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Kick Butt Mac Mini..what would you pay?

fourthtunz

fourthtunz

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Jul 23, 2002
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Maine
The upgraded MacBook Pros have some nice I7's as do the new iMacs.
What would you pay if they put 4.2 quad core I7 in a mac mini?
I want to use my own 36" screen and I want 32 gigs of ram and a 1T SSD..
$3000?...I know it would cannibalize the other macs but I still want it!
 
maybe its just me ;(
Some of us just need an in between solution thats headless.
Putting the 3.1 or 4.2 quad I7 into a mac mini would make a great audio workstation!
Especially with 2 T SSD's!
 
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For me the Holy Grail would be a product that Apple has not produced at all in the Intel years -- a headless, modular, midrange Mac. Basically it would be a desktop with the performance specs of an iMac, more or less, but headless, more modular and upgradeable. That is something I've wanted out of Cupertino for more than a decade now, and I think their attitude is that it would cannibalize other sales too much.

That said, a new Mini with a solid CPU, combined with an SSD and the ability to upgrade to at least 32 GB of RAM, together with Thunderbolt-based eGPU support, would make for a nice little machine and one I'd certainly consider buying. The complete lack of being able to upgrade much of anything on current Macs is what drove me to the dark side earlier this year when I built a new PC. I got tired of waiting and decided Apple didn't want my money since they weren't offering anything I would pay their asking price for. If they did produce such a machine, I'd be willing to sell off my PC (as a unit or parted out) to help pay for it.
 
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ziggy29 said:
For me the Holy Grail would be a product that Apple has not produced at all in the Intel years -- a headless, modular, midrange Mac. Basically it would be a desktop with the performance specs of an iMac, more or less, but headless, more modular and upgradeable. That is something I've wanted out of Cupertino for more than a decade now, and I think their attitude is that it would cannibalize other sales too much.
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This is why I hackintosh.

I am not a Pro user in the sense of performance, but I am an enthusiast. So a headless, modular, midrange Mac would be idea. Sadly this isn't going to happen. At least officially from Apple.
 
Keep in mind that a fully loaded 2014 mini lists at US$1999.00. I assume they sell a few of them. So a refreshed mini with the specs you want in a fixed configuration could get close to your $3000 target. That would still fit in the current pricing model even with a $499 entry model.
 
For 3K, I'd just buy a MacBook Pro 15 and keep its lid closed. No, I want a MC mini in the 700-1K range with a quad core processor. It's not too much to ask...
 
tbobmccoy said:
For 3K, I'd just buy a MacBook Pro 15 and keep its lid closed. No, I want a MC mini in the 700-1K range with a quad core processor. It's not too much to ask...
Click to expand...
Yeah but the 3.1 MacBook Pro15 is only a little more powerful than my 2012 2.7 MacBook pro.
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Haswell said:
This is why I hackintosh.

I am not a Pro user in the sense of performance, but I am an enthusiast. So a headless, modular, midrange Mac would be idea. Sadly this isn't going to happen. At least officially from Apple.
Click to expand...
I'd rather just buy an old Mac Pro than deal with trying to keep a Hackintosh in spec with protools,
I don't blame people for doing it, but its not for me. I hope your wrong..
I hope someone at apple figures out how much they are losing by not giving the people what they want.
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saulinpa said:
Keep in mind that a fully loaded 2014 mini lists at US$1999.00. I assume they sell a few of them. So a refreshed mini with the specs you want in a fixed configuration could get close to your $3000 target. That would still fit in the current pricing model even with a $499 entry model.
Click to expand...
Exactly! and how much more profit they would make by hot rodding the current Mac Mini.
Maybe putting in a 4.2 I7 would require fans or even a heatsink with a slightly taller profile but who cares?
I'd buy it!
 
You'd struggle to really justify the costs of that specced up Mac Mini currently though...
Sky high prices for not great tech.

It used to be the cheap entry level point to get people into OSX. Now it's a relic that's pricing is a mess, and would offer a sub-par experience if going for the base system.
 
EmlynDewar said:
You'd struggle to really justify the costs of that specced up Mac Mini currently though...
Sky high prices for not great tech.

It used to be the cheap entry level point to get people into OSX. Now it's a relic that's pricing is a mess, and would offer a sub-par experience if going for the base system.
Click to expand...
well, it's $3399 for the new 15" MacBook pro that only has the 3.1 I7, I'd pay that same price (rather pay $2999) for
the mini with the 4.2 I7..that would be a better deal if you ask me, and IMO that would be a real workhorse.
Now if you could put a second SSD in there it would be even better!
You are right, the current one is a mistake.
 
My ideal Mac mini isn't mucb:
  • Quad-core processor from entry level 27" iMac (3.4 GHz i5)
  • 2 user upgradable RAMs
  • User upgradable SSD (ideally dual slots)
  • 4 Thunderbolt 3 ports
Ideally $999 starting price, but I would pay $1499 for such Mac mini.
 
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2012 Mini with 2017 parts and TB3.

Hell if the upcoming eGPU could be done with my 2012 Mini, I wouldn't even need to upgrade. The CPU, RAM, SSD are all still running fine. It's just the HD 4000 that isn't holding up for me.
 
Algus said:
Hell if the upcoming eGPU could be done with my 2012 Mini, I wouldn't even need to upgrade. The CPU, RAM, SSD are all still running fine. It's just the HD 4000 that isn't holding up for me.
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Same here. Since I upgraded to SSD on it, my 2012 Mini feels like it has a few years left in it, if the GPU was better. I am considering taking the plunge and doing it even if it's not ever going to be fully supported on TB1 (I've seen a fair number of reports that it works). I still have my original 10.12.5 install on the internal drive (I boot from the SSD mounted externally now) and I can use that internal (slow) system to test an install of an eGPU. If it works, I could roll it out to SSD. I think I'm waiting to see real world results on the Sonnet Breakaway Box, though. The Akitio Node supposedly works well but is *very* loud from what I've heard, whereas the Sonnet is supposedly much quieter.

Bollockser said:
The 2012 Quad i7 was only $799 2.3GHz or $899 2.6GHz
3 grand is obscene for a Mini.
Click to expand...

Yeah, but with a quad Kaby Lake i7, 16 GB of RAM (preferably 32 if it's all soldered and not user serviceable) and a 500 GB SSD, plus eGPU support through TB3, I can see a $1299ish price point. Certainly more than the 2012 or 2014 models with the better CPU and a standard SSD (spinners should never be standard for an system drive any more, IMO), but nowhere near $3K. If you're going to spend $3K on that, might as well go whole hog, blow another $2K and wait for the base iMac Pro.

But again, I doubt such a Mini will be produced because it would be perceived in Cupertino as something cannibalizing iMac sales. The sad thing is, that's what a lot of users want -- the performance of an iMac, but headless. Apple is determined to make you buy a display if you want anything more powerful than a Mini.
 
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Bollockser said:
The 2012 Quad i7 was only $799 2.3GHz or $899 2.6GHz
3 grand is obscene for a Mini.
Click to expand...

I believe those prices were for the base configuration with 4gb and a slow hard drive, it was quite a bit more if you purchased the 16gb version with a SSD.

But I agree that $3000 is too much for a mini, I don't think Apple would offer one at that price point. For example, look at the 2014 Mini lineup at B&H Photo where they stock a wide variety of configurations. The most expensive is the i7 3ghz version with 16gb RAM and a 1tb SSD for $1999.
 
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I'd pay up to $2k for a decently-specced Mini/Mini Server, and reading that (1) Apple is again offering some iMacs with removable bits and (2) while speccing out a couple of similar form-factor PCs (Puget Systems' Echo) offers only quad-core Kaby Lake i5/i7 options, includes the Intel HD 630 (easily driving up to 3 displays and 4k capable), and a second drive option (9.5mm HHD or SATA SSD) at just short of $1900 for a decently-specced small form PC I can put to work in my office the day it arrives…

Those quad-core CPUs are pretty new options on the Echo. The stock config starts at about $1450 but includes 16GB Crucial RAM, a 250GB EVO (with all-Samsung options for with either SATA or PCIe EVO/Pro SSDs at reasonable prices!), and lifetime labor/tech support. What they're missing is the USB-C ports I want to start standardizing on, but they do have 4 USB-A ports on the front and 6 more(!) on the back to go along with 2 (Intel) gigabit Ethernet ports.

In my business I really prefer keeping PCs under warranty, I've kept several late-2013 rMBPs past their "end date" as I don't feel compelled to replace them with the newer options, and my 2012 i7 Mini Servers are all still under AC but getting near their end date (as is my personal 2012 i7 Mini Server).

Spending more than $2k leads me to start considering selling the Mini Servers and replacing them with decent-specced 2017 iMacs and adding Synology NAS units or adding eGPUs to address some new hires later this year. I really like my Minis, but a few weeks with a new iMac/Synology NAS and some PCs like the Echo pulling their weight, the Minis will be doing duty in someone else's home. :sniff:
 
$1500 Max and at that price I would expect quad core i7, 16gb ram, 512gb SSD, and a discrete graphics card like a RX570.
 
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Give me a 2017 15" MacBook Pro with out the screen, battery, trackpad, keyboard, and knock $1000 off the price and we're in business.
 
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Boyd01 said:
If you read a little more, while those bits are removable, they are very difficult to access inside a sealed case. iFixit scored these machines very close to the bottom of their repairability scale.
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Thanks, I did. I was alluding to removable as apposed to not soldered in… The tightly-sealed case is a given, and not an obstacle - like soldered-in CPUs can be.
 
Boyd01 said:
I believe those prices were for the base configuration with 4gb and a slow hard drive, it was quite a bit more if you purchased the 16gb version with a SSD.

But I agree that $3000 is too much for a mini, I don't think Apple would offer one at that price point. For example, look at the 2014 Mini lineup at B&H Photo where they stock a wide variety of configurations. The most expensive is the i7 3ghz version with 16gb RAM and a 1tb SSD for $1999.
Click to expand...
Yeah, that one was dumbed down not upgradeable. So how about a mini Pro? :)
Apple charges $3400 for a MacBook pro with 16 gigs of ram and 1T SSD...how much could it cost them to
make the same config(or better) with a mini?
You are right..Apple doesn't seem to want the mini to compete with the rest of the line.
Too bad...how many sales have they lost to either the old Mac Pros or hackintosh,or pcs
because they don't want to give people a mid priced computer that has balls.
I would think apple would have to charge 2.5-3K for such a mini-pro?
 
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"I would think apple would have to charge 2.5-3K for such a mini-pro?"

Precisely, but not the Mini we envisioned, instead the bottom-tier "modular' MacPro for roughly $3200.

If said modular MacPro runs circles around a 2012 Quad-core - nails up 4K, 5K or 8K and provides for eGPU it may well be worth it by today's standards. More importantly, will they commit to a path and adhere to it like days of old to make the $3200 a sound investment for at least 5 years with no loss of functionality through upgrades or architecture changes.
 
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