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[Weedos123]

Now that video has surfaced in Media Centre and Apple have released a new mini, now might be the time to buy a new mini.  However the new mini is seen by many as a downgrade due to the lack of a quad core i7 processor.  I dare say the improved graphics ability would be a bonus, but all other things being equal, is only having a dual core an issue?

The mini will be used for audio, playing aiffs with everything from redbook to DSD 128, both stereo and multichannel, at their native resolution. Video from TV recordings to full HD bluray rips.

AFAIK, a multicore processor is only valuable if the software being run can use all the cores in parallel, so the question is can the Mac version of MC do this or is limited to a single core?  The answer might well affect whether to try and find a 2012 i7 or just get the newer version.

Thanks

[mstan]

I play all that with a dual-core mini from late 2012 w 4 GB ram - no problems whatsoever.   

[glynor]

MC is heavily multithreaded.  It typically isn't extremely resource intensive, but if you are doing things where it might "push" a system (convolution filters, video conversions, and other things like that) I've seen it "peg" a 12-core/24-thread Mac Pro (trashcan).

[Weedos123]

Thanks glynor. In which case I think I'll stick with the i5 that I have and wait for the next version with the forthcoming new processors.

[mstan]

Thanks glynor. In which case I think I'll stick with the i5 that I have and wait for the next version with the forthcoming new processors.

Well, then you are going to be waiting for a long time as there is an average of about 400 days between releases.

[glynor]

Well, then you are going to be waiting for a long time as there is an average of about 400 days between releases.

Yeah, I wouldn't count on another update to the Mini anytime soon.  Maybe they'll bump them to Broadwell when it ships in large volume, if (and only if) the current Mini was designed with Broadwell in mind and they had to re-work it since Broadwell's release slipped substantially.  Intel is having some execution problems.  Luckily, they're stomping all over everyone else in performance, and still years and years ahead of the competition in lithography, so they're still doing okay.

But, even if they do that, it won't be until around this time next year.  And I'd guess it'll sit idle till 2016 instead.  And Broadwell is not likely to be much of a jump over current Haswell v2 CPUs in performance.

If you're not waiting on a Mini and you're thinking Mac Pro, then I'd definitely wait.  The second-gen trashcan will probably be a much better setup.  Thunderbolt 3 is why they're waiting to release a Retina (5k) pro display, I'd assume, since to drive the iMac's display, the current-gen trashcan would have to use two Thunderbolt cables to each one, and that's an ugly design Apple would just rather not do.  Plus, you'll get a better generation CPU and whatnot.

If you're thinking laptop, then I don't know what I'd recommend.  They'll probably rev them sooner this time around because of Broadwell.  But, probably not till late-Q1 or Q2 of next year at the earliest.

[marcusturle]

MC is heavily multithreaded.  It typically isn't extremely resource intensive, but if you are doing things where it might "push" a system (convolution filters, video conversions, and other things like that) I've seen it "peg" a 12-core/24-thread Mac Pro (trashcan).

Not entirely sure how this helps answer the question, which was about whether a 2014 Mini is up to handling MC for audio and video...

I'm also looking at a new 2014 Mini so am interested in users' views. 

I'm not a gamer so I'm actually not bothered about quad-core v dual core unless this would be an issue for MC20.  But I do want ac wifi, so that rules out the 2012 Mini.  I'm also happy to upgrade to a higher spec if that's going to be worthwhile (there's a 3.0GHz Dual-Core Intel Core i7 version for example).

All my content is on a Synology NAS so I would install MC on the mini and use it to pull from the Synology and then push to a Samsung UEH467000, all over gigabit ethernet.

Thoughts/recommendations?

 

[Weedos123]

Well it was enough to stop me from buying a 2014 mini and send off my existing broken 2012 i5 for repair/upgrade to a quad core 2.6gHz i7. It already had 16GB ram and a SSD. A new logic board being cheaper than equivalent 2012 minis on ebay and half the price of a 16GB, PCIe new one.

Paul