BUY MAC MINI REVIEW MAC OS
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BUY MAC MINI REVIEW MAC

We were impressed with the Mac mini overall, though we wish adding a discrete GPU was an option.The Apple M1 chip takes the most versatile, do-it-all desktop into another dimension. If you plan on doing more than simple cuts, you might want to consider an external GPU. It’s priced well in the market and is cheaper than its direct competition.

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Opt for a smaller internal storage drive and install your own RAM and you can get a system with a very attractive price point. The Mac mini has the ability to be configured in many different ways and can range from affordable to expensive, depending on what you choose. It has the Same CPU and amount of RAM but adds a discrete GPU. Next is the Dell Precision 3430 for $3,500. A Mac mini with the same size of storage costs $1,900. However, storage is limited to a 256GB SSD. For $2,550, the Z2 can be equipped with the same CPU and GPU and the same amount of RAM. The best apples-to-apples comparison is the HP Z2 Mini G4. However, if a small form factor is desired, the mac mini is surprisingly competitive. Sure, you can get all of the components in a larger system for less. The form factor of the Mac mini makes it a unique system. Depending on what AMD Radeon graphics card you get, the eGPU will set you back $700 to $1,200. The eGPU will give the same GPU power as the iMac Pro.

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Bear in mind that Mac OS will only allow for AMD GPUs to be used without the hassle of unofficial workarounds. In fact, Blackmagic Design offers one that can only be purchased via Apple called the Blackmagic eGPU. That said, to get over the lack of GPU, you could use an external one connected via Thunderbolt 3. This should be concerning as excessive heat will cause long-term problems to the health of the system and the security of your data.

Additionally, when it was working hard, it got very warm. It wasn’t till we layered text, blurs and color correction that the system started to struggle. All three editors were able to do simple editing with 4K footage.

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We tested three editors on the Mac mini: Final Cut Pro X (obviously), Adobe Premiere Pro CC and Avid Media Composer. Once we started to use the system to edit video, we began to see its limits. Though it does have the integrated Intel UHD Graphics 630, that’s nothing to brag about. This is due to the lack of a discrete GPU. It’s not likely to run any major games at an acceptable frame rate. However, this is not going to be a video gaming computer. Even at the entry-level configuration, it does these things with ease. However, it also includes two USB type-A ports, so you’ll be able to operate it without having to buy a dongle or five.įor common internet browsing, spreadsheets and the like, the Mac Mini is a boss.įor common internet browsing, spreadsheets and the like, the Mac mini is a boss. We expected to see Thunderbolt 3 ports, as Apple wants everyone to love them. It can handle three monitors at a time via its HDMI and two Thunderbolt 3 ports.

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Still, it’s larger than Apple TV and the original Mac mini, and about the same size as the previous Mac mini. Its small size fits nicely on a desk, though it’s a bit bigger than you might think. The Mac mini is a beautiful box, with all the ports you need. With that difference, one might be emboldened to get the tools to change it out themselves to save a few hundred bucks. Buying two sticks of 16GB of RAM is just $200-250.

Consider this, getting 32GB of RAM from Apple is a $600 upgrade. With the right tools and some confidence, the RAM can be swapped out by a user and the RAM will be much more affordable than getting it from Apple. Although the RAM is upgradable, Apple says it needs to be sent to their service center for an upgrade.

That said, 512 GB of storage would be acceptable, too, because the Thunderbolt 3 ports open up the option to add more affordable storage externally. It has the 3.2GHz 6 core i7, 32GB of RAM and 1TB of storage. So, we selected a system with a cost of $2,500. That said, the RAM and the storage are the biggest additions in terms of cost.įor this review, we wanted a machine that was strong enough, but not overly built. Moreover, when fully maxed out, the $4,200 Mac mini comes with a 3.2GHz 6 core Intel i7 CPU, 64GB of DDR4 RAM and 2TB of SSD Storage. Regardless of the configuration, the Mac mini does not offer a discrete GPU. At its cheapest, the Mac mini comes with an Intel i3 CPU, 8GB of DDR4 RAM and 128GB of SSD storage.

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