The Macrumours article wrote "Despite the decreased quad-core performance, the single-core performance of the new Mac mini is in line with other Macs' performance jumps from Ivy Bridge to Haswell." I'll admit I don't really know much about multicore performance. How would I actually know whether my typical computer usage takes advantage of 4 cores or 2? This isn't really labeled on apps or anything.
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So how do I know if I would actually benefit from a quadcore?
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if you use vm ware or parallels to run windows and mac os a quad helps.
the thumbnail shows a vm run windows with a btc mining app. This mini is a dual core 2011 with the discrete gpu. I do very lite vm windows 7 in the background so I get away with a dual core mini
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like he says what do you want to do?
btw I am driving to best buy as I type and I will be looking for a mid price 2014 today. I will do some testing of it. and post later on.
It's mainly my media PC. So usually VLC for local and Chrome for streaming media playback and browsing. In the background I have running Transmission, and some streaming plugins like Airdisplay Plex Server and Streamtome, and a few connected hard drives with scheduled backups. Once in a while I will run video encoding with Handbrake.
Handbrake will benefit from the additional cores. Everything else should be fine with the dual core. Given your use of Handbrake you may consider picking up a 2012 quad core as it will greatly benefit this application whereas the slower single thread performance is unlikely to be noticed in your other applications.
Parallels running Quickbooks
I have a similar question about dual vs quad core, and it seems like you might know the answer.
I want to run Quickbooks for Windows via Parallels on a Mini, and I'm not sure whether I would benefit from the quad core or not. (Quickbooks is small business accounting software.) I would want to have it running 24/7 in the background via Parallels.
I'm thinking to buy a refurbed 2012 quad core Mini for this application, but maybe it is overkill and I would be OK with the middle 2014 dual model. I just don't know how much I'd benefit from 2012 quad vs 2014 dual, assuming the mid-range model for each.
I'd be grateful for any thoughts on this use case.
I have a similar question about dual vs quad core, and it seems like you might know the answer.
I want to run Quickbooks for Windows via Parallels on a Mini, and I'm not sure whether I would benefit from the quad core or not. (Quickbooks is small business accounting software.) I would want to have it running 24/7 in the background via Parallels.
I'm thinking to buy a refurbed 2012 quad core Mini for this application, but maybe it is overkill and I would be OK with the middle 2014 dual model. I just don't know how much I'd benefit from 2012 quad vs 2014 dual, assuming the mid-range model for each.
I'd be grateful for any thoughts on this use case.
Quickbooks isnt' a highly parallelizable workload so it doesn't benefit greatly from higher core counts. Even though you're using it through Parallels it's unlikely additional processor cores would be of benefit if it's merely sitting it the background. It's likely either system you're considering would work well for your needs. However virtualization tends to use more memory so if you decide to go with the 2014 model ensure you get adequate memory as the rumors is it cannot be upgraded.
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lightroom 5 and photoshop cc ? No 3D or video editing.
I'm not very familiar with these applications so I would defer you to someone else who does. Perhaps you may wish to check out the Mac Pro section as those who do this type of work have inquired as to how many cores would be beneficial to them. Those discussions would be applicable to the Mini.
Well I do exactly this - Quickbooks on Parallels and on a 2009 2GHz Mini with an SSD and 8GB ram. It works fine as the virtual machine just goes to sleep when it's not used. The VM is XP and it's an old version of Quickbooks though.
A 2014 dual core Mini should eat this for breakfast.
a base 2012 mini should be just fine for you, they should be cheaper refurb now
put an ssd on it and upgrade the ram if you have the money
I use my base mac mini for those things, plus handbrake and /iflicks without any spinning beach ball or slowdowns