Mac Mini 2020 limitations

[pers0n]

• 16gb ram limit ($200 to get 16gb, non user upgradable)
• 2 monitor limit (old one could do 3 monitors)
• 2 less ports
• no eGPU support
• Wifi is upgraded but not sure if this means the WiFi issues in the 2018/2020 model is fixed or not. Someone mentioned probably not as it's due to the antennae design
• 3x the speed of the 2018 i3
• more powerful than the 2018 i7 (geekbench)
  • single core: ~1691 vs 1100
  • multi core: ~7055 vs 5471

 

[LeeW]

Entry-level, give it time and you will see a more powerful one, probably also why it is Silver, the Space Grey being reserved for a more powerful version. Expectations were too high thinking Apple would deliver everything in the 1st launch of AS...

 

[joevt]

About GPUs:

Since the Apple Silicon Macs support Thunderbolt, they must also support PCIe and they must have the drivers for PCIe controllers such as USB, SATA, Ethernet, FireWire, etc.

Every GPU that macOS has a driver for might be usable with Apple Silicon. Apple just needs to recompile the drivers. Check Big Sur. Are the kexts FAT binaries (with x86 and ARM images)?

The GPUs won't be usable during boot since they only have x86 code in their roms (separate BIOS and EFI images). However, any GPU that Apple has a driver for could have a boot time driver created by Apple in the firmware. Doesn't the Mac Pro have AMD boot drivers built into its firmware?

What's the boot environment for Apple Silicon Macs? Is it EFI? The EFI spec was originally created by Intel for Intel PCs. EFI byte code is an option when x86 code cannot be used. I haven't seen a GPU with EFI byte code yet though. I suppose Apple EFI could have an x86 translator. Before there was EFI, there was OpenFirmware. GPUs for Macs back then had OpenFirmware byte code.

 

[dandeco]

Entry-level, give it time and you will see a more powerful one, probably also why it is Silver, the Space Grey being reserved for a more powerful version. Expectations were too high thinking Apple would deliver everything in the 1st launch of AS...

Yeah, they said it'd be a gradual transition. I'm gonna wait a year or two to replace my 2012 quad-core i7 Mini with an Apple Silicon Mini until they do come out with that more powerful Space Grey version. If Apple can make the transition gradual, so can I. (I'm already planning to buy a 13" Intel MacBook Pro soon to have a Big Sur-compatible Mac for the time being.)

 

[richmlow]

Hello all,


It was interesting to see Apple release its first generation Apple Silicon CPU in the Mac mini so quickly. As pointed out earlier in this thread, the obvious "downgrades" from the 2018 Mac mini is the skimpy 8GB non-upgradeable RAM and a reduction of Thunderbolt 3 ports (from 4 to 2). It'll cost an extra $200 to bump the memory to 16GB RAM. The substantial improvement in the graphics processing is a significant "upgrade."

Everybody will have to wait for real-world benchmarks and testing to determine how good this first generation Mac mini, compared to the 2018 Mac mini, in term of processing power.

I'm particularly interested in seeing how this new Mac mini compares to the 2018 Mac mini, when running WolframMark, the benchmark from Mathematica. My current 2018 Mac mini is used a lot for scientific computing, etc. I plan on using my current 2013 Mac Pro and 2018 Mac mini for quite awhile longer. However, one day I'll be forced to transition to Apple Silicon machines.....probably generation 2 or 3.

Interesting times.....


richmlow

 

[LightBulbFun]

I haven't seen a GPU with EFI byte code yet though.

well it probably does not mean much today, but the ATI/AMD Mac PCIe cards of old up to and including the AMD Radeon HD 7950 used EBC byte code EFI ROMs IIRC

which is how they worked both in EFI64 Mac Pro's they where listed to work with, and also in the EFI32 Mac Pro's they where not officially listed to work with but none the less did

(but I dont think the new Apple ARM macs use EFI, I think they boot similar to how iPhones do)

 

[PeteBurgh]

Entry-level, give it time and you will see a more powerful one, probably also why it is Silver, the Space Grey being reserved for a more powerful version. Expectations were too high thinking Apple would deliver everything in the 1st launch of AS...

This is the correct answer I think. This isn’t the Mac Mini for me, but I’m sure by the time I‘m ready to replace my current machine in 3-4 years they’ll be some great options out there.

I had loved the idea that Apple might be much more aggressive with pricing, but realistically Apple isn’t interested in those low margin markets.

 

[LeeW]

To be honest I am not even so sure we will see the Mac Mini in a more 'Pro' form, based on the suggestion there is going to be another version of the Mac Pro in a smaller form factor. The Mini may just remain as it is now.

 

[satchmo]

Yeah, they said it'd be a gradual transition. I'm gonna wait a year or two to replace my 2012 quad-core i7 Mini with an Apple Silicon Mini until they do come out with that more powerful Space Grey version. If Apple can make the transition gradual, so can I. (I'm already planning to buy a 13" Intel MacBook Pro soon to have a Big Sur-compatible Mac for the time being.)

Entry-level, give it time and you will see a more powerful one, probably also why it is Silver, the Space Grey being reserved for a more powerful version. Expectations were too high thinking Apple would deliver everything in the 1st launch of AS...

What makes you guys think they'll even do this?

Given the Mac mini has always been the forgotten step child in Apple's product line, I wonder if this is it for another 2 years.

And if and when they do, they may just keep it silver. I don't recall them ever differentiating a more powerful Mac mini by colour.

Don't get me wrong, I hope they do, but I'm just wondering if this is all just wishful thinking.

 

[LeeW]

What makes you guys think they'll even do this?

The move to AS mainly, they have many more options now.

Given the Mac mini has always been the forgotten step child in Apple's product line, I wonder if this is it for another 2 years.

I mean, it could be as they shift focus to more powerful MBPs and iMacs.

Also thinking about the rumours suggesting a new, smaller Mac Pro. It could mean the Mac Mini as it is today with the M1 sees updates every x years but stays very much the budget headless device. To get a more 'Pro Headless' device that won't sting the wallet too badly you will need to move up to this new but smaller Mac Pro.

Who knows at this stage but it will be very interesting to see it all develops.