Aye, it is that. 🙁
I upgraded to a 7200 RPM spinner soon as I could afford it. No regrets. 😎
Hopefully I will be able to afford to move to a decent sized SSD around Xmas. Their prices are falling at a pleasing rate. 🙂
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The new Mac mini is almost certainly coming
- Thread starter GabrieleR
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Aye, it is that. 🙁
I upgraded to a 7200 RPM spinner soon as I could afford it. No regrets. 😎
Hopefully I will be able to afford to move to a decent sized SSD around Xmas. Their prices are falling at a pleasing rate. 🙂
There are some sweet deals on good SSD's pretty much all the time now. 256GB is the sweet spot.
JamesPDX
Suspended
Will it be thinner?
I'm running Pro Tools 9 and Logic X over here on a Mac Mini 6,2. I'm a little concerned with this trend toward user-upgrade lockouts, (i.e., soldered-in RAM) What I need is a machine that is still dead-quiet with an SSD (in a treated studio recording room). I need great performance and not in short bursts (USB) but in long-chain-signalling devices (FW400/800 & TB) for multitrack 24-bit audio with higher sample rates, track counts, plug-ins and dense edits: What's great for video and graphics doesn't always cut it for pro audio. So here's to hoping that we get higher clock speeds and great heat dissipation. I'm still puzzled by the built-in SD reader. I'd like to see that replaced with another TB port, as I can't jam my UDMA CF cards into my Mini. Save the Ethernet and Firewire ports!
I'm running Pro Tools 9 and Logic X over here on a Mac Mini 6,2. I'm a little concerned with this trend toward user-upgrade lockouts, (i.e., soldered-in RAM) What I need is a machine that is still dead-quiet with an SSD (in a treated studio recording room). I need great performance and not in short bursts (USB) but in long-chain-signalling devices (FW400/800 & TB) for multitrack 24-bit audio with higher sample rates, track counts, plug-ins and dense edits: What's great for video and graphics doesn't always cut it for pro audio. So here's to hoping that we get higher clock speeds and great heat dissipation. I'm still puzzled by the built-in SD reader. I'd like to see that replaced with another TB port, as I can't jam my UDMA CF cards into my Mini. Save the Ethernet and Firewire ports!
Lesser Evets
macrumors 68040
Knowing Apple, the mini will be updated quietly when no one expects.
They might do some minor bump without acknowledgement, then redesign the whole thing next year when the new processors allow a thorough redesign. There might be nothing this year, and a redesign will come about next year.
"Now or nothing" means nothing in terms of the schizo Apple release logic.
My opinion is that what will exactly happen. Ala Mac Pro. They are waiting for broad we'll because of the redesign. Having problems with thermals.
Some great bargains down the smaller end. Fusion heaven, for those so inclined.
But I want a decent sized SSD, to avoid needing to sacrifice the second drive bay to a fusion set up, and instead keep it as a straight spinner clone of the boot drive. On board backup is good. 🙂
So I will wait another few months. 😎
Kentuckienne
macrumors regular
I bought my refurb i7, just that same configuration except a 1 TB HDD instead of the SSD, and it was something like 16% or so discount. I had it shipped to the local Apple store which was free. B&H or Adorama, don't recall, had one for slightly more but no sales tax. I noticed that sometimes the same machine would be on offer at different prices and different discounts - the HDD box was discounted more than the SSD, but since SSD drives were cheaper elsewhere I bought the ultra fast one from OWC and took the bigger discount.
OWC had a better price on ram, and they do rebate a whopping less than 20 bucks for the 4 GB which was better than giving it to the drawer.
If such, then that quiet launch should happened months ago.
----------
My bet is the new mini Haswell or Broadwell has a complete redesign, maybe increasing TDP (for beefier i7/Iris Pro) or making it smaller and fanless, whatever nobody saves us from soldered ram and firewire removal.
talmy
macrumors 601
JohnPi314
macrumors member
Crosscreek
macrumors 68030
IMO the mini was redesigned for Broadwell and will not be available until next year.
Apple may have tried Haswell in it and decided the thermal problem required to much throttling and was not up to Apple standards, as you said.
It may have been scheduled for Broadwell this year for mid 2014 release but due to Intel delays it and several other Macs will not be available for 2014.
With 16 GB RAM, it's OK-ish.
Admittedly, I only had it running for an hour or two (update to Mavericks, redeem all the free i*-apps to my iCloud-account, prepare USB-stick for Mavericks re-install).
My parents run the i5 with 4GB and the 500g rotating rust.
That's kind-of-slow...
Apple should be ashamed of themselves for selling anything with a spinner. You may convince yourself, but you will never convince me. SSD's all the way baby!
Oh dear - that's what I feared, and I have become very used to the SSD on my other macs. Mostly this mini loads and sits and processes/serves video (serves video it already processed), and it'll run OS X server and Xcode builds for me, so I was thinking disk speed may not be the critical factor. Disk space might be however, Xcode ends up chewing quite a lot of disk.
RAM I don't mind installing myself, I really didn't want to pick the thing apart and put an SSD in it if I could avoid it, I watched a couple of the videos and it looks like a bit of a gnarly job.
talmy
macrumors 601
Disk speed is not the critical factor for that server use. It will make a difference while compiling in Xcode, though. OS X does use excess RAM as a disk cache so even that won't be bad as long as you have enough RAM.
I'm glad they haven't switched to SSD only, SSDs are really to expensive for servers and they don't need the speed anyway.
The Mac Mini is not a server.
Trust me; I've installed enough of them as Xsan MDCs' - because you can install 'Server' services; does not make this machine any more a server than your plug & play PC.
fastlanephil
macrumors 65816
It's really frustrating to wait any longer. I've been saving all summer and I really need a computer for my academic year. I'm thinking to get i7 2.6 ghz, 8gb ram and 1TB fusion drive Mac mini just for regular web browsing, word editing and watching movies.
Guys, do you think there's going to be a huge performance difference between the one I specified and the upcoming mini model? My only criteria for a computer is to last long, for like 4-5 years without getting too slow.
I would hate to spend the money on a 2 year old model, which will cost the same price as the new one. (Correct me please if I'm wrong)
Cheers
Guys, do you think there's going to be a huge performance difference between the one I specified and the upcoming mini model? My only criteria for a computer is to last long, for like 4-5 years without getting too slow.
I would hate to spend the money on a 2 year old model, which will cost the same price as the new one. (Correct me please if I'm wrong)
Cheers
Micky Do
macrumors 68020
For web browsing, Word editing and watching movies a top end Mac Mini is overkill. A basic Mini would do the job just fine. Not fast enough? add a few GB of RAM, and swap the HDD out for a SSD, and it should be good and speedy for years.
My five and a half year-old Mini did get a bit sluggish a couple of years ago, but then it had just 1 GB of RAM. An extra 4 GB of RAM, and a n upgrade to Mountain Lion was like getting a new computer, and it is still running fine. However, with the original HDD now over half full, I plan in swapping the HDD for a SSD sooner or later. I reckon there could be another generation or two of Mac Mini before I replace the one I have.
The current Mini is priced about the same as when it came out nearly years ago. However, now it comes with productivity software including Pages, Numbers, and Keynote, which used to cost extra. Also OSX upgrades are now free…… so although the price of the Mac Mini has not changed, you are getting more bang for your buck than a couple of years ago.
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Wahlstrm
macrumors 6502a
I have the i7 2,6, 16GB ram..
Writing this/browsing the web uses a total of 4,8% - 5,05% of my processor.
If all you do is word-processing and internet, then buy the cheapest one 🙂
I do big batches of photoprocessing and use 100% for 2-3h, then it´s necessary.
Otherwise, not so much 🙂
Writing this/browsing the web uses a total of 4,8% - 5,05% of my processor.
If all you do is word-processing and internet, then buy the cheapest one 🙂
I do big batches of photoprocessing and use 100% for 2-3h, then it´s necessary.
Otherwise, not so much 🙂
iMacFarlane
macrumors 65816
The two year old Mini being sold today is still a fine computer, with three notable exceptions:
1. Intel 4000HD graphics are seriously underpowered
2. 5400RPM HDD is embarrassingly slow
3. It's two years old
If you can live with these details, or overcome them by lobbing extra cash at Apple for a BTO upgrade (to fix #2, at least), then peace be on you, enjoy.
ckeck
macrumors 6502a
Certainly still a fine machine, just WAY overpriced considering the age of the hardware. Even for Apple.
iMacFarlane
macrumors 65816
Your reply got me curious, so I plugged in the closest parts I could think of into pcpartpicker.com's builder, and the mini, built using mail order retail parts, would cost $324.71. Dang. At $599, that's quite a hefty markup for a pretty silver case and a fruity logo. They need to update this thing with a quickness to restore the value!
ckeck
macrumors 6502a
Yup, but also remember that Apple sources these components for a fraction of the cost that you do at retail (or even online wholesale). So their margin is far greater than what you're showing here.
End of the day, I don't mind paying the "Apple tax" or premium they charge, but I'll be damned if I'm going to do that on previous-gen hardware. That's just a non-starter.