2018 Mac mini versus other Macs
November 16th, 2018, by rob-ART morgan, mad scientist
Updated with results from the 2018 Mac mini 3.2GHz i7.
Updated Dec 5th with read/write speeds of 1TB flash option for Mac mini.
This first look at the 2018 Mac mini features CPU, GPU, and Storage benchmarks. We included three desktop Macs and one laptop.
GEEKBENCH MULTI-CORE CPU
We've compiled a graph showing the various Macs running the Multi-Core Geekbench CPU test. (You can search for your Mac's score on Geekbench Browser. There is a lot of variance in the scores. The geeks have put together a useful AVERAGE page.) The overall score combines 25 tests including Integer, Floating Point, and Memory. (HIGHER score = FASTER)
GRAPH LEGEND
iMac Pro = 3.2GHz 8-core Xeon, 32G RAM, Pro Vega 64 GPU, 1TB flash storage
iMac 5K = 4.2GHz 4-core i7, 64G RAM, 64G RAM, Pro 580 GPU, 1TB flash storage
Mac Pro Tube = 3.0GHz 8-core Xeon, 64G RAM, FirePro D700 GPUs, 1TB flash
MacBook Pro i9 = 2.9GHz 6-Core i9, 32G RAM, Pro 560X GPU, 512G flash storage
Mac mini i7 = 3.2GHz 6-core i7, 16G RAM, UHD 630 GPU, 512G flash storage
Mac mini i5 = 3.0GHz 6-core i5, 8G RAM, UHD 630 GPU, 256G flash storage
Mac mini i7 + eGPU = above Mac connected to an eGPU box with AMD Radeon Vega Frontier GPU
GEEKBENCH SINGLE-CORE CPU
(HIGHER score = FASTER)
GEEKBENCH GPU OPENCL COMPUTE
The OpenCL and Metal Computer test uses everything from image processing to computer vision to number crunching to test your GPU using relevant and complex challenges. (HIGHER score = FASTER)
GEEKBENCH GPU METAL COMPUTE
GFXBENCH METAL
The Aztec Ruins High Tier animation was run off-screen at 1440p. (HIGHER frames per second = FASTER)
AJA SYSTEM (storage) TEST
We ran at 3840x2160 frame size and 16G test size. (HIGHER megabytes per second = FASTER)
CONCLUSIONS
In the CPU tests, the mid level 2018 Mac mini 3.2GHz i7 ranked #2 among the competing Macs we chose. (
As expected, the performance of the Intel UHD Graphics 630 GPU was disappointing. The Mac mini 'screams' for an eGPU. We used the AKiTiO Node Pro with the AMD Radeon Vega Frontier installed to illustrate the gains possible if you are running GPU intensive apps. The cost of an eGPU can run from $500 to $1300 (including graphics card) depending on which model you choose.
In the storage test, what first appeared to be thermal throttling on the Mac mini with the 256G flash storage is actually a factor of data channels. In other words, if you want the best possible large sequential WRITE speed, you must choose the 1TB or 2TB option.
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