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Since you're using a desktop, what's wrong with the 2018 Mac Mini? Upgradable RAM, storage and GPU can be added externally. Dual 4k support out of the box or

Since you're using a desktop, what's wrong with the 2018 Mac Mini? Upgradable RAM, storage and GPU can be added externally. Dual 4k support out of the box or a single 5k should be enough for your single monitor?

mpweiher 8y ago
Came here to say exactly that. Replaced my big 2008 MacPro with a mini and couldn't be happier. I do wish the storage were upgradable internally, but so far it hasn't really been a problem. One big plus: it's quiet, so I can leave it on.
vbezhenar 8y ago
I want single pretty case, not some mess of wires. I want good Nvidia gaming GPU like 2060 for reasonable price, not some overpriced professional underpowered card. I want very fast CPU that will reach boost frequencies and keep operating there with quiet cooler and PSU, not laptop CPU which throttles on any prolonged load. Mac mini is tiny, but I don't need that tiny form-factor, I want huge case.
runjake 8y ago
Because the cost of all that external junk adds up and you create what is essentially a dongle town on your desktop. It defeats the whole purpose of a Mini. I know because I tried to do this with a 2018 Mac Mini. Aside from the very lackluster GPU performance, it's a pretty speedy machine. I had a fairly generous budget for a new computer. 32GB of RAM was about $200 from Crucial. The external SSD storage options were pretty crappy. Any sort of TB3 option was a few hundred dollars to start. I ended up settling with a USB3 2TB HDD. I then had to copy my Photo and iTunes libraries over to it and re-point the apps to the right spots. For the external GPU, you're looking at about $500 at a minimum. And then you have to find a place for that to sit, and it's essentially the size of a small ITX PC case. I ended up returning the Mini and just breaking down and building a vanilla hackintosh. A 8700K/32GB/1TB SSD/RX 580 ITX box with quality parts that's all in one small case (Fractal Design Define Nano S) in the same desk footprint as just the external GPU enclosure, and it's not a thermally-constrained dongletown. Would I recommend it to anyone? No. But after an initially scary couple of hours, I have for all intents and purposes a normally-functioning macOS box that is noticeably quicker than the Mini for the cost of just the base Mini -- sans all the other junk I had to buy. The macOS install is vanilla, with SIP enabled, and no janky kexts in the OS install - NOTHING custom in the OS install. The bare minimum shoved in the EFI partition. Everything works (sleep, audio, iMessage, etc). It was marginally more trouble than getting Windows 10 installed. Less trouble than getting Ubuntu installed. God, it's glorious.
- ifiri90pokn 8y ago
  The general public is a larger potential market than computer fetishists. Remember their two or three steps to getting on the Internet with an iMac? Anyone who believed Apple was for tech hardcores hasn’t been paying attention. Never quite got the dongle complaints myself. Why not find ways to reduce the amount of extra crap you have to plug in and (assuming a laptop scenario), haul around in the first place? Is adding one USB-C to many USB-A ports such a burden when talking about all the other bits n bobs? IMO anyway, it is not. I get the sentiment though. I too often wish the world was exactly how my feels wish it to be. This site loves the free market though. Sell your dream to the masses.
- jen20 8y ago
  This sounds interesting - do you have a description of the hardware you used to hand?
  - runjake 8y ago
    https://pcpartpicker.com/user/jake541/saved/#view=ZnVr6h https://pcpartpicker.com/user/jake541/saved/#view=ZnVr6h As of today, the prices are higher than what I paid. If you're going to buy, monitor /r/buildapcsales on Reddit and buy your parts when they go on sale. I bought my stuff over a period of a couple weeks and saved substantial money. Samsung SSD prices fluctuate by 10s of dollars. Other SSD manufacturers such as Intel and WD offer steep discounts at times. The RX 580 GPUs go on significant sales pretty often. At some point, I need to finish my guide and publish to Github. I largely followed corpnewt's Vanilla Guide for Mojave [1], and followed the Coffee Lake train. It's important to follow each step closely. Again, I do not recommend a hackintosh, but for me it worked out really well. 1. https://hackintosh.gitbook.io/-r-hackintosh-vanilla-desktop-guide/ https://hackintosh.gitbook.io/-r-hackintosh-vanilla-desktop-...
    - jen20 8y ago
      Thanks!
    - skoskie 8y ago
r00fus 8y ago
I wonder if there's a product or market for those who want a Mini core but don't want the dongles visible (ie, make a breathable ITX/DTX box but you put the Mac Mini, dongles and peripherals inside). This would be my choice over a hackintosh for parents or other family. Sounds like something that could be 3D printed or
- thirdsun 8y ago
  Interesting idea. There are countless companies manufacturing quite beautiful accessoires for Apple hardware. I'm sure soemone like Grovemade [1] could design a premium looking wooden enclosure for a Mac Mini with cable management as well as ample room and several compartments for external hardware. [1] https://grovemade.com/monitor-laptop-collection/ https://grovemade.com/monitor-laptop-collection/
tengbretson 8y ago
Getting an external enclosure effectively doubles the cost of adding discrete graphics in some instances. That's a laughable solution.

mpweiher 8y ago

Came here to say exactly that. Replaced my big 2008 MacPro with a mini and couldn't be happier. I do wish the storage were upgradable internally, but so far it hasn't really been a problem. One big plus: it's quiet, so I can leave it on.

vbezhenar 8y ago

I want single pretty case, not some mess of wires. I want good Nvidia gaming GPU like 2060 for reasonable price, not some overpriced professional underpowered card. I want very fast CPU that will reach boost frequencies and keep operating there with quiet cooler and PSU, not laptop CPU which throttles on any prolonged load. Mac mini is tiny, but I don't need that tiny form-factor, I want huge case.

runjake 8y ago

Because the cost of all that external junk adds up and you create what is essentially a dongle town on your desktop. It defeats the whole purpose of a Mini. I know because I tried to do this with a 2018 Mac Mini. Aside from the very lackluster GPU performance, it's a pretty speedy machine. I had a fairly generous budget for a new computer. 32GB of RAM was about $200 from Crucial. The external SSD storage options were pretty crappy. Any sort of TB3 option was a few hundred dollars to start. I ended up settling with a USB3 2TB HDD. I then had to copy my Photo and iTunes libraries over to it and re-point the apps to the right spots. For the external GPU, you're looking at about $500 at a minimum. And then you have to find a place for that to sit, and it's essentially the size of a small ITX PC case. I ended up returning the Mini and just breaking down and building a vanilla hackintosh. A 8700K/32GB/1TB SSD/RX 580 ITX box with quality parts that's all in one small case (Fractal Design Define Nano S) in the same desk footprint as just the external GPU enclosure, and it's not a thermally-constrained dongletown. Would I recommend it to anyone? No. But after an initially scary couple of hours, I have for all intents and purposes a normally-functioning macOS box that is noticeably quicker than the Mini for the cost of just the base Mini -- sans all the other junk I had to buy. The macOS install is vanilla, with SIP enabled, and no janky kexts in the OS install - NOTHING custom in the OS install. The bare minimum shoved in the EFI partition. Everything works (sleep, audio, iMessage, etc). It was marginally more trouble than getting Windows 10 installed. Less trouble than getting Ubuntu installed. God, it's glorious.

ifiri90pokn 8y ago
The general public is a larger potential market than computer fetishists. Remember their two or three steps to getting on the Internet with an iMac? Anyone who believed Apple was for tech hardcores hasn’t been paying attention. Never quite got the dongle complaints myself. Why not find ways to reduce the amount of extra crap you have to plug in and (assuming a laptop scenario), haul around in the first place? Is adding one USB-C to many USB-A ports such a burden when talking about all the other bits n bobs? IMO anyway, it is not. I get the sentiment though. I too often wish the world was exactly how my feels wish it to be. This site loves the free market though. Sell your dream to the masses.
jen20 8y ago
This sounds interesting - do you have a description of the hardware you used to hand?
- runjake 8y ago
  https://pcpartpicker.com/user/jake541/saved/#view=ZnVr6h https://pcpartpicker.com/user/jake541/saved/#view=ZnVr6h As of today, the prices are higher than what I paid. If you're going to buy, monitor /r/buildapcsales on Reddit and buy your parts when they go on sale. I bought my stuff over a period of a couple weeks and saved substantial money. Samsung SSD prices fluctuate by 10s of dollars. Other SSD manufacturers such as Intel and WD offer steep discounts at times. The RX 580 GPUs go on significant sales pretty often. At some point, I need to finish my guide and publish to Github. I largely followed corpnewt's Vanilla Guide for Mojave [1], and followed the Coffee Lake train. It's important to follow each step closely. Again, I do not recommend a hackintosh, but for me it worked out really well. 1. https://hackintosh.gitbook.io/-r-hackintosh-vanilla-desktop-guide/ https://hackintosh.gitbook.io/-r-hackintosh-vanilla-desktop-...
  - jen20 8y ago
    Thanks!
  - skoskie 8y ago

r00fus 8y ago

I wonder if there's a product or market for those who want a Mini core but don't want the dongles visible (ie, make a breathable ITX/DTX box but you put the Mac Mini, dongles and peripherals inside). This would be my choice over a hackintosh for parents or other family. Sounds like something that could be 3D printed or

thirdsun 8y ago
Interesting idea. There are countless companies manufacturing quite beautiful accessoires for Apple hardware. I'm sure soemone like Grovemade [1] could design a premium looking wooden enclosure for a Mac Mini with cable management as well as ample room and several compartments for external hardware. [1] https://grovemade.com/monitor-laptop-collection/ https://grovemade.com/monitor-laptop-collection/

tengbretson 8y ago

Getting an external enclosure effectively doubles the cost of adding discrete graphics in some instances. That's a laughable solution.