cuad-core i7+3000HD or dual-core i7+AMD Radeon 6630

[manicwinter]

I had a hard time deciding between a core i7 dual core and the server mini. I really expected to get the quad until I tried the base mini out in the store. The graphical performance of the mini in the store with the HD Graphics just wasn't good. When I opened one of the sample photos and hit the button to make iPhoto go full screen there was stuttering and pauses. Zooming in and out of photos wasn't too great either compared to the other machines there. I brought up the activity monitor to see if the CPU was getting maxed and causing the delay but it was hardly being used. I wanted to test the same photos on an AMD graphics mini but the store rep said they had no plans to demo it.

In the end I ordered the core i7 dual core with the AMD graphics - I'll know in a few days if I made the right choice - if the iPhoto performance is no better I may return it for the quad. It's too bad we have to choose between faster CPU and faster graphics but frankly I'm shocked we have the choice. I assumed all the new minis would be dual core with HD3000 graphics.

 

[japtor]

Has any Geek Bench numbers come out on the dual core i7 yet? I am pretty impressed with the close to 9000 number on the quad core.

I am leaning toward the quad core right now as this would be my media server and also the system I use handbreak to convert DVDs to m4v's. I take it the Radeon wouldn't buy me much in the way of viewing video... would it?

The high end 13" MBP has the same i7, those numbers should be comparable. And correct the Radeon isn't necessary for viewing, the integrated GPU can hardware decode, and the CPU is fast enough alone. Encoding wise the biggest boost would be Quick Sync, but there's no encoder on the Mac side that can work with it.

I think it makes sense to upgrade from a dual core 2009 mini to a quad core 2012 mini with a discrete graphics chip and usb3. Who's with me in waiting for the ideal mini?

Well USB 3 will probably come (just cause it'll come with Ivy Bridge) but discrete will be as much of a mystery next year. On the plus side even if they do go integrated again, Ivy Bridge's GPU should provide a nice boost over Sandy Bridge's.

I'll probably skip next year's upgrade...but I might get a TB display if they get updated with USB 3.

 

[Soilage]

I had a hard time deciding between a core i7 dual core and the server mini. I really expected to get the quad until I tried the base mini out in the store. The graphical performance of the mini in the store with the HD Graphics just wasn't good. When I opened one of the sample photos and hit the button to make iPhoto go full screen there was stuttering and pauses. Zooming in and out of photos wasn't too great either compared to the other machines there. I brought up the activity monitor to see if the CPU was getting maxed and causing the delay but it was hardly being used. I wanted to test the same photos on an AMD graphics mini but the store rep said they had no plans to demo it.

When you say the base mini, is that the 2gb version? If so, I wonder if that's the real problem with the stuttering.
I don't intend to play games, but am going to use iPhoto/Aperture alot with a bit of iMovie editing and encoding.
Can anyone confirm that the HD3000 performs perfectly well with these tasks (for the GPU intensive ones and not the encoding, of course), and does not generate irritating behaviour as manicwinter described?

 

[supermassive]

Since the 3000HD is built into the i5/i7, is it possible to switch to the integrated grafix for powersaving purposes on thw mini with discrete grafix?

I guess it won't work, but some core i notebooks do switch that way.

 

[Poluks]

I had a hard time deciding between a core i7 dual core and the server mini. I really expected to get the quad until I tried the base mini out in the store. The graphical performance of the mini in the store with the HD Graphics just wasn't good. When I opened one of the sample photos and hit the button to make iPhoto go full screen there was stuttering and pauses. Zooming in and out of photos wasn't too great either compared to the other machines there.

I also tested the base mini in store and it was a disappointment, I'm sure the 2GO were in cause but compare to an iMac 27", heavy websites like www.newzealand.com of flash website were stuttering. Even in the Finder I could feel the lack of power.

I might go for the iMac to be in peace for at least five years... But the glossy screen is killing me. Apple sucks LOL

 

[manicwinter]

When you say the base mini, is that the 2gb version?

It was the 2.3 CPU but I'm pretty sure they had 4gb of RAM and not 2gb in the one I tested. The CPU did not appear to be the problem in iPhoto based on activity monitor.

 

[manicwinter]

I might go for the iMac to be in peace for at least five years... But the glossy screen is killing me. Apple sucks LOL

iMac is the way to go if you don't need portability or cheap and easy hard drive upgrades. I'm too addicted to SSDs to go back to an iMac. My 2010 mini (2.66 320M) is much faster in everyday use than our 2009 iMac (2.93 GT120) because of the SSD in the mini - iTunes and iPhoto are ridiculously faster on the mini than the iMac.

 

[xheathen]

I don't expect apple to ever adopt USB 3.0. With apple adopting bluetooth 4.0 and thunderbolt USB may be on its way out.

I don't see Thunberbolt becoming anything other than the new Firewire. Too many devices are USB standard these days to expect any kind of real adoption to TB. Like FW, it'll be Apple's extra fast niche solution for professionals. You're much more likely to see companies make USB3 hubs from a Thunderbolt port than anything else.

I do think you'll see all kinds of new peripherals because TB provides a ton of versatility (like daisy chaining monitors).

 

[xheathen]

@ manicwinter - I'm really interested in what kind of results you end up getting.

I've got a Windows box I built that is a Sandy Bridge 3.2ghz quad core w/ the HD3000 and 8gb of ram. I was trying keep from using a dedicated GPU to make a smaller profile system. Photoshop STILL stutters and is choppy on it, kind of like what you're talking about here. My old AMD triple core 2.8ghz w/ 4gb of ram and a 9600GT Nvidia card ran so much better than my new system.

Someone else posted that CS5 "flies" on the new mini with the AMD GPU just with 8gb of ram. That's leading me to believe it's the HD3000 that's consistently proving to be garbage.

Does anyone else sport CS4 or 5 that can speak to this on either the base or mid-level minis??

 

[manicwinter]

@ manicwinter - I'm really interested in what kind of results you end up getting.

Saturday I'll have the refurb 27 inch display I ordered so I'll be able to compare my 2010 320m mini on the same display as the mini at the store. I can tell you at 1920 x 1080 my 2010 mini does not stutter as badly as the one in the store and it doesn't lock up at all when going to full screen in iPhoto - but I'm also pushing a lot fewer pixels for now. (Before anyone asks I went with the LED display instead of the thunderbolt one so I can use it with my gaming PC too.)

The new mini with the AMD card gets here Tuesday.

 

[biosci]

This was a surprise to see that my server i7 mini had 512mb of RAM as opposed to the 256 or so I thought it was going to have... Maybe it was since I upgraded the RAM?

 

[manicwinter]

This was a surprise to see that my server i7 mini had 512mb of RAM as opposed to the 256 or so I thought it was going to have... Maybe it was since I upgraded the RAM?

That's interesting - are you saying your mini reports having 512 video RAM? I wonder if it's also using some shared system RAM in addition to the 256 dedicated? - Nevermind just realized you said server - the HD 3000 graphics does use more memory the more you have available.

 

[Vermifuge]

I had a hard time deciding between a core i7 dual core and the server mini. I really expected to get the quad until I tried the base mini out in the store. The graphical performance of the mini in the store with the HD Graphics just wasn't good. When I opened one of the sample photos and hit the button to make iPhoto go full screen there was stuttering and pauses. Zooming in and out of photos wasn't too great either compared to the other machines there. I brought up the activity monitor to see if the CPU was getting maxed and causing the delay but it was hardly being used. I wanted to test the same photos on an AMD graphics mini but the store rep said they had no plans to demo it.

In the end I ordered the core i7 dual core with the AMD graphics - I'll know in a few days if I made the right choice - if the iPhoto performance is no better I may return it for the quad. It's too bad we have to choose between faster CPU and faster graphics but frankly I'm shocked we have the choice. I assumed all the new minis would be dual core with HD3000 graphics.

One of the big things for me is Eve Online. With my 2010 Mini server and 320m video card i was able to get about 40 FPS with settings between medium and low (some low some medium)

With the Dual Core i7 and AMD i'm getting a solid 60 FPS with all settings maxed. This is a huge improvement for me. something i don't think the HD 3000 could have done.

 

[theSeb]

I had a hard time deciding between a core i7 dual core and the server mini. I really expected to get the quad until I tried the base mini out in the store. The graphical performance of the mini in the store with the HD Graphics just wasn't good. When I opened one of the sample photos and hit the button to make iPhoto go full screen there was stuttering and pauses. Zooming in and out of photos wasn't too great either compared to the other machines there. I brought up the activity monitor to see if the CPU was getting maxed and causing the delay but it was hardly being used. I wanted to test the same photos on an AMD graphics mini but the store rep said they had no plans to demo it.

In the end I ordered the core i7 dual core with the AMD graphics - I'll know in a few days if I made the right choice - if the iPhoto performance is no better I may return it for the quad. It's too bad we have to choose between faster CPU and faster graphics but frankly I'm shocked we have the choice. I assumed all the new minis would be dual core with HD3000 graphics.

None of the things you have mentioned have anything to do with graphical performance nor could they be attributed to the intel HD 3000.

 

[VanDyke]

i7 2.7 vs. i5 2.5
http://browse.geekbench.ca/geekbench2/compare/450709/450914

and vs. i7 2.0 quadro:
http://browse.geekbench.ca/geekbench2/compare/451259/450781

 

[manicwinter]

Saturday I'll have the refurb 27 inch display I ordered so I'll be able to compare my 2010 320m mini on the same display as the mini at the store. I can tell you at 1920 x 1080 my 2010 mini does not stutter as badly as the one in the store and it doesn't lock up at all when going to full screen in iPhoto - but I'm also pushing a lot fewer pixels for now. (Before anyone asks I went with the LED display instead of the thunderbolt one so I can use it with my gaming PC too.)

The new mini with the AMD card gets here Tuesday.

The 27 inch screen showed up and I hooked it to my 2010 mini. So far I have to say the mini in the store with the HD 3000 graphics actually handles Lion and iPhoto on the 27 a bit better than my 320m does. Hopefully the AMD graphics handles iPhoto and some of the Lion animations better on the 27 - if not I'll probably get the quad instead.

 

[manicwinter]

The 27 inch screen showed up and I hooked it to my 2010 mini. So far I have to say the mini in the store with the HD 3000 graphics actually handles Lion and iPhoto on the 27 a bit better than my 320m does. Hopefully the AMD graphics handles iPhoto and some of the Lion animations better on the 27 - if not I'll probably get the quad instead.

I got to test my 2.7 dual core mini last night. At 1080p everything is super smooth - much smoother than the 320m. On the 27 inch maximizing iPhoto is a little jerky at times but better than the HD 3000 in the store. It's not not as big of an improvement as I hoped over the HD 3000 but I think I would regret the integrated graphics in the long run.

 

[jonjon1]

Happy that my first Thread has over 116 comments! It really was a important thread!
At the end I got the 2.5, i5 dual core. Its a good machine for that price!
Together with the Samsung 22" LED screen, its just awsome!

 

[thelead]

I got to test my 2.7 dual core mini last night. At 1080p everything is super smooth - much smoother than the 320m. On the 27 inch maximizing iPhoto is a little jerky at times but better than the HD 3000 in the store. It's not not as big of an improvement as I hoped over the HD 3000 but I think I would regret the integrated graphics in the long run.

That's what I was afraid of. I wish there were better video offerings for the mini.

 

[areslee]

I think you should by the quad-core i7 + HD3000 server, if you do need a professional display card, then you can wait a thunderbolt external display card.

Good news, Village Instruments has started to develop thunderbolt graphics card.