back to article Mourning Apple's war against sockets? The 2018 Mac mini should be your first port of call

The world's fourth biggest PC company sells three desktop PC lines, but it hadn't updated one of those three for four years. Maybe Apple had forgotten that the humble and unassuming Mac mini was there at all. But it fixed that this week. The Mac mini has been revived as a machine for grown-ups, professionals such as …

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      1. JEDIDIAH
        Linux

        Features that don't matter.

        > it's not as small

        That is not really a downside.

        "Not as small" means that it is more maintainable, more flexible, and less likely to cook itself. Smallness is a pretty optional feature in 99% of real consumer use cases. It's not really an advantage.

        1. doublelayer Silver badge

          Re: Features that don't matter.

          "Not as small means that it is more maintainable, more flexible, and less likely to cook itself. Smallness is a pretty optional feature in 99% of real consumer use cases. It's not really an advantage."

          I beg to differ. Sure, a larger desktop does have benefits in maintenance and heat. This I'll grant. But the small form factor is more flexible, because you can put it in places you can't put the large thing, as well as every place you could put the large thing. As for it being necessary, people live in small places. People live in tiny flats, university housing, etc. You don't always have tons of space to put something. If power is so important, you'll probably use some of that limited space for a full-sized desktop. Still, it can be useful to have the option of a small desktop that leaves more room for the other possessions you may have. A small computer like a mini/NUC/raspberry pi is also much easier to use headless. If you want a system for a room, something that small can be slotted nearly anywhere, including just hanging on the wall if there is no convenient place otherwise. A desktop doesn't have that.

    1. ThomH

      As I proved recently on another forum, for the same price (of all the models available) I can get a PC that out-performs the Mac for a-half-to-a-third of the price - and that usually a laptop with an HD screen to boot!

      By coincidence, I just disproved this, ummm, on another forum. With my girlfriend, but you wouldn't know her, because she's from Canada.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      re. I can get a PC that out-performs the Mac

      while I applaud the spirit, out of interest, what PC OS would you be using to outperform the Mac?

    3. MichaR

      "Over-priced peddled trash"? Nah...

      Two years ago I switched from an iMac to a Dell XPS with a 27" display because I wanted "more bang for my Euro".

      And man, I would like to bang the sh*t out of that piece of Windows 10 crap on a daily basis.

      If they released this thing 2 years ago, I would have bought it.

      I'll probably buy it now..

    4. This post has been deleted by its author

    5. macjules

      1) El Reg is one of the bastions for Apple bashing, so less of the ‘bigging up’ please.

      2) I am (despite the monicker) not a great Mac fan, but the Mac Mini is a bloody nice computer. In this day and age I can give freelancer developers a good, fast (i7 plus 32Gb RAM) machine for around £1000 that beats a MacBook Pro costing over double that. Added to that I can lock all the computers up in a desk drawer at the end of the day.

      Enjoy a downvote Sir.

    6. spitfire31

      But you'd have to run… (shudder) Win 10. 'Nuf said.

    7. Andy Denton

      If you're a developer and you need to produce any native code for iOS you need a Mac and an entry-level Mac Mini fulfils the role perfectly. You might want to think about the real world rather than PC forums populated by 733t haxx0rs before launching ill-conceived rants.

  1. }{amis}{
    Windows

    Not bad

    Looking at it the price is up but not by much when you look at it as a workstation the make or break for me would be how noisy it is when you are thrashing it.

    1. arthoss

      Re: Not bad

      Yeah, for me too. If I have a Hoover of a computer in my small office, I’d have to wear headphones the whole time... I’m looking to replace my MBR 15 with something that supports high definition screens and is quiet.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Not bad

        DELL precision 5510 about 1200 quid, 32GB RAM, 256GB SSD, can drive 2 4k external displays.

        Supports USB-C external dock - so single USB-C cable provides, power/ network / displays / esata / usb.

        Mine came with dell flavoured ubuntu (14.04).

        I run VMs and C++ workloads and it's a decent mobile workstation, which replaced my 2013 MacTop.

        If you get it, get the dock. and the 180 watt power supply as the laptop will require 130 watt of supply over and above the draw of the dock itself.

        1. The Specialist

          Re: Not bad

          > DELL precision 5510 about 1200 quid, 32GB RAM, 256GB SSD, can drive 2 4k external displays.

          Now you're comparing oranges to potatoes. Mini is not nor meant to replace a laptop. Despite having had MacBook Pro's since G4 days, my next laptop will be Thinkpad running Linux. Just don't know which ThinkPad yet.

          Reason to switch - Apple's decision to glue / bond everything to chassis - I cannot even replace the liquid damaged keyboard without having to buy a new chassis.

          1. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            Re: Not bad, Did not offer an opinion on the Mac Mini fwiw.

            Not comparing against MacMini - OP asked for a macbook replacement, " I’m looking to replace my MBR 15 with something that supports high definition screens and is quiet."

            I recommended the machine I used as a macbook replacement.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Not bad

      If it's all SSDs, then the only noise is the fan. Which, assuming the design is the same as previous Minis, is very, very quiet.

      1. arthoss

        Re: Not bad

        I don’t mind the odd krrckssskrrrk of harddrive, it’s actually a nice noise. No, when my old mini does makemkv and handbrake it sounds like I’m on the launch pad of an aircraft carrier.

    3. Shadow Systems

      At Amis, re: noise while thrashing.

      It depends on what you thrash it with & how hard you beat on it.

      A foam pool noodle & light bonking won't get much, but a nail studded Cricket bat & full-on-power-smashing usually gets lots of screams...

      And from the Mini too!

      *Cough*

  2. Len
    Happy

    That £3,859.00 BTO version Andrew is talking about...

    ...has:

    * 3.2GHz 6‑core 8th‑generation Intel Core i7 (Turbo Boost up to 4.6GHz)

    * 64GB 2666MHz DDR4

    * 2TB SSD storage

    * 10 Gigabit Ethernet (Nbase-T Ethernet with support for 1Gb, 2.5Gb, 5Gb and 10Gb Ethernet using RJ‑45 connector)

    Quite amazing to have the above in such a small package.

    1. jason 7

      Re: That £3,859.00 BTO version Andrew is talking about...

      And as Apple doesn't have a great reputation when it comes to hot hungry CPUs in small places, it will most likely throttle itself big time making it a waste of money.

      1. JEDIDIAH
        Thumb Down

        Re: That £3,859.00 BTO version Andrew is talking about...

        This style of machine tends to be a problem regardless of who makes it. It's an inherently bad combination of design choices for a power hungry machine.

        I had 3 similar boxes from 3 different vendors (including Apple) that all failed the same way for basically the same reason.

    2. gnasher729 Silver badge

      Re: That £3,859.00 BTO version Andrew is talking about...

      ... and you could save a few pound by buying the RAM elsewhere.

  3. chivo243 Silver badge
    Holmes

    My cost of living

    never seems to keep up with new and shiny gizmos. I wouldn't mind a decent spec'd mac minis to replace the Mac Pros I'm running ESXi on. I'm sure there would be power savings, but would it offset the cost of new mac minis?

  4. Buzzword

    Mac OS X Server isn't what it used to be

    As your colleague pointed out - https://www.theregister.co.uk/2018/01/29/farewell_to_macos_server/ - a few months ago, Mac OS X Server has been thoroughly gutted. Gone are the mail server, web server, VPN, and more. It's now just a tool for administering other Mac and iOS devices.

    Of course you can still use a Mac Mini as a departmental server; but you'll need third party tools, and you can no longer expect Apple to support your efforts.

    1. Phil W

      Re: Mac OS X Server isn't what it used to be

      It's not just the software either. Your options for server hardware should not be iMac or Mac Mini form factors with single hard drive, or Mac Pro with multiple drives (assuming you use one of the older tower type not the new sexy cylinder jobs).

      Want a server with enough storage physically attached to store the user profiles and work of a few hundred plus users? Yeah no help there sorry, you'll have to run a Mac Mini to manage the the users and then a Windows/Linux/BSD server or dedicated NAS/SAN appliance for the storage.

      Want your server virtualised, as per industry standard operations these days, to help improve reliability and downtime (forget costs this is Apple we're talking about), nope sorry.

      Most of us are left having to manage network users on Macs through Active Directory, with maybe a Mac "server" thrown in for extra functionality if required.

      Maybe Boris Johnson is secretly running Apple, given the "F*** business" attitude that seems to be prevalent.

    2. Bronek Kozicki

      Re: Mac OS X Server isn't what it used to be

      I guess you can use it also as a build server, if you write software for macOS.

    3. chivo243 Silver badge
      Facepalm

      Re: Mac OS X Server isn't what it used to be

      @Buzzword

      Damn, you are right... I checked my install at home, it's running 10.11.6(as far as she goes!) and it has server 5.2 which still has all of those great things, mail, calendar, contacts mail messages, vpn, websites etc... Jump to the Appstore to see what's current, and I'll be damned! I don't see any of those services in "Server.app" any longer. What a waste...

      1. The Specialist
        Unhappy

        Re: Mac OS X Server isn't what it used to be

        I am almost certain all those services you listed are there, just not easily visible by default. But I agree, Apple is doing us a disservice by making OS X server less relevant.

  5. Jove Bronze badge

    Naysayers ...

    ... all seem to be vociferous Windows advocates - the same old childish dribble.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Naysayers ...

      >... all seem to be vociferous Windows advocates - the same old childish dribble.

      Nope, us Linux folks also think appletards are soft in the head and the wallet.

      1. Wyrdness

        Re: Naysayers ...

        "Nope, us Linux folks also think appletards are soft in the head and the wallet."

        Not all of us Linux folks.

        Some years ago, I decided to get a Mac for my wife, as I didn't really expect her to use my Linux box. Since OS X is Unix and has a terminal app with bash shell, I decided to have a play with it to see what it was like. Surprisingly I found myself using the Mac more and more, until my Linux machine was starting to gather dust. I ended up just using Linux all day at work, and Macs at home. I still resent paying the Apple Tax though. Until this new Mac Mini, I was thinking that my next machine might be a home-built dual-boot OS X / Linux hackintosh, but I'm not sure now that it's worth the effort of hacking/patching ACPI tables to get a stable hackintosh when I could just buy one of these.

        1. soaklord

          Re: Naysayers ...

          Exactly the same thing. I fought the idea of buying Apple products ever since my old ][c died. Couldn't game on one, couldn't justify the tax, hated the interface, etc. My wife is an artist and wanted to use a Mac because, art! I decided that despite her desire for a new, shiny iMac 27" with 1440 vertical resolution, I'd just build her a nice PC that could do all the same stuff for less (this was 2010). Except that I couldn't. By the time I spec'd the machine to be equally as powerful, RAM, HD, etc. then priced out a similar size and resolution display, the closest I could come was $100 less than the iMac. Without an OS. While I'd be happy to run Linux, there's no way the wife was going to do art on a Linux box. Soo... I reluctantly spent the money for a nice iMac in 2010 and hated it. Hated having to use it as our home computer (shared) at the time. Until, one day, the interface started making more sense, the terminology stuck, the keyboard commands started staying in my memory, etc. Now, I type this on a 2016 MBP (prior to the butterfly abomination keyboards, etc.). I have replaced her 27" with a 5k 27", and my 2012 Mac mini has been upgraded to 16gb of RAM with two SSDs and still takes everything I throw at it despite running 24/7. None of my PCs lasted more than a couple of years at best. The only Mac I've killed was the iMac I sheared the monitor mount off the logic board on when attempting to upgrade it to an SSD. I'll pay for Mac repairs to iMacs from now on... Apple makes some bad calls. Butterfly Keyboards are terrible, the 2 core Mac minis from last gen were way underpowered, etc. But for the most part, their stuff lasts, doesn't require reboots every seven hours come out of sleep mode without a hitch, and are pleasing to the eyes. This new Mini has me wondering if there's a way to justify replacing the 2012 quad core mini I have running as my Plex server/desktop/handbrake/makeMKV machine.

        2. JEDIDIAH
          Linux

          Re: Naysayers ...

          I found Apple style apps too limiting and it seemed silly to run mostly Free Software on a non-libre OS.

          The subtle gratuitous differences in MacOS just annoyed the other users in my household. Lack o of that "pervasive 3rd party support" also didn't help.

          Then there's that whole problem with doing something slightly "creative". Apple users don't seem to appreciate power users that push boundaries. Windows the OS may be crap but the user community is far less pedestrian.

      2. Lord Elpuss Silver badge

        Re: Naysayers ...

        "Nope, us Linux folks also think appletards are soft in the head and the wallet."

        Nothing soft about my wallet thankyouverymuch

      3. Jove Bronze badge

        Re: Naysayers ...

        ... but the free-loads tend to be a little more well-informed and civilised (well, with a few exceptions) than the average Windows advocate/lobbyist.

    2. arthoss

      Re: Naysayers ...

      It’s human to be afraid of what you don’t know.

      1. JEDIDIAH
        Devil

        Re: Naysayers ...

        > It’s human to be afraid of what you don’t know.

        What makes you think we haven't "been there" and done that? What makes you think we haven't been there and done that multiple times going all the way back to the 68K days?

  6. confused and dazed
    Windows

    some of these comments get on my wick

    Can we stop all the Apple basing .... it's tedious.

    All this willy waving about it not being powerful enough for your use case is just juvenile bollocks. Well done, you can find a higher spec machine for less money - you must be hung like a blue whale - happy now ?

    If people knowingly want to spend more on a Mac - let them. Some folk waste money on flash cars or fancy meals ....

    1. TRT Silver badge

      Re: some of these comments get on my wick

      I think there's a few people on here who like to troll the dedicated Apple users and get some perverse pleasure out of doing so. I call it Macsterbaiting.

      1. Glen 1

        Re: some of these comments get on my wick

        I think the issue is that many comments are bigging up the plus points, and are blind to the faults of their chosen platform.

        In many cases it's not facts, it's feelings.

        Where there *are* facts, people don't have the same set of priorities.

        Reminds me of something...

      2. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: some of these comments get on my wick

        >Macsterbaiting.

        I thought that's what iTards did when they received their latest new fruit ?

        At least you're making Tim O'Grady's Paul Cook's day.

      3. Michael Habel

        Re: some of these comments get on my wick<

        I think there's a few people on here who like to troll the dedicated Apple users and get some perverse pleasure out of doing so. I call it Macsterbaiting.

        So it that what all of you Apple fainbois get up to at night?

        1. Just Another SteveO

          Re: some of these comments get on my wick<

          Read the context you ermm macsterbaiter...

  7. naive

    Apple mini for the price of an Alienware gaming rig with i7/16GB/PCIe M.2 SSD/1070Ti

    Apple an be admired for the ability to punch people in the face and get boat loads of money in return :).

    1. snozdop

      Re: Apple mini for the price of an Alienware gaming rig with i7/16GB/PCIe M.2 SSD/1070Ti

      "Apple mini for the price of an Alienware gaming rig with i7/16GB/PCIe M.2 SSD/1070Ti"

      Doesn't matter. You might as well say "Apple mini for the price of a three piece suite" - if you're in the market for a Mac, an Alienware gaming rig isn't going to be a suitable alternative.

  8. xanda

    Please sir - I want some more...

    We bought an original line Mac Mini G4 when they were first released. We were tired of Win2k/XP and really wanted a change; something capable and elegant yet fun.

    The base model seemed good value even if a little more pricey than the equivalent spec PC. The promise of an essentially open sourced OS plus a generally willing attitude to make stuff work nicely - especially with our Nokia S40 & S60 phones - was a big factor in deciding to quit MS/PC land. Its ability to work with HD video as standard was definitely a big plus and, if we remember rightly again, ahead of its time.

    There was even a complementing DTV/Firewire receiver which Apple marketed with gusto at the time (although this has sunk without trace since) as a well as the Griffin FireWave - a 5.1 Dolby AC3 interface. We couldn't afford it at the time but the promise of having a novel and capable home theatre/gaming platform was certainly something to look forward to.

    Plus it could run Halo!

    Upgrades were pricey: If memory serves it cost us £399 for the base model with 512MB RAM and the basic superdrive which could read but not write DVDs. The options for 1GB and DVD burner were outrageously expensive - another £150 or so. We waited about a year and fitted our own RAM and optical upgrade for less than £50.

    It served us well as our main desktop and did loads of photo's and video which would have been more tedious on a PC platform. But when Apple hobbled it after just a couple of years by ending support for PowerPC - no Snow Leopard too - we couldn't really see sense in plowing more money Apples way. It's a shame because the rest of the world was really warming up to the Apple ecosystem at the time with hardware & peripheral support getting better.

    We considered an upgrade, perhaps to the iMac, but with Steve Jobs' stubborn refusal to incorporate Blu-Ray into the range we decided not to bother with Apple any further.

    Our Mac Mini still lives on as a basic file and print server and it works delightfully still. But with the initial outlay and its subsequent assassination by Apple we can't help feeling we deserved better for the dosh - maybe we're not alone?

  9. JDX Gold badge

    Never a budget option?

    I am typing this on my late 2012 unibody MacMini. I bought it just before they refreshed the line in 2014 and made it far worse... no quad-core option, less upgradability.

    It cost less than £500 for an i7 with 8Gb RAM (which I upgraded). That was a bargain really for a Mac.

    So what does the new one get me for all the extra cash? 1Tb SSD as standard? Proper GPU? And can I still upgrade the disk and RAM or have they dropped that feature? Mine is a little erratic and I have thought about replacing it so this is good timing - but for "comfortably over £1000" maybe I might as well get a MacBook or iMac?

  10. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    re. I had a front-row seat in 2005 when the Mac mini was launched*

    presumably, given the star leading to a black hole, this must have been the moment when Mr Orlowski asked THE question which has made the register so famous worldwide for being not blacklisted (and yet!) by apple :)

    Or was it calling them a "Cult" more than once? (A fair assessment! :)

    1. Dan 55 Silver badge
      Windows

      Re: re. I had a front-row seat in 2005 when the Mac mini was launched*

      Whatever happened to Front Row, eh? It was perfect for a Mac Mini so of course Apple got rid of it.

  11. mmccul

    mini TOSLINK gone?

    When I looked at it, the specs seem to imply that the combination headphone/microphone/mini-toslink port is now just a headphone/microphone port. That means my only option for digital audio output may be the HDMI port, which is a lot harder to split into two channels to send into both zone A and zone B of my stereo system.

    I like several aspects of the unit, but that item does concern me if confirmed.

    Of course, my late 2014 mac mini shows no sign of needing replacement any year soon, so by the time I do replace it, Apple may have another unit out, and my (already ten year old) stereo may be ready for a replacement as well.

  12. Joe Gurman

    Really, Mr. Orlowski

    A quick trip to Apple's Website would tell you that the current (2017 vintage) iMac models offer a headphone jack, 4 x USB-3 ports, 2 x USB-C ports, and a Gbit Ethernet RJ-45 port — and an SDXC card slot. Admittedly, no HDMI port, but with an inbuilt Retina display that's better than anything standalone display of the same size you can find....

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