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You have $1300 how do you spec your Mini?

D

dafodeu

macrumors member
Original poster
Mar 23, 2016
68
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There are a number of ways to spec the new Mac mini at the $1300 price point. How would you spec yours if that was your max budget and what is your use case?

I'd pick

i5 6-Core 3.0
16gb Ram
256gb ssd.

Use Case - Web Development/Design/Writing using Sketch, Gimp, Affinity Photo, Ulysses, Office Apps, Sublime Text.
 
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3.0GHz 6-core 8th-generation Intel Core i5 processor
16GB 2666MHz DDR4 memory
256GB PCIe-based SSD storage1

I will be using it for: web surfing, email, Calendar, Notes, Reminders, iWork apps, light GIMP work. I usually stick with Apple apps except for GIMP.
 
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I'll would wait until iFixit have taken the new Mini apart, to see if the Ram can be upgraded,
then you could spec the SSD or processor higher, and add more Ram later.
 
Use case: Casual enthusiast: Basic internet/email/iWork plus the occasional Linux distro trial run and hobbyist level software development. Infrequent 'photoshopping' in gimp.

If the iFixit / OWC reviews say a RAM upgrade is as hard or harder than an 2014 HDD replacement I'd take OP's pick for i5 16GB/256GB, but if a DIY upgrade is easier than that I'd take the 8GB option and buy a 3rd party 1x16GB for a DIY upgrade to 20GB Ram.
 
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dafodeu said:
There are a number of ways to spec the new Mac mini at the $1300 price point. How would you spec yours if that was your max budget and what is your use case?

I'd pick

i5 6-Core 3.0
16gb Ram
256gb ssd.

Use Case - Web Development/Design/Writing using Sketch, Gimp, Affinity Photo, Ulysses, Office Apps, Sublime Text.
Click to expand...

I ordered this exact configuration. I wasn't comfortable adding ram and that's the reason I went with 16GB. I would have liked 512GB ssd but it wasn't in the budget (and I don't really need it).
 
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kaibob said:
I ordered this exact configuration. I wasn't comfortable adding ram and that's the reason I went with 16GB. I would have liked 512GB ssd but it wasn't in the budget (and I don't really need it).
Click to expand...

Reports are looking like the ram is upgradable but it's not a trivial task requiring one to remove the fan and voiding the warranty. If the ram was super easy to change out then I would have went i7 instead of 16gb ram.
[doublepost=1541512384][/doublepost]
D.T. said:
i7 ... figure out everything else later :D
Click to expand...

How big of a difference in performance is the i7 versus the i5 ? With my $1300 budget I was going back and forth if I should go 128gb ssd allowing for the i7 and 16gb ram at the $1300 price point since I'll be using an external drive anyway.
 
F-Train said:
I stand to be corrected, but my understanding is that you can't run Linux on a T2 machine.
Click to expand...

Should work with T2 secure boot disabled, but mostly I use Virtual Box. Even without a T2 chip MacOS likes to overwrite rEFind partitions when upgrading to the nextOS making maintaining a dual-boot problematic.

... I guess I should also add 'Linux on Mini review' to the list of review I need to wait for.
 
strawbale said:
As $1300 only buys me 1138€, my only option, here in Europe, would be an i3 8/256, for 1139€...
Click to expand...
That’s a ripoff. Can’t you find someone in US who will be soon coming to your country to buy the Mini and bring it to you?

That would be best. Person who would bring it to you could always say that is their computer, you can claim one as your personal one, that is my understanding.
 
strawbale said:
As $1300 only buys me 1138€, my only option, here in Europe, would be an i3 8/256, for 1139€...
Click to expand...
You’re not factoring taxes. Why don’t you select the same spec as the OP, on the European site, write down that price and see what else you can build for that money.

I know some smart arse is going to say a Windows system.
 
StellarVixen said:
That’s a ripoff. Can’t you find someone in US who will be soon coming to your country to buy the Mini and bring it to you?

That would be best. Person who would bring it to you could always say that is their computer, you can claim one as your personal one, that is my understanding.
Click to expand...
I could try, but travelling with a desktop and bringing it into France as a personal item is likely to be seen as 'suspicious', especially if it's brand new, thus likely to be charged with import tax and 20% VAT...
[doublepost=1541514521][/doublepost]
BillyBobBongo said:
You’re not factoring taxes. Why don’t you select the same spec as the OP, on the European site, write down that price and see what else you can build for that money.

I know some smart arse is going to say a Windows system.
Click to expand...
Because I/we don' get paid more, in fact less, than the average US citizen, giving you an idea what Macs cost for a lot of people (Europe > US)...
 
Mannaerts said:
Base build, upgrade it to i7

I have everything on an exterior HDD/SSD, stream through Apple Music, watches netflix, have a NAS so i'm settled with 128gb. I also have 128GB on my Macbook Pro and it is more than enough for me.
Click to expand...

I am going with same route

-Base Mac mini with i7 Upgrade with 128GB SSD
-8GB RAM(. will upgrade later using third party RAM)
-External 2TB Drive ( Samsung T5/USB-C 3.1 or Samsung X5/Thunderbolt)
 
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dafodeu said:
There are a number of ways to spec the new Mac mini at the $1300 price point. How would you spec yours if that was your max budget and what is your use case?

I'd pick

i5 6-Core 3.0
16gb Ram
256gb ssd.

Use Case - Web Development/Design/Writing using Sketch, Gimp, Affinity Photo, Ulysses, Office Apps, Sublime Text.
Click to expand...

Yes sir and here's the visual evidence to back your choice:

macmini2018bottom.jpg
 
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There's been some discussion about this $1300 figure and tax.

Most Americans pay tax on top of that number. In NYC, where I live, it's 9%. Some pay less, some pay more, depending on where they live.

European Union pricing of the mini is tax included, the tax being 20%.
 
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dafodeu said:
How big of a difference in performance is the i7 versus the i5 ? With my $1300 budget I was going back and forth if I should go 128gb ssd allowing for the i7 and 16gb ram at the $1300 price point since I'll be using an external drive anyway.
Click to expand...

It's as you might expect, very dependent on task, app, etc., but I'd suspect very multi-threaded apps with the HT i7 would be notably faster. Plus, just the one component where there's no upgrade path: RAM can be upgraded, storage can go external, even options for modular, external GPUs, but the CPU, you're stuck with it.
 
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D.T. said:
It's as you might expect, very dependent on task, app, etc., but I'd suspect very multi-threaded apps with the HT i7 would be notably faster. Plus, just the one component where there's no upgrade path: RAM can be upgraded, storage can go external, even options for modular, external GPUs, but the CPU, you're stuck with it.
Click to expand...

That's a real good point.
 
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The $1300 price point doesn't really work for me. I am considering a couple options:

$800 base model as a gift to replace the 2012 base Mini (16gb and external 500gb SSD) that I gave my daughter's family a couple years ago. It now apparently has some kind of hardware issue, although I haven't visited to investigate yet. They mainly use iOS devices and just used the Mini for the big screen, keyboard and mouse. All their files are on the web/in the cloud so the 128gb SSD should be fine and I doubt they ever really needed 16gb RAM anyway. However some recent conversations make me wonder if they might be happier with a new iPad, Apple Pencil and keyboard.

Eventually I will need to replace my 2012 2.6ghz quad server with 16gb/256gb internal SSD and 1TB external - I use this machine exclusively for video/audio editing. Will have to see how the user-upgradeable RAM works out, I'm not in a hurry. But if buying today I'd probably go for the i7/64gb/512gb configuration for $2900. Maybe there will be refurbs or discounts by the time I'm ready to upgrade, I don't see getting one for at least another year. :)
 
If I had to spend $1300
3.0GHz 6‑core 8th‑generation Intel Core i5 (Turbo Boost up to 4.1GHz)
16GB 2666MHz DDR4
256GB SSD storage

Personally I would by the following for $1900 as I would be using this for 7 years

3.0GHz 6‑core 8th‑generation Intel Core i5 (Turbo Boost up to 4.1GHz)
32GB 2666MHz DDR4
512GB SSD storage(for bootcamp)
 
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