MP 1,1-5,1 Upgrade my Mac Pro 2010, or get a newer mac mini

[Sossity]

Hello all, I may have asked something similar a while back, but I need some updated input.

I need a desktop mac that can run virtual machines, (I run windows xp, windows 7, and windows 10 through parallels desktop, and do some photoshop, illustrator, (version CS6 before it went to subscription model), and a little bit of video editing. I am also a heavy chrome browser user, I have multiple Google accounts open often at once. I also use a wacom tablet with a pen, of which I have been having issues with a jittery pen, and there is a separate thread I made on that with no replies. I also have some older hardware and software I use on it; An Espon perfection photo 4490, and a fujitsu scanner, along with a canon color laser printer.

I am currently running a Mac Pro 2010, with Mac OS high Sierra, with upgraded RAM and a SSD boot drive, but all other components are original that came with the mac.

I am aware that I could buy some hardware, and get it to run to Mojave, or newer, but wonder if I would be better spending that money towards a newer desktop mac like the mini.

If I choose to upgrade my current desktop, I would like to do so without having to do too many patches, just upgrade the graphics card or something to get it more capable. I do not want to risk bricking it, due to too many patches and fixes.

 

[sfalatko]

Hello all, I may have asked something similar a while back, but I need some updated input.

I need a desktop mac that can run virtual machines, (I run windows xp, windows 7, and windows 10 through parallels desktop, and do some photoshop, illustrator, (version CS6 before it went to subscription model), and a little bit of video editing. I am also a heavy chrome browser user, I have multiple Google accounts open often at once. I also use a wacom tablet with a pen, of which I have been having issues with a jittery pen, and there is a separate thread I made on that with no replies. I also have some older hardware and software I use on it; An Espon perfection photo 4490, and a fujitsu scanner, along with a canon color laser printer.

I am currently running a Mac Pro 2010, with Mac OS high Sierra, with upgraded RAM and a SSD boot drive, but all other components are original that came with the mac.

I am aware that I could buy some hardware, and get it to run to Mojave, or newer, but wonder if I would be better spending that money towards a newer desktop mac like the mini.

If I choose to upgrade my current desktop, I would like to do so without having to do too many patches, just upgrade the graphics card or something to get it more capable. I do not want to risk bricking it, due to too many patches and fixes.

You do need to consider that any M1 Mac will not run VMs for intel based OS's - so no Windows 7/10/11 and licensing prohibits Windows ARM VMs so it would seem your use case precludes you using M1 Macs.

 

[Sossity]

You do need to consider that any M1 Mac will not run VMs for intel based OS's - so no Windows 7/10/11 and licensing prohibits Windows ARM VMs so it would seem your use case precludes you using M1 Macs.

Oh wow, ok, is there a newer mac mini that is not M1 or intel? I think the 2020 one is? or is the last intel mini the 2018?

 

[MBAir2010]

Hello all, I may have asked something similar a while back, but I need some updated input.

I need a desktop mac that can run virtual machines, (I run windows xp, windows 7, and windows 10 through parallels desktop, and do some photoshop, illustrator, (version CS6 before it went to subscription model), and a little bit of video editing. I am also a heavy chrome browser user,

PC are great computers, im typing this on a Dell XPS 13 with windows 10, and they could be less expensive.
that could a great option for you, since you are used to that environment.

When Mojave turns into a pile of uslessness like Mountain lion did last year,
i might get a 2018 mac mini for Salton Sea or El Cerrito or what ever Cali landmark OS is named.

 

[The_Interloper]

Oh wow, ok, is there a newer mac mini that is not M1 or intel? I think the 2020 one is? or is the last intel mini the 2018?

The last Intel mini is the 2018 model. Bear in mind your Adobe CS6 suite will not work on the most recent versions of macOS.

 

[Boyd01]

Oh wow, ok, is there a newer mac mini that is not M1 or intel? I think the 2020 one is? or is the last intel mini the 2018?

The newest Intel Mini is 2018, they are still selling one version with an i5 and another with an i7 processor. Plenty of refurbs available at the moment also

Refurbished Mac - Mac mini

Save up to 15% on a refurbished Mac mini. Tested and certified by Apple including a 1-year warranty. Free delivery and returns.

www.apple.com

In 2020, Apple changed the SSD size on the bottom of the line Mini and called it a "2020 Mini" but it was not new, still the same 2018 hardware (and that model has been discontinued anyway). I have the top-spec 2018 Mini and still love it, I use Windows 10, MacOS Mountain Lion and MacOS Sierra virtual machines under Parallels and am very pleased with the performance.

The 2018 Mini has the Intel UHD 630 Integrated graphics, which might be an issue for you, depending on your software. However it also supports external GPU's. I use the cloud version of Photoshop on my Mini without an eGPU and it works fine. But a MacOS virtual machine could be a solution if you have 32-bit apps, that's what I use for several very expensive legacy apps.

 

[Sossity]

I just looked into CS6, and I have it on my macbook pro running Mojave, and I have read from Adobe that it has a 64 bit version, and that is what I have on my laptop, so I am not sure about not running on newer OSes.

I wen into Activity monitor, and I could see my CS6 was 64 bit.

 

[mattspace]

Hello all, I may have asked something similar a while back, but I need some updated input.

The M1 mini is limited to 2 displays. It has no support for eGPU, and will likely never have support for eGPU, so you have a hard limit there.

A late model Intel Mini will support more ram than the M1, supports 3 displays plugged in directly and supports eGPU so you can have another ~3 displays connected per TB bus it has.

The Intel Mini will support more ram, and Intel VMs. Of course, your current Mac Pro will support way more ram for VMs, but will run into problems of not being able to get new versions of VM software, given VMWare and Parallels won't even sell you old versions, that becomes a real limiter.

 

[dontpokebearz]

Is there any reason you shouldn't keep your Mac Pro? Does it not work for what you are doing? If not, can the upgrades (that will be cheaper than a new machine) fix that for you?

Like others have said, the only Mini that will work for you is going to be the Intel model from 2018/2020. At this point, you'd be losing out on performance, but gaining in power efficiency and official support from Apple. The cMP is not obsolete, and will rely on community patches to keep it 'modern'. If that bothers you, purchase the Mac Mini. If not, spend the money on upgrading your cMP.

 

[Neodym]

Like others have said, the only Mini that will work for you is going to be the Intel model from 2018/2020. At this point, you'd be losing out on performance, but gaining in power efficiency and official support from Apple.

Are you sure about that? A quick google search for Geekbench results seemed to indicate that the 2018 mini (i7) seems to be roughly on par with the MP5,1 - at least in single-core. Some 5,1 variants even seemed to reach only about half the single core speed of the 2018 mini.

 

[Soba]

I moved off my 5,1 to a high-end 2018 Intel Mac mini about 6 months ago. I've been very happy with the transition—and with the fact my home office is now 5º–10º cooler with the Mac Pro turned off. I plan for the 2018 mini to be kept long-term (eventually as a secondary computer) because I also run a large number of VMs.

It's possible that Apple Silicon Macs will eventually be able to run VMs for Intel-based OSes, but there are no signs of this yet and I am not holding my breath.

I recommend looking into whether an Intel Mac mini with upgraded RAM and storage is cost effective for you (unless you need a really good GPU). Keep in mind that you might need to make another transition to an Apple Silicon Mac in the future when Intel Macs are no longer supported by new software. This day might come sooner than we'd like to think.

Another option is to consider migrating some things to a Windows PC, as has been suggested already.

I love my 5,1 and it is the best system I've ever owned, but I barely use it now and will probably be selling it in the next few months. The unfortunate reality is that most of these machines are now very old. Starting about 5 years ago, I maxed out the CPUs, upgraded the RAM, installed NVMe drives, and put in a great RX 580 graphics card. My Mac Pro performs well, but at this point, I'm hard pressed to recommend putting any more money into one of these systems unless you have very specific needs that can't be met through other solutions.

You mentioned the possibility of buying a new graphics card for your 5,1 but most graphics cards are extremely expensive right now due to shortages. If you haven't shopped for one yet, look around; you will probably get sticker shock.

Keep in mind that the Intel Mac mini is likely to be discontinued in the (very) near future because of the transition to Apple Silicon. If you want an Intel mini brand new or customized to order, you might want to move fairly quickly.

 

[MisterAndrew]

Hello,
My suggestion is to stay with the Mac Pro line instead of moving to the mini. Get a 6,1 and then a 7,1 when the prices come down. The D700 graphics are quite good on the 6,1. I have no problems with Adobe CC applications. A mini would really struggle with those apps, even the M1. Of course there is a higher end Apple Silicon mini coming. I suppose you could get one of those and a separate PC for Windows, but that would cost more than a 6,1 and might not be a huge savings over a 7,1.

 

[Sossity]

Hello,
My suggestion is to stay with the Mac Pro line instead of moving to the mini. Get a 6,1 and then a 7,1 when the prices come down. The D700 graphics are quite good on the 6,1. I have no problems with Adobe CC applications. A mini would really struggle with those apps, even the M1. Of course there is a higher end Apple Silicon mini coming. I suppose you could get one of those and a separate PC for Windows, but that would cost more than a 6,1 and might not be a huge savings over a 7,1.

Oh yeah, I have looked at the 6,1 but have read mixed things about it, some saying the mini is newer or better, but I would like something that can last and has good energy efficacy and cooling. I had a 2011 mini, and it would get hot, and the fans would spin up, and I was not crazy about the plasticky feeling power button, I thought it might give out from turning it on and off.

If I look for a 6,1, should I as maxed out as possible? since it is a few years old, if I get another desktop, I plan on keeping it a while.

I like the look of the 7,1, but even the minimum spec one is way out of this world too expensive for me.

 

[Neodym]

I’d stay clear from a 6,1 nowadays. Outdated ports (TB2), outdated hardware (e.g lack of hardware support for certain modern codecs), proprietary hardware (GPU cards) that is known for failing and replacement parts are expensive and/or hard to come by. Imho too many cons for the prices still asked for that machine.

Granted - similar things could be said about the 5,1, but those are at least internally expandable and use way more standard components. And they are significantly cheaper to get than a 6,1.

 

[rasputin666]

i was in the same position when my 6,1 trashcan started to have some issues. i bought the 1 rev of the M1 Mini and have been very happy with it. Plan on upgrading to the new Mini when it comes out and gifting my M1 to family who needs an upgrade. i'll probably keep the next Mini much longer as it has more room for RAM which is what i require. 16GB now but need some head room with my use case.

 

[Sossity]

What model mini is the most recent intel based one? since I would want to use virtual machines on it, and since I have learned that the newer M1s do not allow for virtual machines. I know it is the 2020, but there are model numbers.

So it looks like it would be best o go with a mac mini, I see that the trash can ones are now almost a decade old too.

 

[Neodym]

Most recent Intel mini is the 2018 (the „2020“ flavor only had an increased base SSD size, but is technically identical).

Virtual machines are possible on M1 Macs nowadays. Parallels 17 is running natively and iirc there is at least a preview version of Fusion with native support.

You just need an ARM flavor of Windows. Windows 10 for ARM is not available directly from Microsoft anymore, but Windows 11 is.

I don’t know about the Software compatibility of Windows for Arm, so you may want to research the current situation, based on your individual requirements.

 

[Boyd01]

What model mini is the most recent intel based one?

I covered this in my post above and also linked to certified refurbs at the Apple Store. You will also find it at the bottom of the page on Apple's site

Buy Mac mini

Mac mini with the M4 and M4 Pro chips. Built for Apple Intelligence. With front and back ports. Get credit when you trade in an eligible Mac. Buy now.

www.apple.com

 

[Boyd01]

Virtual machines are possible on M1 Macs nowadays.

AFAIK, you cannot run legacy versions of MacOS in a virtual machine on the M1 Macs. That is something I still need for some very expensive old software.

 

[MajorFubar]

Be aware that I don't think any OS more recent than Mojave will run CS6.
I keep an old 2012 MBP running High Sierra for that one reason. (I suppose technically the one reason is I'm too tight to sign up to Adobe's subscription model, which I fundamentally disagree with.)

 

[hwojtek]

.

 

[Soba]

AFAIK, you cannot run legacy versions of MacOS in a virtual machine on the M1 Macs. That is something I still need for some very expensive old software.

Likewise with legacy versions of Windows. The OP said he needs to run Windows XP and Windows 7, neither of which have ARM versions (and even if they did, it's very unlikely the OP's apps would run on them).

Until someone releases software that allows Intel-based VMs to run on ARM processors in the way that Virtual PC enabled Windows and other Intel-based OSes to run on PowerPC Macs, we're stuck keeping Intel-based hardware around. It might be the case that this never happens, but I suspect someone will do it eventually.

I have nearly every version of Windows going back to 3.11 (plus a handful of other OSes) running in VMs. In my case, it's a combination of technical need and nostalgia.

 

[Sossity]

Thanks all, it looks like I will have to keep some intel hardware around, maybe try to have the most recent intel desktop and laptop for my needs, and any modern M1 hardware as needed. I read the M2 chips are coming, so maybe I will see then.

 

[killawat]

the Mac mini 2018 intel supports VMware ESXi which can virtualize anything under the sun and is entirely free. Including macOS since you're on a Mac platform. I suspect many, many intel minis will turn into ESXi hosts in the coming years as people convert to apple silicon. Especially with the 10 Gb networking. Small, quiet. 64 GB max ram.

 

[Sossity]

So if it came down to keeping a legacy mac desktop, would I be better just upgrade my current CMP 5,1, or using that money to get a maxed 2018 intel mac mini?

What is the max ram I can get on my 5,1?