How will Apple gimp the mini with Haswell?

[Ice Dragon]

Do you decide what's plenty of speech, soft drink, and privacy for a person? Equal rights will need equal processing power as humans advance. Governments produce Hollywood-grade propaganda and distribute it as no small citizen is capable. That's not right.

I see your points and agree with you. Here's something by my favorite comedian of all time, the late George Carlin.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yt49DsfKDMc

Unfortunately, that has nothing to do with Haswell. I (and several others) want to talk about the next line of Intel mobile processors.

Many of us have passively accepted what has happened because no one really cares. I do care about what you're saying though it's better served in the politics forum.

 

[Mike in Kansas]

Do you decide what's plenty of speech, soft drink, and privacy for a person? Equal rights will need equal processing power as humans advance. Governments produce Hollywood-grade propaganda and distribute it as no small citizen is capable. That's not right.

This sounds like the same argument the gun lobby likes to make - The Man wants to take my guns away so I can't fight back. It's all about government control. You honestly believe that there's a plot to reduce the computing power of ordinary people so the government can control us? Do you believe that the lunar landing and Mars rover are hoaxes as well...?

 

[philipma1957]

This sounds like the same argument the gun lobby likes to make - The Man wants to take my guns away so I can't fight back. It's all about government control. You honestly believe that there's a plot to reduce the computing power of ordinary people so the government can control us? Do you believe that the lunar landing and Mars rover are hoaxes as well...?

of all of the above reduction of your computer's power is good business for pc companies and it is being done against the small guy for the sake of corporate profits. Just do this business model. I have access to my local public library I can borrow cd's and blurays..

With a powerful home computer. In a short time I can have 30 to 40 thousand cd's on hard drives I can have thousand of dvd/blu rays. Not legal but lets face people do it. This is the only reason streaming was created to stop this type of fraud. Streaming is better for business worse for the consumer. It is not a government conspiracy it is big business trying to do what it does best make money.

If i was wrong a mac mini would be 1 inch taller and have a good gpu with good cooling. It would have a msata slot and a pair of 2.5 inch hdd/ssds. or a dvd/bluray and 1 hdd. you could keep it 5 to 7 years and apple would go broke. Since no one would need a new computer for too long of a period of time. jus saying

 

[xlii]

Whatever MacRumors is running. The issue is the growing divide between content creation and mass consumption. Professional work is already licensed and regulated beyond reach for most people, and iOS is little more than a cable box menu to the user. This is a propagandist's dream in the wrong hands, and people won't have the tools or the bandwidth to fight back, to compete with the Pros... Good luck fighting the New York Times on a Mini.



It's related in the context of xlii's post.

OK... it's off topic... but where to begin. The average person's ability to create and dissipate content has never been greater. You can use your computer, tablet or smartphone to create and get your message out to about half the worlds population in a very short time. Examples: youtube, twitter, instagram, flickr all of the website forums (like this one). You can start your own website blog and tell the world what you think. If the government is trying to limit our ability to get the message out... they are doing a very poor job at it.

No go back to the 1950s - 1970s. You had TV, Radio, Newspapers & Magazines, paper books... much easier for the government to control content. All you could do was stand on a soapbox and put posters on telephone poles.

 

[Ice Dragon]

If i was wrong a mac mini would be 1 inch taller and have a good gpu with good cooling. It would have a msata slot and a pair of 2.5 inch hdd/ssds. or a dvd/bluray and 1 hdd. you could keep it 5 to 7 years and apple would go broke. Since no one would need a new computer for too long of a period of time. jus saying

I was discussing this with a friend. He would at least have a 640M with 1 GB of GDDR5 memory. Start the iMac maybe at 512 MB of the 650M, then 1 GB of the 650M, then 1 GB of GTX 660M, and then keep the top iMac as is.

 

[DisMyMac]

No go back to the 1950s - 1970s ... All you could do was stand on a soapbox and put posters on telephone poles.

That's true, and back then they would have dispatched your city's mafia to deal with you. The most blatant example was Whitey Bulger, but it was going on everywhere. Later mafias more or less went legitimate, started paying taxes etc. But intelligence still controls media, putting stuff in the news that would make Stalin blue with envy.

 

[Mike in Kansas]

you could keep it 5 to 7 years and apple would go broke. Since no one would need a new computer for too long of a period of time. jus saying

I wonder how many people purchase a new Mac out of need versus just wanting the newest shiny anyway? I find it hard to believe that a 5 year old machine is truly "obsolete" for most people. Well, a 5 year old Mac anyway. My experience with Windows boxes is much different.

I'm on 5 year old hardware; I recognize that my upper-middle-tier 24" 2008 iMac is probably slower than the entry level 2012 Mac Mini, but I can't really say that it's holding back my photography and videography. Granted, my video needs aren't great - iMovie is enough for me for now; but there's nothing wrong with my user experience when running Aperture. And obviously there is no problem with Safari, iTunes, iWork, Office, etc. My 2012 MBA is definitely faster than my 2008 iMac, but I can't say that it is SO MUCH faster than I can't stand using my iMac. Yet, there are folks who probably bought a 2008, then a 2010, and now a 2012, all because they thought their hardware was "holding them back". Thankfully for them, as they will keep Apple from going broke! ;-)

 

[philipma1957]

I wonder how many people purchase a new Mac out of need versus just wanting the newest shiny anyway? I find it hard to believe that a 5 year old machine is truly "obsolete" for most people. Well, a 5 year old Mac anyway. My experience with Windows boxes is much different.

I'm on 5 year old hardware; I recognize that my upper-middle-tier 24" 2008 iMac is probably slower than the entry level 2012 Mac Mini, but I can't really say that it's holding back my photography and videography. Granted, my video needs aren't great - iMovie is enough for me for now; but there's nothing wrong with my user experience when running Aperture. And obviously there is no problem with Safari, iTunes, iWork, Office, etc. My 2012 MBA is definitely faster than my 2008 iMac, but I can't say that it is SO MUCH faster than I can't stand using my iMac. Yet, there are folks who probably bought a 2008, then a 2010, and now a 2012, all because they thought their hardware was "holding them back". Thankfully for them, as they will keep Apple from going broke! ;-)

my 1 2010 mac mini [i have 2 2012's] is good for what I want it to do. which means the 2009 oct 2.53 model would work as well. so in one room I could use a 3 year 5 month old computer . For the work i ask it to do it would be okay for at least oct 2014. so if I owned a 2009 2.53 I could get it to work for 5 years.
lite internet
dvr
eye tv

this was not true of any older mac mini as none of them are that good with hd tv 1080p . the 2009 was good as is the 2010. I plan to keep my 2010 until 2015. I got it in the summer of 2012 as a refurb. it has applecare so it is covered until aug 2015. only did 1 upgrade 2x 4gb sticks of ram. the 320gb hdd is stock. it has a lot of use so I am hoping it dies and apple replaces it.

 

[jouster]

There is a world of difference between 1% seeking more power, and for the mini to be given a GPU/GT3 to allow more programs to be run at acceptable levels for the given CPU in the mini.

It can be done quite easily, but Apple won't do it. And sadder still, they won't even allow it as as a custom configuration. I think that is the issue a lot of us have when it comes to the mini. NOT giving consumers what they want, and Apple specifically choosing to put out something lesser than they could - demand for it be damned.


Wanna bet? Apple will find some new way to GIMP the mini so it is not as compelling an option as the iMac/Pro.

It's always going to be more compelling if your budget is $600 or so.

 

[Ice Dragon]

As long as prices aren't raised, all should be fine. In fact, a price drop would be nice. I think raising the minimum RAM to 8 GB might be a wise move but I doubt we'll see it.

 

[Mackan]

Probably they will try to make the next Mac mini as thin as a laptop, using ULV Haswell, with non-upgradeable RAM and SSD. There's your gimp.

 

[animatedude]

Probably they will try to make the next Mac mini as thin as a laptop, using ULV Haswell, with non-upgradeable RAM and SSD. There's your gimp.

oh noo! i was just gonna type i'm IN if the next refresh is Haswell with an ALL SSD option as standard but now i read your comments i kinda want that more!

"it's 40% thinner and 55% lighter, it's the best Mac Mini we've ever done"

 

[thekev]

"it's 40% thinner and 55% lighter, it's the best Mac Mini we've ever done"

It could actually happen. It's also arguably of greater functional value than it was with the imac if people do in fact place them in small spaces as small scale servers. The imacs take up the same amount of total functional space either way.

 

[animatedude]

It could actually happen. It's also arguably of greater functional value than it was with the imac if people do in fact place them in small spaces as small scale servers. The imacs take up the same amount of total functional space either way.

wow how smaller do you think it will be? i have the entry 2010 mac mini with optical drive and 2 GB RAM ( later on i added more RAM).

so this new possible update you are talking about would be a huge upgrade for me.

 

[thekev]

wow how smaller do you think it will be? i have the entry 2010 mac mini with optical drive and 2 GB RAM ( later on i added more RAM).

so this new possible update you are talking about would be a huge upgrade for me.

I wouldn't read that as an absolute prediction. My only point in the statement was that people do actually place minis in small spaces where the imac's stand takes up the same amount of room either way.

 

[Acorn]

the mac mini is nothing but a glorified laptop without a screen. if you have ever seen how small the logic board is on a macbook air and take into account how much wasted space is on a battery its pretty small and thin. all you would have to do is move the ports to the back and go back to a magnetic laptop power supply and you would have the wedge mini. it would be even be smaller in the depth of the original mini.

people say they dont want this, but it would be a sweet looking media device under my tv.

they may not go to this extreme yet, but i wouldn't be surprised to see a mac mini as thick as the retina laptops are. as mentioned before, with soldered ram and or proprietary ssd socket.

 

[dbroncos78087]

I really haven't followed this thread to its entirety, so please forgive me if this is a retread, but who is to say that they will hold it back? There are legitimate performance gains that can be given to the iMac and Mac Pro that can't be given to the MM that don't require artificial restraints.

The number of (SO)DIMM slots is a great example of this. Especially if they slim the MM down even more. The Mac Pro can hold 6 RAM and I believe the iMac can hold 4 RAM. While the MM is restrained to two just by virtue of its size.

The fan/heating is another natural barrier if someone is a performance user. Because the performance issue is going to help them in racking in bigger money anyways this will always help them get people on the more expensive machines without having to dumb down the MM.

The number of video options is kind of a manmade dumbing down but it's also natural because you can fit a bigger/more powerful card into a Mac Pro or iMac that you physically can't fit into the MM.

Also the CD drive, while not important to me is important to many people who need the heavy and stationary desktop. That is another natural advantage that Apple doesn't need to change anything to keep.

 

[thekev]

The number of (SO)DIMM slots is a great example of this. Especially if they slim the MM down even more. The Mac Pro can hold 6 RAM and I believe the iMac can hold 4 RAM. While the MM is restrained to two just by virtue of its size.

4 single 8 dual. You averaged it.

 

[dbroncos78087]

4 single 8 dual. You averaged it.

Hmm, I believe that I had read the max RAM you could put in one was 96GB (with six 16GB chips). So that is where I got that number from. Maybe I misread it or maybe if you up it to that, you can't fill all 8 slots.

 

[thekev]

Hmm, I believe that I had read the max RAM you could put in one was 96GB (with six 16GB chips). So that is where I got that number from. Maybe I misread it or maybe if you up it to that, you can't fill all 8 slots.

That was partially due to the OS, although it may be a hardware limitation too. I was just thinking I've never seen more than 48 advertised for the single model. It can still hold 8 dimms on the dual model, even if you can't populate all them with 16GB dimms. The imac tops out at 32GB. I think the single mac pro pro can go as high as 48GB if you're using 16GB dimms. When the 4,1s came out in 2009 some ram configurations made the dual model more cost effective due to memory pricing.

 

[Woodcrest64]

Haswell will be a nice upgrade in terms of the GPU. However as a few here have said I can see Apple making the Mini even smaller with soldered ram and Msata storage.

 

[kobyh15]

Do you guys think that the Iris 5100 would fit in the Haswell Mini? If it's designed to fit inside a 13" Ultrabook I don't know why it wouldn't fit in the Mini.

 

[DesertEagle]

Probably they will try to make the next Mac mini as thin as a laptop, using ULV Haswell, with non-upgradeable RAM and SSD. There's your gimp.

No ****, they will if they can.

On keynote: "Bring out the gimp!"

 

[jouster]

Do you guys think that the Iris 5100 would fit in the Haswell Mini? If it's designed to fit inside a 13" Ultrabook I don't know why it wouldn't fit in the Mini.

One would hope. At least there's a chance that the Mini will have much better graphics processing power than many had thought. Engadget has more.

 

[dbroncos78087]

That was partially due to the OS, although it may be a hardware limitation too. I was just thinking I've never seen more than 48 advertised for the single model. It can still hold 8 dimms on the dual model, even if you can't populate all them with 16GB dimms. The imac tops out at 32GB. I think the single mac pro pro can go as high as 48GB if you're using 16GB dimms. When the 4,1s came out in 2009 some ram configurations made the dual model more cost effective due to memory pricing.

I believe 64GB is the max that Apple will put in it (and thus covered under any possible warranty. However, they can handle the 96GB that I read. But maybe since the largest chips they sell are 16GB you will not be able to fit 96GB into 8 DIMMs.