Now or Never Mac Mini

[The Tiny Desktop]

Thanks to the 8th Gen Kaby Lake Refresh, Apple will be forced to release quad-core Mac Mini next time, or to ditch the Mac Mini altogether.

(Links are to Intel Technical Specs on the Intel Ark Site)

Right now, an i7-8550u Mobile is 4C/8T and goes from 1.8GHz to 4.0GHz.

Now, Apple might wait until there is relatively higher-powered T options - which are expected out real soon. Not quite as high-powered as desktop CPUs, but a scooch above the Laptop chips.

A T-chip would not be quite as low-powered as the 15W TDP in the laptop i7-8550u, but more in keeping with the 28W TDP of the i7-4578U on the present Mac Mini. Of course, Apple could just reconfigure the i7-8550u up to 25W.

If Apple chooses to wait until the T CPUs come out, we could see even more power than the already impressive i7-8550u.

HP and DELL are already releasing 8th Gen laptops that are humiliating Apple laptops costing hundreds more. Likewise, Rumors are out that Intel will release a Skull Canyon NUC with 8th gen chips.

So Apple has to act fast, or ditch the Mac Mini.

 

[Trusteft]

How about no?

 

[dogslobber]

Thanks to the 8th Gen Kaby Lake Refresh, Apple will be forced to release quad-core Mac Mini next time, or to ditch the Mac Mini altogether.

Apple really isn’t forced to do anything. They don’t obey traditional market dynamics as they’re not a Windows OEM.

 

[Boyd01]

That video says the base $500 2014 Mac Mini has a 2.7ghz i5 CPU. That's news to me.

 

[dogslobber]

That video says the base $500 2014 Mac Mini has a 2.7ghz i5 CPU. That's news to me.

Boy, is that talker on that video annoying or is it just me?

 

[opeter]

That video says the base $500 2014 Mac Mini has a 2.7ghz i5 CPU. That's news to me.

Well, the 2.7 GHz is the max. speed of that CPU.
https://ark.intel.com/products/75030/Intel-Core-i5-4260U-Processor-3M-Cache-up-to-2_70-GHz

 

[Boyd01]

Good point - but kind of confusing because at another point he mentions the 3.0ghz Mini and that is the advertised speed of the top model.

 

[Plutonius]

Thanks to the 8th Gen Kaby Lake Refresh, Apple will be forced to release quad-core Mac Mini next time, or to ditch the Mac Mini altogether.

Apple isn't forced to do anything since there are always people willing to buy their products no matter how bad or good they are.

I expect a Mac Pro refresh but no Mac Mini refresh.

 

[opeter]

Good point - but kind of confusing because at another point he mentions the 3.0ghz Mini and that is the advertised speed of the top model.

Yes, you are right, but the guy (Austin) is jumping from one specs to another, as he tries to describe the differences.

 

[MysticCow]

They're just going to go along in their own "special kind of stupid" way...and people will continue to line up around the block for massively underpowered junk with Intel crapware graphics.

 

[opeter]

Remember, remember...

 

[Trusteft]

So much hate for Apple, yet you are here. Hilarious.

 

[Cesoca]

Boy, is that talker on that video annoying or is it just me?

I assure you're not alone.

 

[davidoloan]

They have been selling huge amounts of them in the UK refurb store over the 3 or 4 months.

 

[opeter]

So much hate for Apple, yet you are here. Hilarious.

Well, I am using an Apple Mac mini almost every day (as I had used Macs in the past,but that doesn't really matter).
Anyway, I hate Apple's policy and that is why I don't take part of the Apple ecosystem.

Except from the Mac, I don't use any other Apple product.

 

[Cloudsurfer]

He hits the nail in the head. It may not be the most powerful computer, but it has served me well as a hobby videographer and will serve me well for many years to come. I also edit 4k in FCPX and it's been doing a damn good job at it. Exporting may not be the quickest, but it's not horrendously slow either. Plus, the option is now there to hook up eGPUs.

I prefer not to build a Mackintosh because of all the headaches it comes with, and if there's one thing I left Windows behind it's because of headaches.

I would buy this machine again probably today, but only second hand.

 

[dogslobber]

I prefer not to build a Mackintosh because of all the headaches it comes with, and if there's one thing I left Windows behind it's because of headaches.

Very accurate. The thing about the MacOS and Mac hardware is it generally works 100% or not at all. When I use Windows it feels like a constant chore of OS updates, malware scans, malware sig updates. Rinse and repeat. A Windows machine is never just ready for use. A hackintosh is similar in that there’s always something not quite right you constantly need to tweak that it is just not worth the hassle. Also, regular PCs are just noisy and heavy on power

I would buy this machine again probably today, but only second hand.

One thing I find is I never regret my Apple buying decisions. I thing it gives most value per dollar for longevity and productivity. I might moan about Apple often but I moan more about the other companies more.

 

[koulmj]

I think for me, I would want a Mac Mini that’s a little bigger with iMac parts at a Lowe price. It doesn’t have to be a mini mini model and it doesn’t have to be art work. Maybe a Mac Medium? Btw, Mac Mini can get upgraded, so whom ever started this thread maybe look into what you need vs what Apple can bto.

 

[jpietrzak8]

Btw, Mac Mini can get upgraded, so whom ever started this thread maybe look into what you need vs what Apple can bto.

Ah, just to be pedantic, there is a difference between "can be customized" versus "can be upgraded". Apple can indeed customize a mini to some extent for you, but none of the 2014 minis can be upgraded. (Or, at least they are not designed in such a manner to make that possible.)

 

[koulmj]

Ah, just to be pedantic, there is a difference between "can be customized" versus "can be upgraded". Apple can indeed customize a mini to some extent for you, but none of the 2014 minis can be upgraded. (Or, at least they are not designed in such a manner to make that possible.)

Point taken. I forgot that the 2014’s are sealed shut. But still, I think those little silver boxes have some life left.

 

[ziggy29]

One thing I find is I never regret my Apple buying decisions. I thing it gives most value per dollar for longevity and productivity. I might moan about Apple often but I moan more about the other companies more.

I think it was telling that Apple had to intentionally "timebomb" their installer to not work on older systems. My 9-year-old Unibody MacBook, with 8 GB of RAM and an SSD, still runs great and does High Sierra with no problems using the installer hack. Yeah, it's definitely not a gaming machine but for almost all other uses it still keeps up nicely. I guess Apple didn't count on Moore's Law slowing down as much as it has in the last few years, so they felt they had to proactively "kill" older machines by desupporting them even though they are still very capable of running the latest OS.

 

[dogslobber]

I think it was telling that Apple had to intentionally "timebomb" their installer to not work on older systems. My 9-year-old Unibody MacBook, with 8 GB of RAM and an SSD, still runs great and does High Sierra with no problems using the installer hack. Yeah, it's definitely not a gaming machine but for almost all other uses it still keeps up nicely. I guess Apple didn't count on Moore's Law slowing down as much as it has in the last few years, so they felt they had to proactively "kill" older machines by desupporting them even though they are still very capable of running the latest OS.

I get why they do this. The older machines are not formally tested so are not supported. This is different from saying they don't work with HS as Apple hasn't tested so has to assume it's broken. They put a moderate barrier to entry to prevent the normal random clicker being able to install on their older hardware and then demand to know why it's crap or some feature doesn't work at the Genius Bar. Apple knows that if you're determined then you'll succeed getting it running on your hardware but you can't exactly go to the Genius bar with the problem. It's just that to get there requires some work.

 

[MarkJames68]

Very accurate. The thing about the MacOS and Mac hardware is it generally works 100% or not at all. When I use Windows it feels like a constant chore of OS updates, malware scans, malware sig updates. Rinse and repeat. A Windows machine is never just ready for use. A hackintosh is similar in that there’s always something not quite right you constantly need to tweak that it is just not worth the hassle. Also, regular PCs are just noisy and heavy on power

One thing I find is I never regret my Apple buying decisions. I thing it gives most value per dollar for longevity and productivity. I might moan about Apple often but I moan more about the other companies more.

My first “Mac” was a Hackintosh. My first Apple product was an iPod in 2001, working via Windows (before it was supported). Before I bought an iPhone I had an iPad.

Now while I have a Windows gaming system, the rest of my ecosystem is pretty much Apple. I’ve gone from building to using - and it mostly just works. When I need Windows I have Parallels.

 

[Neodym]

Ah, just to be pedantic, there is a difference between "can be customized" versus "can be upgraded". Apple can indeed customize a mini to some extent for you, but none of the 2014 minis can be upgraded. (Or, at least they are not designed in such a manner to make that possible.)

Okay, being pedantic, that's not true. You actually can upgrade the hard drive and the blade SSD. It is pretty similar to doing it on a 2012 model, as the internal design did not really change much. You could even add the blade SSD to a HD-only mini 2014. With the blade SSD the only problem is the proprietary connector that Apple uses, so you can't use 3rd party SSD's. iFixit, Flexcable

 

[jpietrzak8]

Okay, being pedantic, that's not true. You actually can upgrade the hard drive and the blade SSD. It is pretty similar to doing it on a 2012 model, as the internal design did not really change much. You could even add the blade SSD to a HD-only mini 2014. With the blade SSD the only problem is the proprietary connector that Apple uses, so you can't use 3rd party SSD's. iFixit, Flexcable

Well, but you have to admit Apple has not designed the device to be modified in any manner by non-authorized personnel. Everything is locked away beneath Torx security screws. And unlike the 2012 model, even the bottom plate is not designed for easy removal.