2014 i5 2.6GHz vs i5 2.8GHz

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Hi all,

I have a HP notebook that I've been using for the past two years as a desktop replacement. It has an i5 2430M 2.4GHz cpu with 6GB ram and 1tb hdd. I use iTunes everyday, keep multiple browser windows with many tabs open that run flash and java, and work on excel spreadsheets for work which involves running VBA macros and complex models with Palisade software. I do not edit movies nor use Photoshop or any of the other typical software that use a lot of system resources, but I do have a bad habit of not closing applications when I'm finished using them.

For the most part, this notebook does the job; however, the fan often gets very loud, especially when it is performing long calculations in excel, and sometimes either the limited cpu/ram (not sure which is the main culprit) causes the performance to suffer significantly, as I will be unable to switch back and forth between applications, even ones that are already open, without having to wait a while.

I have been thinking about buying a Mac mini to replace this machine. I will be running the same applications on it, but will need to either include a partition for Windows or run Windows via Parallels.

I did some research on the 2014 i5 2.6 (4278U), and it doesn't seem like much of a step up from my 3 year old HP notebook Comparison.. it is actually worse with respect to GPU turbo clock speed and L2 cache per core. It also looks to be a step down from the 2.6 Apple used in the 2013 13" Macbook Pro Comparison.

Will I be throwing money away if I buy the 2.6 Mac mini instead of the 2.8 or even the 3.0 dual-core i7? I ask because perhaps it is not the cpu that may be a bottleneck in my case, but rather the ram or hdd.

 

[thunng8]

According to geekbench your current cpu would score about 4500 and the 2.6 mini about 5900. So about 30% increase in cpu.

But the biggest bottleneck would be the hard drive. Replace laptop with ssd or buy a new mini with ssd or fusion drive.

 

[P00t]

The mid model 2014 would be a nice step up for you, like the previous post said at least 30% via benchmarks.

Don't be put off by the bad words people are giving the 2014, it's a great little silent performer, we can't expect a supercomputer for the mini prices.

That said I'm currently using a base 2012 and have a 2014 coming tomorrow and I would said even a 2012 would be a nice upgrade from your system after adding an SSD.

 

[Brian Y]

The mid model 2014 would be a nice step up for you, like the previous post said at least 30% via benchmarks.

Don't be put off by the bad words people are giving the 2014, it's a great little silent performer, we can't expect a supercomputer for the mini prices.

That said I'm currently using a base 2012 and have a 2014 coming tomorrow and I would said even a 2012 would be a nice upgrade from your system after adding an SSD.

The best ones right now are the 2012 refurbs when they become available.

If you have an SSD, you probably won't notice a vast difference between the 2012/2014 Mac Minis or indeed your current CPU. The Mac Minis will be almost silent, though!