Putting 10gig into the Mac Mini, with it also in the iMac Pro, means that a whole host of new machines are going to have it built in. 10gig has been around for a while but has always been too pricy. While many post houses run on fiber, many "indie" post houses and production companies run on copper, 1gb ethernet to connect machines and move files around.
On top of that, for a small fee, you can upgrade the system to 10gig ethernet. Of course, you might still cook the internal Intel integrated graphics, but that is far, far less likely if you are pushing the bulk of graphics processing out to the external processor. I could see busier production facilities keeping a spare eGPU sitting around, and since you could plug up to four of them directly into a Mini, you can have a graphics powerhouse and an array of "backup" graphics cards ready to go at any moment. If you go the Mac Mini eGPU route, when that eGPU dies, you send it off to be repaired and plug another in. Even if it's under Applecare and "free," that doesn't account for the time you lose to having the machine out of commission. Why? Well, when (and it's when, not if, if you work in motion pictures), the graphics card dies on a 2013 Mac, you have to send the whole unit in to get refurbished. When the original T3 Macbook Pro came out in 2016, there wasn't anything to really make T3 worth it you mostly just used an adapter and T2 accessories.īetween the Blackmagic eGPU and the wave of affordable Thunderbolt 3 SSDs that are hitting the streets, there are some real benefits to the little connector.ĭespite the existence of the 2013 Mac Pro "R2D2," the older 2006-2010 "Cheese Grater" Mac Pro is still dominant in post. No, it's the increasing benefits of Thunderbolt 3. The biggest thing that makes the Mac Mini exciting isn't even the Mac Mini itself, though with its new Space Gray color scheme and fully integrated design it's an attractive little box. However, as Thunderbolt 3 finally matures, we might consider the new Mac Mini to be a real contender as a "main machine" for even demanding post users, like colorists. We've owned Mac Minis over the years, both in our office as a "mini-server" and at home as a media player and all around backup system, and while we've always liked them, we've never thought of them as our main system. While we wait on the long-rumored 2019 Mac Pro and what wonders it might offer (Thunderbolt 3 AND USB-C ports! PCI card slots!), right now, in January 2019, we spent a few weeks testing the Mac Mini. With Thunderbolt 3, it might be the best option as a main system.Īpple has been working very hard to get back into the good graces of professional users, with a huge wave of activity in 2018 letting us know that pros are a high priority. The Mac Mini has long been popular with production companies as a little "do anything" device.
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