Will 2012 i7 mini beat my 2009 MacBook Pro?

[Carta]

My 2009 MacBook Pro runs a 2.26 Core 2 Duo processor and has an NVIDIA GeForce 9400M (256 MB) card. The total system ram is 4 GB (1067 DDR3).

I mainly run Illustrator CS6 (64-bit) with large map files. Usually I don't have any problems, maybe a crash once in a while. The system seems slow, particularly Safari which locks up. Anyway, I'd like to get a mini--the 2.3 GHz i7 with 8 GB of RAM.

My question is, how much performance increase will I see with the mini compared with my MBP? I'm concerned about the HD4000 graphics chip--will it outrun my MBP's NVIDIA card? I don't want to have less performance.

I prefer the mini over another 13" MBP because I think the quad-core processor will help running Illustrator (and Photoshop) functions better than a dual-core.

Any thoughts?

[ez061111]

The mini will blast the C2D MBP out of the water. My 2012 Mini even beats my 2011 i7 MBP: 13039 vs 11510 Geekbench 64 bit.

The graphics card in your MBP may still be a bit more powerful than the HD4000 in the Mini. It should be fine with just about everything but intense highest-setting games.
_________________
2.0 GHz i7 Mini 8 GB RAM, OWC Merc Extreme SSD & Samsung Spinpoint
2.6 GHz i7 Mini 16 GB RAM, Samsung 830 & Hitachi
15" 2.3 GHz i7 MBP 16 GB RAM, OWC Extreme Pro 6G SSD & WD Black

[philiparcario]

[Carta]

Thanks for the input and the confidence that this machine is a great upgrade for me. 16 GB would be a great upgrade, and DIY sounds good for less than $90. Well, the one outstanding issue is whether to get the Fusion drive. While I don't turn off my Mac very much, so start-up time is not important. But will opening and saving files (not necessarily applications) be worth the extra cost for the Fusion drive?

[marv777]

[Carta]

Durability was another issue. There have been 6 PowerBook or MacBook (including Pro) in my family and all but one have had a logic board and/or hard drive fail. No problems due to backups, etc. Nonetheless, people seem to have less problems with the Mac mini, judging online comments only.

So is the Fusion drive worth the extra money? Could you get some of the application opening and saving speed by keeping files on either an external USB3 or Thunderbolt drive? Or is it not really an issue, because comparative speed is not that different between the stock 5400 RPM drive and the optional Fusion drive?

[Smithcraft]

Fusion drive vs ThunderBolt. I'm not sure what the added cost is to the Fusion Drive, but isn't the ThunderBolt cable $50?

Also, you can DIY a Fusion drive.

SC
_________________
Grumpy old man of computing.

[Desktop] G4 mini - 1.5Ghz 1GB 80GB HDD - Newer miniStack v2 500GB - 10.5.8

[Media System] Intel i5 mini - 2.33Ghz 8GB 500GB HDD - 4 x Hitachi 2TB HDD in a qBOX-SF - 10.7.5 (Thanks Phil!)

Make sure it has pins!

[marv777]

[ez061111]

I've had 4 Powerbooks (3400, G3 Wallstreet, G4 Ti, G4 Al), and 4 MacBook Pro's (2 C2Ds, and 2 i7s) since 1997 and absolutely beat the snot out of them and never had any failures except for a hard drive or two. A hard drive failure I certainly wouldn't in any way attribute to the computer maker and the servos in mechanical drives don't always deal well with the bumps and knocks of travel, etc.

I always found them to be incredibly well made and neither I nor the friends that purchased them from me ever had a motherboard issue. Not sure if I was lucky or not, but I wouldn't classify them as delicate.

That said I've not had an issue with any of my Minis either dating back to the first Intel Mini.

I'm not too enthusiastic about the Fusion drive system, purchased or home cooked. My advice would be to save the money and do-it-yourself. I do beleive they have a positive benefit for those that don't want to think about what goes where, but currently I manage boot volume vs documents between SSD and mechanical internal HDD. I would have to beleive that there will be a few bumbs and hiccups with Fusion and my advice for anybody that does it: strict redundancy.
_________________
2.0 GHz i7 Mini 8 GB RAM, OWC Merc Extreme SSD & Samsung Spinpoint
2.6 GHz i7 Mini 16 GB RAM, Samsung 830 & Hitachi
15" 2.3 GHz i7 MBP 16 GB RAM, OWC Extreme Pro 6G SSD & WD Black

[philiparcario]

okay fusion is 250 more and it is truly a great idea but they add a 128gb ssd with the 1tb hdd.

it would be better as a diy fusion with a 256gb ssd or a a 512gb ssd. Adding the second drive is not easy.

this is a good t-bolt/usb3 option.


(looking for link)

comes with cables 256gb ssd


http://www.amazon.com/9000352-Rugged-Thunderbolt-380MBps-Transfer/dp/B009HQKR0Q/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1359385845&sr=8-7&keywords=lacie+rugged+thunderbolt



this is a piece of gear I own.

http://www.macmall.com/p/LaCie-Hard-Drives/product~dpno~9105217~pdp.hcjebab

I pulled the 1tb drives out and sold them on ebay and I put in a pair of 500gb ssds. I am using it to type this.


A long thread on doing this.

http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=1280118
_________________
2010 Mm 2.4 C2D oem 320gb hdd 8gb ram
2012Mm base 2.5 with 16gb ram diy fusion drive
2012Mm quad with 8gb ram oem 1tb hdd

promise pegasus r6 3x 3tb + 3x 4tb =21tb hdds
lacie little big disk 2x 512gb ssds
synology 2tb disk station

[Carta]

Talked with an Apple Specialist store who said they could upgrade or change a new mini when I purchased it or after. I guess they could do the work while maintaining the Apple warranty because they're an authorized dealer and repair center. So perhaps I could buy stock for now and upgrade down the road.

[marv777]

[Carta]

I began to look at the iMacs briefly at my local Apple Specialist store. Then realized the whole lot of them are i5 processors. I think there would be one or more advantages to the mini's i7--perhaps cache, if nothing else.

Anyway, I'm still deliberating on Fusion or stock 5400 RPM drive. And I'll deliberate and deliberate until the credit card burns a whole in my back pocket and I rush to my dealer to order.

I appreciate everyone's comments. Experience trumps tech specs when you want to know the real-world feel of a machine that you're going to have working for you for a long while.