Lab Tested: 2012 Mac mini gets a nice speed boost
Last week, Apple refreshed the Mac mini with faster processors, faster USB 3.0 ports and new graphics. The Macworld Lab was able to get our hands on the new Mac mini systems and our Speedmark 8 test results show the new machines are between 31 and 37 percent faster overall than the Mac minis they replace. The new systems were faster in all of our tests, but processor intensive tests results were only slightly higher. Interestingly, the hard drive tests were much faster on the new systems, though they still use 5400-rpm hard drives.
The new $599 Mac mini has the same 5400-rpm 500GB hard drive and 4GB of RAM as the 2011 entry-level Mac mini, but it gets a speed bump from its previous 2.3GHz dual-core Core i5 processor to a 2.5GHz dual-core Core i5. The new $599 Mac mini still uses integrated graphics, but is updated from the previous Intel HD Graphics 3000 to Intel HD Graphics 4000.
The new $799 Mac mini has a 2.3GHz quad-core Core i7 processor; the previous high-end Mac mini used the same dual-core Core i5 found in the new low-end system. This new model drops the discreet AMD graphics found in last year’s step-up system in favor of Intel’s integrated HD Graphics 4000. As with last year’s $799 system, the new model comes with 4GB of RAM and a 5400-rpm, 1TB hard drive.
2012 Mac mini: Speedmark scores
Speedmark 8 score
Mac mini/2.3GHz Core i7 (Late 2012)
164
Mac mini/2.5GHz Core i5 (Late 2012)
131
Mac mini/2.5GHz Core i5 (Mid 2011)
120
Mac mini/2.3GHz Core i5 (Mid 2011)
100
Mac mini/2.4GHz Core 2 Duo (Mid 2010)
78
All results are scores. Higher scores are better. Best result in bold. Reference models in italics. Macworld Lab testing by James Galbraith, Albert Filice, Kean Bartelman, and William Wong.
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