2014 Mac Mini (Haswell with Iris and PCI-E SSDs

E

evilsofa

[H]F Junkie
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After two years of waiting, the new Mac Mini lineup is out!

They are all Haswell CPUs with 802.11ac wireless. The two faster ones have 2.6GHz or 2.8GHz i5 CPUs with Iris graphics that can be upgraded to a 3.0GHz i7 with Iris graphcs. Iris graphics is about 90% faster than what was in the 2012 Mac Mini.

The fastest Mac Mini can be upgraded with a 256GB, 512GB or 1TB PCI-E-based SSD.

The slowest Mac Mini is 1.4GHz for $500 and appears to be geared entirely towards energy efficiency and HTPC users.
 
I'm having a very hard time seeing the point in buying these over the old ones, save graphics. PCI-E storage is only available CTO on the highest model. The baseline is about 18% slower in terms of processing power(?) according to geekbench scores. From what I can tell, with SSDs in both, a 2012 model would be noticeably better at typical tasks.

Definitely in need of enlightenment...
 
I don't know about the rest of the things you mentioned but the graphics can't be ignored. it's not a minor point on a mac mini is my best guess
 
Graphics on Mac Mini is a minor point. For gaming, Mac Mini is useless. For anything else, both of the 2012 quadcore Mac Mini models are superior to all 2014 Mac Minis.

2014 Mac Mini is there to widen the gap between Mac Mini and Mac Pro. It is a downgrade.
 
faugusztin said:
Graphics on Mac Mini is a minor point. For gaming, Mac Mini is useless. For anything else, both of the 2012 quadcore Mac Mini models are superior to all 2014 Mac Minis.

2014 Mac Mini is there to widen the gap between Mac Mini and Mac Pro. It is a downgrade.
Click to expand...

Not if you have large displays. The new one supports dual 2560x1440 displays, the old one would only do 2560x1440 + 1920x1080.

The ATI graphics in my 2011 Mac Mini are better than the Intel HD 4000 integrated graphics in the 2012 Mac Mini, and are not enough for smooth desktop use with 2560x1440 + 1920x1080 and many windows open. Mission control, minimizing, and a variety of other animations all stutter.

Per this thread, the new graphics are supposed to be better than previous. If this is indeed the case, once the full new specs are known, I'll be upgrading.
 
I own a late 2012 Mac Mini, maxed out with memory, i7 chipset etc. It was driving my 4K monitor -- LG 34UM95 -- to 3440X1440 at 50 hz perfectly well. Then, Yo, Semite! arrived. (I think of the name of OS TenTen as a contribution to midEast peace, since it works as a friendly greeting between Israelis and Arabs.) Suddenly, my Mini could only drive the monitor to 2600X1280. It looks terrible, and the monitor protests when I use it now.
The lesson? TenTen is pretty enough, but is more marketing-savvy than user-friendly. Apple has definitely degraded Mini performance I assume in the service of forcing one to buy up-market. The new Minis can only deliver hi-res at low refresh rates; there is no indication that the "iris" graphics -- I wonder if Iris and Retina are part of an ocular metaphor-- is any better than the entry level. There is no indication that the Iris graphics option is more refreshing at hi-res than plain old Intel.
I am disheartened and demoralized that Apple would deprive users of functionality just for its brand's sake. I remember that GM used to make its dashboard radio cavity impossible for after-market installers to supply upgraded head units; this seems as crass and selfish as the corporate GM mindset.
Ever wonder why one can use iOS to stream iTunes from the desktop to an Apple TV, but not play the tunes itself? There are Android apps that do just that on SONY and Google tablets, but nothing native on the Mac. More manipulation at the expense of user delight. I find this demoralizing, and hurting my brand loyalty.
 
First off, the LG 34UM95 is not a 4K monitor. I'm not sure what all the rest of that means.

If the OSX update messed up your Mini then you should talk to Apple.
 
Doctor Whom said:
I own a late 2012 Mac Mini, maxed out with memory, i7 chipset etc. It was driving my 4K monitor -- LG 34UM95 -- to 3440X1440 at 50 hz perfectly well. Then, Yo, Semite! arrived. (I think of the name of OS TenTen as a contribution to midEast peace, since it works as a friendly greeting between Israelis and Arabs.) Suddenly, my Mini could only drive the monitor to 2600X1280. It looks terrible, and the monitor protests when I use it now.
The lesson? TenTen is pretty enough, but is more marketing-savvy than user-friendly. Apple has definitely degraded Mini performance I assume in the service of forcing one to buy up-market. The new Minis can only deliver hi-res at low refresh rates; there is no indication that the "iris" graphics -- I wonder if Iris and Retina are part of an ocular metaphor-- is any better than the entry level. There is no indication that the Iris graphics option is more refreshing at hi-res than plain old Intel.
I am disheartened and demoralized that Apple would deprive users of functionality just for its brand's sake. I remember that GM used to make its dashboard radio cavity impossible for after-market installers to supply upgraded head units; this seems as crass and selfish as the corporate GM mindset.
Ever wonder why one can use iOS to stream iTunes from the desktop to an Apple TV, but not play the tunes itself? There are Android apps that do just that on SONY and Google tablets, but nothing native on the Mac. More manipulation at the expense of user delight. I find this demoralizing, and hurting my brand loyalty.
Click to expand...

That is not 4K, it's a 21:9 display. I think you're having an issue with it no longer being recognized as a TV. Have you reported the issue to Apple? They won't know there's a problem unless you tell them.
 
Doctor Whom said:
Ever wonder why one can use iOS to stream iTunes from the desktop to an Apple TV, but not play the tunes itself? There are Android apps that do just that on SONY and Google tablets, but nothing native on the Mac. More manipulation at the expense of user delight. I find this demoralizing, and hurting my brand loyalty.
Click to expand...

I think one of us is confused, it could be me.

You can go in to Music or Video app on an iPhone or iPad and select More and the Shared Library and you can then play any music or video content from any server on the local network.

I have 2 separate Macs both broadcasting on my network and I can access both of them with our iOS devices.

:confused:
 
I should point out that this is not called Iris Pro, so it might not (and probably does not) have the 128MB of eDRAM that makes Iris Pro so good.

Still better then HD4000, which in and of itself is a decent video chipset.
 
faugusztin said:
Graphics on Mac Mini is a minor point. For gaming, Mac Mini is useless.
Click to expand...

Two fallacies:

1. Graphics = gaming. Everything on the screen in OS X is run through the GPU, including video playback. You need at least an acceptable low-end GPU to composite the screen. Anything from the last four years will be great for basic desktop functionality. If you link the Mini to a very high resolution display, though, you'll need the additional graphics power just for those basic functions.
2. Mac Mini gaming is useless. No, you're not exactly going to run Borderlands The Pre-Sequel on a Mini, but there are still plenty of games on the MAS and Steam that Ivy Bridge's GPU can handle. Haswell's GPU will obviously do better.

I'm happy with my 2012 Mini (especially after upgrading it to 16 GB of RAM and tossing in a Samsung 840 Pro), but graphics capability is a big reason why a lot of people waited for a new Mini.

Doctor Whom said:
I own a late 2012 Mac Mini, maxed out with memory, i7 chipset etc. It was driving my 4K monitor -- LG 34UM95 -- to 3440X1440 at 50 hz perfectly well. Then, Yo, Semite! arrived. (I think of the name of OS TenTen as a contribution to midEast peace, since it works as a friendly greeting between Israelis and Arabs.) Suddenly, my Mini could only drive the monitor to 2600X1280. It looks terrible, and the monitor protests when I use it now.
The lesson? TenTen is pretty enough, but is more marketing-savvy than user-friendly. Apple has definitely degraded Mini performance I assume in the service of forcing one to buy up-market.
Click to expand...

Or Yosemite is more demanding on a GPU than Mavericks, and as such the Intel HD 4000 in the 2012 Mini would not render a 4K signal at a usable fill rate. Has nothing to do with performance degradation and everything to do with you driving a very high resolution display with an integrated GPU.
 
evilsofa said:
The slowest Mac Mini is 1.4GHz for $500 and appears to be geared entirely towards energy efficiency and HTPC users.
Click to expand...

IMO that is quite a step backwards after a two year wait. Especially combined with the soldered in RAM.

The old base machine had a 2.5GHz CPU with socketed RAM that could easily upgraded to 16GB. Making it a very usable machine.
 
Snowdog said:
IMO that is quite a step backwards after a two year wait. Especially combined with the soldered in RAM.

The old base machine had a 2.5GHz CPU with socketed RAM that could easily upgraded to 16GB. Making it a very usable machine.
Click to expand...

No, I consider the 2.6GHz version to be the base machine; it's an upgrade to the previous base machine, particularly in the 90% increase in graphics performance (see AVT's post above). The 1.4GHz version is directed towards quite a different market than the other two.

During the long delay, there had been some speculation about what a Mac Nano would be like, and I think the 1.4GHz version is something like a preparation or test balloon for that. Intel's extreme delay on Broadwell clearly seriously interfered with Apple's plans for the Mac Mini and I don't think this line is at all what Apple really wanted to do this year.
 
evilsofa said:
No, I consider the 2.6GHz version to be the base machine; it's an upgrade to the previous base machine, particularly in the 90% increase in graphics performance (see AVT's post above). The 1.4GHz version is directed towards quite a different market than the other two.

During the long delay, there had been some speculation about what a Mac Nano would be like, and I think the 1.4GHz version is something like a preparation or test balloon for that. Intel's extreme delay on Broadwell clearly seriously interfered with Apple's plans for the Mac Mini and I don't think this line is at all what Apple really wanted to do this year.
Click to expand...

Agreed entirely.

And given Intel's release schedule next year, prospective Mini buyers should really just wait for Skylake.
 
evilsofa said:
No, I consider the 2.6GHz version to be the base machine; it's an upgrade to the previous base machine, particularly in the 90% increase in graphics performance (see AVT's post above). The 1.4GHz version is directed towards quite a different market than the other two.
Click to expand...

That is quite a bit of rationalizing, new product is crappy, so you just pretend it doesn't count. :rolleyes:
 
I may not buy one after all, since my 2011 Mac Mini is still fairly quick, so I may just wait until the next generation. The only thing hindering it is graphics performance, but I may just wait it out, especially since the rather incremental spec bump may indicate a redesign is on the way.
 
Does the new mini allow you to upgrade the hard drive to an SSD?

I'm interested in a $499 one to try out mac os x as a new apple user, but I can't stand spinners as boot drives.
 
Robstar said:
Does the new mini allow you to upgrade the hard drive to an SSD?

I'm interested in a $499 one to try out mac os x as a new apple user, but I can't stand spinners as boot drives.
Click to expand...

The $499 one can be upgraded to the 1TB Fusion drive (a combo SSD-HDD drive), but for an SSD pre-installed you'll need to upgrade the $699 or $999 ones.

iFixit found no free SATA port in their teardown of the $499 one to add an SSD or another HDD. However, they did find a mounting point for a blade-style PCIe SSD. They don't seem to have torn down the other two versions yet so those may be easier to upgrade, but that's definitely something to let someone else figure out how to do first.
 
evilsofa said:
The $499 one can be upgraded to the 1TB Fusion drive (a combo SSD-HDD drive), but for an SSD pre-installed you'll need to upgrade the $699 or $999 ones.

iFixit found no free SATA port in their teardown of the $499 one to add an SSD or another HDD. However, they did find a mounting point for a blade-style PCIe SSD. They don't seem to have torn down the other two versions yet so those may be easier to upgrade, but that's definitely something to let someone else figure out how to do first.
Click to expand...
but he's asking if he can take out the spinner and put in an SSD and that looks to be the case from the teardown.
 
Except the loss of warranty and the need for the special screwdriver for that secure screw.
 
mope54 said:
but he's asking if he can take out the spinner and put in an SSD and that looks to be the case from the teardown.
Click to expand...

Exactly. I want to rip out the spinner & install from scratch. I know how to do this on a PC.

Is this easy to do on a mini? Does it come with an OS Disc? Can I use any SSD I want or do I have to use something advertised as "mac compatible" (Does it do something goofy like check a firmware signature on the drive, for example...)

OP> Don't mean to threadjack but this was a mini discussion. If asked, I will move this to a new thread.
 
I always use some kind of dock or cradle to mount one drive externally, then use Carbon Copy Cliner to clone the original drive. It'll even set you up with a new recovery partition.
 
Installing into a Mac Mini is quite a bit more fiddly than installing into a PC. When I got my late 2012 Mac Mini, I got one with Apple's SSD rather than mess with all that; at the time Apple was using a proprietary mSATA or m.2 form of the Samsung 830, which was in hindsight the best choice they could possibly have made. The 2014 teardown shows they're still using Samsung SSDs, so for the high price tag, you're at least getting the best ones.

Robstar said:
Does it come with an OS Disc?
Click to expand...

No. Here's how to do a fresh install of Yosemite.

Can I use any SSD I want or do I have to use something advertised as "mac compatible" (Does it do something goofy like check a firmware signature on the drive, for example...)
Click to expand...

Yes, you can use any SSD, but you'll need to use a hack called Trim Enabler to enable TRIM. And Yosemite makes this an interesting process.
 
Is it possible to dust out the cooling fans in the new Mac mini? Does doing so void the warranty?
 
there's nothing that really voids an apple device warranty.

I mean, there technically are reasons but I've never really run into any issues except once...and as long as whatever you are doing is reversible they aren't going to give you guff.

the one time I had an issue was due to a phone having a non-apple screen and power button. even still apple corporate sent us a new phone on account of how poorly the store handled the situation.
 
evilsofa said:
Installing into a Mac Mini is quite a bit more fiddly than installing into a PC. When I got my late 2012 Mac Mini, I got one with Apple's SSD rather than mess with all that; at the time Apple was using a proprietary mSATA or m.2 form of the Samsung 830, which was in hindsight the best choice they could possibly have made.
Click to expand...

Uhm no. 2012 Mac Mini had only 2.5" devices. If you got a hard drive version, you got one bay with a 1TB 2.5" Hitachi drive. If you got a Fusion drive version, you got the hard drive + 2.5" Samsung 830 SSD. If you got a SSD version, you got only the 2.5" Samsung 830 SSD.

https://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/Mac+Mini+Late+2012+Teardown/11262
http://arstechnica.com/apple/2012/11/review-the-mac-mini-takes-the-ivy-bridge-to-fusion-town/
 
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