MP 6,1 2018 Mini i3 32GB need an alternative (spoiled by 128GB 5,1)

[adam9c1]

Hello.

My usage is not CPU intensive but heavily taxed on RAM.
I will have a large number of Safari tabs and windows open. Also stream music, watch Apple TV, and occasional Photo library viewing.

I have managed to upgrade my computers (used) to cMP 4,1 and 5,1 SSD, flashed GTX260 and SSD.

Currently I'm not sure what direction I need to go.
My home machine is a 2014 Mac Mini i3 32GB (I upgraded) and base storage (I have external SSD and NAS).
It is running macOS Monterey. I jumped over to Ventura and found that it killed performance. My budget allows "upgrades" but not big purchases. Opposite of what is possible now (and that is how I was able to start with a plain 4 core or 6 core 5,1 and build it out. I did notice that even with the nVidia 260, in the last OS I ran on the 5,1 the video was the bottleneck and made the machine unusable.

And now here I am not knowing what to do.
- I sampled an M1 8GB device and I know it is not sufficient for my use. I run out of memory fast.
- Mac Studio with ARM and 32GB memory is not in my budget
- Mac Mini M2 feel is gimped with 24GB, and again it's something I need to finance
- I am curious about the trashcan running opencore to allow Monty - will it be swift or am I looking at a "yes it will run, but the experience will be horrible" type situation?

To compare, my main work machine is a 2021 M1 Max 14-inch MBP with 64GB memory and with my work tasks I can run it without a restart for about two weeks. There my workflow is similar where I have a lot (more than at home) windows open in Chrome and in Safari.

If I'm on a budget should I
- upgrade the RAM on the 2018 Mini from 32 to 64
- sell the 2018, pick up M1 16GB Mini
- sell the 2018, pick up M2 24GB Mini
- sell the 2018, pick up 2013 Mac Pro 32GB and with time upgrade to 128

I feel in the next 2-3 weeks might be the prime time to pick up another device on swappa or eBay.
My secondary device (the 2014 Mini, is actively used only in the summer months) thuse if it makes more sense to sell the 2018 Mini now and downgrade to the 2014 for a while I can do that...

 

[rm5]

What is your workload? Like specifically what programs are you running? Do the programs favor both more AND faster RAM or just more RAM? 8 GB is not enough for anyone, and I'd even say 24 GB should be an absolute minimum for any user, if not 16 GB.

I think if your workload is dependent on RAM, upgrade the 2018 Mac mini to 64 GB, which is the most it'll take—it won't stretch your budget as much as getting a 6,1 and then upgrading to 64 GB. I don't know if the trashcan can support 128 GB, but maybe??

I'd also say you can probably take your 5,1 further and squeeze maybe another year out of it by upgrading the video card to a modern AMD card like the W5500 that I have, which runs Monterey just fine.

Those are just my thoughts.

 

[adam9c1]

I no longer have the 5,1. Sold it when the M1 mini was announced thinking I would upgrade to that. Then my funds ran out.. and I needed to settle for a 2014 Mini 8GB, then upgraded to 2018 base Mini where I upgraded the RAM to 32.

My workflow is mainly lots of Safari winows and tabs mixed with a small number of lightweight Excel.

On my current machine (the 2018) Mini, it's running Monterey. I've upgraded to Ventura and found it was much slower.
Did this two times, perhaps 13.2 (to be released) will optimize performance...

 

[rm5]

Hmmm, so maybe it is a good idea to get a MacPro6,1 and upgrade the RAM, if Ventura runs that slow. The problem though is that Ventura isn't supported on the 6,1 natively, so you will have to use OCLP if you want to get Ventura on it.

 

[adam9c1]

Just placed an order via eBay on a 2013 8-core 3.0 FirePro D500 16GB 512GB

as a replacement for my Mac Mini 2018 i3 32GB 128GB

I'm aware of the limitations of the operating system for the trash can. If I sell off the Mini now, I will be able to recoup some of the $ to offset this purchase. I plan on running it with the 16GB as it is now to confirm the device is stable, then upgrade the RAM.

This will offset a purchase of a newer Mac for me to later.

 

[avro707]

- I am curious about the trashcan running opencore to allow Monty - will it be swift or am I looking at a "yes it will run, but the experience will be horrible" type situation?

The 6,1 is simple, Monterey runs without needing opencore.

It is fairly quick running if you get the maximum spec machine at 64gb, dual D700, 12 core 2.7ghz and 1TB SSD.

But a nicely looked after one won’t be cheap.

Edit: missed your last reply.