Real world use/benefits of Mini configurations

[wdwpsu]

Thanks, this makes sense. What are you going to be mainly using this Mini for?

Sorry for the noob questions but what do you mean by active data and library data? And why the preference for active data to be on an ssd? Will your iTunes live on the other library drives?

Is this a trend with OS's and Apps and Cache needs to take more internal storage? Don't OS's take about 30GB's - do other Apps and Cache really have the chance to take up 256GB? Is there a rule of how much free space (percentage wise) that should always be on internal storage if this is where your OS is and you boot from?

I do a lot of photography, app dev, and general office tasks. My "Active Data" is projects I'm working on, photos I'm editing, etc. Once I'm done with them I'll consider them "Library Data" and move them off. I definitely get the performance increase of things I'm working on when hosted in an SSD.
As far as trends.. Everything grows. Mojave requires 18.5GB, Wheras Snow Leopard was only 5GB... Photoshop is about 1GB, Lightroom is another 1GB. As I want more apps, more space is needed..

 

[ElectronGuru]

Which externals would be the best options? SSD worth the money, etc.?

There are various threads debating fast vs slow but hdd is so annoying (including lower reliability) that it should only be used for backup or when capacity is really needed. If you can get away with 256 internal + 2000 external ssd, do it. Then have a 4000-10000 spinner attached to the network for TM.

I7: if you have to ask you don’t need it. Config 1 looks great

 

[tedson]

Think I've narrowed it down to these configurations:

1) i5/16/256 - $1,299
2) i5/16/512 - $1,499
3) i7/16/256 - $1,499

You have chosen 16GB which is fine if you think that is all the memory you will ever need. The $200 Apple upgrade compared to the DIY upgrade for ~$130 is worth it if you don't feel comfortable doing the work yourself and you will never need more than 16GB.

I, myself am getting 8Gb memory then buying 32GB (2x16GB) Crucial DIMMs $254 for Amazon Prime members. I will live with the 8GB initially and upgrade at my leisure.

If you are going to supplement storage with external drives anyway then getting the 512GB versus the 256GB may not be worth it. macOS system files and Apple applications take ~30GB. Do you have an actual need to have that extra 256GB of files stored internally beyond the space thats on the 256GB model as opposed to externally on a USB3 or Thunderbolt hard drive? Only you truly know your personal needs. The one factor that might tilt you towards the 512GB is it supposedly has faster writes speed than the 256GB model. I doubt many people would really be able to tell the difference in actual use but the difference has been reported in benchmarking tests. Remember, this is a desktop machine not a laptop so having all storage internal is not as big a deal as having external storage hanging off a laptop.

 

[LeeW]

$200 Apple upgrade compared to the DIY upgrade for ~$130 is worth it if you don't feel comfortable doing the work yourself and you will never need more than 16GB.

This is why I went for 16GB, I am comfortable at this stage it will be fine for the next 2/3 years, after the warranty goes I will be happier to then upgrade if required and at a lower cost by then.

In terms of storage, I went for the 512GB, not because I think I will need it, more so that I don't have to worry about it, but going lower and using something like a T5 is a solid alternative, the 500GB version is less than $100 right now.

 

[Sammy's]

Ok - I'm close to pulling the trigger. Here is what I'm thinking:

i5/8/256 - $999 and no tax (I'm in CA) from adorama seems like a great deal and will fit my needs

This external for iTunes and to work from:

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1346577-REG/samsung_mu_pa500b_am_t5_500gb_portable_ssd.html

An external for photos and backup - was thinking either one of these two:

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1081263-REG/g_technology_0g03594_g_drive_usb_g1_4tb.html

or

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/wd-eas...-3-0-hard-drive-black/5792401.p?skuId=5792401

Applecare - torn as to whether this is worth it...

Any thoughts or other recommendations will be greatly appreciated - thanks!

 

[wdwpsu]

Ok - I'm close to pulling the trigger. Here is what I'm thinking:

i5/8/256 - $999 and no tax (I'm in CA) from adorama seems like a great deal and will fit my needs

This external for iTunes and to work from:

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1346577-REG/samsung_mu_pa500b_am_t5_500gb_portable_ssd.html

An external for photos and backup - was thinking either one of these two:

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1081263-REG/g_technology_0g03594_g_drive_usb_g1_4tb.html

or

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/wd-eas...-3-0-hard-drive-black/5792401.p?skuId=5792401

Applecare - torn as to whether this is worth it...

Any thoughts or other recommendations will be greatly appreciated - thanks!

Almost identical setup.
I ended up buying 2 of the easystore's so that I can backup. Hurry though, Black Friday sale ends soon.
I also went to 16GB Ram.
I'm also on the fence on Applecare.

 

[Sammy's]

Almost identical setup.
I ended up buying 2 of the easystore's so that I can backup. Hurry though, Black Friday sale ends soon.
I also went to 16GB Ram.
I'm also on the fence on Applecare.

Did/can you set up the easystore's to work with time machine? Do you happen to know when the deal ends?
Was thinking of going with 16GB Ram to start but with this deal the difference was $300 instead of $200 so I figured it would be worth doing in a year or so when I was certain of my requirements.

 

[Sammy's]

Hurry though, Black Friday sale ends soon.

Good advice. Just went to order a couple of minutes ago and it was gone - would have thought sale would have lasted to midnight.

 

[Coyote2006]

You have chosen 16GB which is fine if you think that is all the memory you will ever need. The $200 Apple upgrade compared to the DIY upgrade for ~$130 is worth it if you don't feel comfortable doing the work yourself and you will never need more than 16GB.

I, myself am getting 8Gb memory then buying 32GB (2x16GB) Crucial DIMMs $254 for Amazon Prime members. I will live with the 8GB initially and upgrade at my leisure.

If you are going to supplement storage with external drives anyway then getting the 512GB versus the 256GB may not be worth it. macOS system files and Apple applications take ~30GB. Do you have an actual need to have that extra 256GB of files stored internally beyond the space thats on the 256GB model as opposed to externally on a USB3 or Thunderbolt hard drive? Only you truly know your personal needs. The one factor that might tilt you towards the 512GB is it supposedly has faster writes speed than the 256GB model. I doubt many people would really be able to tell the difference in actual use but the difference has been reported in benchmarking tests. Remember, this is a desktop machine not a laptop so having all storage internal is not as big a deal as having external storage hanging off a laptop.

I think it depends on how many SSDs you already have. My system disk has 250 GB of data, my projects SSD 350 GB. So I'd go for a 1TB internal and use the SSDs as backup on USB 3. For me the use of a T3 enclosure would only make sense in order to have only 1 box on the table. But I'd never reach the read/write speed the internal disk like this.

 

[Sammy's]

So I haven't got a new Mini yet - ordered a bunch of stuff during Black Friday and a fraud alert was put on my CC so most of the orders (including the Mini) were cancelled while I tried to figure out what the issue was. It ended up being triggered by a Best Buy purchase (their error).

About to make the purchase on the i5/8/256 for $999 and wanted to just take a temperature check to see if it is worth paying $300 more for the i7? The only thing I think it might benefit is Lightroom/Photoshop but my use case would be personal/hobbyist not professional so I'm not sure if the expense is worth it.

Any thoughts?

Also it seems like most are in agreement that the $99 for Applecare+ is worth it?

Thanks in advance

 

[F-Train]

About to make the purchase on the i5/8/256 for $999 and wanted to just take a temperature check to see if it is worth paying $300 more for the i7? The only thing I think it might benefit is Lightroom/Photoshop but my use case would be personal/hobbyist not professional so I'm not sure if the expense is worth it.

Any thoughts?

Also it seems like most are in agreement that the $99 for Applecare+ is worth it?

Thanks in advance

I've used the i5 with Photoshop and Lightroom and I think it works fine. For other reasons, I now have an i7, but I don't see any difference for those applications. I should add that I am not doing batch processing or multilayered Photoshop manipulation.

AppleCare+ costs 9 cents per day. Not, in my view, a hard decision.

 

[Originalbitman]

i7 512GB SSD 32MB. Replaced my tired Mid 2010 Mini. I did the memory upgrade myself and it wasn’t that difficult. I also added a Samsung 500GB X5 SSD and a 1TB Samsung T5 SSD.

I primarily do photo stuff. I shoot RAW and sort in Adobe Bridge and edit in Affinity Photo. Everything ends up in the MacOS Photos app which currently holds 30,000 images. I keep the RAW photos, Bridge cache and Photos app library on the X5. The T5 is for Time Machine. The workflow is so smooth, fast and efficient on the new Mini that I just love it.

I probably bought more CPU power and RAM than I really needed but I don’t look back. Just being able to scroll through large image previews with overwhelming speed and smoothness is worth it. Moving or batch processing a bunch of RAW images is unbelievabley quick.

Zero problems.

 

[Sammy's]

i7 512GB SSD 32MB. Replaced my tired Mid 2010 Mini. I did the memory upgrade myself and it wasn’t that difficult. I also added a Samsung 500GB X5 SSD and a 1TB Samsung T5 SSD.

I primarily do photo stuff. I shoot RAW and sort in Adobe Bridge and edit in Affinity Photo. Everything ends up in the MacOS Photos app which currently holds 30,000 images. I keep the RAW photos, Bridge cache and Photos app library on the X5. The T5 is for Time Machine. The workflow is so smooth, fast and efficient on the new Mini that I just love it.

I probably bought more CPU power and RAM than I really needed but I don’t look back. Just being able to scroll through large image previews with overwhelming speed and smoothness is worth it. Moving or batch processing a bunch of RAW images is unbelievabley quick.

Zero problems.

Cool - why did you go with 512 since it sounds like most of your stuff is on externals?

How much of a difference do you think the i7 is over the i5?

Also do you have any recommendations on organizing photos? Right now our photos are spread out between an older Mini and MBP as well as a couple externals and a bunch of sd cards - really want to organize everything in one place (bought a T5 for that purpose - Lightroom is something new) and have an efficient system going so any tips would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks

 

[Originalbitman]

Cool - why did you go with 512 since it sounds like most of your stuff is on externals?

How much of a difference do you think the i7 is over the i5?

Also do you have any recommendations on organizing photos? Right now our photos are spread out between an older Mini and MBP as well as a couple externals and a bunch of sd cards - really want to organize everything in one place (bought a T5 for that purpose - Lightroom is something new) and have an efficient system going so any tips would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks

Since I had my last Mini 8 years I looked at this one as another long term investment. That’s why I maxed it out other than the internal SSD. SSDs have a somewhat limited life depending on R/Ws and I new I wouldn’t want to put my frequently accessed files on the soldered in internal SSD. 512GB is more than enough to hold my OS and apps. The externals (T5 and X5) can be replaced.

I have no idea on how the i5 compares to the i7 but again... long term the investment seemed not that big of a deal.

As for photo organization I have looked at everything and have dealt with some growing pains with MacOS iPhoto/Photos. But the latest incarnation of MacOS Photos along with iCloud Photo Library works great for me. It takes some learning but I have no issues with it. I can edit and organize my library on my iPad almost as easily as on the Mini. The biggest thing I learned is watching how photos get compressed when moving between iPad and Mac. Album Photo Sharing is nice but images get re-sampled.

 

[F-Train]

any recommendations on organizing photos?

If you are going to use Lightroom, I would suggest that you put all of your photos on the T5, import all of the photos into Lightroom and use a single catalog (the one that Lightroom creates anyway). You will now have a single database for all of your photos. Adobe recommends a single catalog, for most people there is no reason to have more than one catalog, and a single catalog is not slower.

The next step is to create a set of keywords/tags/labels that works for you and assign them.

Before doing the above, I'd suggest that you do some research on Lightroom Smart Previews and consider whether it is a good idea for you. There is lots of written material, and many YouTube videos, on Smart Previews. If you decide to use Smart Previews, it is probably easiest to do so from the beginning.

 

[Originalbitman]

BTW - Adobe Bridge is free and is a great tool for preliminary organizing of image files from various sources. I don’t use the Adobe importer as it just didn’t fit my needs despite it full feature list. I use MacOS Image Capture for importing. I’m a recent convert to Affinity Photo from Photoshop for editing and love it.

 

[Sammy's]

If you are going to use Lightroom, I would suggest that you put all of your photos on the T5, import all of the photos into Lightroom and use a single catalog (the one that Lightroom creates anyway). You will now have a single database for all of your photos. Adobe recommends a single catalog, for most people there is no reason to have more than one catalog, and a single catalog is not slower.

The next step is to create a set of keywords/tags/labels that works for you and assign them.

Before doing the above, I'd suggest that you do some research on Lightroom Smart Previews and consider whether it is a good idea for you. There is lots of written material, and many YouTube videos, on Smart Previews. If you decide to use Smart Previews, it is probably easiest to do so from the beginning.

Cool - I'll check out the materials on Smart Previews.

Newb question: How do I get all the photos to go to the T5 but bypass being stored on the computer if the app is on there?

 

[F-Train]

Cool - I'll check out the materials on Smart Previews.

Newb question: How do I get all the photos to go to the T5 but bypass being stored on the computer if the app is on there?

Just move them to the T5 as you would normally move files. Then open Lightroom. It has an Import function. Tell it to import everything, assuming that you want to keep all of the photos. On that, I should note that if you later decide that you want to delete a photo from disk, you can do it from Lightroom; and indeed you should do it this way if you don't want your catalog to get confused.

 

[Sammy's]

Just move them to the T5 as you would normally move files. Then open Lightroom. It has an Import function. Tell it to import everything, assuming that you want to keep all of the photos. On that, I should note that if you later decide that you want to delete a photo from disk, you can do it from Lightroom; and indeed you should do it this way if you don't want your catalog to get confused.

Cool - thanks!

 

[F-Train]

Cool - thanks!

In general, once a photo is in the catalog, use Lightroom instead of Finder if you are messing with the file. There are ways to update Lightroom links, but life is just easier if you work via Lightroom. If you want to do something major, like change what external drive the photos are on, it's not complicated, but there are a couple of options and a little research doesn't hurt.

 

[Fishrrman]

Sammy's wrote:
"About to make the purchase on the i5/8/256 for $999 and wanted to just take a temperature check to see if it is worth paying $300 more for the i7? The only thing I think it might benefit is Lightroom/Photoshop but my use case would be personal/hobbyist not professional so I'm not sure if the expense is worth it.
Any thoughts?
Also it seems like most are in agreement that the $99 for Applecare+ is worth it?"

My opinion:

You almost certainly don't need an i7 for the usage you describe above.
I don't consider the i7 worth the extra money.

BUT

If I were you, I'd skip the AppleCare (Minis have a rep for being the most reliable Macs), and spend $200 and get 16gb of RAM "right-out-of-the-box".

The differential between "buying it from Apple" and "doing it yourself" later on isn't much, probably only $50 or so.
And there have been a few reports here from users who BROKE something inside while doing the RAM swap -- and another guy who had trouble getting 3rd-party RAM to work.

Buy 16gb "up front" and you should be set for quite a while.

 

[F-Train]

If I were you, I'd skip the AppleCare (Minis have a rep for being the most reliable Macs), and spend $200 and get 16gb of RAM "right-out-of-the-box".

If his numbers are right, he's paying US$1000, not $1100, for the computer. Ordering it from Apple with 16GB of RAM would cost him an additional $300, not $200. At $300, there is an argument for installing it oneself, if and when it is needed, particularly since the price of RAM is widely expected to drop during 2019. Also worth mentioning that one poster here has been quoted $30 by Micro Center to install RAM.

As for AppleCare+, the cost works out to 9 cents a day.

 

[ktcifone]

Depends on your use. I switched to Apple in 2009 after a house fire.
I work in IT as a systems admin and always had a linux server.
bought a mini server in early 2010, a 2012 model that i reconfigured in 2014 and now the 2018.

These things are just rock solid my custom machines id be spending the same amount of money building computers over 3-4 years. I usually use external storage for my personal data currently have a raid 5 TB2 array which will need replacing over the next 2-3 years to keep up with technology or Ill just move to the cloud.

Expecting technology to last 5+ years is unrealistic, software has been moving faster than hardware, and software can be a hog.