https://www.apple.com/mac-mini/
Intel UHD Graphics 630 ???
Get out the checkbooks!
I have no idea where UHD 630 fits in Intel's product hierarchy. All I know about Intel graphics are that they generally aren't considered adequate for anything but casual gaming — which makes sense for Apple, since apathy toward games is baked into their corporate culture.
If you want a real graphics card, you have to go for an EGPU. Then your sleek little Mac Mini will sit next to a box roughly six times its size that cost almost as much as it did. Oh, and the only graphics cards you can use are AMD, because Apple and Nvidia don't get along.
In just two more days (yes, on Nov 1) we'll finally get to see the new Thelio system from System76. I'm going to be watching that very closely. For a while now I've been giving a thorough try-out to a Linux-based system, and the results are… mostly good, though with a few hiccups and little sticking points. System76 will now be producing their own hardware (Thelio) and their own operating system (Pop!_OS), and they are aiming for a more Apple-like experience where everything Just Works.
Comparing Thelio with the Mac Mini could be what finally cements my move to Linux or my return to the Mac platform.
you might want to consider there basic iMac Pro - it gives you a wonderful 5k display on top and costs hardly any more with a very decent GPU.
I bought the iMac PRO in a much larger configuration and I never regretted it. The sheer power of this machine is mind blowing while having only one device on the table.
IMHO the Mac MINI is for the whiner that perceive buying the monitor separately as an advantage - for me the all-in-one design has won me over coming from the Mac PRO - the iMac PRO is what makes Apple currently so attractive - even for s 25+ year Apple user.
I agree that the iPad Pro might me a LapTop replacement - ordered the 1 TB iPad Pro 11" the second after the online store was available again.
Interesting. My iMac is almost 5 years old now. Maybe in another 1 or 2 years I'll sell it and buy myself a new workstation (almost exclusively for photography, and internet). And I was thinking the other way around...from iMac to Mac Mini and a seperate screen (NEC/Eizo/Dell?). The specifications of this new mac mini look very impressive...with higher end / custom build configuration. I know..not cheap (pretty expensive even).
What attracted you in the iMac Pro beside it being fast and a nice screen? Wouldn't a seperate (calibrated) screen suite you better for photography?
See
https://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/61497719; joger has been very helpful in sharing his experiences.
And not to hijack, but you can calibrate an iMac screen. I do (with an Xrite), and even though it's not one of the newer DCI-P3 gamut monitors, it's great for photography in many ways. I too have thought about building a PC for my next Lr/Ps desktop, but I'm always dissuaded by the monitor issue. I don't need a wider gamut, and the 5k display Apple puts out is superb, reliable and a pretty good deal.
Thank you robgendreau. I know Joachim/joger is very helpfull in sharing experiences.. Not only on this forum. Thank you also for you information. It just so happens, that with this new mac mini I am thinking about moving to seperate screen/macmini. And at this very moment , I stumble on this post here. Hence my question. Curiosity. But who knows...maybe I'll stay with iMac anyway...still 1 or 2 (?) years to go.
Hi mujana,
when it comes to spending money everyone should think which goal to achieve.Ultimately you can only lend it once - so the questions comes down to your needs.
I've owned 4 classic Mac PROs - (PowerMac 7500, 2005 water cooled Mac PRO, 2009 Mac Pro with 8 cores and late 2013 Mac PRO) they all suffer from the big form factor and the fact that I have an additionally thing to clean and watch out for when rearranging my desk.
The All-In-One design of the iMac alway bought may attention and when my spouse bought the first 5 k iMac my LED Cinema display looked just awkward in direct image quality.
I use my desktop for photo and video work and you just can't have too much computational power but the iMac design never had enough horsepower compare to the best workstations available for my needs.
Also the processor in the Mac Mini - even maxed out is not really fast. An iMac Pro with 10 or 14 cores is probably double the computational speed and the GPU power of the Vega 64 easily trims the Intel HD 630 GPU by a good deal. So in case you prime work will be video you probably end up buying an eGPU anyway since you need more horsepower and you and a further box on your desktop - let alone the extra money to spend.
The iMAC PRO is really silent - one body and one of the best ever build displays. Sure you get slightly lager color gamut low res 27" displays but there is simply no other 5 k display with a larger color gamut available on the market - at any price.
Working with a 5 k display now for almost a year I can wholeheartedly say that there is no way back to a 2560 pixel display for me. Even in case I'd see a bit more intense blue red or green ;-)
Just compare the color gamut of your intended monitor with the P3 color gamut of the iMac PRO and you'll find out that the difference is negligible.
The color uniformity on my 5k iMac PRO is more than good enough for my work and I guess for many others as well.
But let's speak in numbers - in case you'd like to mimic the entry level iMac PRO with a Mac Mini you'd end up at this calculation:
- Mac Mini 32 GB / 1 TB / 10 GbE => 2600 USD
- LG 5 k Display => 1300 USD
- Vega 56 in an eGPU casing => 1200 USD
- some 5100 USD
- base line iMac PRO with better performance 5000 USD
For me a no-brainer and you can get 10 and 14 or even 18 Core processors and Vega 64 built in and you'll never have to worry about cooling or cables or real estate space on your desktop ;-)
BTW - you can also add an eGPU to your iMac PRO in a few years from now - maybe by then these eGPUs are much smaller and quieter and much cheaper or you simply trade in your iMac PRO for the next thing - I guess on the long run Apple will move to ARM driven MACs and all existing software will be re-written for ARM like the transition from IBM to Intel.
The big advantages I see with the iMac PRO are following:
- gorgeous large color gamut 5 k display in a very small package
- excellent silent cooling
- enormous computational and GPU power built in
- comparable low price tag compare to a similar equipped Mac Mini
- small footprint on the desktop - I am a messy and all area I can save gets used anyway ;-)
- a beauty by design - this lies in the eye of the beholder but for me there is simply no other display that looks as gorgeous on your desk - Apple got me with their first iMac in this design but I never like the comparable low computational power - the iMac Pro just excels in everything and is good enough for the coming years
All in all I'd only buy a low configured mac Mini in case I want to go cheap - but cheap is relative with the anew Mac Mini - in case you want to have a power house on your desktop you end up at a higher price and with more boxes to maintain.
That's why I bought the iMac Pro end of 2017 - and I still would buy it over a Mac Mini end of 2018
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