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What GPU in 2013 Mac Mini?
- Thread starter Nandifix
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Most likely the base mini will just have the 5000 like the MBA. The higher ones might be offered as an upgrade.
Now let's see, we've had a 2009 mini, a 2010 mini, a 2011 mini and a 2012 mini.
So how do all these fit into the ± 500 days sequence you mentioned.
This very website tracks update intervals: https://buyersguide.macrumors.com//#Mac_Mini
Average interval is a 381 days.
The only pro Iris is the 5200 and the corresponding cpu is too expensive, large and power hungry (i.e. hot) to go into the Mini.
I fully expect the Mini to have the HD5000. Apple seems to have relegated the Mini to the cheap option for iOS developers or a server for small offices, neither of which needs a beefy gpu.
So only macbook air and ipod touch are "just refreshed"
the rest of Apple products are DONT BUY
There are still some dual core i5 and i7 mobile processors out soon so it's possible we could see the HD 4600. Iris Pro would be nice but I would like Iris 5100.
They fit into the minus side of the plus/minus
give or take a hundred days here and there. Throw in a leap year. Pretty close.They don't do a good job on the mini's though. With mini's you must split up between architecture changes and speed bumps. If you remove the speed bumps, which Apple kind of stopped applying to the mini's, you will be more around 500 days. Last update was within 2 weeks from the average architecture change interval, pretty accurate. Haswell is an architecture change, and thus should be expected after 500 days.
I expect the mini to run the same GPU as the Air, i.e. the 5000.
If we're lucky, there maybe an option to bump up to the 5100, but I consider this unlikely.
There is a zero chance of the 5200 in the mini, as far as I can see at least.
In saying all that, I hope to be proved wrong.
Mind you, my 2011 mini is still perfect for my needs, so what should I care... [but I do, damn it!]
If we're lucky, there maybe an option to bump up to the 5100, but I consider this unlikely.
There is a zero chance of the 5200 in the mini, as far as I can see at least.
In saying all that, I hope to be proved wrong.
Mind you, my 2011 mini is still perfect for my needs, so what should I care... [but I do, damn it!]
There has only been one interval greater than 500 days, and that was for the 2009 release. 4 years ago.
Major updates of the mini (architecture changes, not speedbumps of 0.1 Ghz):
Dates_____Interval (days)
11-01-05_______G4
28-02-06__413__Core
07-08-07__525__Core2duo
03-03-09__574__9400M
15-06-10__469__320M built in supply
20-07-11__400__i5/i7 Radeon 6630
23-10-12__461__Ivy Bridge
average is 474 days
New expected date: 09-02-2014
Shortest until now was 400 days, so that would make 27-11-2014
Dates_____Interval (days)
11-01-05_______G4
28-02-06__413__Core
07-08-07__525__Core2duo
03-03-09__574__9400M
15-06-10__469__320M built in supply
20-07-11__400__i5/i7 Radeon 6630
23-10-12__461__Ivy Bridge
average is 474 days
New expected date: 09-02-2014
Shortest until now was 400 days, so that would make 27-11-2014
IMHO, you're looking at the issue from the opposite side of what matters. If Intel was only pumping out new architectures every 500 days then obviously that's the shortest time for which the mini could be revised. Now that Haswell is out....
When did Intel release Ivy? Jan 2012. Or Sandy? Dec 2010
Haswell = June 2013...... Haswell Mini......7-8 months later.
Macbook Pro gets Haswell before the Mini. When does that happen?
If your point is Apple doesn't incorporate into the mini a new Intel architecture until it's out for seven or eight months then you could have stated that up front.
Regardless, if Intel only releases new architecture every 500 days on average then obviously it can't show up in the mini at a higher frequency. If Intel puts them out faster then the only way for Apple to stay to that 500 day cycle is to entirely skip an architecture at some point. It hasn't happened yet.
Yes - A shiny new Mini, fully tricked out, with Intel's new & improved graphics, could distract people from the new Mac Pro.
That also happened:
Where was the mini with either Nehalem (tock) or Westmere (tick)? Apple went straight from Penryn to Sandy Bridge and skipped 2 product cycles from Intel. I think it would be wise to skip Haswell (h)as well. The Broadwell at 16nm will fit much better in the mini. Haswell is the same 22nm, and really pushes the heat envelope of the mini. Because of the larger GPU, the chip might produce more heat than the Ivy. So if Apple does Haswell, it will have a modest GPU, not Iris pro ones, or Apple must sacrifice the second drive bay for better cooling.
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As I have said, if APPLE decides to launch an improved Mac mini, then Mar.-Apr.2014 is an acceptable timeframe....but many consumers wants to spend money around Christmas...it means a late Oct. 2013 Haswell update might gain more faith by decision makers in the company...let's wait and see....
I think the only Nehalem mobile processor was a Core i7 which were never considered for the mini up to that point. They probably could have used a Westmere Core i5 (Arrandale). But wasn't this the time Intel and Nvidia were at war? I recall Apple was boxed in and couldn't use Nvidia's integrated GPUs after Penryn but didn't want to use Intel's, either.
You give most consumers far too much credit for paying attention to when things actually get updated.
The Mini will get graphics on par with Iris Pro at some point - it just won't be this year.
A 2013-14 Mini will most likely have HD 5000, which is currently what the other lowest priced Mac uses.
In the past, Apple has shared i7 processors between the 15" non-Retina MBP and the Mini, but I doubt those notebooks will return or that Apple would feel the need to utilize Iris Pro in them if they did.
A more plausible scenario would be the next Mini sharing CPU's with the MBA instead. That would allow Apple to design a new smaller Mini and still offer i7 models, while reserving Iris Pro (and its corresponding higher TDP) for the Retina MBP's.
A 2013-14 Mini will most likely have HD 5000, which is currently what the other lowest priced Mac uses.
In the past, Apple has shared i7 processors between the 15" non-Retina MBP and the Mini, but I doubt those notebooks will return or that Apple would feel the need to utilize Iris Pro in them if they did.
A more plausible scenario would be the next Mini sharing CPU's with the MBA instead. That would allow Apple to design a new smaller Mini and still offer i7 models, while reserving Iris Pro (and its corresponding higher TDP) for the Retina MBP's.
My guess (and that's all it is) is Apple won't go down to a 1.3 GHz processor for the mini such as in the MBA. Seems all of the HD5000 processors are very low wattage and low clock speed. I still think it could be one or both of these two Haswell processors:
Core i5: http://ark.intel.com/products/75990
Core i7: http://ark.intel.com/products/75992
Both are HD5100 graphics and both are lower in power draw than the Core i5 used in the 2012 mini (3210M using 35W?).