Im struggling myself . I have a 2010 mac pro 3.33 ghz 6 core xeon 32 gb of ram, rx580 with catalina,used it with an sad and a usb 3 pcie card too. problem is ik these machines are out of date. I used it for video editing, and gaming on windows 10, although the booting and non stop issues of bsods rattled me, its a great machine performs very well. However i see the 2018 mac mini as a possible choice, i plan to video edit, keep my gpu from the mac pro use it in an egpu chassis, game on windows 10 with an egpu, im planning to get the 6 core i7 and max out the ram. I love both, as much as i want to keep the pro, im thinking of selling it for the mini, is the mini a better choice? I feel its more supported and will last longer. I also have a 2012 mac mini as well.
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Thinking of getting the new mac mini
- Thread starter colin warburton
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I found a refurb that was priced right with what I wanted. Should arrive today. Hoping to get it running with out having any issues. That’s one of the Things I love about Apple is how things just work. will eat you know how it goes. I had a Mac Pro similar to yours and I miss that six core
I am in a similar situation with a mid 2010 8 Core 2.4 Ghz and I've not bothered to upgrade it beyond adding 32 gigs of ram, an SSD and a faster graphics card, so it could run Mojave. I resisted the temptation of a move to Catalina, figuring that if it needs patches to update it will always be a risk.
Looking at this in practical terms I believe Intel stopped issuing security updates for these about a year ago and Apple are likely to stop issuing security updates for Mojave in just over a year from now. There are other issues like not being able to enable file vault, while air drop is hamstrung, so yes this is an outdated machine, albeit one I rather admire after years of wonderful service. It's still a great workhorse.
For the last year my plan has been to keep going with the Mac Pro until they come out with minis using the new Arm processors, which at a guess will be about a year from now. This all seemed to make sense, but I am in two minds now, because there may well be a bug laden transition period with third party software adapting to the new processors and I need this for work. On the other hand I tend to keep computers for a long time without trading them in and who wants to be stuck with a fairly new Intel mini when all the attention jumps to Arm?
What I can tell you is that a friend with a maxed out top spec 2010 Mac Pro massively prefers the mini and tells me it runs beautifully. Already for the last year or so I have found system updates on the Mac Pro very hit and miss with frequent problems, which I suspect is down to the new video card and the Samsung SSD. I cannot even run disk utility in recovery mode and I'm generally fed up with some of the obvious problems that come from running an outdated machine. I can't even boot into safe mode without reinstalling the original graphics card.
My father was using an entry level 2012 Mac mini that is horrendously slow, but I cannot fault it for reliability, which goes a long way towards reassuring me that running a mini instead of a Mac Pro would not be something to worry about from that perspective. A few weeks ago he purchased an entry level i3 mini with 8 gigs of ram and a 256gig drive. I only used it for a few minutes around the finder and Safari, but I was honestly shocked at how smooth and fast it was.
After returning home I checked out the benchmarks online and the single core performance was almost twice as fast as my Mac Pro. It was whisper quiet, noticeably faster loading web pages and really forced me to acknowledge that the old beast was really just old now. When I looked at multicore performance my Mac Pro was still faster, but only by about 5% and we are comparing it here to an i3... I think one of the new i7 minis would out perform the Mac Pro for most purposes, except perhaps 4K video editing without an external card.
I don't know what your Mac Pro would be worth, but I think prices have been tumbling ever since the new mini was introduced and I've seen some exchanging hands at shockingly low prices lately as we all come to similar conclusions. I am private beta testing some software at the moment and if I mention something is slow I'm told it is probably down to my legacy hardware, which Apple deemed obsolete sometime ago now.
My thought is to buy a new mini (not sure when) and then keep the Mac Pro on Mojave for a while as a backup that is restricted to offline tasks like video editing to bypass potential security issues or running 32-bit apps. When the intel mini is a few years old that will become the backup and I'll buy an Arm based mini.
Looking at this in practical terms I believe Intel stopped issuing security updates for these about a year ago and Apple are likely to stop issuing security updates for Mojave in just over a year from now. There are other issues like not being able to enable file vault, while air drop is hamstrung, so yes this is an outdated machine, albeit one I rather admire after years of wonderful service. It's still a great workhorse.
For the last year my plan has been to keep going with the Mac Pro until they come out with minis using the new Arm processors, which at a guess will be about a year from now. This all seemed to make sense, but I am in two minds now, because there may well be a bug laden transition period with third party software adapting to the new processors and I need this for work. On the other hand I tend to keep computers for a long time without trading them in and who wants to be stuck with a fairly new Intel mini when all the attention jumps to Arm?
What I can tell you is that a friend with a maxed out top spec 2010 Mac Pro massively prefers the mini and tells me it runs beautifully. Already for the last year or so I have found system updates on the Mac Pro very hit and miss with frequent problems, which I suspect is down to the new video card and the Samsung SSD. I cannot even run disk utility in recovery mode and I'm generally fed up with some of the obvious problems that come from running an outdated machine. I can't even boot into safe mode without reinstalling the original graphics card.
My father was using an entry level 2012 Mac mini that is horrendously slow, but I cannot fault it for reliability, which goes a long way towards reassuring me that running a mini instead of a Mac Pro would not be something to worry about from that perspective. A few weeks ago he purchased an entry level i3 mini with 8 gigs of ram and a 256gig drive. I only used it for a few minutes around the finder and Safari, but I was honestly shocked at how smooth and fast it was.
After returning home I checked out the benchmarks online and the single core performance was almost twice as fast as my Mac Pro. It was whisper quiet, noticeably faster loading web pages and really forced me to acknowledge that the old beast was really just old now. When I looked at multicore performance my Mac Pro was still faster, but only by about 5% and we are comparing it here to an i3... I think one of the new i7 minis would out perform the Mac Pro for most purposes, except perhaps 4K video editing without an external card.
I don't know what your Mac Pro would be worth, but I think prices have been tumbling ever since the new mini was introduced and I've seen some exchanging hands at shockingly low prices lately as we all come to similar conclusions. I am private beta testing some software at the moment and if I mention something is slow I'm told it is probably down to my legacy hardware, which Apple deemed obsolete sometime ago now.
My thought is to buy a new mini (not sure when) and then keep the Mac Pro on Mojave for a while as a backup that is restricted to offline tasks like video editing to bypass potential security issues or running 32-bit apps. When the intel mini is a few years old that will become the backup and I'll buy an Arm based mini.
I have a 5,1 with basically the same specs (still sitting on Mojave and 24GB RAM.) I jumped on the Mini because the storage prices came down to something reasonable and I could still claim education pricing. With an eGPU it will be a significant step up in every respect versus my cheese grater, and while it's not as elegant a solution as a new tower it's a whole lot cheaper. The other major factor convincing me to buy now was that the 2018s can still boot into Mojave—I can keep on the old OS for another year or so and then boot to it once I finally make the jump and it'll serve as a good 32 bit legacy machine while taking up a lot less space than the Mac Pro down the line.
Sadly, the Mac mini is now sitting at a location I can't access because of the COVID nonsense... le sigh.
Sadly, the Mac mini is now sitting at a location I can't access because of the COVID nonsense... le sigh.
I made the switch from a 2010 Mac Pro and overall I'm glad I did. I have an i7, 500GB, 32 GB RAM. And lots of stuff connected. Including a Razor Core X with a Sapphire Pulse RX 580 (taken from the Mac Pro). One of my hobbies is photography, and the Mini seems much snappier than the pro.
That said there are quirks. I use a HDMI adaptor plug to get the system to boot and have the displays turn on correctly. I have had Bluetooth issues, but find if I use a 5GHz WIFI channel they go away. I was having random seeming crashes, usually pointing to the AMD kexts, but they have gone away since the Catalina update before this last one. The curious thing is that my solutions to these issues don't work for everyone, indicating we don't really know what the underlying issue is.
That said there do seem to be solutions to the issues. And as one member who posts on the forum, I forget who at the moment, likes to say, if you find something that works for you, then do that and stop worrying about what doesn't work. Maybe coming from the Mac Pro world, where it was common to tinker with the machine to get things to work, gives me a different perspective than some others.
Good luck whatever you decide.
That said there are quirks. I use a HDMI adaptor plug to get the system to boot and have the displays turn on correctly. I have had Bluetooth issues, but find if I use a 5GHz WIFI channel they go away. I was having random seeming crashes, usually pointing to the AMD kexts, but they have gone away since the Catalina update before this last one. The curious thing is that my solutions to these issues don't work for everyone, indicating we don't really know what the underlying issue is.
That said there do seem to be solutions to the issues. And as one member who posts on the forum, I forget who at the moment, likes to say, if you find something that works for you, then do that and stop worrying about what doesn't work. Maybe coming from the Mac Pro world, where it was common to tinker with the machine to get things to work, gives me a different perspective than some others.
Good luck whatever you decide.
I thought of buying the i7 with the base level of ram, then having the authorised service centre fit 32 gigs of ram from Crucial, which should save a lot of money without voiding the warranty. Yesterday I read that some Apple users who had fitted 3rd party ram were suddenly unable to start their computers following the latest update in Catalina if they had installed Ram that was non original.
That is very reminiscent of what I have been finding with the Mac Pro for the last 18 months where every security update feels like a leap of faith, because I had the nerve to install a couple components to keep it usable for a few more years. If it hadn't been for the Samsung SSD I would have given up on the Mac Pro about four years ago and well remember when people were telling me how slow it was because it was old.
One thing I would really miss from the Mac Pro would be the ability to simply open it up to swap out components to upgrade or troubleshoot and it looks like this is just what Apple are trying to stop now.
That is very reminiscent of what I have been finding with the Mac Pro for the last 18 months where every security update feels like a leap of faith, because I had the nerve to install a couple components to keep it usable for a few more years. If it hadn't been for the Samsung SSD I would have given up on the Mac Pro about four years ago and well remember when people were telling me how slow it was because it was old.
One thing I would really miss from the Mac Pro would be the ability to simply open it up to swap out components to upgrade or troubleshoot and it looks like this is just what Apple are trying to stop now.
Just got base model with only i7 upgraded. The machine is so small and quiet, exactly what I need for a desktop. I have a RX580 laying around and may do an external GPU enclosure down the line. The RAM will also be updated. At this price point it's a steal. I currently use a USB-C to DP since my 1200p monitor is only DP/DVI/VGA.
Definatly, ive thought about it and im excited to get the new mini. Yeah ill miss the ol tower, but as time goes on new technology is sometimes better than old technology. The new mini in this case beating out the pro and now has 6 cores like the old xeons but with newer turbo boost and better hyperthreading. Count me in
I gather the new ARM based computers are likely to be faster, which is actually the less important issue for me, as long it does the job. The point causing me pause for thought is whether buying a new Intel machine now would provide better or worse compatibility with key software over the next 5-7 years. Over the next two years Intel wins easily, but over the longer term?
Sorry, but what do you mean by "12-core 3.33GHZ CMP? Are you referring to the Mac Pro? Please link me which model you're referring as I'm considering buying a new machine.
Mac Pro "Six Core" 3.33 (2010/Westmere) Specs (Mid-2010, BTO/CTO, MacPro5,1, A1289, 2314-2*): EveryMac.com
Technical specifications for the Mac Pro "Six Core" 3.33 (2010/Westmere). Dates sold, processor type, memory info, hard drive details, price and more.
Apple should make a "Mac", between mini and pro...too many drawbacks either side for the prosumer.
I think its time to change Government, the grass is greener on the other side.
mac pro power for a mac mini price.
I think its time to change Government, the grass is greener on the other side.
mac pro power for a mac mini price.
Agreed 100% about Apple needing to make a desktop between the mac mini and the mac pro. I normally build my own pcs, but really want to buy a mac as I enjoy the ecosystem - I have iphones, apple tvs, apple watch, iphone, ipad etc. I know apple probably considers the imac in that spot, but I want something I can upgrade the gpu in 3 yeras. My last custom pc lasted me 10 years because I have been able to upgrade memory, gpu, cpu etc.
Then a 2018 Mac mini with an eGPU is your best bet. Since the 2018 model has a desktop class processor, it is technically "that spot" you are referring to. The 2018 mini does not get enough credit for how great of a machine it is. The 2018 mini has upgradable RAM, GPU*, and storage* (* externally with TB3). When Apple changed the mini from the laptop class processor to the desktop class processor Apple changed the mini from the intro Mac people are used to it being into the new modular Mac. We will (mostly likely) never see a non modular Mac (ie in a tower) from Apple other than the Mac Pro.
They do, it's called an iMac. There is even a pro model! You can google it.
I currently use a Mac Mini 2018. Prior to this I had a Mac Pro 2010 (and a PowerMac G4, and a PowerMac G3, and a Quadra 700 and a Mac 512KE). I got it when it came out and retired it this past December. I got ten good years out of it. So I get why people think there is something missing in Apple's line up.
But when you actually look at the market for desktop computers that is not the case.
I would love a 2020 version of the 2010 Mac Pro. And so it seems would you. But that market is very small. And Apple has decided it is not worth chasing.
Is the Mini everything I want --- not really. Does it meet my needs, yes.
Only you can decide what you want. I've decided that the Mini, from what is available, is what I want.
Good luck whatever you decide is right for you.
yes it would be nice but I don't think it's happening. I am glad Apple is not abandoning the pro market with the MP 2019. If you want a better price is either the Mini or iMac. I honestly don't see Apple making another tower. People has been asking it for many years and nothing.