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The new Mac mini is almost certainly coming
- Thread starter GabrieleR
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Without ninth generation 65W Intel CPUs, there’s nothing to update to. (Assuming, of course, that Apple’s not going to use a new ARM CPU in the mini for the next update.)
I suppose Intel will make ninth generation 14nm++ versions of the 8100B/8500B/8700B CPUs later this year (or even 2020), before they move to 10nm sometime next year or maybe 2021.
Regardless of Intel’s release schedule though, I can’t imagine the mini would be on a yearly release cycle; there’s not nearly enough volume. Only MacBook Pro is updated yearly (typically). iMac used to be updated yearly, but is on a two-year upgrade cycle since 2015. iMac Pro I think should be updated this year, if there are new CPUs available.
I don't expect a refresh... ever.
You'll never be disappointed.
Sadly, even if they announced something in 2019, it's almost guaranteed to not ship till Q4 2020...
I would think it was the TDP of the Kaby Lake G package that killed that idea, but it would have been much preferable...!
I’ll take 6c/6t or 6c/12t Coffee Lake CPU options all day and twice on Sunday over 4c/8t Kaby Lake CPUs w/some cut down Vega that is a niche product at best.
I can add any eGPU case and AMD card I desire up to and including a Radeon VII, whenever I want. The same will most likely be just as true once AMD finally gets 7 NM NAVI out the door.
Why would I want to be stuck with Intel’s leftover Frankenstein CPU/GPU mashup? No one uses it beyond the Hades Canyon NUCs, that’s I am aware of.
With having two Titan or Alpine Ridge controllers hooked directly into the CPU, I can add one, two, three or four eGPUS to my setup (MacBook Pro 2016) if I really needed to do so. What I cannot add is cores and I will take those extra cores if I can get them.
Apple made the right choice...there are too many people hung up on the fact the 2018 Mac mini doesn’t have a dGPU, but that was never a defining feature for any Mac mini of the the Intel era, ATI 6630M being the lone exception.
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Kaby Lake-G comes in 65w and 100w TDP packages and there is even a Radeon Pro variant that was introduced just before the Mac mini was released, which I thought Apple was going to use in the 2018 mini. I am glad they did not end up choosing Kaby Lake-G.
I think it’ll depend on sales. Cranking up the horsepower without really increasing the price gives it a shot.I don't expect a refresh... ever.
Plus, those in this thread who thought no one should be allowed to buy a 4GB or HDD/Fusion config got their wish, so they’re happy as well—even though they would never have bought one. (Or any mini for that matter, in some cases.)
I suppose there’s something to be said for saving people from themselves, but I wish there were a couple SKUs in the $499-749 price range available through the education and/or business channel. There are applications for a cheaper, less powerful Mac but oh well. You can’t have everything, and those configs would have sold significantly fewer units than the $799 base mini will. Plus it cuts down the complaining in this thread significantly, so there’s that. Silver (plate, anyway) lining.
I had a 2012 4gb/500gb HD mini and still use a 2014 4gb/500gb HD as an iTunes server. The 2012 was a very nice machine and was easily expanded to 16gb RAM. The 2014 is a real dog for all-around use, it's noticeably slower than the 2012 was (possibly because of the newer version of MacOS?). But it's perfect for an iTunes server. Mine runs 24/7 and does a great job of serving my library to two AppleTV's, 2 Macs, iPad and iPhone.
Was just wondering what I will replace it with when it inevitably dies. $800 is a lot to spend for an iTunes server. Am sort of kicking myself for not grabbing one of the 2014 base Mini's that B&H was blowing out for $350 recently.
iTunes server is a great example of a perfectly appropriate use of base-2014 mini, a Time Machine server is another. One company I was at had one in the lobby for creating visitor badges, and also for a kiosk-type application.
Wow $350 is a great price, it’s probably a good thing I didn’t know about that, I probably would have bought a couple without even having a use in mind lol.
Yeah, it was a nice deal if you need a small server. Maybe they will come back someday? I remember a few years ago when they suddenly had a bunch of new top-spec 11" MacBook Airs at a really good price. A number of forum members grabbed those pretty quickly.
B&H still has the 2014 2.8ghz i5 8gb/1tb fusion mini in stock for $529. That would also be fine for many things at a much lower price than the entry 2018 Mini. No mini's of any kind at the Apple refurb store right now.
Agreed, unconstrained CPU + an eGPU makes way more sense.
Though, the cost of entry is rather high even after acquiring a modest card such as an RX580. It perplexes me why barebones eGPU enclosures seem to start at $300+ because there's hardly anything in them except a cheap PSU and a TB3 chip which according to Intel's site costs $10 in bulk.
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They are expensive. Wonder how hard it would be to build and eGPU enclosure.
Not to beat a dead horse, but is there a new MacMini certainly coming? What do we suspect the new refresh rate will be for this machine? 1 year? 3 years? 6 years?
See this thread - no horse beating required https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/thoughts-on-a-mini-speedbump-soon.2183003/
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/thoughts-on-a-mini-speedbump-soon.2183003/
Bingo.... seems there is a market for the much despised, modestly specced Mac Mini after all. Could it be that a new one is coming?
Most shops selling Apple products I have seen of late don't have the latest iteration of the Mac Mini on display now, though a few did for a while. I doubt that it is because they is out of stock. Over priced and over specced, but insufficient on board storage for more mundane needs, more likely that they have found it not worth carrying.
One in a nearby town did have the previous get Mac Mini on display, with no discount offered, until a couple of months ago. I guess they are out sold out now.
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As it so happens, I just replaced my iTunes server today with a new 2014 2.8ghz/8gb/1tb fusion Mini. B&H Photo is blowing these out for $529 (Apple sells the same model for $849 as refurb!). I split the 128gb SSD from the Fusion drive, and it feels like a speedy little machine. Twice the clock speed of my old 1.4ghz Mini, twice the RAM and a disk that is 7x faster.
More here, if you're interested. https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/split-the-fusion-drive-on-my-new-2014-mini.2184415/