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clin86

macrumors regular
Original poster
Feb 15, 2008
127
0
I have a new mac mini which i hooked up to a new thunderbolt display and Mission control and expose runs slow. I have hot corners setup and there a significant lag each time i use it. My mac mini is the 2.5 i5 with AMD graphics. I even upgraded it to an OCZ ssd with 8gb of ram. Am i the only one with this problem? seems like the mac mini is having trouble powering the thunderbolt display
 
I was experiencing this too; I was told that the 256MB card in the Mac Mini is not sufficient to drive the Thunderbolt display; Im living with it for now.
 
would the shared graphics actually be better with more ram since it takes up 512mb of ram instead of the AMD's 256mb?
 
I use a 2010 27" iMac in target display mode for my 2011 Mac minis. The mid-range 2011 Mac mini 2.7GHz Dual Core Intel i7 with AMD 6630M always seemed smooth. The 2011 Mac mini server 2.0GHz Quad-Core Intel i7 with integrate Intel HD 3000 with 8GB & 16GB 1333MHz showed some choppiness in the UI every so often. The Intel HD 3000 with 8GB 1866MHz is very smooth in OSX and Windows 7. Therefore, I don't think it's resolution but possibly a Thunderbolt issue.
 
everything else is pretty smooth if i don't have video running. only opening expose and mission control has that lag even without anything significant running. otherwise, everything else is okay.
 
I was experiencing this too; I was told that the 256MB card in the Mac Mini is not sufficient to drive the Thunderbolt display; Im living with it for now.

I forget how little vram that thing has, but no it shouldn't have problems with the possible exceptions of 3d and gaming. The integrated graphics are worse. I would call this a driver issue. The hardware is capable. Apple is horrendous on graphics drivers. They need to do a better job of working with the companies who make them. Apple only allows a small portion of their code to be modified, so they really need to be proactive in this to ensure a good experience.

would the shared graphics actually be better with more ram since it takes up 512mb of ram instead of the AMD's 256mb?

No... it's much slower ram, and this shouldn't be an issue regardless.

I use a 2010 27" iMac in target display mode for my 2011 Mac minis. The mid-range 2011 Mac mini 2.7GHz Dual Core Intel i7 with AMD 6630M always seemed smooth. The 2011 Mac mini server 2.0GHz Quad-Core Intel i7 with integrate Intel HD 3000 with 8GB & 16GB 1333MHz showed some choppiness in the UI every so often. The Intel HD 3000 with 8GB 1866MHz is very smooth in OSX and Windows 7. Therefore, I don't think it's resolution but possibly a Thunderbolt issue.

I would still suggest driver issue. I've read complaints like this before. I'm surprised they still haven't fixed it. We're just talking about very very basic gpu functions, not 3d gaming, not maya or nuke, just basic ui stuff. This should be a complete non issue for the hardware.
 
I can understand with the macbook air since it is so thin. But with the mac mini coupled with the AMD graphics, it should at least be able to run smoothly. I hope mountain lion fixed these issues
 
because mac mini is just a piece of crap.

I can't believe people will buy the mac mini together with a Thunderbolt display, why not just get an iMac??
 
because mac mini is just a piece of crap.

I can't believe people will buy the mac mini together with a Thunderbolt display, why not just get an iMac??

Couple of reasons here and there, but generally I agree ... Mac Mini is just a laptop that isn't portable.
 
because mac mini is just a piece of crap.

I can't believe people will buy the mac mini together with a Thunderbolt display, why not just get an iMac??

Upgradability? Minis are pretty versatile computers and are quite easily upgradeable by the user (for hard drive and RAM); in the case of an iMac its likely that the display will outlive the internal components, with a mini you can easily replace the mini but still keep the gorgeous display.
 
No slowdown

My 2011 server + thunderbolt display has no noticeable slowdown with expose or mission control. I'm using 8 gb of 1600 mhz RAM. I also don't want an iMac because it's virtually impossible to upgrade the hard disk. Also don't like its chin. Quite happy with the server (though I'm not running it as a server).
 
I did consider getting an iMac. the biggest reason i went with the mac mini was because i wanted an SSD. there is no way you can upgrade the iMac with an SSD because of the way apple tied the hard drive temperature sensor with the drive.(unless you pay apple to upgrade it for you) plus down the road if i get a thunderbolt laptop, i can always connect it with the display.

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My 2011 server + thunderbolt display has no noticeable slowdown with expose or mission control. I'm using 8 gb of 1600 mhz RAM. I also don't want an iMac because it's virtually impossible to upgrade the hard disk. Also don't like its chin. Quite happy with the server (though I'm not running it as a server).

I feel like this is an AMD issue since yours is the server version. With more ram, you get up to 512mb VRAM, where the AMD is limited to only 256. I should have gone for the server version.
 
I feel like this is an AMD issue since yours is the server version. With more ram, you get up to 512mb VRAM, where the AMD is limited to only 256. I should have gone for the server version.

I swapped a Server mini for an AMD mini. The AMD mini drives my 27" Eizo slightly better than than the Server mini, but OS animations stutter with both.
 
Running AMD 2.7 mini and Thunderbolt display with no issues. Smooth as glass.

I have the standard 2.5 one, maybe the extra 0.2 and i7 helps. Are you running an SSD with it? If some people are having problems are some aren't, maybe its an SSD issue.
 
because mac mini is just a piece of crap.

I can't believe people will buy the mac mini together with a Thunderbolt display, why not just get an iMac??

I have one hooked up to a 50" Plasma, not much use having an iMac for my usage (HTPC), plus there's other reasons that should be pretty obvious if you rub some cells together...:rolleyes:
 
I have the standard 2.5 one, maybe the extra 0.2 and i7 helps. Are you running an SSD with it? If some people are having problems are some aren't, maybe its an SSD issue.

I'm running two SSDs in RAID 0, but I doubt drive speed is the issue. What kind of a lag are you seeing?
 
I'm running two SSDs in RAID 0, but I doubt drive speed is the issue. What kind of a lag are you seeing?

Mostly with expose and mission control. And if i have several windows open, i slowly begin to see the lag. Only reason i got the mac mini was to get an SSD upgrade.
 
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