Late 2014 Mac mini is slow

[getrealbro]

I’m wondering why people get such widely varying speeds with the stock HDD in the 2014 mini. How are some people getting 100 MB/s? ....

I think Boyd01 was right when he suggested that my recent slow disk speed tests may be do to fragmentation. All the drive specs quoted by manufactures are for consecutive reads and writes. So it doesn't surprise me that a spinning hard disk gets much slower Disk Speed tests when the heads have to do a lot of seeking to find the next sector. In practice this slowdown may not be noticeable except when reading or writing very large files.

FWIW The 100MB/s Disk Speed test I posted was on a freshly erased partition. The more recent, much slower, Disk Speed test that I posted was on the same partition but after I've been using it as a video scratch disk.

GetRealBro

 

[subjonas]

I think Boyd01 was right when he suggested that my recent slow disk speed tests may be do to fragmentation. All the drive specs quoted by manufactures are for consecutive reads and writes. So it doesn't surprise me that a spinning hard disk gets much slower Disk Speed tests when the heads have to do a lot of seeking to find the next sector. In practice this slowdown may not be noticeable except when reading or writing very large files.

FWIW The 100MB/s Disk Speed test I posted was on a freshly erased partition. The more recent, much slower, Disk Speed test that I posted was on the same partition but after I've been using it as a video scratch disk.

GetRealBro

But what about cases like mine where the data has been static and speeds haven’t changed much since the Mac was new - any ideas on the cause?
Also, I don’t know much about fragmentation, but I’ve heard/read a few times that it isn’t usually an issue on Macs.

How to defrag a Mac (and why you don't need to)

If your Mac isn't running as efficiently as it used to, it probably needs to be defragged, right? Not necessarily. Here's why defragging isn't all that useful for Macs, why Macs don't need to be defragged and what you could do instead

www.macworld.co.uk

But I’ll probably check if it’s fragmentation just in case. As soon as I can.

 

[zweber]

I'm glad I found this thread. I bought a Late 2014 Mac Mini a couple of years ago for the sole purpose of having a dedicated Plex Media Server. From day one I couldn't figure out why it was so slow. I overlooked the slowness thinking maybe the apps I had installed were taking up too many resources. Apps took forever to open but seemed ok after they were up and running. Plex ran OK for a year but I hated trying to sit down at this workstation and do any work on it. I ran all kinds of hardware tests, which detected no problems.

I guess now I am struggling with whether or not I should even bother upgrading to an external SSD boot drive to fix this problem or buy a newer Mac Mini. All I need it to do is run a Plex Media Server. Most of the time it will be headless.

What is your opinion on upgrades like this? Could I get another 3-5 years out of this Mini? I always wonder how the newer operating systems run on older Apple hardware.

My update: I went ahead and bought an external Samsung T7 500gb SSD on Amazon for $80. Like many others have reported, it has made a huge difference. It's A LOT more responsive than before. I'm running MacOS Big Sur Beta with Plex Media Server. I've been streaming live OTA local TV + Movies without an issue. As long as future Plex updates/features don't require higher CPU/Mem then I don't see any reason why I can't use this Mac as a headless media server for many more years to come. Many thanks to everyone in this thread for the suggestions and feedback!

 

[getrealbro]

But what about cases like mine where the data has been static and speeds haven’t changed much since the Mac was new - any ideas on the cause?
Also, I don’t know much about fragmentation, but I’ve heard/read a few times that it isn’t usually an issue on Macs.

How to defrag a Mac (and why you don't need to)

If your Mac isn't running as efficiently as it used to, it probably needs to be defragged, right? Not necessarily. Here's why defragging isn't all that useful for Macs, why Macs don't need to be defragged and what you could do instead

www.macworld.co.uk

But I’ll probably check if it’s fragmentation just in case. As soon as I can.

Sorry I don't know why your Mimi's HDD tests are slow.

FWIW the 1TB HDD in my 2014 Mini is partitioned into System (256GB APFS) and Data (752GB HFS+), The target of the recent slow Disk Speed tests was the HFS+ Data partition. Here are two more speed tests on both partitions of the very same drive run last night …

The Data partition

and the System partition.

There are several possible reasons for the System partition testing faster. But I suspect the most likely is fragmentation of the Data partition.

For several months this summer I used VLC to capture roughly 40GB/day of 1080p RTSP video feeds from two Amcrest wildlife cameras to the Data partition. The 40GB/day was usually split up into 6-12 files ranging from roughly 2-15GB each. And on a few occasions I accidentally let the video files fill the Data partition completely. Each day I off loaded the video files from the Data partition to a 256GB SD card which I would “sneaker net” over to my 2018 i7 Mini where I could use Handbrake to more quickly process the .ts files into .mp4 files and then store them on an 8TB external HDD. This type of usage is probably a worst case scenario for fragmentation: large files being saved and deleted daily to a nearly/completely full HFS+ partition.

GetRealBro

 

[Cycling Asia]

I had an external SSD on my 2014 mini and yes it is a night and day difference, but I recently switched to an internal NVMe SSD. The price of the internal SSD, the required adapter, and the torx set worked out cheaper than the Samsung SSD I was using previously. If you're looking for a permanent solution, definitely go for the internal upgrade.

Also, the speed of my HDD maxed out at ~50MB/s whereas the internal SSD is > ~550MB/s.

 

[Boyd01]

You should get closer to 700MB/sec with an internal NVMe SSD on the 2014 Mini. I posted my internal and external SSD speeds here and others have posted similar results in this same thread.

https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...ow.2165265/page-2?post=28236870#post-28236870

 

[Cycling Asia]

You should get closer to 700MB/sec with an internal NVMe SSD on the 2014 Mini. I posted my internal and external SSD speeds here and others have posted similar results in this same thread.

https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...ow.2165265/page-2?post=28236870#post-28236870

I've just redone the speed test and with the 1GB test I get around 540 MB/s but with the 5GB test I get > 700MB/s (screenshot attached).

 

[getrealbro]

To wrap up my 2014 Mini HDD speed testing…
This disk speed test was run this AM on the same System partition on the internal HDD in my 2014 Mini AFTER the partition was erased with Disk Utility.


FWIW I erased this partition because I periodically clone the System partition on my 2014 Mini’s internal NVMe SSD to the unused/backup System partition on the internal HDD, so I can recover quickly in case i do something stupid while testing apps, applying increasingly buggy Apple Security Updates, etc.

Edit:
Just when I thought I understood the various disk speed tests I’ve run on my 2014 Mini’s internal HDD…
I ran yet another test on the same System partition as above AFTER I cloned the System partition on the internal NVMe SSD to the System partition on the internal HDD using Carbon Copy Cloner.


The target was my ~/Documents folder and there was over 64GB available.

GetRealBro

 

[subjonas]

To wrap up my 2014 Mini HDD speed testing…
This disk speed test was run this AM on the same System partition on the internal HDD in my 2014 Mini AFTER the partition was erased with Disk Utility.

View attachment 962584
FWIW I erased this partition because I periodically clone the System partition on my 2014 Mini’s internal NVMe SSD to the unused/backup System partition on the internal HDD, so I can recover quickly in case i do something stupid while testing apps, applying increasingly buggy Apple Security Updates, etc.

GetRealBro

Interesting! Just curious, what version OS are you using?

 

[getrealbro]

Interesting! Just curious, what version OS are you using?

Mojave 10.14.6

 

[Jon Amolo]

For those Googling "2014 Mac mini slow" THIS IS REALLY THE SOLVE. Everyone saying to use an external SSD and booing from it REALLY solves the issue. Thank you everyone that stated that.

 

[Hrothgar]

I'm booting from an external Samsung T7, and my late 2014 Mini is still slow and lags.

 

[Fishrrman]

Hrothgar wrote:
"I'm booting from an external Samsung T7, and my late 2014 Mini is still slow and lags."

Run blackmagic speed test, and post the results here so we can see.

 

[Hrothgar]

For example, I was using Office Outlook, and every time I tried to open an email, I got a pinwheel. Sometimes very brief, sometimes for 5 seconds or so. Similar delays using Word, Chrome, etc.

 

[Boyd01]

Something is very wrong there! This is what I get from a Samsung T7 on my 2018 Mini.

Now, that is because the 2018 Mini has USB-C ports. On your 2014 Mini, I would expect you to get performance comparable to the Samsung T3 SSD's that I use with my own 2014 and 2012 Mini's.

Something is slowing your SSD way down. Is it directly connected to the Mini or are you using a hub? What kind of othe USB devices are connected to the Mini? Are you using the USB-A cable that was included with the T7?

 

[Hrothgar]

The T7 is direct to the mini with the cable that came with the drive. I’ve got two external drives attached, one direct and one through a hub. There’s a usb going out to an amplifier. The usb hub also has one or two thumb drives.

 

[Boyd01]

I would try disconnecting all the other USB devices for starters and see if that helps. Also, how is the T7 formatted? Right "out of the box" it is formatted for Windows and should have been re-formatted for MacOS before using. Not sure, but I don't think you could even boot from it unless you had formatted it for the Mac. I suppose it's also possible that there's a problem with the T7.

But there is certainly something very wrong, you aren't even getting 1/10 of the performance you should. I booted my 2012 Mini from a Samsung T3 for a number of years and got the performance in my screenshot above. It worked great with software like Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro.

Also, the T7 is sort of wasted on a 2014 Mini because it will be limited by the slower ports. A T3 or T5 would have been cheaper and should perform as well.

 

[getrealbro]

..But there is certainly something very wrong, you aren't even getting 1/10 of the performance you should. ....

As Boyd01 says, an external T5 attached directly to a 2014 Mini should be getting over 400MB/s

GetRealBro

 

[Hrothgar]

I would try disconnecting all the other USB devices for starters and see if that helps. Also, how is the T7 formatted? Right "out of the box" it is formatted for Windows and should have been re-formatted for MacOS before using. Not sure, but I don't think you could even boot from it unless you had formatted it for the Mac. I suppose it's also possible that there's a problem with the T7.

But there is certainly something very wrong, you aren't even getting 1/10 of the performance you should. I booted my 2012 Mini from a Samsung T3 for a number of years and got the performance in my screenshot above. It worked great with software like Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro.

Also, the T7 is sort of wasted on a 2014 Mini because it will be limited by the slower ports. A T3 or T5 would have been cheaper and should perform as well.

I reformatted the T7 when I got it. I'll try disconnecting the other USB devices. Does it matter which UBS port the T7 is attached to?
Also, I have two accounts on the computer and my wife's account has a bunch of Creative Cloud apps open. But when I did the test, they weren't doing anything, just sitting open.
Isn't it possible that there's a virus or malware or something on my drive? I know the general thought is that this isn't a problem with Macs, but who knows?

 

[Hrothgar]

I disconnected the usb devices, except the T7 and the dongle for my logitech mouse/keyboard. I have an external drive connected to one TB port and a displayport in from my monitor to the other TB port. And Ethernet in to that port.
Still getting the same numbers on Blackmagice -- about 40 write and 350-400 read.

Is there a diagnositic I can run? Is there a particular port the T7 should be on?
In the past, the Mini was in a spot where it didn't have great ventilation and at times it got pretty hot. Could that have slowed down the CPU or something?

It would be nice to solve this, if possible, as I'm on the verge of buying a new one and would love to avoid doing so if I can.

Thanks.

 

[Boyd01]

I had a 2012 Mini runing from an external T3 SSD and it worked fine, but the internal hard drive was starting to fail and throwing off errors which caused the Mini to crash periodically. I wonder if something similar could be happening to you? If you are booting from the SSD, close all open applications and then eject the internal hard drive. Does that help?

I don't know exactly how the USB ports are setup on the 2014 Mini. Are they all on the same controller? If so, then a slow device might also slow down the T7. But, AFAIK, it should not matter which port you are using.

BTW, 350-400 MB/sec read is not the same as what you posted above (which was ~160 read).

 

[opeter]

The T7 is direct to the mini with the cable that came with the drive. I’ve got two external drives attached, one direct and one through a hub. There’s a usb going out to an amplifier. The usb hub also has one or two thumb drives.

Does you hub have active power (extra external power cord/adapter) or is it without, just connected to you computer?

 

[Hrothgar]

Ejecting the Mac HD didn't help. The USB hub is powered.

So, looking at the T7 in Disk Utility, it has a tree. I've attached screen shots with the information for each level. Is it supposed to be separated into T7 External HD and T7 External HD - Data? (I think I saw this before on my Mac HD). I'm surprise it says that there's only 69 GB available -- should be closer to 300 gb. When I look at System Information, it says I have 860 gb of "Other" on the drive. How do I figure out what this is?

Does this look like it could be the cause of the problem?

Edit: I just deleted 120 gb from my T7, and System Information still says it has only 63 gb available.

 

[Hrothgar]

Thanks everyone. I'm just going to buy a new Mini and start over. I'm sick of this thing. I'm tired of pinwheels. I'm tired of getting "can't sync" messages at least 75% of the time I connect my iPhone or iPad (including brand new one). I long for the good old days when you paid more for Macs because they worked, every time, whatever you connected, without downloading drivers and calling the tech department.

 

[Fishrrman]

Hrothgar -

You've got the "touch" version of the t7.
I'm wondering if that has something to do with its poor performance.

If you're going to get another Mini and start over, get a 2018/20.
You will be VERY happy with the speed of the built-in SSD.