Use case for Mac Mini v Macbook Pro?

[TitusVorenus]

I'm shopping for an upgrade to my 2018 13in macbook pro, 2.3 GHz Intel I5 with 16gb ram. I have to sort and process a lot of photos at once and mapping software that has it dragging more often than it should.

I'm trying to choose between a new macbook pro and a mac mini. My previous understanding of something like the mac mini v a laptop like the mac pro is the desktop machine is more capable by virtue of not having to conform to the thin notebook design. I don't understand if the specs can be compared 1:1, or if because the mini is built in a different housing that doesn't have to adapt to cooling needs of a laptop form, can actually outperform a mac pro of the exact same spec.

It's about $900 difference between the 2 machines as I would spec them with identical RAM and hard drives.

Does the mac mini have any performance benefits over an identically specced mac pro?

 

[nicho]

I'm shopping for an upgrade to my 2018 13in macbook pro, 2.3 GHz Intel I5 with 16gb ram. I have to sort and process a lot of photos at once and mapping software that has it dragging more often than it should.

I'm trying to choose between a new macbook pro and a mac mini. My previous understanding of something like the mac mini v a laptop like the mac pro is the desktop machine is more capable by virtue of not having to conform to the thin notebook design. I don't understand if the specs can be compared 1:1, or if because the mini is built in a different housing that doesn't have to adapt to cooling needs of a laptop form, can actually outperform a mac pro of the exact same spec.

It's about $900 difference between the 2 machines as I would spec them with identical RAM and hard drives.

Does the mac mini have any performance benefits over an identically specced mac pro?

Dependent on your environment, there's no battery to expand in the mac mini... if you don't need the portability and your MBP would be deskbound there's a high chance a MM would last longer than a MBP.

 

[AZhappyjack]

I'm shopping for an upgrade to my 2018 13in macbook pro, 2.3 GHz Intel I5 with 16gb ram. I have to sort and process a lot of photos at once and mapping software that has it dragging more often than it should.

I'm trying to choose between a new macbook pro and a mac mini. My previous understanding of something like the mac mini v a laptop like the mac pro is the desktop machine is more capable by virtue of not having to conform to the thin notebook design. I don't understand if the specs can be compared 1:1, or if because the mini is built in a different housing that doesn't have to adapt to cooling needs of a laptop form, can actually outperform a mac pro of the exact same spec.

It's about $900 difference between the 2 machines as I would spec them with identical RAM and hard drives.

Does the mac mini have any performance benefits over an identically specced mac pro?

The obvious answer is that there is no "identically specced" Mac Mini. There is currently no M1Pro pr M1Max configuration... so if you buy right now, you will be behind the specs of the new MBPs. Likewise, there is no M1 version of the MPB, so you are comparing apples to oranges.

As @nicho stated above, there is the possible issue with battery swelling over time on a MBP.

If there's no real chance that you will need to be mobile, the MM is a better choice, IMO, so long as you can get the specs that you want/need.

 

[TitusVorenus]

It's more of a cost benefit thing, maybe I just need 2 computers. I do use my laptop mobile, but 95% of my usage is desktop bound. Maybe I need to get a mac mini to supplement my current macbook considering my usage is mostly desktop. That said, I like the keyboard/trackpad setup of a laptop v a desktop machine.

 

[pmiles]

Your idea of a desktop is different than mine. I have a desktop computer, it weighs a ton and sits on the floor. It has a massive graphics card, loud fans, 2 optical drives and 5 internal hard drives, yada yada yada. My display occupies my desk because it's a big ass display. That's my idea of a desktop.

I don't get why someone would buy a laptop only to use it in a desktop setting... they buy two massive displays to connect to it, get a dock to allow them to add all the peripherals that a true desktop would afford them, add a full size keyboard... but to each their own.

A mini is essentially a tiny computer that requires you to add the display. It's no more configurable these days than a sealed laptop is. In a nutshell, the new M1 iMac, M1 Mac Air, M1 Mac Mini, and M1 MacBook are all the same under the hood (for the most part). All you are really choosing is a form factor between them. They all perform identically.

The new MacBook Pros are not the M1 chip. They have far more cores, more ram, more everything. You pay a small mint to get that. They're larger, they weigh more, they use more power. It's funny how no one realizes you can't compare these to the old M1s because they aren't even equal in any sense of the imagination. It's not like you can tell them NOT to use all their cores on a test. Go figure why a machine with more ram, more cores, et all does better than one that doesn't have all that. It's why people stuff as much ram et al into their computers to begin with... like duh?

You're complaining about a 2018 model. I am using a 2010 model. Keep that in the back of your head. Any new computer you buy today, you will replace SOONER than the ones you bought years ago. They are designed that way. So you're not replacing your 2018 computer, you're buying a short term appliance. Consider that before you dump a truckload of money into it.

 

[TitusVorenus]

Your idea of a desktop is different than mine. I have a desktop computer, it weighs a ton and sits on the floor. It has a massive graphics card, loud fans, 2 optical drives and 5 internal hard drives, yada yada yada. My display occupies my desk because it's a big ass display. That's my idea of a desktop.

I don't get why someone would buy a laptop only to use it in a desktop setting... they buy two massive displays to connect to it, get a dock to allow them to add all the peripherals that a true desktop would afford them, add a full size keyboard... but to each their own.

A mini is essentially a tiny computer that requires you to add the display. It's no more configurable these days than a sealed laptop is. In a nutshell, the new M1 iMac, M1 Mac Air, M1 Mac Mini, and M1 MacBook are all the same under the hood (for the most part). All you are really choosing is a form factor between them. They all perform identically.

The new MacBook Pros are not the M1 chip. They have far more cores, more ram, more everything. You pay a small mint to get that. They're larger, they weigh more, they use more power. It's funny how no one realizes you can't compare these to the old M1s because they aren't even equal in any sense of the imagination. It's not like you can tell them NOT to use all their cores on a test. Go figure why a machine with more ram, more cores, et all does better than one that doesn't have all that. It's why people stuff as much ram et al into their computers to begin with... like duh?

You're complaining about a 2018 model. I am using a 2010 model. Keep that in the back of your head. Any new computer you buy today, you will replace SOONER than the ones you bought years ago. They are designed that way. So you're not replacing your 2018 computer, you're buying a short term appliance. Consider that before you dump a truckload of money into it.

You say potatoe, I say patatoe. I agree that your concept is a traditional desktop. I mean primarily I work at a desk with a 30 in external monitor and have multiple external hard drives, etc. My laptop is used 95% in this setting, and the other 5% I bring it with me in case I need it for urgent business needs. To be fair, about 60% use is at one physical desktop, and another 30% is in a location 2 states away. So you can see why transporting a desktop like yours in my use case is impractical, but a mac mini would fill 95% of the use that I currently need with my laptop.

I'm not really complaining about the 2018 model, if I didn't have software hangups with it I would love to keep it. In my experience over the last 15 years, some piece of software I rely on fails to work on stable OSX builds, and I end up upgrading the OS to have a slower, buggier, and more unreliable experience. Right now it's lastpass, I can only log in through google chrome, which I despise. Tech support says they are working on it but no resolution yet, blah blah it's been 3 months already.

Advice is appreciated. I realize these machines are increasingly disposable accessories. I'm not considering beyond a 14in macbook pro with 1 tb hard drive and 16gb ram. I am considering the face that I'm wasting time every day because an essential function like lastpass doesn't work and it's processing photos too slowly, and now I need to upgrade the OS just to maintain/save the battery, which every time I've done that in the past I've regretted it.