Considering how Apple prices its products, $100 for 10 Gigabit Ethernet seems very cheap. Actually it is cheaper than most PCI-e cards.
Mac mini
111–120 of 259 posts
Re: Mac mini
#112Looks like both RAM and SSD are upgradable? I thought they had gone to hardwired everything in the Mini.
They're using custom T2 chip which is known to control flash storage, so I'm not sure about SSD.
Re: Mac mini
#113Earlier quoted context omitted.
The performance depends very greatly on the resolution you run the 4K screen at. If you're using a non-evenly scaled resolution (i.e. not exactly 1x or 2x rendering) it's not gonna be fantastic. Running at 'default' 2x my 2018 runs 2x 24" 4Ks without issue - the problem most people have I think is that they buy much larger displays and then want to use a higher rendered resolution, which is where the iGPU will strugg…
> the problem most people have I think is that they buy much larger displays and then want to use a higher rendered resolution I'm not going to buy a 4k screen with the intention of running it at 1080p. There are plenty of large 1080p screens out there. If I buy a 4k screen it's because I want to run it at 4k.
> I'm not going to buy a 4k screen with the intention of running it at 1080p.
He is not talking about not running 4k. He is talking about running more than 4k framebuffer scaled down to 4k (the "more space" option in Display control panel).
Re: Mac mini
#114The Mac Minis are still expensive and underwhelming (even when maxed out) when compared with the top of the range NUCs with even AMD GPUs. The Skull and Ghost Canyon NUCs are great for Linux CIs or building large projects or I could even go far to either Hackintosh a few NUCs to surpass the need to buy a Mac Mini anyway for next 5 years. Thanks, but I would skip this Mac Mini and go for the latest maxed out NUC inste…
The Mac Minis are still expensive and underwhelming (even when maxed out) when compared with the top of the range NUCs with even AMD GPUs I've been considering getting a Mac mini, but haven't committed yet. Can you tell me which NUCs run macOS so I comparison shop?
Maintaining a hackintosh is a drag. You never now if an update is going to break things. You have to jump though a lot of hoops to get things like iMessage working. Moreover, you have to be prepared to use random kexts from the net. You also miss out on many security features of the Mac (T2 and their secure boot mechanism).
If you want to run Linux or Windows, buy a NUC. If you want to run macOS, buy a Mac. Hardware-wise, the Mac Mini is comparatively expensive, but you also fund macOS development and will have a much better experience than any other hardware.
Source: I use NUCs (currently NUC8i5BEH for Linux, plus two other around the house), a MacBook Pro, and have had Mac Minis in the past.
Re: Mac mini
#115Still no real GPU. It's the reason I went back to a MacBook. What drew me in is the desktop class i7. At the time the Mini outperformed all other Macs in benchmarks, and it is noticeable and fast during compile times etc. Once you connect a 4k Screen (or even more screens), an eGPU becomes a must have. The integrated one just can't do smooth UI rendering. For example typing in IntelliJ always felt laggy, because it t…
Mac Mini doesn't need a real GPU in my opinion -- what they need is a mid-level desktop that accepts a real GPU. $1000 - $1500 with decent specs. But, we know they won't move into that space.
iMac covers that for most people. eGPU’s also lets you extend the Mac Mini at the cost of more wires and boxes.
But, the Mac desktop gaming ecosystem is fairly anemic so I doubt most people get much from a better GPU. IMO, a Mac Mini + KVM + 500+$ gaming PC is probably the best all around option.
Re: Mac mini
#116Still no real GPU. It's the reason I went back to a MacBook. What drew me in is the desktop class i7. At the time the Mini outperformed all other Macs in benchmarks, and it is noticeable and fast during compile times etc. Once you connect a 4k Screen (or even more screens), an eGPU becomes a must have. The integrated one just can't do smooth UI rendering. For example typing in IntelliJ always felt laggy, because it t…
MacBooks don't have real GPUs either (I assume you mean Macbook Pros). Running the default HDRP Unity scene on a MacBook Pro runs around 30fps, Running on a 3yr old Razer 1060 runs at 180fps.
I use my MBP more than my Razer but I'm disappointed Apple no longer makes the power house laptops they used to.
Re: Mac mini
#117Still no real GPU. It's the reason I went back to a MacBook. What drew me in is the desktop class i7. At the time the Mini outperformed all other Macs in benchmarks, and it is noticeable and fast during compile times etc. Once you connect a 4k Screen (or even more screens), an eGPU becomes a must have. The integrated one just can't do smooth UI rendering. For example typing in IntelliJ always felt laggy, because it t…
> Still no real GPU.
What is a 'real' GPU? Why is this one not 'real'? If it can be used to run a rendering API and it outputs graphics fast enough to use the computer with a realistic number of monitors then it's a real GPU.
Re: Mac mini
#118Earlier quoted context omitted.
> the problem most people have I think is that they buy much larger displays and then want to use a higher rendered resolution I'm not going to buy a 4k screen with the intention of running it at 1080p. There are plenty of large 1080p screens out there. If I buy a 4k screen it's because I want to run it at 4k.
I'm using a 4k display on a mac mini, but I've got it set halfway between the 'larger text' (1080p x2) and 'more space' (4k with no pixel doubling). This doesn't mean I'm running it at a lower resolution - behind the scenes, the mac is actually rendering the display at 6016x3384 and then smoothly scaling it down to the native 4k of 3840x2160. Because it's having to draw everything at a higher resolution than the actu…
Mac Mini user here also: What display are you using?
Re: Mac mini
#119Still no real GPU. It's the reason I went back to a MacBook. What drew me in is the desktop class i7. At the time the Mini outperformed all other Macs in benchmarks, and it is noticeable and fast during compile times etc. Once you connect a 4k Screen (or even more screens), an eGPU becomes a must have. The integrated one just can't do smooth UI rendering. For example typing in IntelliJ always felt laggy, because it t…
> Still no real GPU. What is a 'real' GPU? Why is this one not 'real'? If it can be used to run a rendering API and it outputs graphics fast enough to use the computer with a realistic number of monitors then it's a real GPU.
Well there's an integrated GPU sure - it does 'technically have a real gpu'.
But there no options for CUDA applications, and no options for similar applications on the AMD side. Depending on your use case, the iGPU might not be powerful enough for your needs even without ML programs if you have multiple monitors (and one is 4k).
Re: Mac mini
#120Earlier quoted context omitted.
Intel NUCs are even better for home server use cases. Similar form factor, much cheaper, and you can put your own memory and storage in them. Just built my own last week and it idles at 5W, it's great.
There is no Mac OS X and Apple's service/warranty. Also if you try to match the boxes spec by spec; the Mini are usually not that much more.
I really don't understand the fascination with Mac OS. I have two macs and tbh it feels like a polished Linux distro that doesn't run that well after a few OS versions (my 2015 Macbook Pro is so slow it is useless now and I've bought a Thinkpad).
Though I will admit that I typically Brave, Brew, VSCode / Visual Studio and iTerm. It might be me just and not getting any of the real benefit, but I tend to use Windows and Linux just a shell.