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It has been nearly half a month since I recommended the Mac Mini. After the seller gathered these models, they finally sent me these Macs. However, it is a pity that the 2018 model is still in Hong Kong and cannot be cleared due to the pandemic. The 2020 model, which is the M1 version, also has no garbage to pick up at the moment. Therefore, this comparison is between the configurations of the i5 and i7 models from 2012 to 2014. As a simple comparison, I hope to supplement the 2018 model later.
Before 2012, there were also the 11, 10, and 09 generations. They are too old to discuss now, as they have little value for tinkering.
As always, some things really need to be experienced personally to understand the situation better. This allows for more accurate feelings and understanding, leading to better recommendations. Only after getting hands-on can one truly know the situation. So this time, I got to handle four Mac Minis, and I have a clearer understanding. Let me share my detailed feelings this time.
First, regarding the appearance, currently, aside from the gray version released in 2018, all other versions are silver, and the dimensions have not changed. Starting from 2018, the infrared sensor on the front of the Mac Mini has been removed (which is the small black dot on the front).
The image order is from top to bottom, decreasing by year, with the 2020 model at the top and the 2012 model at the bottom.
Compared to the front panel, there is basically no change. However, the rear I/O ports have changed a lot, but they are just a few ports, and the updates of these ports have little practical value. Ultimately, the most significant impact is the number of USB-A ports and the HDMI version. Other ports do not have much practical use, so one does not need to consider these additional ports too much.
Among these four generations of Mac Minis, I personally think that the best I/O support is in the 2014 and 2018 models. The 2014 model has an SD card slot, dual 3.5MM audio ports, four USB-A ports, and two Thunderbolt 2 ports;
The 2018 model supports HDMI 2.0, two USB-A ports, and four USB-C/Thunderbolt 3 ports, and it can be configured with a 10GbE interface (which is probably not available in the junk market), simplifying some low-utilization ports.
Additionally, it can be seen that the ventilation ports of the 2018 and 2020 models are noticeably thicker, and the heat dissipation is stronger. However, considering that the 2018 model is equipped with the highest TDP processor ever used in a Mac Mini, reaching 65W TDP, the heat dissipation effect is still not optimistic. On the contrary, the 2020 M1 model fundamentally solved the heating issue, so its heat dissipation is highly anticipated. However, the ARM architecture basically rules out the possibility of dual systems, which is also an important point to consider.
I have not seen the 2018 model in person, but I touched the shell in the Apple Store before, and it was warm even in winter, so the temperature is certainly not low.
The models before 2012 all opened the case by rotating the bottom cover, and there are three round dots at the bottom to indicate limits, which is a very reasonable design.
After 2012, it changed to a snap-on design, with direct vertical interfaces, and a metal bottom plate was added internally to enhance the sealing of the case.
The Mac Mini has always relied on a gap between the bottom disk and the body for heat dissipation, so the heat dissipation effect has never been very good. It’s a miracle that this unit had so much dust when it arrived…
Before 2012, the bottom plate could be removed to replace the memory, and there was a separate cover for the hard drive area. The bottom cover also sealed off the CPU section, and a narrow air duct was designed inside, so the cold air had to pass through the hard drive before reaching the processor’s heat dissipation area, ensuring that the memory also had some space to accommodate.
For aesthetics, an insulation layer was also placed on the CPU heat pipe…
After 2014, the airflow was constructed by the second bottom plate, but it is still the same airflow path, needing to pass over the SSD/hard drive before entering the fan to dissipate heat. In actual use, the SSD under the Apple system generates very little heat, and it basically has no temperature when idle.
This generation also removed the CPU insulation cover, making the design more reasonable, but there is still a significant waste of space. It could have increased the exhaust openings and reversed the top cover 180°, moving the fan to above the SSD, allowing for an increase of about 4CM in width for the fins, improving heat dissipation. However, this is just something a DIY enthusiast would think about…
This generation officially introduced PCI-E SSDs into the Apple system. In fact, you can directly use NVMe SSDs through an adapter card, without necessarily using the original SSD. There is still a SATA installation position below the SSD, and the upper large space can also accommodate larger SSD heatsinks, which is a good point.
Another significant improvement in the 2014 model is that both hard drive ribbon cables are secured with screws, which was very easy to come loose in models before 2012, so this is a considerable improvement.
The ribbon cable on the other side is for the front infrared light sensor, which needs to be unplugged before removing the motherboard, and it is very easy to break.
The motherboard changes between the two generations are significant, but many components still retain the previous design, such as the speakers and heat sinks. The most obvious change is that the memory position of the 2012 model has been changed to the position of the wireless network card, and the dual heat pipes have been replaced with a single heat pipe.
The 2014 model places the memory on the back of the fan, getting even closer to the CPU, and the position is below the fan, which also helps with heat dissipation.
Another major change is that the integration has increased, and the density of electronic components on the motherboard has visibly decreased.
Apple has always been generous with various tantalum capacitors, which is part of the brand’s history. I also admire the 2012 Mac Mini for being able to withstand such high temperatures until now…
The heat pipe has changed from two 6MM pipes to a single 1CM pipe, and the actual cross-section calculation is about the same, while the fin part remains completely identical.
Without copper, I just can’t understand it.
The fin part can’t be said to be identical, but it is completely the same…
The 2012 model has an independent southbridge besides the CPU, which is also a heat source.
Apple has really come up with some tricks with the screws, the design of screws inside screws…
There are two types of screw heads, external hexagon and internal star hexagon…
Additionally, some of this batch of electronic waste is imported foreign waste. Some companies like to stick various stickers on them, so they may need to be cleaned manually upon receipt, and there will generally be some scratches.
I have made a table with detailed interface and configuration information. Considering that there is currently garbage to pick from before 2018, and the prices are quite chaotic, I did not include prices, just a pure official configuration table.
In fact, only the 2012 and 2014 models can have replaceable memory and SSD, while the 2018 model can have replaceable memory. Therefore, for these three generations of products, the memory or SSD/hard drive is not that important, and you can replace them yourself~~~ Just pay attention to the CPU. Replacing it yourself might even be cheaper~~~ There are more options, for example, the official configuration for the 2012 and 2014 models only has 256G SSD, but in reality, you can replace it with 1T, 2T, or even larger SSDs yourself, and the same goes for memory.
Considering the current prices, the gap between the 2012 and 2014 models is not significant. Therefore, the initial suggestion was to go for the highest configuration possible. However, after actual testing, I changed my mind. Considering the heat dissipation of the Mac Mini, it is better to avoid the four-core and 2018 models. The performance of these four-core and six-core CPUs is indeed high, but the temperature is also genuinely high.
Initially, I personally recommended the 2012 model, but the actual test temperatures completely dispelled that idea. I also mentioned in previous recommendations that the 2014 model is currently the most recommended. The two i5 models from 2014 that are not 1.4G in frequency are actually not much different from the top i7 model in frequency. Under full load, the frequency difference is at most 0.4G, which is very small. Considering the relationship between frequency, power consumption, and price, the i5 models perform better in terms of temperature, so I made the above recommendation. However, the 16G memory of the i5 is not much; most of them are 8G memory.
The lowest configuration of the 1.4G i5 model has a maximum frequency of 2.7G (the dual-core turbo may only reach 2.5G, and it is difficult to reach 2.7G in daily use), and the integrated graphics are only HD 5000. The HD 5100 is already not quite enough, and the 5000 is even worse. Additionally, the price difference is not significant, so I will directly PASS.
Moreover, for the 2012 model, if you must buy it, I strongly recommend purchasing the dual-core i5 model (the i7 model gets too hot under full load). Regarding the support for the latest system versions, the official website states that the 2012 model supports up to 10.13.6, but actual testing found that macOS Catalina, which is 10.15.6, can also be installed, but the latest 12.1 cannot be installed.
The temperature test was conducted under both macOS and Win10 environments. Under macOS, R23 was used as the load, and Intel Power Gadget and iiStat Menus software were used to monitor the status. Under Win10, AIDA64 was used, and the single FPU was tested for temperature. When the pressure is insufficient, FPU+GPU will be turned on simultaneously to achieve the highest power consumption.
The test site is in Shenzhen, with a room temperature of around 20 degrees. The thermal paste was uniformly replaced with Shin-Etsu 7783.
The temperature test results are as above. In simple terms, the 2012 model with four cores is the hottest, followed by the 2014 i7 model, and then both i5 models are relatively cool.
For the Mac Mini, the basic speed of 1800 RPM is not affected by temperature. This is the minimum speed. The maximum speed for the 2012 model can reach 5500 RPM, while the 2014 model can reach 4800 RPM. However, Apple prioritizes noise over heat dissipation. The speed only increases when the temperature exceeds 90 degrees, and the increase in speed is very slow. The 1800 RPM speed is basically close to zero noise.
During the AIDA64 test, the single FPU pressure was too low, so except for the four-core i7, all others had GPU dual burn. For the 2014 model, if you turn off the GPU, the temperature will actually rise. When the single FPU pressure is low, it does not reach the threshold, and the fan speed will decrease, causing the temperature to rise…
Overall, Apple’s heat dissipation has always been conservative, prioritizing noise reduction. This is also the case with the Mac Mini. Additionally, after removing the bottom cover, the intake volume will significantly increase, which can improve heat dissipation, but it will also accumulate a lot of dust…
In terms of temperature, aside from the four-core i7 being very hot, there are generally no significant issues with daily use. The power consumption is not that high. For the 2014 i5 model, daily web browsing and video playback only reach about 50-60 degrees, which is acceptable.
The test results basically validate my thoughts. Among the 2014 dual-core models, both the temperature and speed are lower than the 2012 model, and I am personally more satisfied with the overall performance. For a light host like the Mac Mini, the dual-core performance is completely sufficient for use. With macOS support, it is very comfortable for daily office document processing, and it basically produces no noise.
The performance test mainly focused on cross-platform comparisons using Geekbench 5, Cinebench R23, and disk speed tests (sequential read and write). Under Win10, I tested with Luda Master, CPU-Z, and LOL.
In the performance test section, the 2012 four-core i7 is indeed the first, with a significantly larger gap compared to the other three dual-core i7/i5 models. The 2014 model has improved single-core performance compared to the 2012 model, so the single-core scores are significantly ahead. Additionally, the i7 model of the 2014 version also has frequency advantages, with a maximum single-core frequency of 3.5G. Therefore, overall, it is not significantly behind the four-core model.
The differences between the two configurations of the 2014 model are actually small. The differences in various aspects are not very large, except that the i5 model with 16G memory is relatively rare, making it difficult to find 16G memory. The i5 model is also more suitable, as maintaining high turbo frequency requires higher power consumption, which increases heat dissipation pressure. Additionally, the main point is that there is really not much difference between the two.
In terms of gaming, considering that the capabilities of the integrated graphics are limited, I only tested LOL with the 2014 i7 model. In simple terms, it gets hot and is rather laggy, barely playable. LOL has become increasingly demanding, and compared to earlier versions, this integrated graphics is barely sufficient; nowadays, it is quite laggy.
However, for older games like Red Alert and Warcraft, it poses no problem, and the system can also support WIN7 installation, which is quite comfortable (Apple provides a complete set of drivers for Windows, and the installation experience is also not bad).
I also casually tested the performance of two iPhones and a MacBook Pro, and they definitely crushed the Mac Mini… However, since the platforms are different, they shouldn’t be compared together; it was just a casual test…
After handling these four models, I personally would keep the 2014 i7 configuration, mainly for the 16G memory, and also because the integrated graphics is slightly stronger. The reason for not choosing the 2012 model is simply that the four-core i7 gets too hot, while the performance of the i5 from the three generations is slightly lacking. Overall, I changed my previous thoughts; the 2014 model is more appealing [subjective].
However, regarding the usage environment of the Mac Mini, as mentioned earlier, for light multimedia entertainment or text office work, this performance difference is not significant. If it is used as an old machine, a 1080P display is more than sufficient. Overall, I recommend the 2014 model more, but the 2012 dual-core i5 is not that bad either [objective].
Additionally, there is the price difference. After all, the 2012 i5 is about 700, while the 14 i5 mid-range version costs about double the price… around 1400. Considering the costs of adding SSDs or memory, the 2012 i5 can be settled for around 1000, while the 2014 model is estimated to be around 1800… The prices are completely different.
Therefore, the recommended order also comes out: personally, I recommend the 2014 i7 model first (strong single-core, low temperature, supports 2K), followed by the 2014 i5 model (not much difference from the 2014 i7, lower price), then the 2012 i5 model (low temperature, low price), and finally, I do not recommend the 2012 i7 model (high temperature, poor support).
In conclusion, the 2012 model has weak single-core performance but strong multi-core performance (i5 is weak in multi-core), but the temperature is high (i5 has moderate temperature). The integrated graphics performance is poor, but the expandability is stronger, allowing for memory and SSD replacements, supporting dual 2.5-inch drives, but the compatibility is slightly worse, as HDMI only supports 1080P 60Hz.
The 2014 model has strong single-core performance, weak multi-core performance, lower temperature, and lower noise. The integrated graphics performance is relatively high, with good expandability, allowing for hard drive replacements, supporting one 2.5-inch drive and one PCI-E SSD slot, and has faster response speeds. Compatibility is also quite good, as HDMI supports 4K 60.
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