Rumor of new Mac Mini coming end of Feb..

Seen this posted over on Mac Rumors about possible new MM. Here is the link.
http://www.macrumors.com/2014/01/22/new-mac-mini-february/

I however don't expect to see one till mid summer as that would coincide with their normal 18 month refresh. However depending on Ivy Core chip availability, there could be a CPU update in the current models. If that did happen, I wouldn't expect anything else in the system to be updated and I wouldn't see this impacting the 18 month refresh either.

Now if they would just remove the internal PSU and put in a real GPU.. LOL

Looks like Apple is helping me spend my tax refund. I'd really like to move from my Ivy Core i5 to a top-end Haswell. The i5 bottlenecks me on a few things :/

A real GPU and I might could be convinced to get one.

A real GPU and I might could be convinced to get one.

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Roger and + 1 on that.

chscag said:

Roger and + 1 on that.

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And space to add a second or even third HD.

EDIT: At this point I would just be glad to see a reconfiguration of the Mini's internal such that replacing the HD didn't entail pulling the Logic Board . . .

There are two bays in there if you want to pull that logic board out lol. It isn't actually to difficult. OWC has some great videos on the procedure but yes I agree with you, I would vastly prefer it if the bays were more easily accessible.

I love Apple but I sure as heck ain't paying what they want for RAM and storage!

I'll be fine with Iris graphics (HD 4000 is pretty good IMO) but a dedicated GPU would be great. They've done it before. As long as it doesn't make my Mini blow up. I've definitely noticed a performance hit after a long session of The Old Republic on my Bootcamp partition

Algus said:

There are two bays in there if you want to pull that logic board out lol. It isn't actually to difficult. OWC has some great videos on the procedure but yes I agree with you, I would vastly prefer it if the bays were more easily accessible.

I love Apple but I sure as heck ain't paying what they want for RAM and storage!

I'll be fine with Iris graphics (HD 4000 is pretty good IMO) but a dedicated GPU would be great. They've done it before. As long as it doesn't make my Mini blow up. I've definitely noticed a performance hit after a long session of The Old Republic on my Bootcamp partition

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iFixit also has a procedure on it.

Thought about it, but too many opportunities to break something for me. My fingers aren't as agile as they once were. So, to me, the operation becomes a "do it when the HD dies" affair, rather than a nice week-end project.

Algus said:

There are two bays in there if you want to pull that logic board out lol. ........
I love Apple but I sure as heck ain't paying what they want for RAM and storage!

I'll be fine with Iris graphics ........

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LOL yea been there done that.. I removed my 1TB Factory HDD and replaced it with a 256GB Samsung 830 series I had for a while now.. So much worth it. I am putting in the 1TB a long side it here in a few weeks, just waiting on my OWC kit to come in from the states.

Apple is sinister on their RAM prices, storage is little high but still within some reason.

HD4000 is OK, although its on the low low end of mobile graphics. Iris Pro is better but still is out performed by both ATI and nVidias mobile gpu offerings. I also don't see them ever putting a dedicated GPU back into the Minis, matter of fact I suspect they will remove it from the iMacs as well. Apple has invested a great deal of time and money with Intel to develop Iris Pro graphics. I even read a few resources on the internet (if you believe anything on the internet.. LOL) that there is huge speculation based on the development of the Iris Pro and basically intels integrated GPUs that within about 2 years they should be competing heavily with dedicated mid ranged graphics cards. Which would be nice to play WoW on a iGPU and still get 60FPS on mid to high settings. But we will see..

I could see them only offering an Enterprise class GPU in the iMac but I'd be awfully surprised if they completely removed dedicated GPUs from the iMacs. The high end iMac is definitely targeted as a work computer.

I tell myself that one day I will build a new gaming PC but I just don't care about maxing the visuals as long as the chip can run my games adequately with decent draw distance. HD 4000 does that for me though my i5 is definitely a bottleneck for the kinds of games I play

I'm still using a pedestrian 1080p display though. If I ever set the cash aside for a Thunderbolt display, I'll probably be hating on the HD 4000 lol

I suspect they will remove it from the iMacs as well.

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They've already removed the dedicated GPU from the low end or entry level iMac 21.5" model. If you want dedicated graphics in that model, you need to go to the next level model which of course will cost your more $$.

But I do agree with you about Intel developing a robust integrated GPU that will be on par with or even out-perform some dedicated graphic chipsets. The only thing I have against any integrated graphics chipset is that is borrows (or should I say steal) real memory from the system. And right now, the user has no control over how much is borrowed.

chscag said:

....... The only thing I have against any integrated graphics chipset is that is borrows (or should I say steal) real memory from the system. And right now, the user has no control over how much is borrowed.

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Yea this has always drived me nuts about onboard video and now iGPU video. Even a HD4000 would run much faster if it had 2GB or even 1GB of the faster dedicated VRAM. But that introduces higher cost and more heat. Which price / performance wise prob would not justify the cost. Plus the heat. One could assume (I hate to ASSume as it could make me look like a <---) that they are just putting off this measure till they can manage a smaller die and lower heat ratio in conjunction with more adequately performing iGPU. Its safe to say if they achieve this and take the next step to add on chip VRAM. Apple will for sure then drop the mobile GPU in favor of a all in one CPU/GPU option. Which I would be perfectly happy with.

But then again that speculation and they could just as well start pumping nvidia 780s in all the systems tomorrow.. Cant never tell.. LOL

April is here - still waiting - now at 18 months since last upgrade to the mini.

Rumors + Apple = ??????

When it happens...it happens.

- Nick

You mean you refuse toy engage in rampant speculation and hand wringing? Keep that up and we won't be accused of being fan boys.

bobtomay said:

A real GPU and I might could be convinced to get one.

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+1

Ever better if they made the HD accessible without complete disassembly.

Best of all if they put the DVD drive back in, which is not likely

DVD drive wouldn't do me a lot of good - need B-R - and that ain't happnin.

My problem right now is I still have a bunch of HD-DVDs also - still need to finish backing them up before my HD-DVD drive dies.
One of my HD-DVD players has already died.
Have been afraid to build a new Win box for fear of my combo HD-DVD/B-R drive no longer working.
For sure there is no more current software that can play them.