Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

What am I missing here and what direction to go (Apple and this year has finally broken me and my brain)

arctair said:
And I think it's the A2 chip that handles a lot of the HVEC encoding, so not sweating that.
Click to expand...
D'oh! I did indeed forget about the video transcoding benefits of the T2.

All I know is my mini feels like it trudges through Handbrake queues rather than plows or glides. 😆 However, I must say, my 8th generation quad-core i7 equipped HP laptop doesn't exactly leave my mini in the dust with transcoding via Handbrake either -- but then again it is an ultra-low-power chip (i7-8550U).

Anywho...

I'm sure no matter what you upgrade to, it will be a significant boost, especially if you drop in 32 or 64GB of RAM.

P.S. I don't know where you call home, but beyond checking the Apple Store refurbished section, I recommend looking through ExperCom. They typically have at least small discounts on Apple's MSRP, deep ones for aftermarket upgradeable components, plus only charge sales tax to residents of Utah -- as far as I'm aware -- (where their brick and mortar stores are). I don't have any affiliation, just good experiences as a customer.
 
Handbrake on the Mac will not automatically use the T2 Security Chip. You need to go to the Video tab in Handbrake and select one of the "VideoToolbox" options (not the default) in the Video Encoder pulldown menu. The default encoding method is in software (CPU based).

Handbrake on Windows has other encoding options including Intel QuickSync (on systems with an Intel CPU), AMD VCE and Nvidia VCE (the latter two available when the host system has the respective discrete GPU).

Handbrake's hardware encoding options have fewer control options than software-based encoding. In the case of T2/VideoToolbox encoding on Macs, it will only generate 8-bit video.
 
  • Like
Reactions: watakoola, getrealbro and Boyd01
6k video?

You need a Mac Pro or a high-end iMac (get one WITHOUT the nano glass). And DON'T get the VESA stand -- get a regular iMac.

No Mini or MacBook Pro will handle 6k very well (even utilizing proxy media)

If the Mac Pro or iMac isn't an option, then either look at Hackintoshes or perhaps go to a high end Windows computer...
 
Last edited:
arctair said:
I currently have a semi-dying Late-2012 Mini with a 2.3 GHz Quad-Core 3rd-Generation Intel Core i7. The most maxed-out current Mini has a 3.2GHz 6‑core 8th‑generation Intel Core i7.

The onboard video still is weak, so I'm looking at eGPUs, which I 'm seeing you have to play cord switcheroo with every time you boot up your machine.
Click to expand...

I have a Sapphire Pulse RX580 card in a Sonnet Breakaway Box plugged into my 2020 Mac Mini and as long as I don’t use FileVault it starts up like any Mac, no cord switching required.
 
  • Like
Reactions: MevetS
If you decide to get the 2018 Mini, do not pay the Apple tax for onboard storage. Get a base model you feel comfortable with and use external NVME storage. Almost as fast, and sometimes faster in some scenarios.

Read this thread from page 7 onwards: https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/thunderbolt-3-m-2-nvme-ssd-enclosures.2027925/

Screenshot 2020-10-13 at 15.54.16.png
 
Last edited:
Since it can never be upgraded, there was no question that I wanted the biggest internal SSD available (would have gotten 4tb if they had it). Those thunderbolt disk speeds are nice, but they are still rather expensive. And, at least with a 2tb disk, my Mini's internal SSD write speed is significantly faster. Yes, Apple's price is high and I don't like it, but it isn't so bad averaged out over the years.

mini-2018.png
 
  • Like
Reactions: Daverich4
Boyd01 said:
Since it can never be upgraded, there was no question that I wanted the biggest internal SSD available (would have gotten 4tb if they had it). Those thunderbolt disk speeds are nice, but they are still rather expensive.
Click to expand...
That and... If a person does internal and external, isn't that just setting yourself up for trouble, a huge hassle? For example, OS, apps, and initial saves can go to the 256GB internal SSD but Photos, Music, Documents, etc are pointed at an external. So, now there's fragmentation with raw files on the external but perhaps library, thumbnail, etc files sill on the internal. Plus... For backup, you need to merge them somehow -- I'm not sure something such as Time Machine would automatically do that. Basically, it seems like a mess.
 
gnasher729 said:
Time Machine does that without problems.
Click to expand...

Can confirm. I have a 2018 base mini with 3 8TB HDDs connected (WD easy store from BestBuy). One is time machine, one is media (TV, music, photos libraries), and one is just extra storage for PDFs, old docs, backup Raspberry pi images, etc (vault as I call it)

Time Machine backs up the media, vault and internal SSD. Just check a box to back up the other volumes.

I am curious that if I were to attempt a full restore from time machine to a new Mac with plenty of internal storage, is it smart enough to ask where to put all the files from the external drives? Or will it automatically consolidate all files to the new internal HDD? Or would I need to replicate my current setup first, then consolidate myself?
 
I've had my 2018 mini for a year, the 6-core i7 with 32 gb RAM and a 1 tb SSD. I have a CalDigit TB3 dock connected to a TB3 12 tb external drive. I also have the Sonnet 650 eGPU box with a Sapphire Radeon RX 5700 XT. I regularly edit long 4k video projects without issue, and also do 3D modeling and some gaming. Outside of the issue with having to boot from HDMI and then disconnect it (which hopefully will be fixed with Big Sur), my setup has been running great. I found that it's important to run off the eGPU's Display Port into the monitor's DP, and not use HDMI during normal operation. I get a solid 60 fps with a 4k display. The eGPU could easily push 6k. For your purposes, you'd mainly want the eGPU for FCPX rendering assistance. I wanted to get a newer graphics card so that it wouldn't be obsolete too quickly. But others who use older cards (like the Radeon 580) seem to be getting better results than I am.
 
Fishrrman said:
6k video?

You need a Mac Pro or a high-end iMac (get one WITHOUT the nano glass). And DON'T get the VESA stand -- get a regular iMac.

No Mini or MacBook Pro will handle 6k very well (even utilizing proxy media)

If the Mac Pro or iMac isn't an option, then either look at Hackintoshes or perhaps go to a high end Windows computer...
Click to expand...

Why no VESA version? That's been my desk setup for ten years.
 
You should head back in the direction you started.

If the priority is editing 6K video, I’d get a 2020 iMac, upgrade it to 5700XT, and whatever else you can within budget.

Mac mini and GPU is likely to give you more headaches, and will likely be slower than what I’m describing above. And I’m saying this as a Mini owner, I also have an eGPU. But my main daily driver is an iMac Pro.
 
BeatCrazy said:
You should head back in the direction you started.

If the priority is editing 6K video, I’d get a 2020 iMac, upgrade it to 5700XT, and whatever else you can within budget.

Mac mini and GPU is likely to give you more headaches, and will likely be slower than what I’m describing above. And I’m saying this as a Mini owner, I also have an eGPU. But my main daily driver is an iMac Pro.
Click to expand...

I've been getting a lot of convicting advice, so tell me both of these are true:

1) A maxed/out (CPU/GPU, my two Crucial 32 sticks) 2020 iMac can smoothly edit 6K video. People are saying that's not even close to enough juice.

2) That a 5700XT has less power/functionality connected via Thunderbolt in an eGPU enclosure then permanently stuffed inside an iMac. If we're going to get into specifics, let's say an already edited video — just rendering. And this only matters to me right now if the difference is hours (again, for a specific reference example, a timeline that's ten minutes long), not minutes.
 
arctair said:
I've been getting a lot of convicting advice, so tell me both of these are true:

1) A maxed/out (CPU/GPU, my two Crucial 32 sticks) 2020 iMac can smoothly edit 6K video. People are saying that's not even close to enough juice.

2) That a 5700XT has less power/functionality connected via Thunderbolt in an eGPU enclosure then permanently stuffed inside an iMac. If we're going to get into specifics, let's say an already edited video — just rendering. And this only matters to me right now if the difference is hours (again, for a specific reference example, a timeline that's ten minutes long), not minutes.
Click to expand...

1) Doubtful. You’ll have headaches, eventually.

2) I have a 5700XT Anniversary Edition inside a Razer Chroma X eGPU. I typically pair it with a 2018 MacBook Pro 13”. I still think rendering is going to win via the iMac Pro w/5700XT + eGPU/mini combo. I realize they both have the T2 to help with rendering, but the iMac’s CPU will have a better clock, and cache vs. the one in the mini.
 
  • Like
Reactions: arctair
arctair said:
I've been getting a lot of convicting advice, so tell me both of these are true:

1) A maxed/out (CPU/GPU, my two Crucial 32 sticks) 2020 iMac can smoothly edit 6K video. People are saying that's not even close to enough juice.

2) That a 5700XT has less power/functionality connected via Thunderbolt in an eGPU enclosure then permanently stuffed inside an iMac. If we're going to get into specifics, let's say an already edited video — just rendering. And this only matters to me right now if the difference is hours (again, for a specific reference example, a timeline that's ten minutes long), not minutes.
Click to expand...
If it helps, here is a spec and basic Geekbench 5 scores comparison.


Also, here's a video comparing, benchmarking top video editing apps with and without an eGPU -- a bit dated (2018) but still should be insightful.

 
  • Like
Reactions: arctair
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back