Mac Mini - Coding

[slooksterPSV]

Why yes I’m at this again. After hearing Apple is moving to ARM CPUs I’m trying to figure out the best course for me to take in all this.

I considered the air but after learning about the heat issues due to there just being a block and no active cooling, decided against doing an air. Essentially there isn’t a heat pipe for exhaust of the heat. Watched a Linus video where the new air can hit 100 C under constant load. That will tank the CPU longevity.

The MBP seems good but 2-3 generation old CPUs for $1299 + 3-4 weeks shipping for an additional 8GB RAM (1499) seems very damning. And 1799 for a 10th gen? Same thing. Heavily overpriced considering max of 3 years potentially.

What about the Mini? Well if I do the base model (no RAM upgrade) it’s $799. It has an i3-8100B in it but maybe that will suffice till ARM takes off.

Essentially I want to run XCode, Visual Studio Mac and then just daily things. 8GB is pushing it and I’ll only have a 1920x1080 monitor but maybe that’s fine.

I’ve been at this for a week now trying to decide what would be best knowing the limitations on each. Currently my MBA 2015 maxes on RAM and causes slow downs on builds. Plus the 1366x768 makes it hard with as many views as I need to see.

Will XCode work fine with 8GB Ram?

 

[satcomer]

It will run just not very quickly!

 

[D.T.]

Not sure about your location, but if you have access to Apple refurbs, definitely consider one. It's effectively a new machine, with a full warranty (and you can still add AC+), but for a ~14% discount. The only real "trick" is catching the config you want in the store, and even when they do have Mini refurbs, they go quickly (so you have to monitor and then act fast).

If you can work it out, try to get 16GB, either OEM or if you're comfortable, a DIY upgrade (see various threads about upgrading the RAM in the '18 Mini after purchase).

If it was XCode in a vacuum, maybe 8GB wouldn't be so bad, but in my case (and I suspect, many other developers), I'm usually running a bunch of other things, from servers/services for the backend, to REST testing apps, plus my standard personal stack of email, messages, browser, etc.

 

[slooksterPSV]

Not sure about your location, but if you have access to Apple refurbs, definitely consider one. It's effectively a new machine, with a full warranty (and you can still add AC+), but for a ~14% discount. The only real "trick" is catching the config you want in the store, and even when they do have Mini refurbs, they go quickly (so you have to monitor and then act fast).

If you can work it out, try to get 16GB, either OEM or if you're comfortable, a DIY upgrade (see various threads about upgrading the RAM in the '18 Mini after purchase).

If it was XCode in a vacuum, maybe 8GB wouldn't be so had, but in my case (and I suspect, many other developers), I'm usually running a bunch of other things, from servers/services for the backend, to REST testing apps, plus my standard personal stack of email, messages, browser, etc.

I have been lurking the refurb area. Essentially my rest services are .net core. As for XCode it will be learning Swift and how to build UIs for iOS devices. Others I may be running is Visual Studio code for reactjs or angular sites. Usually if I’m coding I have Safari or Firefox and Music and.... that’s about it open. Hmmm.... the $1800 MBP is sounding plausible now :-/.

 

[D.T.]

I have been lurking the refurb area. Essentially my rest services are .net core. As for XCode it will be learning Swift and how to build UIs for iOS devices. Others I may be running is Visual Studio code for reactjs or angular sites. Usually if I’m coding I have Safari or Firefox and Music and.... that’s about it open. Hmmm.... the $1800 MBP is sounding plausible now :-/.

Yeah, that's a decently RAM intensive set of apps, I'd definitely get 16GB if I were you. I went with 32GB for my '18, runs fantastic (and I generally have a whole Win10VM up and running in addition to Xcode, several productivity apps, etc.)

For hoots, I just checked out the refurb store, Mac Mini was grayed out ...

 

[0128672]

There were a few refurb Minis with a good range of specs about three days ago (in the US store). They were gone within ~10 hours.

 

[slooksterPSV]

There were a few refurb Minis with a good range of specs about three days ago (in the US store). They were gone within ~10 hours.

I noticed a couple I was looking at on the refund store gone already. Hahaha. They do go quick.

 

[0128672]

I noticed a couple I was looking at on the refund store gone already. Hahaha. They do go quick.

What's interesting to me as an inveterate refurb watcher is that of the Macs, it's Mac Minis that go out of stock most quickly.

 

[Erehy Dobon]

This is not surprise at all.

>85% of Macs sold are notebooks. This has been the case for over a decade.

Of the desktops, the iMac is the most popular product line. Thus the Mac mini probably comprises about 2% of total Mac unit sales so there are fewer to start with and fewer refurbs.

On top of that, Mac mini ownership is heavily skewed to corporate/institutional users: colos, FCPX render farms, etc. In the early 2000s, Vegas casino security departments were using them to record digital video of gaming tables. Stuff like that.

Corporate clients are quite familiar with the Mac mini's pros and cons. They'll place a 100 unit order if they are assured the mini can do the job expected.

The Mac mini isn't really consumer-focused computer so there are fewer returns due to customer dissatisfaction based on perceived performance inadequacies.

With COVID-19 "work from home" corporate policies, the demand for value-priced desktop systems is even higher now than it was six months ago. If you're working from home, there's little benefit from the mobility of a notebook computer.

 

[TGM85]

If you’re thinking of buying a mac mini, I would get the i5 model.

Upgrade the ram yourself. It’s not all that difficult (youtube is your friend) and you’ll save a ton of money doing so.

 

[slooksterPSV]

Thanks all. I ended up getting the MacBook Air base model.

 

[slooksterPSV]

Here's an additional update. This thing is amazing! Okay so yeah it only has 8GB of RAM. I've mainly been doing the following with it so far:

• Xcode for Swift Playgrounds - works just fine
• Visual Studio - 1 solution, 3 projects - Blazor - works great
• iTunes
• Photos
• Safari
• Teams
• Remote Desktop
• Numbers
• Pages
• Mail
• VS Code

The most RAM I've used is about 6.5GB and that was running Visual Studio 2019, iTunes, Safari, Messages, Teams, and Remote Desktop. The thing still works quite well. Its super quiet and while the concerns of heat is still there, I haven't been running it in the ground with things constantly processing. Something I didn't intend to do.

The screen is gorgeous, the sound is fantastic (not as good as the Pro but still awesome). Sure its an i3, but it's doing everything I need it to do. Oh and can we talk about this keyboard? This keyboard is so amazing! I can't believe how it feels. It doesn't feel weird like the butterfly did when I had a Pro 2 years ago (that I took back after a week). The keyboard just really shines on this devices. I don't have any edge bleeding or that. This is just about the most amazing machine I've ever owned! I hope it stays supported for at least 3 years because it will be my daily driver. I'm still on my first charge with 35% left (varied usage).

I'll do a more in-depth review, but for someone starting out with Swift coding, nothing intense, this thing is perfect. I already know my C# stuff so I don't do heavy processing there either.

Thanks everyone!