Upgrade Mac mini 2018 to iMac 2020?

[PaulMac89]

My 2011 iMac gave up the ghost back in February, and I replaced it with a 2018 i5 Mac mini with 8GB RAM and 256 GB HD. I needed a new computer right away and didn't want to get the 2019 iMac.

Since then, things have changed a lot, thanks to the pandemic. I started to teach classes online and though we're supposed to teach in school this fall, it wouldn't surprise me if a second wave of covid-19 forced the schools to close again.

When I teach online, I use Zoom, PowerPoint, Firefox, Word and QuickTime (I show videos and PPT presentations and use websites)and my Mac mini's fans constantly ran. I'm concerned about the effect this might have on the mini in the long run.

I think I may have to make videos of classes as well in case there are more Zoom outages.

With all these demands, I'm not sure my Mac mini can handle it.

I'm thinking of upgrading to either the base iMac with 16 GB RAM ($2494 Can with the Educational Discount) or the mid-range iMac with 16 GB RAM ($2744 Can with the Educational Discount). I would get $620 Can as a trade-in for my Mac mini.

Would it make sense to upgrade now to one of the iMacs? I want to use this iMac for at least five years.

Thanks in advance for your help.

 

[mlykke]

If you plan on using it for 5 years, then it makes great sense. The iMac has quite a lot more power than the Mac Mini especially due to hyper threading on all CPU's this year. But do not spend money on buying ram from Apple. Get it with 8 GB and then get 16 or 32 GB from Crucial, Corsair, OWC or similar.
Just to clarify, I'm talking about the 27".

 

[thomas130]

I think it would depend if you really need it now, the iMac would more then handle that and would be fine for 5 years/more, however I would imagine the software you use would be available to the new apple chips coming out.

Totally depends if you willing to wait or not. I think the rumor is a 24inch imac coming this year, i would imagine would depend if you want a smaller screen though.

 

[vorkosigan1]

maybe a thunderbolt external GPU, and then wait a year or three for Apple Silicon?

 

[profcutter]

I don’t know how many students you have in your classes, but I’ve got 25 in one of mine. The 27 inch imac is a no-brainer. I have a 2017, and it’s connected to another 27 inch monitor. I can keep students in the brady-bunch mode, have an interactive class, and the students all fit on one page, so I’m not missing any responses. The other monitor lets me run our LMS, look up responses from the students from their assignments, double-check the syllabus, etc. Many of my colleagues are suffering because they don’t have this kind of arrangement, but it’s made the transition to online so much easier. I couldn’t recommend it enough. Dump the mini, get a new iMac, and connect an external display. Bob’s your uncle.

 

[profcutter]

Oh, and as far as which one, I’d say the base model should be completely adequate. I have 32 Gigs of RAM because my students do video editing projects, and I have a 1tb ssd for all my work materials, but for your purposes, 16 or even 8 should be plenty. Just be sure you’re either connected via ethernet, or have a damn stable wifi connection. You’ll be riding it hard for the next few months. We have 1gig FIOS. The router seems to limit it to 5-600 Mbps, but that seems plenty.

 

[pldelisle]

Oh, and as far as which one, I’d say the base model should be completely adequate. I have 32 Gigs of RAM because my students do video editing projects, and I have a 1tb ssd for all my work materials, but for your purposes, 16 or even 8 should be plenty. Just be sure you’re either connected via ethernet, or have a damn stable wifi connection. You’ll be riding it hard for the next few months. We have 1gig FIOS. The router seems to limit it to 5-600 Mbps, but that seems plenty.

25 streams at once is very far from taking all your bandwidth. These streams are max at 720p 30 fps (in best case scenario). These streams are always heavily compressed. Someone with only 100 mbps or even 75 mbps could easily do what you are doing.

 

[profcutter]

Yeah, we got 2 kids doing online learning, and my wife as well, so multiply by at least 4. I know zoom doesn’t saturate a 1gig connection, but 1 gig is optimistic anyway. I like lots of headroom, because I’ve seen my colleagues complaining about hiccups on 100 mbps connections.

 

[getrealbro]

…. I replaced it with a 2018 i5 Mac mini with 8GB RAM and 256 GB HD…When I teach online, I use Zoom, PowerPoint, Firefox, Word and QuickTime (I show videos and PPT presentations and use websites)and my Mac mini's fans constantly ran.…I’m thinking of upgrading to either the base iMac with 16 GB RAM ($2494 Can with the Educational Discount) or the mid-range iMac with 16 GB RAM….

Before I bought a new iMac…. I’d use Activity Monitor to make sure the 2018 Mini isn’t “thrashing” trying to run multiple apps with only 8GB of RAM. You may only need to add some RAM to your 2018 Mini to calm it down And the RAM you add to a 2018 Mini is the same RAM spec as the 2020 iMac.

FWIW I have a 2018 Mini 3.2GHz 6 core i7 with 32GB RAM and a 256GB SSD. I recently got to test out a 2020 iMac 3.8GHz 8 core i7 with 32GB Ram and 2TB SSD. I know these aren’t the same specs you have and are considering but they are comparable to each other.

The 2020 i7 iMac is a sweet machine, And we’ll probably get one to replace my wife’s aging 2013 iMac when it dies. BUT when pushed the 2020 i7 iMac is not quieter than my 2018 i7 Mini doing the same thing. Both of them quickly climb to just under 100c and ramp up the fan under load. The fan on the iMac is slightly louder at full speed because it pushes the exhaust into the stand — duh.

I run two monitors on my 2018 Mini. In addition to typical desktop apps, I use VLC to display and capture 2-1080P RTSP wildlife camera video streams and run several network & CPU monitors 24/7, e.g. Peak Hour 4, Intel Power Gadget, Activity Monitor -- CPU History, and Macs Fan Control. The only time my 2018 Mini cranks up the fan is when I push it hard with HandBrake trans-coding.

In my testing, the 2020 8 core i7 iMac did everything quicker than my 2018 6 core i7 Mini — but not quieter

GetRealBro

 

[profcutter]

I think in my mind, unless the OP has an excellent, large 27” monitor they’re already using, the advantage of a large monitor like the one built-in to the iMac is immense. I haven’t seen the 2020 iMacs in person yet, but if my base model i5 from 2017 can handle all I’m throwing at it, even though compression sessions run pretty long, then I can’t imagine they’d need more than the base model.

 

[getrealbro]

I know many, perhaps most, folks think the 27” iMac screen is the gold standard of displays. And I agree that they are gorgeous for photos and videos. But the main reason I don’t want a 2020 iMac is that its gorgeous 27” screen makes the text too small. Yes I know I could adjust the resolution to make the text larger. But I’d give up screen real estate to gain readability.

FWIW On my 2018 i7 Mini, I’m running a 32” 2560x1440 BenQ and 1920x1200 Dell that are much easier on my old eyes

GetRealBro

 

[profcutter]

Yeah, that’s a real YMMV. My eyes aren’t what the y used to be either, but I keep the display at 2x scaling, so I still get smooth text and I’m quite happy with the results. Images look great, it’s excellent for video editing, and I can blow up the pdfs I’m reading quite large. I got used to retina displays since I’ve always bought 15 inch MacBook pros, it’s really hard for me to go back to what appear to me to be large, clunky pixels. If I can see pixelation with my tired eyes, it won’t work for me!

 

[PaulMac89]

Thanks, everyone, for your suggestions! They're very helpful. GetRealBro, I hadn't thought that upgrading the RAM in my Mac mini might do the trick. Activity Monitor suggests upgrading the RAM might do the trick, as it seems to be thrashing to run everything with only 8 GB. I'm just checking out now how much it would cost to have new RAM installed. I'm comfortable adding RAM to an iMac, but not the mini.

Profcutter, I'm using a 27" Philips UHD 3480 x 2160 monitor now which is very clear. I have an old 20" monitor attached as a second display. The thought of a 5K 27-inch iMac screen with the Philips as a second display is very appealing. The iMac has better speakers and microphone as well, which is also important. Right now I have a USB mic and speakers attached to my Mac mini so the input and output sound is clearer. I'm expecting to add classes and students as the school year progresses, especially if there's another covid-19 outbreak, and your experience teaching online is a good guide as to what I need.

Thanks again for your help!

 

[profcutter]

Sure, no worries. In my setup, I have a panasonic Gh4 as my webcam, using an old Nikon manual 35mm lens. It means I can work with low light and not have it look like a potato cam, and since I’m teaching from my closet (literally) the short depth of field makes that less obvious. I’m also using a Rode wireless mic setup for audio. So for me, the new camera isn’t that important, but nice to have, and far better than the 720 cams that have been the standard.

I’m sure you’ll be happy with whichever way you go, I’m always thinking folks should use what they have before they invest in more gear, but I gotta say the iMac makes a great zoom platform.

 

[getrealbro]

You may want to do both! Upgrade the RAM in the Mini to 16-32GB and see how that works for you, while you let the dust settle from the 2020 iMac introduction.

In a few weeks/months most of the key glitches will have been discovered/solved by the early adopters. For example, we already know that mixing RAM sizes and/or brands drops the RAM speed from 2667 to 2333GHz, heat and fan noise may be a issue for some configurations, there may be a Bluetooth issue, etc..

When you are comfortable, you can buy a new iMac and either keep your Mini with your older monitor as backup or sell the Mini at a higher price because of the RAM upgrade.

GetRealBro