New Mac mini, software dev question.

[woohoo]

My old 2009 MacBook Pro can’t run Xcode etc any more. So I’m looking at the lastest Mac mini and the cheapo i3 option.

Will this be powerful enough or should I splash out more cash for an upgrade?

[BackupBoy]

I’ve seen Geekbench 64-bit single core tests scores (4793) that put the new quad-core i3 way ahead of the 6-core Xeon in the 2013 trashcan Pro (3811) so I’d say you’d be fine.

I’m getting the i3/8GB/512GB and will add extra RAM myself.

[WTFH]

My company iPad Pro is coming in at 3963 single, 9570 multi.
The company's iMac is 5258/16048 (i5-7600K)

[d000hg]

My old 2009 MacBook Pro can’t run Xcode etc any more. So I’m looking at the lastest Mac mini and the cheapo i3 option.

Will this be powerful enough or should I splash out more cash for an upgrade?

It probably depends what development you do and how much you do. 9-5 C++ compilation, or the odd bit of app-dev in the evenings? Building a load of open-source stuff from source all the time?

I'd guess it will OK but could be annoying if you are doing big builds all the time.

[Platypus]

I’ve seen Geekbench 64-bit single core tests scores (4793) that put the new quad-core i3 way ahead of the 6-core Xeon in the 2013 trashcan Pro (3811) so I’d say you’d be fine.

I’m getting the i3/8GB/512GB and will add extra RAM myself.

Are you sure you can add your own RAM?

Mac mini: How to remove or install memory - Apple Support

[BackupBoy]

Absolutely positive I can. It’s designed to be a non trivial task, and just as fiddly as replacing storage in the 2012 versions, but eminently doable if one deploys a clue or two.

[TheCyclingProgrammer]

If you're doing regular app dev, get the fastest machine you can afford. Swift compilation is still pretty slow.

[d000hg]

FWIW the modern MacMini is pretty quick even on the cheap config. I run an i7 quad-core 2012 Mac Mini and it's still pretty powerful. THe 2018 version is TWO updates beyond that and seems to have quad-core minimum even on i3 so assuming XCode can compile using threading effectively, I'd be quite confident.

XCode also surprises me by IIRC compiling in the background much better than I am used to with VC++?

But yes if you are using this for serious work, the money is surely worth it. If you want to run Parallels or something, definitely.