I don't have a problems with that too but hard to find attractive PC design like Apple.
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The new Mac mini is almost certainly coming
- Thread starter GabrieleR
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I don't have a problems with that too but hard to find attractive PC design like Apple.
Maybe, but I doubt a PC would still be going strong after 10 years, and have been trouble free.
Fixed that for you; it's "silicon", not "silicone"; and Apple themselves have it in lowercase in all their press releases & marketing materials...
I, personally, like to use the abbreviation from the periodic table of elements, Si...
So, I like to notate Apple silicon with "ASi"...! ;^p
Anyway, yeah, more bang for your buck with a PC... For example, my current rig:
ASUS ROG Crosshair VIII Impact mDTX motherboard
AMD Ryzen 3900X 12-core CPU
32GB DDR4 RAM (2@16GB DIMMs / 3600/16/16/16/36)
2@1TB PCIe Gen4 NVMe M.2 SSDs
nVidia GTX 650Ti / 2GB RAM (had a 5700XT 50AE in there, sold it to get a 6800XT and then the price went crazy)
Corsair SF750 SFX PSU / 700W / Platinum-rated
But it is hot & (somewhat) noisy...! So once Apple drops the new Mac minis with a maxed-out M1 Max SoC, I am all over that...
( ...until they drop a new Mac Cube with dual M2 Max SoCs in it... )
AND I WILL BE so, So, SO HAPPY TO BE BACK ON macOS...!!! ;^p
Only if you want a slow running, high wattage, with a ridiculous cooling system computer. The M1 was curb stomping any PC of similar design in terms of performance/watt/price and these new M1 are doing more of the same. Never mind Macs have an insanely long lifespan compared to a PC, something that was true even back in the 68k and Power PC days - a minimum of 3-4 years longer lifespan than a comparative PC.
I bought a reasonably future-proofed hexcore mini in early 2019, so I'm not desperate for a new machine. But the Intel minis had/have a weak spot -- integrated graphics -- and I could see making the leap to an M1 Pro mini when it's available (I'm guessing April-ish but expecting September-ish).
I see zero reason for Apple to wait almost another year to drop a M1 Pro / M1 Max SoC into a new Mac mini...
I would hope Apple makes a new Mac mini (with the M1 Pro / M1 Max SoCs within) available before the end of 2021, but if not I would expect to see them alongside a new design larger (than the current 24" ASi iMac) iMac in the Spring of 2022...
Then we get a preview of the new Mac Pro lineup at WWDC 2022 (shipping in December 2022), and to wrap up the "new designs" of the ASi Macs, we get a new MacBook Air with the entry-level M2 SoC...?
At this point (Dec. 2022) all Macs are transitioned over to Apple silicon, the only "old design" is the Cheesegrater 2.0 chassis, and the next gen of the M-series SoCs is being deployed...!
I would hope Apple makes a new Mac mini (with the M1 Pro / M1 Max SoCs within) available before the end of 2021, but if not I would expect to see them alongside a new design larger (than the current 24" ASi iMac) iMac in the Spring of 2022...
Then we get a preview of the new Mac Pro lineup at WWDC 2022 (shipping in December 2022), and to wrap up the "new designs" of the ASi Macs, we get a new MacBook Air with the entry-level M2 SoC...?
At this point (Dec. 2022) all Macs are transitioned over to Apple silicon, the only "old design" is the Cheesegrater 2.0 chassis, and the next gen of the M-series SoCs is being deployed...!
My Gateway FX6831-03 16GB 4 Core Tower from 2010 that I brought for comparative peanuts ($1,600) would like you to hold its beer.
Ruddy thing refuses to die! Only change made to it was switching out the original spinner for a SSD - and that was only because I wanted something faster - and even that SSD is about 7-8 years old…
Granted it’ll probably never see Windows 11, but its still happily running 24/7…
That's the problem, you see. You can't get an AMD or an i9 for serious editing. You want a Xeon. I know several AMD chips support ECC and all, but for professional work, AMD is still not widely accepted. So you end up with specialised processors and motherboards that end up costing a lot. We also need sufficient PCIe slots to fit a large GPU and an SDI card (broadcast video in/out), and a 10GbE port or card. The 64GB, 1TB SSD, 16-24 core PCs we get are €7-10K. The Mac Pro isn't too far off.
Yeah, the big fail with the Mac Pro is as a solution for those of us who actually wanted a reasonably powerful desktop tower, a "pro-sumer" level discrete GPU (with the possibility of upgrading mid-life) and upgradeable internal storage. For that, i9/AMD - or even a lesser Xeon system without the extreme PCIe & RAM expansion capability of the Mac Pro - is the tool for the job.
If you need a 20+ core Xeon, 512GB+ of RAM and multiple workstation-class GPUs - and the PCIe bandwidth to match - then the Mac Pro doesn't look quite so bad (...last I looked, Apple's Xeon CPU upgrades were "only" the same as Intel's list "target" prices, and while their RAM and storage prices were ridiculous, you could use standard RAM and PCIe SSDs).
Whatever you think of the Mac Pro in general it's hard to see the $6k entry level system as anything but a joke - unless you're going to plug in $10k worth of expansion including an unapproved CPU replacement.
As for the Apple silicon future... Given PCIe slots at sub-Mac Pro prices probably ain't gonna happen, A M1 Pro Mini would do me (the regular M1 is just a bit too restricted on RAM and display support) but I can't see it cutting the mustard for customers currently using a Mac Pro or even a fully-tricked-out 2020 5k iMac - because the only thing truly exceptional about the GPU performance of the M1 Pro/Max is what it can do within the constrained power/thermal envelope of a laptop - and while unified memory may offer some space saving over separate RAM and VRAM I suspect that will be pretty marginal and app-dependent and certainly ain't gonna cater for people who actually need 256GB+
So the question is, do Apple do enough Mac Pro business to design an Apple Silicon Xeon-W killer chip (and, if so, how is it going to cater for the more extreme RAM requirements, and how big can they scale their GPU?) or will they go with some novel system with multiple M1/Pro/Max chips where the GPU and RAM is somehow distributed (XGrid in a box?)
I wanted a 2019 Mac Pro, but not for six grand, especially since I could get so much more for half the price building up a Windows PC...
I think a good bit of that six grand cost for the Mac Pro is in the chassis itself, which I find a bit much...
I feel the only folks needing PCIe slots are mainly the audio folk and maybe some science types who need to plug in a bunch of specialized equipment & sensors...? Okay, and I guess some broadcast / video folk still want PCIe cards rather than using TB3/USB4 ports & an external boxen...?
As for the rumored plans for the Mac Pro lineup, so far everything we are hearing (reading) is that Apple will use multiple SoCs in a system...
Jade 2C
- 20-core CPU (16P/4E)
- 64-core GPU
- 32-core Neural Engine
- 128GB RAM
Jade 4C
- 40-core CPU (32P/8E)
- 128-core GPU
- 64-core Neural Engine
- 256GB RAM
A Mac Cube with the Jade 2C SoC(s) within would be a pretty sweet mid-level 3D / DCC personal workstation...
IMO, it's time for a new form factor though. I also wonder if there are some chip supply constraints.
I think they will. Rumor was it was going to happen this month but they delayed that (I'm not surprised in the current world environment).
My guess is that it will be announced within four months or so.
I really hope so.
Aside from my dream of a larger screened "MacBook Air Max", a higher than M1 specced Mac mini is the machine I really want.
You & me & a whole bunch of other folk...!
Rumor has a new design in the wings; I would agree that supply constraints made Apple decide which product comes first, and (almost) everyone wants a laptop...
I hope they get a new Mac mini with the new M1 Pro / M1 Max SoCs out sooner than later; I am sure there are plenty of folks wanting to run these new SoCs but not wanting a laptop...?
My (new design) Mac mini wish list:
Mac mini
- M1 Max SoC
- 10-core CPU (8P/2E)
- 32-core GPU
- 16-core Neural Engine
- 64GB LPDDR5 RAM
- 1TB NVMe SSD
- 10Gb Ethernet port
- (4) USB-C ports
- (2) USB-A ports
- HDMI port
- 3.5mm headphone jack
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Also, they don't need to make a Mac Mini Pro any smaller!
It can be a touch larger if they want for all I care.
Just don't gimp the ports and cooling.
Make a great machine --- we don't stare at these things and lust after them.
They usually get jammed down out of sight with a bunch of stuff plugged into them.
It can be a touch larger if they want for all I care.
Just don't gimp the ports and cooling.
Make a great machine --- we don't stare at these things and lust after them.
They usually get jammed down out of sight with a bunch of stuff plugged into them.
My (new design) Mac mini wish list:
Mac mini
- M1 Pro SoC
- 8-core CPU (6P/2E)
- 14-core GPU
- 16-core Neural Engine
- 16 GB RAM
- 512 GB SSD
- 1 Gb Ethernet port
- (4) USB-C ports
- (2) USB-A ports
- HDMI 2.1
- DisplayPort 2.0
- 3.5mm audio port
Is 2008 more than 10 years ago?
Dell Inspiron 530 with Win7 32-bit.
Define trouble free.
Issues with the OS and apps are to be expected.
The Brother printer purchased at the same time still works.
$399 for the PC. My Bro upgraded the RAM.
I'm all thumbs.
Considering the 16"mbp 10 core, 32 core gpu, 64gb ram is £3700, don't be surprised if the macpro is a similar price to the intel version, circa £5500.
Yes, but that is the same as my G4 PowerBook, still runs perfectly, but it's not fit for running modern software.
Your price estimation seems pretty good IMHO, considering no laptop display.....👍