Mini i7 8gb ram vs i5 16gb ram ?

[slomojoe]

i am retired and do basic stuff like email, web browsing, writing, some database work

i do rip cd’s occasionally (like 10 a year) and i rip blurays (like 15 a year maybe)

no intense graphic video editing at all and no complex software or demanding software other like make mkv and handbrake would be the most processing juice i would need

i could probably get by with an i3 but want to future proof a little bit

looking at the refub minis

any ideas appreciated

ps. i dont want to aftermarket ram since i don’t want to mess with the warranty, will get apple care +

 

[Donka]

The i5 is already a strong performer with its 6 cores. If you are comparing both systems around the same cost then I think the i5 with 16gb is already all you will need, especially if you have no plans to upgrade the ram yourself.
You mention future proofing though and there is an argument for going for the i7 now in the knowledge that you can at least upgrade the RAM later if needed, even if it is not your immediate intention.

 

[yukari]

Personally I would go with i7 and upgrade the RAM when necessary. With CPU’s, you can’t upgrade whereas with RAM’s you can.

 

[slomojoe]

the issue with the 8gb i7 is that i would be buying applecare + and would get 3 years of warranty but any ugrade of the ram would void the warranty because apple specifically says that ram isnt user upgradable

i have installed ram in many of my macs but i guess i don’t want risk losing warranty by cracking the case ??

 

[NaimNut]

It's about the Applications you use.

Based on what you are doing the i5 with 8gig should be enough, especially if you are using Apple native apps.
If you are using a 4k monitor I would bump the RAM to 16gigs.

imo

 

[twalk]

i5 + 16G

People are greatly underestimating the power the i5 has, greatly overestimating the speed increase of the i7 and for some reason expecting some sort of new, power hungry, software to come out (which it hasn't in like 5+ years now)

How fast is the i5? There's really not anything more than about 20% faster than it until you get to the i9 iMac 27" and the iMac Pro (both with 8 core cpus). As a rule of thumb, you won't notice a < 20% difference

 

[F-Train]

Hi @slomojoe,

I think that it is clear from your original post that all you need is an i5 and 8GB of RAM. Indeed, I think that you'd be fine with an i3 and 8GB of RAM.

 

[slomojoe]

right guys, thanks, will be getting an i5 and if i am feeling flush i might get the 16gb

i have 8gb on a 2015 i3 macbook now and it is just ok but would like to have a rig that will last me at least 5 years or more if possible

want to have a bigger screen for sure so going back to a mini of which i have had many over the years

twalk, yeah, thanks, i sort of thought that the i7 doesn’t add a lot of value over the i5 for me

 

[getrealbro]

right guys, thanks, will be getting an i5 and if i am feeling flush i might get the 16gb

i have 8gb on a 2015 i3 macbook now and it is just ok but would like to have a rig that will last me at least 5 years or more if possible...

I would NOT go with 8GB unless you are willing to upgrade the RAM if necessary.

Since you have an 8GB MacBook, you can monitor your current memory usage with activity monitor. The little color coded graph at the bottom of the window shows the memory “pressure” at any given time. Ideally you want that graph to stay green.

FWIW on my 2014 Mini with only 8GB it is quite easy to push the memory pressure into yellow even when only running mostly Apple apps like Mail, Calendar, Text Edit. Preview, and Quicktime, plus Firefox. If I then open a large Photos library, iMovie, etc. the graph frequently goes red and the system bogs down managing the available memory.

GetRealBro

 

[slomojoe]

i bought an i5/16g/256

thanks a lot guys for the help and replies

 

[Fishrrman]

I don't think AppleCare+ is worth it for a Mini.

The whole concept behind AC+ is that it covers incidences of "accidental damage" (as well as failure of internal components, which is covered by "ordinary" AppleCare).

Yet, think about it -- once the Mini is sitting there on the table, usually behind the display, how much "accidental damage" is it going to be exposed to?

Having said that...
Up until this year, 8gb was "enough" for light duty.
But... if you're going to use a 4k display with the Mini (at least from what I've read from the reports of others here), 16gb might be better.

If you're using (and intend to keep using) either a 1080p or 1440p display with the Mini, 8gb would probably do fine.

Then again, we don't know at this point what the demands of the Mac OS are going to be 4, 5 or 6 years from now.

That's why when I order my 2018 Mini I'll get 16gb of RAM pre-installed.
"Insurance..."

 

[brentsg]

the issue with the 8gb i7 is that i would be buying applecare + and would get 3 years of warranty but any ugrade of the ram would void the warranty because apple specifically says that ram isnt user upgradable

i have installed ram in many of my macs but i guess i don’t want risk losing warranty by cracking the case ??

I'm not sure where you are located but in the USA they can't void your warranty because you open the case. It's illegal and the FTC has been cracking down on this and I believe Apple was one of the companies to receive a warning.

 

[madrag]

When my i7 2018 Mac had only 8GB of RAM, it behaved extremelly well, I never noticed any stalls or hickups.

I installed 32GB of RAM just because it will be more future-proof and I don't really noticed any improvement or change over the 8GB that I had.

For the type of use that you mentioned, 8GB would be fine (I've read that you already got the i5/16GB, that's more than fine).

Mind you that you can always add more RAM, even if you don't want to open it yourself, I think you can go to an Apple Store and have them install it for you.

 

[slomojoe]

fishrrman says thumbs down on applecare +

here in canuckistan it costs $119 for the mini which extends it to 3 years

this will be either my third or fourth mini and they run like atm’s, usually without a hiccup

but i will be sinking about 1800 into the setup and i am kind of thinking that an extra 119 isn’t a lot in the scheme of things, plus even though i am reasonably techy, i get phone support for 3 years which might come in handy

any opions welcome on whether to pop for applecare ?

 

[F-Train]

fishrrman says thumbs down on applecare +

here in canuckistan it costs $119 for the mini which extends it to 3 years

this will be either my third or fourth mini and they run like atm’s, usually without a hiccup

but i will be sinking about 1800 into the setup and i am kind of thinking that an extra 119 isn’t a lot in the scheme of things, plus even though i am reasonably techy, i get phone support for 3 years which might come in handy

any opions welcome on whether to pop for applecare ?

My view is that AppleCare+ is a no-brainer. Like you, I have about $1800 in the mini, plus a bunch of money in accessories. If people are right about potential thermal issues, I'm covered, as well as for any other hardware failure. In my case, I do travel with the computer, so accidental damage is an issue. That said, it has dropped off a table at home, luckily not far and onto a carpet. Stuff happens.

What's the cost? At $119, the cost works out to 10.8 cents per day during the three years of coverage. It's a bit less if you purchase AppleCare+ at the last minute. What do you get? Subject to the deductible, you can walk your computer into any Apple store and it becomes their problem, not yours. I've used phone support only once, but it was helpful at the time.

When was the last time you could purchase a coffee for 10 cents? Or, indeed, anything.

 

[archer75]

i7 with 8gb ram and upgrade the ram yourself. No, it does NOT void the warranty.