Yes..but I heard some stories about serious HDMI issues on the Mac Mini in the past..but at the end you're right..if those resolutions are no problem, for sure we should first try to do it that way..before buying the Matrox. Thanks for your opinion Fhall1 !
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Why is HD4000 not good enough on 2012 mini?
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Yes..but I heard some stories about serious HDMI issues on the Mac Mini in the past..but at the end you're right..if those resolutions are no problem, for sure we should first try to do it that way..before buying the Matrox. Thanks for your opinion Fhall1 !
Apparently upgrading to OS X 10.9.3 allows the 2012 Mac Mini to recognize up to 1024 MB of VRAM, up from 768 MB. Story on Ogrady's PowerPage:
http://www.powerpage.org/os-x-10-9-...of-vram-recognized-by-recent-apple-notebooks/
http://www.powerpage.org/os-x-10-9-...of-vram-recognized-by-recent-apple-notebooks/
I use my MacPro (2006 model with Radeon 5770) for all sorts of mundane tasks, edit photos in Pixelmator and Aperture, and for about an hour or two a week I play an FPS so appreciate a video card that can support that at ~60 fps. My MacPro is unable to run Mountain Lion or higher so I need to move to another Mac and the Mini is the best option.
So I think I'd like an Intel Iris 5200 in the new Mac Mini (or better...heck put an AMD CPU/GPU combo in there). Saying Intel HD4000 is good enough limits what you can do in the future as well so it's good to buy more than today's requirements dictate so you don't have to buy a computer every year as well.
So I think I'd like an Intel Iris 5200 in the new Mac Mini (or better...heck put an AMD CPU/GPU combo in there). Saying Intel HD4000 is good enough limits what you can do in the future as well so it's good to buy more than today's requirements dictate so you don't have to buy a computer every year as well.
Even where there were issues with the HDMI port, most found that an HDMI to DVI converter fixed the problem. Multiple updates later and HDMI problems have all been eliminated even HDMI to HDMI.
Just FYI, it's possible to get the later OS X versions than Lion to run on a Mac Pro from 2006. Look here:
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1598176/
It's especially good that you have a graphics cards that will work (the ones that shipped with the original Mac Pro won't do.
I have the latest Mavericks (10.9.3) running on the original Mac Pro at work.
Confirmed. Running 1,1 with Mavericks and Apple's ATI HD5770. It's still a decent machine for playing games made for OS X. I play mainly Blizzard games and Borderlands 2 and Bioshock.
I'm faced with moving countries, heck, continents in the next two weeks and can't bring the MP with me. I'm forced to scuttle it for parts and hope that WWDC brings a decent gaming Mac cause I ain't buying a nMP. Or probably any other MP.
Only current decent option is an upgraded iMac. I've considered Hackintoshes and my MP is happily running Chameleon (yes I know of the other EFI hack one but can't be arsed to switch), but having built other hackintoshes, it can be troublesome so I'd rather not.
My 2013 MBA with Iris barely runs Diablo III or WoW decently...
I hear ya'… While I understand we're probably part of a minority I also feel that Apple really don't offer the kind of hardware I want … i.e. something like a ”Mac midi”. So therefore I've been running a Hackintosh since 2009. While it hasn't been flawless it's not far from. Over all it has been running better than I imagined.
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Thanks but I'm not willing to hack my OS. I'm going to wait for the Mac Mini update and if that doesn't happen or isn't what I expect I'll build a Micro-ATX with R9 270 GPU and i5 CPU w/ 500GB SSD. All for <$1200 though it'll have Windows. Tired of Apple's games...no computer updates yet nonstop iDevice updates...
I work with 4 2012 Minis regularly and they were already all at 1 GB of RAM allocated to the GPU before 10.9.3. Did anyone see this change?
Thanks.
May I ask some questions:
1. Are these the i5 or i7 versions?
2. Are you satisfied with the speed of these machines?
3. What are you doing on them (working field)?
I will join this club APPLE does not make the correct gear for me.
I need a bigger iPhone because I had Eye Surgery.
I want a lessor Mac Pro
I want a better mac mini
No need or want for the iMac
No need or want for airbook or a macbook pro.
Because of all of the above I won't buy a tablet from them.
So while I like windows 7 I prefer mac os.
I used to buy 50 to 100 mac minis a year. up grade and mod them no more that is a dead business.
I am more into windows then I have been since windows 95. Thanks apple
As i type this mac rumors has an advert for the samsung galaxy with a 5.1 inch screen. where is my 5.1 inch iPhone?
With Iris? The MBA comes with the HD 5000. Isn't the Iris the HD 5100 and the Iris Pro the HD 5200?
In any case you got me curious. How many fps do you get on WoW in a middle of a Boss Fight?
I've got a 2012 mini (i7 2.6GHz) and I'm using it right now with a Dell U2711 monitor. For general desktop stuff and Photoshop I have absolutely no complaints about the graphics performance.
Unless you are a gamer the HD4000 is good enough to use every day at 1440p. I also use several virtual desktops with full screen apps and occasionally run VM's too full screen and I've not been disappointed with the graphics performance.
I think most of us here agree that the mini is not intended to be a games machine, and that about the only task I wouldn't use it for. I keep a separate PC for that. Well at least until my nMP arrives anyway - I need 64GB RAM for VMware. At that point the PC will be going on ebay, but I'll be keeping the mini.
Unless you are a gamer the HD4000 is good enough to use every day at 1440p. I also use several virtual desktops with full screen apps and occasionally run VM's too full screen and I've not been disappointed with the graphics performance.
I think most of us here agree that the mini is not intended to be a games machine, and that about the only task I wouldn't use it for. I keep a separate PC for that. Well at least until my nMP arrives anyway - I need 64GB RAM for VMware. At that point the PC will be going on ebay, but I'll be keeping the mini.
You're right. Even though the HD 5000, Iris 5100, Iris Pro 5200 are essentially are GT3:
Anandtech clearly says: http://www.anandtech.com/show/7085/the-2013-macbook-air-review-13inch/4
So that's cleared it for me.
I'm not in a position to test WoW right now but I recall getting barely playable fps on the Timeless Isle. Although I wanted multi-sampling and some goodies on as well. I'm sure if quality was dropped down significantly, it would certainly be playable, I just wouldn't enjoy it then...
While this is technically true, there are significant differences between the 3. HD5000 is more of a benchmark winner since in reality it is far too limited by TDP to reach its potential. Iris Pro is much stronger than both of the other two.
Not to be picking on you (really) but "4k" has become one of those gotta-have, gotta-have buzzwords like "liquid metal" and "Retina" that seem to infect Mac forums.
I can easily see the display quality differences between my mini (SSD/16GB RAM/HD4000) and my Mac Pro (SSD/16GB RAM/ATI HD5780). Even the expanding desktop when Mavericks boots up is way smoother on the MP.
For a $640.00 computer the graphics on the mini do just fine. With an SSD and 16GB RAM mine is more like a $1200 mini. There are certainly $1200 PCs with excellent graphics, far better than available on a mini. Yet a mini is something special in the eyes of a mini enthusiast.
I would like to have better graphics and would have paid up to $200 more to get them but in the end my mini is just fine for what I use it for. It is even an excellent Windows 8.1.1 machine.
Just wanted to say you're not really hackin the OS. Over a fresh install it's just one modified file that (boot.ini) has to be put in two locations, replacing the one's that are there. As the name suggests, it's just got to do with the booting.
Anyway, I also want a new Mac mini. Maybe they're waiting for Intel's Broadwell platform? Or an ARM based Mac mini perhaps? Who know's what Apple is up to
If the new Mini doesn't have Intel Iris Pro 5200 I'm switching to Windows. I'm tired of the horribly slow release cycle for anything that's not an iPhone or iPad and I'm sick of second-rate components (e.g. not quality-wise, speed-wise). Definitely don't want an A7-based Mini...it's not ready for prime-time (benchmarked at 1/12th of i7, good for mobile but not good for desktop).
Well....I just got done outfitting my house with 4K TVs/monitors. Would like computers with Apple's industrial design to compliment.
While I'm not optimistic of this happening, it would be amazing to have a performance focused Mini. With a quad core i7, Iris Pro 5200, 16GB RAM, PCI-E SSD and Thunderbolt 2 the Mini would scream and save ~$1,500 off a Mac Pro. Plus it could drive a 4k display or two and satisfy those of us who want HiDPI or more real estate but don't need massive GPU power.
I doubt Apple would see the Mini you specced as competition to the MacPro...it would be a good machine for day to day stuff and light gaming (e.g. Counterstrike: Source, my fave).