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Mac Mini / Intel NUC shock
- Thread starter Padaung
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I would just build my own mini ITX PC if I was going the Windows route.
Since I want to stay with OS X and not build a hackintosh the mini would be the preferable option for me.
Currently I don't find any value in their line up, going to wait until the refresh. *crosses fingers*
Since I want to stay with OS X and not build a hackintosh the mini would be the preferable option for me.
Currently I don't find any value in their line up, going to wait until the refresh. *crosses fingers*
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I got tired of waiting for a Mini to be replaced and picked on of those up a couple of months ago. It's a great little box.
If you're not pushing 4k screens, the 2012 quad core mini with 16gb of ram and an ssd absolutely flies.
The Skull Canyon is amazing. I too built one a few moths ago after I gave up waiting on a new mini... the fastest iGPU Intel ever made, 32 GB DDR4, 512 GB Samsung 950 Pro, all the ports you could ever need, in a package smaller than the smallest laptop. Disregarding the silly gaming-focused marketing, it's a ridiculously awesome development workstation.
That is the exact same configuration I have. Agreed, it is an amazing little box.
My problem with your basic argument is that Apple is willing to sell the $499 Mac mini with all that software so why make the upgrades so absurdly expensive? The ram is bad but the SSD upgrade pricing is just nutty. If Apple wants me to keep using their products (and especially if they want me to coinue paying for services then they need to evaluate their pricing and use of mediocre hardware on desktops.
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What OS do you use? Win10?
Can confirm, mine is an absolute beast (for my uses anyway..)
Hope to get a good few more years out of it yet.
Still on el cap, and will likely stay there.
Hopefully by the time it dies (2012?) Apple would have released a replacement mini, although I am not holding my breath.
Yes, Win 10 Pro. I never had problems with Windows, I'm used to using multiple OSes all my life. And W10 is actually really nice, I jumped to it from 7, skipped 8 completely.
I use Win 10 and MacOS, and have used both side by side for nearly 2 decades. I've preferred MacOS over the years, but Win 10 is shaping up to be a very good OS indeed and I now prefer it in many ways to MacOS. Win 8 was a mess, wish I'd skipped it too!
Absolutely - especially with W10. If you use Libra Office it's actually free and very good it is too. Is your argument that you buy a Mac and then never install another programme? If so then you may have a point but only up to a point. If however, you will install other programmes then your point is a non-point. BTW I have never used iWorks etc. on my Mac as the MS alternatives are much better and more feature rich.
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I have been waiting a very long time for you to nail down where OS X (now MacOS) is any better than Windows 10 but you have singularly failed to do this. I think you have trotted out your mantra for so long now that you actually believe it. Even your mantra of the the new Mini is coming is beginning to look doubtful now.
I bought a 2.1 GHz NUC early this year (so previous generation) along with the Samsung 950 pro SSD, 8 GB of 1600 MHz RAM, and Windows 10. I had difficulties with the initial install but after a few days of patching it was able to boot/shut down/reboot properly. That should have been a good machine but simple surfing with Firefox on it feels sluggish compared to my 5 year old 2.5 GHz mini with a spinning hard drive.
Maybe the latest NUC is better now but I don't see Intel's machines being anywhere close to Apple's "it just works." I look at their forums and see constant BIOS and driver issues. I'm thinking that it would be better to look at Dell/HP/Lenovo's machines instead.
Maybe the latest NUC is better now but I don't see Intel's machines being anywhere close to Apple's "it just works." I look at their forums and see constant BIOS and driver issues. I'm thinking that it would be better to look at Dell/HP/Lenovo's machines instead.
I own 2 lenovo m700 tiny's they are beasts.
32gb ram
a m.2 ssd 275gb
a 128gb samsung ssd
an intel i7 6700t cpu
that one has no wi fi
windows 10
my other one
has 16gb ram
a 500gb hdd
wifi
dvd player
windows 7
lastly I have an hp 800 with the intel i7 6700t
all three are the same size as a mac mini the dvd player is a removable addon
1 philips screwdriver to access case.
you can add ram
you can change cpu
you can add m2 ssd
you can add wifi
all in about 15 minutes
as a guy that did upgrades hundreds of mac minis
I Simply can not tell you what I think of apple for allowing the mac mini to die.
the hp and the lenovo are like god to the best mac mini. which was the 2012 quad.
So very sad. I come back and post here every once in a while with deep sadness as I soon will give up on my older tired minis in favor of the lenovo and hp
I may build this. A bit bigger than the mini but man, the POWER! And I can make it SILENT as I do not need a video card. Still super small compared to average desktop for sure.
https://www.dan-cases.com/dana4_img.html
Already got all my parts chosen, starting with the new Samsung 960 PRO M.2 nVme 512GB SSD
If I build it, it will SMACKDOWN anything in its path LOL!
https://www.dan-cases.com/dana4_img.html
Already got all my parts chosen, starting with the new Samsung 960 PRO M.2 nVme 512GB SSD
If I build it, it will SMACKDOWN anything in its path LOL!
Hey Dave, here is the potential of that case.I may build this. A bit bigger than the mini but man, the POWER! And I can make it SILENT as I do not need a video card. Still super small compared to average desktop for sure.
https://www.dan-cases.com/dana4_img.html
Already got all my parts chosen, starting with the new Samsung 960 PRO M.2 nVme 512GB SSD
Well certainly in the UK and I'm sure it's the same in the US you can now buy the NUC already assembled to your particular specification so they are ready to roll out of the box, so no more patching tinkering to do. TBH when I have priced up the finished article the price difference between DIY and a BTO from a PC supplier is negligible. The real benefit is the BTO will work straight out of the box and come with full warranties.
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I'm glad you find Windows 10 very good, but I fail to see why you feel the need to keep pulling me up about posting Mac v Windows. What I post is based on my experience and observations. I make no claim to represent "most people".
My experience and observation is that I may have fronted more for my Mac initially, but it has been more reliable and hassle free than the more upgradeable, cheaper alternatives in the long term. And that Windows 10 on the computers at work, and elsewhere, is still more of a hassle, and has issues that I have not had using OS X.
I fail to see your point, other than that you seem to be on a rather pointless mission to win a fight you seem to be after creating, but does not really exist. Thus, you can only be a loser.
Sure you may be a geek who knows all about computer hardware, operating systems, and apps, and you may have the hottest 2012 Mac Mini that money can buy, but does that make you a wonderful person. Given your attitude, snide comments and put downs, I have my doubts.
Yes, the apps that come with Mac are fine for my needs. There may be all singing, all dancing stuff out there to suit some, but I have no need for them; don't need the hassle.
Word (which I do occasionally use) is more feature rich than Pages (which apparently you have never used), but the latter is easier to use, and has all the features I need, thus it is what I usually use.
Moreover, documents that come my way with Thai script on them (there are many) don't open properly in the version of Office for Mac installed on my Mac, I know not, and care not why. I can open them with Pages, do what I have to do, then export them as Word document, and send them off.
It might be nice to have a fancy camera and a more feature rich editing app, that would take a more powerful computer to get the best out of, but they would be beyond my budget and my needs. A humble base model Mac Mini, iPhoto, and a Fujifilm X20 (with a 12 MP sensor) has been adequate to get shots of sports for use in the local newspaper. Given that some folk have asked for more of my photography, there may be a case to upgrade in due course, if I have the budget and the inclination to do so.
Yes, I could bet better hardware for my buck, but considering the hassle that comes with it, would I really be getting better bang for my buck? You have an opinion, I'm sure, but I don't give a hoot.
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I think you may be wrong about that. Most of the mac users (and windows users) I know have no idea what is inside their computers. They know what they need or want to do, and they want a computer that does those things well and consistently. The mac users I know also want a machine that is well-made and looks good. They know nothing about cpu cores or graphics, integrated or not, or memory, HDD or SSD. I think that is the user Apple has in mind and is catering to those people. I was one of those people for many years. But, it's only my observations and opinion, your may differ.
Nonsense. The average computer user is fine with minimal-spec machines. Heck, the average computer user is fine with just a tablet, as has been shown with Apple's rewards in creating that market.
I personally believe that Apple is stiffing its customers by providing a Mini that is so low-spec and so out-of-date that it will essentially become unusable long before other PCs do (whether by not being able to run modern applications, or not being able to run macOS); certainly, older Windows PCs are more capable of running modern software than older Macs (as shown most obviously by being able to run Windows 10 today on Macs for which Apple has already dropped support!). But, that doesn't mean it can't do the job today...
And yet tablet sales are in decline and sales of Notebooks are on the rise. This seems at odds with what you are asserting.