2018 Mac Mini Owners Thread (1 Viewer)

[JohnRice]

Something else I discovered about the 2018 Mac Mini that has to be a good thing. I was having some malware issues with a computer at work, so I bought CleanMyMac to take care of it, and see if I like it. One of it's features is a temperature monitor. The 2011 and 2012 Minis run at idle at 135-145 degrees, which surprised me. My 2018 i7 runs at idle at 100-105. That has to be good for the computer in the long run. It's also quieter, since the fan is bigger and runs slower. 4400 RPM maximum vs 5500. The other ones frequently spin up quite a bit, even just watching an online video. This one barely makes a sound, even when using HandBrake.

 

[JohnRice]

My cluttered home office desk, and this was after shoving stuff out of the way. The new Mac Mini is performing nicely. In fact, my 2102 Quad Core had been moved to my work office, but has now been replaced with the new base model Quad Core i3 Mini and the 2012 will now be demoted to the shipping office. Yeah, I have lot of external storage. A total of 18 bays available. Two of those are out of view. 10 currently have drives in them. Plus four optical drives. Don't even ask what all that stuff is for. Anyone curious about the monitors, the left one is a Dell U2716D QHD wide gamut and the right one is a Dell U2412M WUXGA.

 

[JohnRice]

BTW, I'm impressed enough with the new Mini that I stepped up the upgrading at work a bit. I got the base model for my office. Even it outperforms my 2012 Quad Core i7. Two down, two to go.

 

[Citizen87645]

Interesting...Kickstarter to turn a Mini into a workstation

 

[Citizen87645]

It looks like I need to increase the RAM from the stock 8GB. Up until recently that seemed sufficient, but Activity Monitor is showing more swap file usage and my cursor is often stuttering during normal use. Thing is, most times I'm just using Chrome with at most 4 tabs open. Oh well, 32 GB of RAM should be plenty.

 

[JohnRice]

It looks like I need to increase the RAM from the stock 8GB. Up until recently that seemed sufficient, but Activity Monitor is showing more swap file usage and my cursor is often stuttering during normal use. Thing is, most times I'm just using Chrome with at most 4 tabs open. Oh well, 32 GB of RAM should be plenty.

I've put 32GB in two machines. It's moderately involved and requires a couple specialized tools, but you can DIY. On thing I learned from the first time around, have small a white plate to put the screws in. Some of them are microscopic and extremely easy to lose. I lost the screw that attaches the wire for the WiFi antenna the first time.

 

[Citizen87645]

Yeah, I watched the OWC video and the iFixit guide on replacing the RAM. It's more involved than I would like, but it's not as intimidating as cracking open an iMac for the hard drive.

 

[JohnRice]

I've opened up a lot of Minis through the years, and this is just about at the top of the area I'm willing to consider to be DIY. The OWC video is my choice to use. I always do it in front of a computer, watching and stopping the video for each step. I already had the OWC Mini toolkit, but had to add the torx 6 security driver for the newest Mini. Plus, you need a standard jeweler's type set of drivers.

 

[Citizen87645]

Thanks for the tip! I'll have to double-check if I have a Torx 6. I have an older iFixit kit, but not sure if that's in there. I can get my hands on a Torx 6 easily enough though.

 

[JohnRice]

Thanks for the tip! I'll have to double-check if I have a Torx 6. I have an older iFixit kit, but not sure if that's in there. I can get my hands on a Torx 6 easily enough though.

Not just a Torx 6, but a Torx 6 security driver, to even get into the enclosure.

 

[Citizen87645]

Gotcha. I don't have one myself, but I can borrow one.

 

[Citizen87645]

I successfully upgraded the RAM to 32 GB. It took two tries. After the first attempt, the Mini was only recognizing one of the RAM chips, so I had to do it all over and reseat the modules. I wasn't sure if one of them was dead or something, so I actually swapped their positions so if it was still showing as 16 GB, but from the other location, then I would know there was something amiss with the module. Fortunately, it was just a matter of getting things seated properly, and now it is (and I am) happy.

 

[Citizen87645]

One of the issues prompting the RAM upgrade was a skittering mouse that seemed to get worse as the RAM swap numbers were increasing. But that's still kind of happening, so I'm going to try switching from the mouse's Bluetooth to using the USB receiver to see if that improves the performance. Fortunately it's dual connection-type mouse, otherwise I'd probably have to switch to a wired mouse (which I actually use at work).

 

[Clinton McClure]

One of the issues prompting the RAM upgrade was a skittering mouse that seemed to get worse as the RAM swap numbers were increasing. But that's still kind of happening, so I'm going to try switching from the mouse's Bluetooth to using the USB receiver to see if that improves the performance. Fortunately it's dual connection-type mouse, otherwise I'd probably have to switch to a wired mouse (which I actually use at work).

What kind of mouse are you using? I use a Magic Mouse 2 and a magic keyboard with my 2012 MacBook Pro in clamshell mode and don’t have any skittering issues with the mouse (or any issues at all).

 

[Citizen87645]

It's a Logitech M720 Triatholon. I haven't used a Magic Mouse for some time. It's possible it would work better, but there are trade offs.

 

[Citizen87645]

Still having the jumping cursor, seems tied to when I hear the CPU processing something. Switching to a wired mouse to see if it continues.

EDIT: Also trying a firmware update of the Logitech mouse.

UPDATE: Firmware didn't fix the issue. I'm trying the mouse on my workplace Mac and it doesn't have the stuttering issue, so now I'm wondering if it's because of Logitech's "Options" software. So I'll try uninstalling that next. If that doesn't fix it, I guess I'll just switch back to a Mac Magic Mouse.

 

[Greg.K]

Joining the Mac Mini club - display has died on my 27" 2013 iMac, and it's not worth it to replace it. The all-in-one concept is nice until a critical part dies.

Ordered an 2018 i5 Mini refurb from Apple today. 256gb SSD (will be using an external drive too), 8 GB RAM (going to upgrade it to 32 GB).

Still trying to decide what monitor to get, though. BenQ PD700U maybe.

 

[Greg.K]

Haven’t had it a day and it’s already been opened up.

(RAM upgrade was easy enough)

It is the way.