That’s what I thought.
Would you or anyone else suggest an eGPU for video conversion (Converting PAL to NTSC, no 4K) and light photo editing/design work?
Thanks!
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The new Mac mini
- Thread starter FlyingTexan
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That’s what I thought.
Would you or anyone else suggest an eGPU for video conversion (Converting PAL to NTSC, no 4K) and light photo editing/design work?
Thanks!
You can do both of these. The limitation is the TV (putting 24hz into a 60hz refresh rate) but kodi, VLC, and others do this. If the TV is capable of dropping to 24hz it will do it just like a Blu-ray player.
HD Audio can be enabled but honestly it isn’t a big deal to anyone with a modern receiver. DtsHD, TrueHD, etc is all decoded in the fly just like a HD audio amp would to PCM which is sent to the receiver. No issues on my end.
[doublepost=1540915670][/doublepost]Google AppleHDA for getting HD audio if you need it. There’s never been a file I couldn’t play through my setup though.
You cannot get 23.976hz on any Mac. You can’t get Atmos either. Just spend $120 and get a Vero 4K+.
256GB storage is plenty for me but is there some other reason to go with 512GB SSD? I seem to recall (perhaps incorrectly) that the 512GB SSD is faster.
http://www.crucial.com/
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I'm mulling over the 1TB SSD option to run multiple VMs. On the other hand a Samsung T5 could probably be enough at a much cheaper price...
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You don’t need one. If you’re wanting to run a plex server the cpu can be selected to hardware transcode (the new option with the 8th gen cpu). It still has the power to transcode multiple 1080p streams on the fly. Doing 4k transcoding would be right at its limits given its pc mark score if using software. Of hardware transcoding it will do so no problem.
Thank you very much.
I just specc’d a new Mini and with the Apple 4K display it was about $180 beyond what I was expecting (32gb of RAM and 1TB storage). I have to wait awhile, but before then, I am looking forward to playing with these in the Apple store and hearing good things about them.
And if I needed an eGPU in the future the option is there.
Appreciate your response. Are you getting one?
Ok. So I’m not that tech savvy. I bought an older model Mac Mini back in 2011, and later tried to upgrade the ram myself.
The poor thing is barely useable now (I have no proof but blame the Ram).
I want another Mac Mini and I’ve been waiting for it. I don’t use the computer for much - watching videos, word processing, and using Pages to make (relatively) simple posters and stuff.
I want one that will last for a long time.
And I don’t want to upgrade the ram myself.
Storage I’m ok doing externally. But I want the computer itself to last awhile, and I want to keep the OS updated.
What configuration should I get that will still cost me the least money?
The poor thing is barely useable now (I have no proof but blame the Ram).
I want another Mac Mini and I’ve been waiting for it. I don’t use the computer for much - watching videos, word processing, and using Pages to make (relatively) simple posters and stuff.
I want one that will last for a long time.
And I don’t want to upgrade the ram myself.
Storage I’m ok doing externally. But I want the computer itself to last awhile, and I want to keep the OS updated.
What configuration should I get that will still cost me the least money?
If you look at the mini PC market (similar form factor), prices start around $200.
I am surprised, though, that dockable solutions for smartphones isn't really a thing. There's no reason you couldn't dock your iPhone to a full-sized keyboard and monitor, and have the phone convert to a trackpad. It has the power to run an office suite, browse the web, read email, and even do video editing.
True you can't get dolby atmos. But I don't have an atmos system. The 23.976 isn't an issue. I use VLC and play 23.976 content daily and have never had any issues. Or you could just bootcamp it if needed but really the video formats are of no consequence. Again I just use it for playback and I've never had an issue not being able to play any files of any sort. No skips or jump. VLC and others can adjust the framerate no problem. The only issue on a rare occasion is the audio sync but that's maybe around the 1% mark.
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I wouldn't pay apple to buy the same memory and HD you can get at the local microcenter/fry's or amazon/newegg. That's a $600.00 difference.
Depends on your definition of awhile but for what you're talking about just grab the base model. If you don't feel comfortable doing upgrades then 512GB ssd. I have an 8GB 13" macbook pro and a 16GB 15" macbook pro and I can't tell the difference. I use spotify, youtube, VLC for videos, safari for web browsing, and Microsoft office products. Zero difference. Swing by your local bestbuy and have them take their most basic macbook pro and let them show you what it can do. Or just wait till the 7th and have them demo the mini for you. Unless you use specific demanding programs it's all a waste. The only reason I have the 16GB model is because my 13" had been stolen and I bought the 15" off ebay equipped that way saving me around $700.00 (then the cops found my stuff, returned it, insurance didn't pay, so I was out $2300 for a second book lol).
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What the heck… just put in an order for an i7 64 GB 512 Gb, plus a LaCie 8 Gb, plus 2 DP->USB-C cables.
Price is indeed steep, but not overwhelming. Replacing my old Mac Pro 3,1, which has served me for 10 years now. Actually first time I see a price/performance win on a newer Mac.
Mebbe I have to add an eGPU later, dunno how far the internal GPU will take me with Adobe products and two 4K screens.
Price is indeed steep, but not overwhelming. Replacing my old Mac Pro 3,1, which has served me for 10 years now. Actually first time I see a price/performance win on a newer Mac.
Mebbe I have to add an eGPU later, dunno how far the internal GPU will take me with Adobe products and two 4K screens.
@Flying Texan if I was more mechanically inclined with a gentile touch, I’d upgrade the RAM myself on the Mini (I’ve done it in my iMacs).
However, my danty grip is anything but, so I’ll pay Apple to upgrade the RAM and drive on this machine. The educational discount takes out some of the sting.
However, my danty grip is anything but, so I’ll pay Apple to upgrade the RAM and drive on this machine. The educational discount takes out some of the sting.
zero judder. Just depends on your setup. With my Vizio smart TV it interpolates and adapts. I use to work in TV media and somewhat of a "nazi" when it comes to my A/V quality and I nor anyone else has had a single complaint. I haven't had TV service in 3yrs even. Have a HDHomerun beaming it to the mac using EyeTV. 23.976 only studders if you leave it native. I can play and stream anything except for one thing on the mac and that's Dolby Atmos which I don't have a compatible sound system for anyway. The HD Audio is doable, everything plays through linear PCM to the receiver, and if I REALLY needed to I could also just bootcamp windows. Either way, even if you want to run windows, the Mac Mini is a great HTPC. It's issues were 4k related which isn't the case for me anymore.
I've also had the Intel Skull Canyon which was a great machine but windows Scaling isn't as good and there are times it would sound like a little vacuum cleaner which made quiet scenes in movies super annoying.
[doublepost=1540929141][/doublepost]Digging through the specs I can't believe they never mentioned this thing has bluetooth 5.0! That's HUGE. 4.0bt has a range of 10m indoors but using my Logitech K830 from the couch about 12ft away it has issues at time. BT 5 seems to always be much stronger. I backed my Discovery out of the driveway and it was still streaming spotify from my iphone I'd left in the house. Didn't realize I'd left it till I went down the street a little. If only this thing had Vega M I'd have been 100% but it will do.
I expect MacOS 10.15 will be compatible with the 2014 Mac mini (and 2012 too). It's likely the 2014 Mac mini will be able to run 10.16 as well.
Yep. Just use a much cheaper atv. I ditched htpcs years ago and moved on to other streaming devices. Though prior to that I ran htpcs for more than a decade.
Can't wait for speed tests against last old mini, MacBook 2018, and 2013 Mac Pro.
Thank you Apple for keeping legacy ports (HDMI, USB, HP) and giving us upgradeable RAM
Thank you Apple for keeping legacy ports (HDMI, USB, HP) and giving us upgradeable RAM