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Mac Mini Killer?
- Thread starter dogslobber
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Focusing on the ram, you want enough memory to future proof your purchase. Apple should have set the base at 8gb then the 500$ Mini non upgradable ram isn't a question. Then set 16gb to a hundred bucks for the option. That would resolve the backlash Apple is under for the 2014 Mini.
You can't drive a car without a steering wheel. Using a pair of pliers won't help. There are some things you don't cut corners on as life's too short for the alternatives.
No, but I can drive one without heated leather seats.
I'm OS agnostic. I don't suffer from this phobia that using something other than OSX will give me cancer.
Interesting question. I like to fiddle around with computers, change stuff inside, mess up the software, fix the software, typical me. I like Windows and have used the great Windows 7, the really stinky Windows 8, the not-to-bad-at-all Windows 8.1 and the very promising Windows 10 preview.
While my 2012 mini 2.3 Windows 8.1 machine at home has Photoshop CS6, Office 2010, VLC, Handbrake, Make MKV and a whole bunch of stuff on it there is only one reason that I must have a Windows machine at home.
My personal finance and the yearly TurboTax torture all reside on on Windows. I have that crappy Quicken for Mac on both Macs but when I did some financial work this morning I did it on Windows with Firefox and (real) Quicken.
I use Windows File History and always have a copy of my encrypted Quicken for Windows file on each encrypted Mac, and therefore stored in four encrypted Time Machines.
I believe that my Macs are more secure due to FileVault 2 and Time Machine but I still use Windows for personal finances. I am comfortable with all the backups and a great Windows security suite.
Provided you can find mini-ITX boards with a CPU at least as powerful as the 2012 Mac Mini.
Correct, but these Windows XP versions are much more locked down than your typical XP installation, and banks pay MS big bucks to keep it patched.
???
I have a i7-4790K installed on my mini-ITX motherboard.
They don't come soldered on like Macs.
Mini-ITX boards are manufactured, but not widely available. I may haven't found any decent retailer yet, and only record they used to come with anemic Geode, Celeron, or VIA CPUs, at least for the silent models.
The US based retailer newegg.com has nearly 80 of them, all with sockets for mostly Haswell and Ivy Bridge.
Indeed, they have about 50 of them. And the i7 4790K is $350+tx. And it needs RAM, a case and power supply. Still far more expensive than a soldered Mac Mini
Indeed, they have about 50 of them. And the i7 4790K is $350+tx. And it needs RAM, a case and power supply. Still far more expensive than a soldered Mac Mini
I would go with something more like this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819117372
Haswell 4 cores/8 threads $210.
Add Samsung 850 PRO 256GB $170
Add 16GB Crucial ram $135
Windows 10 license
Total is well under the $1400 I would need to spend on a mini.
Having said that, I am still hoping that apple has noticed the stink people put up about the new mini and will offer a quad-core with Iris pro next year.
This is almost twice as expensive as a decent 2012 Mini, even ditching the Windows license as I don't intend to return to that non-standard OS anytime soon. And still no Thunderbolt nor Firewire.
Oh if you are debating a quad-core mini vs building a pc, I would agree and highly recommend getting the 2012 mini. No way would I personally get a 2014 mini though.
Indeed, they have about 50 of them. And the i7 4790K is $350+tx. And it needs RAM, a case and power supply. Still far more expensive than a soldered Mac Mini
Fully spec'd Mini is $2199. ROTFL!
3GHz Mini with 16GB of RAM and 512GB SSD cost $1699, and is only dual core with integrated graphics.
I built my PC for about $1800, and includes i7 4790k, GTX 980, 8GB of RAM (for now), and 512GB SSD. Had I not splurged on an aluminum Lian Li case and high end motherboard, the price would have been even less or I could have went straight for 16GB of RAM instead.
It'll be at least 8-10 years before Apple spits out a Mini with that much horsepower, if ever.
Nor would I. But 2012 Mini supplies will necessarily be short and/or expensive, considering what a flop the 2014 model is.
At least it proves that, no matter how bad the current Mini is, it still has no competition.
It depends on what you want to use it for. For my needs, I would rather build a pc than buy a 2014 mini. It just doesn't make any sense. The soonest I could do it is next year because I will require some Win 10 features (spaces/expose) that are key to my work flow.
For under $1000 US right now, that would be a true 4 core haswell, 16GB ram, 2x 256GB Samsung 850 Pro in RAID-0, nice case, powersupply, motherboard.
I used linux for years before switching to osx and would not be willing to try it again... just too time consuming with software updates/breaking.
No, it's just that the faithful refuse to acknowledge the existence of competition.
You give them an example, and they say "But, it doesn't run OSX."
Sometimes it's entertaining to climb that big wall they live behind and just watch.
No, it's just that the faithful refuse to acknowledge the existence of competition.
You give them an example, and they say "But, it doesn't run OSX."
Sometimes it's entertaining to climb that big wall they live behind and just watch.
You make a good point here. OS X isn't justification in itself.
Funny thing is when you show people examples of much cheaper but similar form factor machines, you get some people saying it's underpowered.
Yet, people dismiss the need for quad-core in the Mini (in nearly 2015, at that), claiming that the Mini is for simple tasks (such as Office stuff, web browsing, email, etc).
The new Mini is ultimately underpowered and overpriced, plain and simple.
The ones people have posted here are pretty interesting, especially the Alienware Alpha. The BRIX Pro gives a ton of performance for its price.
For the price of the base Mini, I'm going to toss a new motherboard/RAM and i7 4790k in my current setup, which already has a modern SSD, graphics card, and power supply.
Right, but even with promised improvements, nothing says Win 10 will finally use standard technologies, so I am not counting on it. I used Windows for years before switching to Linux then Mac OS X, and would not go back due to time-consuming with software updates and breaking for no reason, plus frequent maintenance and reboots.
Under $1k, surely not in mini-ITX. Care to share what mobo you thought of that would have TB connectivity?
Yes, the ~15 people at MacRumors that are upset to no end are really weighing heavily on Apple. Since they have never had a track record for building the exact machine everybody wants this will surely catch their attention. Delusions of grandeur. Time to move on here, nothing more to see.
Why bother with an expensive TB setup when I can RAID 0 two SSDs and get 1.0GBps transfer speeds.
The ability to setup a RAID array comes free with my motherboard. Try that with your Mini.
Something else is PC motherboards will soon include SATA Express capable of delivering 1.5 - 3.0 gigabytes per second.
If Apple offers it, you'll have to throw away your entire Mini and buy a new one, and hope they don't charge an extra $300 for it.
Nah, we know apple doesn't care about us. They make all their money selling throwaway idevices to Joe Consumer every 2 years. No need to make pro/power user computers when you're printing that kind of money.
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Which standard technologies are you talking about? I personally (thankfully) don't need TB or firewire, so it's not an issue for me. I know a lot of people that use Win 7/ 8.1 for serious design work and apparently it's much improved from the xp days. If you read these forums there are tons of people having trouble with crashes, etc on osx, so it doesn't guarantee a trouble free experience.
you deserve 1000's of up votes.
one could argue all of us mac users should be happy that we had a great mini in 2012 (The quad).
Apple realized it and hammered us.
Right now I can build a quad 2012 with a diy 3tb fusion consisting of 1 2tb hdd and 1 1tb ssd. Add 16gb ram for about 1400 bucks.
try and find an equal in any 2014 desktop from mac. you can't no apple 2014 would have a fusion that works as well.
You say Windows is getting better, but you still don't even think for a second about running it on a PC other than in a VM running over a "proper" OS (Linux).
OS X is IMO still the very best OS for a personal workstation at this moment in time.
Over which kind of connection? Internal SATA?
True, it is impossible with current generation Mini. And there's not a single 2012 refurb available anymore, but the Server edition had this capability.
Alas you're right
POSIX compatibility, ability to "pipe" output from one program into another, CUPS, command-line syntax, SSH
Sure OS X isn't trouble-free, but at least there are solutions, not least including paying a visit to the nearest Apple Store. Try that with Windows.
Even in its castrated current state, it is right.