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op wants cheap hobby mac mini
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Aug 3, 2020 03:56
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| # ? Apr 25, 2024 18:53 |
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The 2014 Mini is when Apple mysteriously decided to remove some of the things that people loved about the Mini. First, they made the RAM non-upgradeable (removed the slots) and you had to choose 4, 8, or 16 GB of RAM. Second, they removed the quad core options and the only CPUs 2014s got were dual core. 2012 Mac Minis can have quad core CPUs, have RAM slots, and have one Firewire 800 port. They also get four USB 3.0 ports and a SDXC slot. 2012 Minis aren't supported by Big Sur, but BS can be patched... The 2012's main weaknesses are onboard WiFi limited to 802.11n and Bluetooth limited to 4.0 but you can just get a USB WiFi 802.11ac dongle.
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Aug 3, 2020 04:50
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Cool that’s good to know, seems like 2012’s are real popular on eBay. And it makes sense about the processing power I guess, they drop from like 2.5 ghz i5’s to 1.5 in the 2014 models. There’s a 2010 model on Craigslist locally for $150 but it seems like at best it would have a core 2 duo at that age so I dunno if it’s worth trying to haggle down or not. Although maybe a c2d would be enough? I don’t know enough about them I guess
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Aug 3, 2020 04:54
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I've got a 2012 I wouldn't mind selling, but cross-border shipping costs a lot.
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Aug 3, 2020 07:05
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Wowporn posted:Cool that’s good to know, seems like 2012’s are real popular on eBay. And it makes sense about the processing power I guess, they drop from like 2.5 ghz i5’s to 1.5 in the 2014 models. There’s a 2010 model on Craigslist locally for $150 but it seems like at best it would have a core 2 duo at that age so I dunno if it’s worth trying to haggle down or not. Although maybe a c2d would be enough? I don’t know enough about them I guess 2014s can be ok if you can find one at a spec you're ok with, and iirc they have a GPU improvement at least. I wouldn't worry too much about the 1.4ghz for light use, it's one of those chips that turbos up a bunch so would feel similar to the others. Otherwise yeah the 2012s are the ones to go for. 2011s are another option, the oldest I'd consider. They're upgradable and had a quad core option like the 2012s (or even dual + discrete GPU), but the big drawback is USB 2.0. You can get USB 3.0 through a TB2 adapter at least, but that just adds another little bit of money to blow on it. If you don't need fast external storage it might work out. There's two drive bays so if you do need extra storage, you can still cram in a bit extra internally (just need the 2nd drive cable for non 'server' models). Looks like it's two supported versions behind the 2012s though if that matters, High Sierra vs Catalina.
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Aug 3, 2020 11:00
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tuyop posted:What’s wrong with the 2020s? It sounds like you can upgrade the ram. Nothing, he’s just looking to spend around $300. The 2018’s are the same as the 2020’s, only with less storage.
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Aug 3, 2020 11:46
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Costco is going to have the base model MacBook Pro for $1099 starting on the 5th if anyone is looking for a deal. Comes with 2yr warranty, 4yr if you use the Costco Visa card.
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Aug 3, 2020 16:34
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Binary Badger posted:Second, they removed the quad core options and the only CPUs 2014s got were dual core. That was all down to Intel not shipping any new quad core options. Many of Apple's refresh cycles dictated by CPU availability.
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Aug 3, 2020 16:57
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Welp HDD part of my fusion drive looks to be toast on my 2012 iMac. Disk repair just errors out and won’t mount it or anything. Forces the hand a bit earlier spending money I didn’t want to for the replacement MacBook Air setup, figuring out if the extra $400 for the bump to 2TB storage is worth it, I am not quite at 1T used on my iMac but I get FOMO about the whole I can’t even get a replacement OWC stick if I want/need to upgrade capacity later. Also will probably need to buy the dock sooner rather than later but just bummer all around. I might call Apple and see wtf options even are for Genius Bar right now because it might be quickest to just have them replace drive, but ironically mentioned recently my display is starting to get a decent amount of ghosting and definitely on its way out. Sigh
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Aug 3, 2020 17:29
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Binary Badger posted:The 2014 Mini is when Apple mysteriously decided to remove some of the things that people loved about the Mini. Don't forget that, if adventurous, you can replace the storage in the 2012s too! I put a 1TB SSD in my refurb 2012 Mac Mini the day I received it from Apple, as well as bumped the RAM up, and it's been great since.
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Aug 3, 2020 17:40
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japtor posted:Stuff Sorry, music stuff like hooking up an audio interface with a guitar/bass and using virtual amp Sims, making beats with an akai pad controller and garage band+other daw's, etc. I'm a simpleton so I won't be doing super big/complicated projects but I have discovered that the drivers for audio interfaces, midi stuff, etc plays reaaaallllyyyy badly with windows, and on top of that the laptop I have my music stuff hooked up to to keep it from cluttering up my main PC area is like 9 years old and barely functioning. I saw a 2011 on eBay with an i7 and a 500gb ssd for $300, I'll probably jump on something like that or a 2012 with an i5 eventually, there seems to be a very active market for old Mac minis so I might just sit for a while and watch for deals
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Aug 3, 2020 20:00
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https://www.theverge.com/2020/8/4/21353899/apple-imac-2020-webcam-price-specs-release-date-announcement Looks like iMacs got a bump. Kind of surprised they didn't have a 1080p camera in the year 2020 but I guess now they do. Also 10th Gen Comet Lake processors
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Aug 4, 2020 16:35
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The new iMacs are here, and there was much rejoicing.. iMac Pros got GPU and VRAM updates, plus lowest end is now 10 core. iMacs: No new design, and only the 27-inchers are getting new 10th gen chips. Still Bluetooth 5, still 802.11ac, can be configured to have 10-Gbit Ethernet. Monitor is TrueTone, can drive two external 6K monitors if you spring for a Radeon 5500 or 5700. The new 27-inchers are SSD only, no more Fusion drives. High end model offers GPUs starting with 5500 with 8 GB VRAM, up to 5700 XT with 16 GB VRAM, GDDR6 (not HBM) As stated before, new 27-inchers now come with FaceTime 1080p cams. 21.5 inch models still stuck in the past, no changes to their configs. iMac Pros Lowest end is 10-core, was upgrade option before GPUs now include Vega 64, 64X, and now can have 8 GB to 16 GB HBM2 VRAM. HBM2 VRAM option on 16-inchers has gotten rave reviews.. Binary Badger fucked around with this message at 16:44 on Aug 4, 2020 |
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Aug 4, 2020 16:41
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Binary Badger posted:21.5 inch models still stuck in the past, no changes to their configs. If they weren't before, 256GB SSD's are standard now. 1TB Fusion is a 'no-cost upgrade' 1080p model still exists 
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Aug 4, 2020 17:01
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quote:Don’t get too excited about that face detection, though. It’s just for ensuring your face is properly exposed in video calls. It can’t unlock the iMac. In fact, despite the new T2 chip inside, the new iMac doesn’t have any biometric login options; there’s no Face ID nor is there a fingerprint sensor. Apple says many of its customers use the Apple Watch to automatically log in. lol, seems like good reason to not port over some code to do something they do on a bunch of other hardware.
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Aug 4, 2020 17:03
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Bob Morales posted:If they weren't before, 256GB SSD's are standard now. 1TB Fusion is a 'no-cost upgrade' This is the first time SSDs are standard in the iMacs and loving finally. Also they have a matte screen option now
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Aug 4, 2020 17:16
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Yeah, I doubt porting code to work with the T2 + Intel stuff is really a priority right now
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Aug 4, 2020 17:16
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FCKGW posted:Also they have a matte screen option now a bargain at five hundred us dollars
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Aug 4, 2020 17:17
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Binary Badger posted:The new iMacs are here, and there was much rejoicing.. Guess they are waiting to update their 8 year old design for the ARM iMacs. A Buick LaSabre looks more modern.
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Aug 4, 2020 18:21
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It's not just code, Face ID needs the dot projector, IR camera and IR fill as well I believe. iMac is probably the only place where FaceID makes sense though. I've been using Windows Hello for a few months now, Surface Laptop 3 should have Microsoft's most blessed version of it, but while it's fast when you're in its sweet spot, it really struggles in low lighting or at a distance, and definitely takes longer on an angle. I much, much prefer TouchID. I really hope Apple doesn't replace TouchID with FaceID on the portables.
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Aug 4, 2020 18:23
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Pivo posted:It's not just code, Face ID needs the dot projector, IR camera and IR fill as well I believe. FaceID doesn't need correct lighting if i understand it correctly, but distance may be an issue
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Aug 4, 2020 18:28
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Last Chance posted:FaceID doesn't need correct lighting if i understand it correctly, but distance may be an issue Neither does Windows Hello, technically, but the IR fill is only so strong. Anyhow, I think I understand why people were confused re: software. Face Detection is not Face Recognition. Face Detection doesn't need to be fancy, there are lots of algorithms for it that T2 can implement in hardware. Face Detection says "that's a face in that box" not "there's Bob in that box".
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Aug 4, 2020 18:31
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Pivo posted:Anyhow, I think I understand why people were confused re: software. Face Detection is not Face Recognition. Face Detection doesn't need to be fancy, there are lots of algorithms for it that T2 can implement in hardware. Face Detection says "that's a face in that box" not "there's Bob in that box". The key difference is really the depth mapping stuff (and required hardware for that), which is what prevents just spoofing it with a picture of a face.
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Aug 4, 2020 18:41
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jabro posted:Guess they are waiting to update their 8 year old design for the ARM iMacs. A Buick LaSabre looks more modern. It's the perfect design, so why change it?
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Aug 4, 2020 18:52
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Bob Morales posted:It's the perfect design, so why change it? They should shrink the bezels but yeah, it was 10 years ahead of it's time when introduced and still looks better than 95% of the rest of the crap out there. edit: good lord, this is the bestselling Windows all in one PC at Best Buy 
FCKGW fucked around with this message at 19:43 on Aug 4, 2020 |
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Aug 4, 2020 19:39
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FCKGW posted:edit: good lord, this is the bestselling Windows all in one PC at Best Buy Oh, HP. That design was hideous when they adopted it for standalone monitors, and I can hardly believe they're still using it for all-in-one PCs. That monitor stand always looks ready to collapse at a moment's notice. The lampshade iMac wasn't perfect in this respect either, but Jony at least had a better understanding of proportion.
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Aug 5, 2020 00:00
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Bob Morales posted:If they weren't before, 256GB SSD's are standard now. 1TB Fusion is a 'no-cost upgrade' 1080p model is good. Too bad you can only get it in the cheapest, crappiest, most out-of-date spec.
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Aug 5, 2020 04:17
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I think they keep those around just for the education market.
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Aug 5, 2020 16:52
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Might be a dumb question but I thought I'd ask before I tried to hook everything up and it didn't work worth a drat. I've got a Mac mini "Core i5" 2.5 (Mid-2011) 2.5 GHz Core i5 (I5-2520M) that I was using as a media center front end but since I've given up with all of that I want to transition to using it as a second "PC" but the monitor I'm going to hook it up to is a 4k monitor. How much of a poo poo show is it really going to be? Really it's just going to be used for web browsing/discord/ youtube so nothing super intensive but I'm not so sure its going to really drive this 4k monitor all that well. I know I can't upgrade to the latest OS (unless I dosdude it) but I'm really just trying to find a good use for this thing since its been sitting around forever and I really do like the thing I just don't need to use it much.
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Aug 5, 2020 20:48
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MarcusSA posted:Might be a dumb question but I thought I'd ask before I tried to hook everything up and it didn't work worth a drat. It's not going to drive a 4k display at 4k, no. But I'm guessing most if not all 4k displays will accept a 1080p signal and upscale it and that's probably the best you're going to get.
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Aug 5, 2020 20:58
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you might be able to get 4k out through the displayport. i was consistently told my 2012 mbp couldn't do it, but it actually works. you are likely not going to be able to handle streaming at that res, though.
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Aug 5, 2020 21:08
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I think the 2011 Mac Mini should be Displayport 1.2, which should allow 4K at 60Hz. If it's 1.1 then it's limited to 4K at 30Hz. The integrated GPU will probably struggle with anything beyond boring word processor-type stuff either way. If performance really sucks you can always just use the scaling settings under Displays to turn the render resolution down for most purposes (it'll keep the 4K resolution for rendering the UI, but games, video, etc will usually render at the lower resolution and upscale).
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Aug 5, 2020 21:36
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Roadie posted:I think the 2011 Mac Mini should be Displayport 1.2, which should allow 4K at 60Hz. If it's 1.1 then it's limited to 4K at 30Hz. The integrated GPU will probably struggle with anything beyond boring word processor-type stuff either way. If performance really sucks you can always just use the scaling settings under Displays to turn the render resolution down for most purposes (it'll keep the 4K resolution for rendering the UI, but games, video, etc will usually render at the lower resolution and upscale). Ok thanks everyone. I don’t have a mini DP cable handy so I ordered one. I’m gonna give it a shot and see how it goes. I’m not planning on running video full screen on it anyway tbh just have discord / safari up and stuff. I’ve got a mini DP cable coming tomorrow but I think I’m gonna leave it at 1080 anyway since it’s a decent size for me to see everything.  MarcusSA fucked around with this message at 05:45 on Aug 6, 2020 |
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Aug 5, 2020 22:05
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Roadie posted:I think the 2011 Mac Mini should be Displayport 1.2, which should allow 4K at 60Hz. If it's 1.1 then it's limited to 4K at 30Hz. The integrated GPU will probably struggle with anything beyond boring word processor-type stuff either way. If performance really sucks you can always just use the scaling settings under Displays to turn the render resolution down for most purposes (it'll keep the 4K resolution for rendering the UI, but games, video, etc will usually render at the lower resolution and upscale). I believe only the 2011 Mac mini with the 256 MB Radeon dGPU option can potentially output 4K at 60Hz, and even then I probably would think it couldn't. From what I can remember, it could output 3440x1440p at 60 Hz but that was about its limit. Edit: mediaphage posted:you might be able to get 4k out through the displayport. i was consistently told my 2012 mbp couldn't do it, but it actually works. you are likely not going to be able to handle streaming at that res, though.
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Aug 6, 2020 05:57
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MarcusSA posted:Might be a dumb question but I thought I'd ask before I tried to hook everything up and it didn't work worth a drat. https://everymac.com/systems/apple/mac_mini/specs/mac-mini-core-i5-2.3-mid-2011-specs.html If this is accurate and your display doesn't support lower res, you might not get a signal. Care to share the display model?
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Aug 6, 2020 07:43
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SlowBloke posted:https://everymac.com/systems/apple/mac_mini/specs/mac-mini-core-i5-2.3-mid-2011-specs.html Uh I’ll have to find that but it’s a monoprice 4K monitor. It’s doing 1080p at 60hz now though and looks pretty good so I’m not sure I’m gonna even bother trying for 4K TBH. I just didn’t realize how old this Mac mini was and 4K monitors seem to be a real bitch to drive in the first place.
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Aug 6, 2020 07:46
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MarcusSA posted:Uh I’ll have to find that but it’s a monoprice 4K monitor. It’s doing 1080p at 60hz now though and looks pretty good so I’m not sure I’m gonna even bother trying for 4K TBH. On your mini, moving from hdmi to displayport means doubling up the resolution (2560×1440/2K) so hopefully it will be slighly sharper
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Aug 6, 2020 08:02
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SlowBloke posted:On your mini, moving from hdmi to displayport means doubling up the resolution (2560×1440/2K) so hopefully it will be slighly sharper Ok that will be awesome! Although... its giving me a grey screen after trying to upgrade to high sierra Hahaha the dumbest fuckin bug.... quote:Step 3 That actually let me log in... Ok I'm doing the DOSdude upgrade to Catalina now. I really need to upgrade this thing with an SSD thats for drat sure. MarcusSA fucked around with this message at 08:27 on Aug 6, 2020 |
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Aug 6, 2020 08:08
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Anyone ever heard of this happening? I picked up a 2009 13" MacBook Pro, which seems to work fine. I've tried replacing the factory HD with a 500GB and 1TB Samsung 860, and with a 120GB PNY drive. Just ones I had laying around. They won't boot, either inside the laptop or over the USB port. The Apple logo comes up, the status bar makes it half way and then poof the screen blinks and it shuts off. The laptop appears to work with the factory 160GB HD. I know the older SATA controllers were poo poo when it came to SSD compatibility. This was supposed to be a 2010 so I might send it back anyway. Bob Morales fucked around with this message at 02:05 on Aug 7, 2020 |
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Aug 7, 2020 02:02
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Wrong thread oops.
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Aug 7, 2020 02:46
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