 4-cores that of course have the RX Vega M.

Your anger would be better directed at Intel for resting on their laurels for so long. If they were at 10nm they would have more power budget for GPU.

It's not even really fair to blame Apple for not putting a separate dGPU in the new Mini considering the power budget of a decent (say GTX 1050Ti) GPU is more than the 6-core CPU!

 

[Haswell]

the 128G starting storage is not forgivable.

Agreed!

128GB on the base model for $799?!?!??! All it took was courage...AKA greed!!!

 

[theluggage]

Everyone having a tizzy about being able to swap out the standard 8GB of RAM with 16GB on their own because they'll be damned if they'll pay the "Apple tax" haven't priced out memory.

I'm looking at prices and 2x8GB 2666 SODIMS are about £130 c.f. Apple's £180 charge for the upgrade.

You're quite right that its probably not worth ripping apart your brand new Mini to save even £70, but that doesn't mean its not galling to be gouged for £180 for an upgrade when the price difference between 8G and 16G is only about £60 (or less - I could only find the smaller modules in 2400, not 2666.) Bet you can't easily sell 2x4GB SODIMS, either - they're what everybody will be taking out and trying to sell.

In practice, though, if you were doing a DIY upgrade you'd probably go for 32GB of 3rd party RAM @ £240, which is far better value than Apple's £180 16GB upgrade and a no-brainer c.f. £540 for Apple's 32GB option.

...except it looks to me like the CPU heatsink and fan would have to come off to get at the RAM sockets, so DIY upgrades are going to me way outside many peoples' comfort zones (and Apple will probably try to void the warranty).

 

[AndyMacAndMic]

USB-C and Thunberbolt 3 are the same thing.

Nope. A cow is cattle, but cattle is not necessarily a cow.

 

[macduke]

I'd have been all over it if it even had a moderate GPU. Make it slightly thicker if you have to. It's a desktop!

 

[RogerWilco]

"The SSDs are PCI-e cards and Apple doesn’t consider them user-upgradeable."

If thats truly the case, someone might just find a way to change those cards

The T2 chip that Apple thoughtfully included might have something to say about those plans.

 

[Feenician]

The T2 chip that Apple thoughtfully included might have something to say about those plans.

Yep. The T2 is the controller and the card is just raw flash so I'm not clear if it would be possible to upgrade that. I'm not sure it won't either though. I guess we will find out soon enough.

 

[fat jez]

Agreed!

128GB on the base model for $799?!?!??! All it took was courage...AKA greed!!!

Yep and while adding external storage is simple enough, once you have filled up the Applications folder, do you really want to be installing apps on external storage?

 

[RogerWilco]

While ignoring the four Thunderbolt 3 40 Gbit/sec ports, two USB-A legacy ports, ability to drive two displays in several configurations, optional 10 Gbit/sec ethernet, HDMI 2.0, Bluetooth 5.0, excellent performance, and built-in high capacity power supply. All in a very compact package offering various CTO options depending on need.

And you actually believe this little box and its crippled CPU can support those bandwidths on the ports?

 

[Anawrahta]

Three pages so far of whining. There comes a point where it's meaningless and carries no weight. No matter what new computer  puts out, there's going to be countless pages of whining. This is like fake news. An agenda. On Mac Rumors though it's fake whining.

No kidding. I laugh at all the people complaining and saying how they're done with Apple because of this computer. The Mac Mini was all but dead until a few months ago. I wonder how much Google or whichever competitor is paying these shills.

 

[monkeyrotica]

Yeah, I didn't wait four years for this. All I use my 2014 for now is home theater and the occasional browsing. So I'll be going with an Intel NUC.

 

[Detnator]

People like to tinker. People want to tinker. People like the option to fix stuff on their own. Some devices I understand locking down, but this isn’t one of them.

Yeah... no... actually a lot of people really don’t like to tinker, and those people are Apple’s target market.

This debate has been going on for 30+ years. Nerds complained in the 80’s and 90’s and they wouldn’t buy Macs because they couldn’t be messed with as much as PCs, and then even more so after SJ came back and introduced the original iMac. Steve always dreamed of entirely closed systems that can’t be messed with. He fulfilled that with the iPad but still always wanted it for the Mac as well.

Apple’s interest in people who like to tinker is, and almost always has been, entirely zero. And with the possible exception of the cheese grater, the fact that past machines have allowed tinkering was a bonus side effect not a feature.

Far too many MR readers do not understand this one simple fact: yes, some people like to tinker but Apple’s target market are not among them.

 

[petercw2]

I'm only reading this thread because Apple didn't announce updates to the iMac, of which I am in need of replacing.
The Mini seems an option (hey, bonus?, connect to a 43" 4K TV!), but I wonder when/if Apple will do iMac updates? I'm not a person that needs top computing power, but always has followed the Apple purchase rule of "buy the most capable, powerful version available, you can afford, at that time to maximize life span". Would love to see people discuss the value between the i3/i5/i7 options. Anyway, find all of this a fascinating discussion.

 

[JRobinsonJr]

Sadly. I might add ...

Nah. My mother tends to lose things, so having a computer that stays in one place is a good thing!

 

[obiwan]

A) Adding an external eGPU on top of a dGPU would only make the computer better, not worse.

I'm not convinced it's that simple. In theory a dGPU and eGPU together adds up to more collective GPU horsepower. It depends how the two GPUs are handled in software though, and sometimes it's less problematic to have no dGPU at all, so the eGPU can be fully utilised. (Read some of the forum posts on eGPU.io, and you'll come across multiple users having a hard time getting the operating system to boot with an eGPU connected, when a dGPU is present.)

 

[corebeliefs]

OK, so here is another info from MacWorld:

The $799 Mac mini comes standard with 8GB of 2666MHz DDR4 memory, installed as a pair of 4GB SO-DIMMs. The mini supports a maximum of 64GB, and you can upgrade the memory later, but Apple doesn’t consider the Mac mini to be user-configurable, and it recommends that memory upgrades be performed by a certified Apple service provider. Doing it on your own will void the warranty.

So much why ...

 

[xyz01]

Why not offer a 0/0 Mac Mini at $499 and let the users byo ram/storage?

Because one of Apple's key focus areas has always been the initial user experience - from the packaging to the initial startup. Adding a step "open this tiny little box, and install your own RAM and disk. Remember to use an anti-static bracelet when installing!" is contrary to this.

That said, I'd obviously love a "boring" PC-like mini-Tower Mac at a reasonable price where I could add my own RAM, graphics card and disks for a reasonable price. Apple has been extremely aggressive about increasing their ASP lately... so much so that when they release a new iMac, I might need to reconsider whether I should buy one (historically top spec, except adding my own RAM) or just switch back to a PC after running Apple everywhere for 12 years now. Buying something just because I can afford it is not a good enough reason.

 

[obiwan]

Here is an image of the insider:

From the MacWorld video:
https://www.macworld.com/article/3318501/macs/799-mac-mini-review.html

It need's iFixit on the case, to tell use what we really need to know...