Why can't apple give us A mini with the I9 of the 2020 iMac?

[fourthtunz]

Does your software utilize all cores? Audio is lightweight stuff, really.

yes they all do, protools, logic, Live.
It is until you start using VI's the I7 does fine but more horsepower is always good!

 

[fourthtunz]

My mini (2018 i7 16Gb Mojave) is connected via Thunderbolt to a Presonus Quantum for multitrack drum recording. For a DAW I’m running Reaper, which I’ve read utilizes multi-core, Slate Trigger 2 on most tracks and one or two basic plugins on some tracks. It runs about as hot as I would trust a computer to do so for an extended period of time. No way I’d want a hotter CPU in there.

Yeah they'd have to make it bigger and or add fans.
Or as someone said bring back the cube!

 

[fourthtunz]

Many server farms are running off ARM-based processors now, even AWS has significant amounts of processing power on the ARM side of things. Regarding a makeover for the mini, the answer would be "no", for the same reason it could be among the first machines to get updated. Since Mac Minis are commonly used in server racks, keeping the form factor unchanged would be a necessity.

Arm Introduces Chip Designs Dedicated to Data Centers

Arm Introduces Chip Designs Dedicated to Data Centers

www.electronicdesign.com

A Huge Week for Arm – in the Data Center Too

Ampere is bringing to market a 128-core Arm server chip, and Bamboo is ready to launch a server based on its own “PANDA” Arm architecture.

www.datacenterknowledge.com

I thought the minis were too costly for server farms? I thought the windows world with the nucs etc were taking care of that.

 

[fourthtunz]

Same here. Mine only has 16Gb of memory and I’ve been considering buying more, 32 minimum. How much memory does your have? Then again, with the new ARM mini’s coming out later, I want to see how they perform before dumping any more money into my 2018.

I agree that the physical size of the mini probably won’t change because it’s got to fit those racks, and currently the i7 makes mine plenty hot enough, can’t imagine how hot an i9 would make it. With how much cooler the ARM chips are running they wouldn’t have to change the physical size to add more horsepower.

I bought it with 8 and took it apart and put in 32.
Sure I can wait for the arm chips..going to be interesting to see what kind of performance we get out
of the arm chips.

 

[Codeseven]

I bought it with 8 and took it apart and put in 32.
Sure I can wait for the arm chips..going to be interesting to see what kind of performance we get out
of the arm chips.

Memory is relatively cheap nowadays, if loading samples or latency becomes annoying I won’t wait for the ARM specs to drop in at least 32Gb.

I use the mini in a couple of locations, occasionally disconnecting and bringing it to a different room. I love how handy it is to have a portable, small and compact little powerhouse. I’m hoping the new ARM mini’s not having the cooling limitations of Intel chips will far surpass the i7.

 

[Krevnik]

I thought the minis were too costly for server farms? I thought the windows world with the nucs etc were taking care of that.

You need Apple hardware to run macOS without violating the EULA. There’s a market for Mac colocation and servers for cases where you need macOS. My github projects wouldn’t be able to have automated builds without stuff like this. And there is demand for it because of how popular iOS is for development.

For when you need macOS in a server rack, the Mini is really hard to beat. Especially since the 2018 is faster than the 2013 Mac Pro in certain scenarios for a lot less money, and a lot less space in the rack.

I use the mini in a couple of locations, occasionally disconnecting and bringing it to a different room. I love how handy it is to have a portable, small and compact little powerhouse. I’m hoping the new ARM mini’s not having the cooling limitations of Intel chips will far surpass the i7.

Considering what Apple can get out of a chip with only passive cooling, I’m curious what they can do with active cooling. Intel hasn’t been making things easier with ever higher boost clocks and peak power consumption, that’s for sure.

 

[dmccloud]

You need Apple hardware to run macOS without violating the EULA. There’s a market for Mac colocation and servers for cases where you need macOS. My github projects wouldn’t be able to have automated builds without stuff like this. And there is demand for it because of how popular iOS is for development.

For when you need macOS in a server rack, the Mini is really hard to beat. Especially since the 2018 is faster than the 2013 Mac Pro in certain scenarios for a lot less money, and a lot less space in the rack.



Considering what Apple can get out of a chip with only passive cooling, I’m curious what they can do with active cooling. Intel hasn’t been making things easier with ever higher boost clocks and peak power consumption, that’s for sure.

Your last paragraph illustrates one of the issues with Intel parts at the moment. Since they can't get their process shrink working, the only real method they have to boost performance at this point is by boosting clock speeds and power consumption in the process. The last significant jump between generations was when Intel switched from the 7th gen to the 8th gen processors, which I believe coincided with the last successful process shrink. The 8-9 and 9-10 changes have been marked by adding bells and whistles to their chipsets (i.e. adding Iris Pro graphics to consumer level laptops, WiFi6 with 10th gen CPUs, etc." If you want some insight into Intel's newest approach, look up Project Athena:

Press Kit: Project Athena: An Innovation Program

Code-named “Project Athena,” Intel’s innovation program takes a new approach to laptop innovation.

newsroom.intel.com

 

[Tesla1856]

Since Mac Minis are commonly used in server racks, keeping the form factor unchanged would be a necessity.

Is that really why? Man, that seems weird. I thought the "small servers" they used were blades.

Not even an X-Mac (with PCIe slots) ... but just a MacMini that was twice-as-thick. More room for cooling, drives, and a better power-supply.

But yeah, everything is getting ready to change isn't it ?

 

[Boil]

Is that really why? Man, that seems weird. I thought the "small servers" they used were blades.

Not even an X-Mac (with PCIe slots) ... but just a MacMini that was twice-as-thick. More room for cooling, drives, and a better power-supply.

But yeah, everything is getting ready to change isn't it ?

There are a number of co-location server facilities that specialize in using Mac minis. They have specific racks/mounts/cooling/etc. that is all built around the current Mac mini chassis/dimensions. These companies buy thousands of Mac minis at a time.

Apple changing this would be kind of a Richard Move towards those customers...