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Skip 2019 Mini for 2020 model?

dogslobber

dogslobber

macrumors 601
Original poster
Oct 19, 2014
4,670
7,809
Apple Campus, Cupertino CA
I've been looking at the GPU in the 2018 model which is a UHD 630. This is the same chip that was in the prior generation Kabylake CPUs. And according to research the likely chip for the 2019 Mini will still be using the same 630 model. E.g.

https://en.wikichip.org/wiki/intel/core_i3/i3-9100

So that begs the question of whether we should skip the 2018 and 2019 models while we wait on upgraded iGPU in the 2020 Mini?
 
dogslobber said:
I think I'm more underwhelmed by the iGPU strategy by Intel. That is, they don't have one.
Click to expand...
But what do you need it for? Some people really do need a egpu for their video work. Some people need it for gaming. Most people don't need it and it's just a want for no logical reason.
If they did add it, it would just increase the cost and the heat and whatever mobile GPU they could put in the mini probably wouldn't be a worth while benefit to anyone who has an actually need of a GPU for work or gaming.

Me personally I'd rather they keep a mobile GPU out of the mini, put in a monster CPU and focus on cooling that and I'll get an egpu for any other needs I have.
 
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Next mini won't be around until 2022. That's a long wait.
Minis are famous for having low end graphics processing. The next one, while improved over the 2018 model will still underwhelm. Tis the mini way.
 
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Look at the 2012 mini vs. the 2014 mini. The 2014 release featured a crowd-pleasing low-end base model. A well-appointed 2012 model is still providing a lot of value.
 
Literally all I have seen in the comments section for years is people bang on and on about the Mac mini... they update it and surprise surprise they don’t buy it

Apple should have just killed the Mac mini tbh
 
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Iris Graphics integrated graphics were withdrawn from Intel desktop CPUs with Skylake CPUs and Apple never even used them and they are already discontinued.

Raj Koduri has joined Intel from AMD and we may see better iGPUs in Intel CPUs in due course but not for the 9th generation Intel CPUs linked so far. For the last few generations we've had broadly the same graphics - variations on the HD630 that's been around since Kaby Lake CPUs.

In the meantime, better iGPUs are only applied to mobile CPUs at the moment and Apple seem to be moving away from those too given that the 2016 MacBook Pros only use Iris Graphics on the 28w CPUs as used in the 13" MacBook Pro.

These are primarily mobile CPUs and can't match the horsepower shown by the desktop CPUs that Apple used but most importantly performance per $ is no contest when they are compared to the 65w CPUs in the 2018 Mini.

So, yes, it might have been nice to see Apple offer a version of the Mini with discrete graphics but that was never going to happen in the existing case which already has an improved cooling system to deal with 65w of cooling in a case that previously was in difficulty with 45w from the 2012 model when it was caned.

My thinking here is that reusing the existing slot-in form factor is really useful for the server farms that would buy the 2018 Mini in the hundreds or thousands of units because they have existing racks designed for the Mini - and I have no problem with that if their input persuaded Apple to update the Mini in the first place. There really is no need to berate Apple for apparently looking like they lack imagination with the current Mini because there's a Modular Mac Pro coming next year.

It would make sense for the 2019 Pro to have everything inside the same box (specifically room for a GPU card) and have CPU benchmarks far in excess of the i7 option in the 2018 Mini.

For this reason I think we might find the 2019 mMP to start far beyond the budget of an enthusiastic would-be Mac mini buyer who isn't keen on eGPU.

And finally, now that the Mini is using desktop CPUs I don't think there will be any appreciable improvement year on year to make Apple want to know about CPU refreshes until at least the process is shrunk from 14NM to 10NM. There's no point getting speed bumped models year on year for the Mini, especially with its track record over the last 6 years given what's been overlooked.
 
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What makes you think there will be a 2020 model? It took them forever to refresh to this version.
 
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The 2020 model will simply be a low-key chip refresh. Apple has done all the hard work for the 2018 model which now has a boy racer exhaust system. The 9th gen CPUs have the same GPU as the old 2018 Mini 8th gen CPU.
 
Wasn't there a rumor that Apple will use their own arm chips in 2020? This might be the last intel mac mini, take that for what it is worth.
 
Cheapassmac said:
Wasn't there a rumor that Apple will use their own arm chips in 2020?
Click to expand...

Indeed, I have two years to transition back to a PC... Apple will in my view be incredibly mean if they start using their own chips. You will end up with a processor that just does the job and no more, at a premium price and then some if you want a chip that will do more.
 
LeeW said:
Indeed, I have two years to transition back to a PC... Apple will in my view be incredibly mean if they start using their own chips. You will end up with a processor that just does the job and no more, at a premium price and then some if you want a chip that will do more.
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So, just so you know, the current iPad Pro is literally as fast as the 15" macbook pro in benchmarks, and cost half as much. The processor will do more then "just" the job. My only concern is software, not performance/value.
 
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Was waiting for a long time for a mac mini. This new mac mini with the poor Intel graphics and with the thermals not improved either, I'll be be skipping. Apple may improve the graphics later but then there is going to be thermal problems due to the small casing. So for Apple to improve the graphics they'll need to redesign the case. I don't see that happening, considering that after 4 years they didn't re-design it.
 
ipodssss said:
Literally all I have seen in the comments section for years is people bang on and on about the Mac mini... they update it and surprise surprise they don’t buy it

Apple should have just killed the Mac mini tbh
Click to expand...


Wrong. They simply need to make it behave like the dell optiplex 7060 micro.
Easy access to a replaceable nvme m.2 ssd
Easy access to the sata
Easy access to the ram
Easy access to the cpu!

Same size as the Mac mini
Trade offs i7 8700t is a bit slower then the i7 8700b
And a brick.

Since I have to plug the gear in I could not care less about a brick.

I purchased the dell about a month before the mini.

And because it is superior to the mini in terms of upgrades.

Ie an i3 an i5 an i7 i can swap
Ram I can swap
2 drives which means I could put in a 2tb nvme.2 and a 4tb sata ssd.

Same gpu
 
LeeW said:
If that is all you can give in support, a benchmark, then you have a nice evening.
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So where's your support that an apple arm chip would only be able to perform the bare minimum? The fact that an Apple chip already been crunching numbers favorably to a top end Macbook pro means something. Apple used to use risc style in the past, and Apple transitioned chip families twice just fine (68k - PPC - x86).

Is that enough support?
 
Cheapassmac said:
Wasn't there a rumor that Apple will use their own arm chips in 2020? This might be the last intel mac mini, take that for what it is worth.
Click to expand...

2020 seems a bit close. Especially considering an all new, redesigned Mac Pro is coming next year. Seems odd to put all of that effort into a new Mac Pro only to begin switching away from x86 a year later. On that note, while the ARM chips Apple are putting out compete with mobile chips, they don't yet compete with mid or high-end desktop chips like those in high end Mac mini's, the iMac Pro, and presumably Mac Pro. I don't see Apple maintaining an x86 and ARM version of macOS.

I guess they could move the lower end Macs over to ARM and have a forked macOS, but even that seems a bit of an odd move to add yet another operating system. I am not saying Apple does not move to ARM, but I do think 2020 seems a bit ambitious and does not feel right. That is just about a year off (year and a half if we assume WWDC 2020), and I just don't know that we are seeing signs that something like that is coming.

I will say that it is rather interesting that both the MacBook and the iMac were not updated this year. Those would be the machines I would guess would be the first to switch. However, as I said, what would they do for the rest? I don't think ARM is fast enough to replace i5 and faster systems. Maybe I am wrong about that?
 
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