New 8,1 Mac Mini Alternative for $522 from Amazon / Newegg

[trs96]

Just out of curiosity I priced out a potential new Mac Mini equivalent build on Amazon and Newegg at the current prices. For me, it would come to $521.90 including tax and shipping. A base model 8,1 Mini would cost me $842.95. So besides saving over $320 I'd have the option to upgrade with an RX 580 later on and also upgrade the storage/NVME to a larger size if necessary. Over all a really competitive option if you don't need TH3 and the extremely small form factor of the Mac Mini. You'd get nearly double the NVME SSD storage with this build.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07BQ9XQPP/?tag=tonymacx86com-20

Amazon Shopping list:

Case and PSU from Newegg.com (chose an all modular 80 + Gold rated high quality PSU)

This is a very nice Phanteks case that I already own. Can't beat the build quality for 50 dollars !

Even if you double the ram to 16GB and NVME to 500 GB the total price is $660 or about $180 less than the Mac Mini. You could easily buy an RX 570 for that and have a very nice specced system for your $840. Still less than the mini.

You don't have to go ultra cheap on the case or PSU with this CustoMac Mini build. Something I generally don't recommend. One thing I didn't mention. The Apple Mini gives you HDMI 2.0 onboard whereas the Gigabyte board only has 1.4. So if you do have a 4K TV and want to connect to that, it's very easy to adapt the onboard DP of the GA board to an HDMI 2.0 port on a 4K TV. Just buy an active DP to HDMI adapter from Club3D. Use a good quality HDMI 2.0 cable for best results.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0775Z57H9/?tag=tonymacx86com-20

 

[Midphase]

That's nice, but if one is looking for a hassle-free, ready-to-go self-contained computer which can fit neatly on a small desk, and has built-in Thunderbolt, then the extra $320 are totally worth it.

 

[trs96]

That's nice, but if one is looking for a hassle-free, ready-to-go self-contained computer which can fit neatly on a small desk, and has built-in Thunderbolt, then the extra $320 are totally worth it.

I agree, it's much easier to just buy a new Mini, plug it in and set up an account and put it on your desk where you can hardly even hear it running. For those with more time than money the CustoMac mini may be the best choice. It's never been easier to build a PC yourself, even if you've never attempted one. I think the biggest advantage of a CustoMac Mini is that you can easily install an AMD gfx card if the HD630 performance isn't good enough. A TH3 external GPU box can get super expensive. $699 for the Blackmagic eGPU with a Sapphire RX580 sold by Apple. It is very large too. You can get the same card for $220 and install it in your case yourself in under two minutes.

https://www.apple.com/shop/product/HM8Y2VC/A/blackmagic-egpu?afid=p238|sdB1OP121-dc_mtid_1870765e38482_pcrid_282212353902_&cid=aos-us-kwgo-pla-btb-3pp--slid--product-HM8Y2VC/A

 

[b.kind]

I thought about something very similar, but smaller, more mini-like:
GIGABYTE H370N WiFi - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07BQCZNKB/?tag=tonymacx86com-20

with this case + PSU combo -
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA9TW7A71456 or
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA9TW7B57048


It would probably need a Noctura slim CPU fan.

 

[toleda]

For an extra $105: TB3/USB Type C, USB 3.1/Gen 2, HDMI 2.0 and Mini ITX

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157854
Note: accepts both CNVi and non-CNVi key-E WiFi cards, swap Intel for Broadcom/$40
Leaves $175 in play

 

[ericmahlon]

Thanks! I noticed your mac mini build did not include a graphics card so assuming the integrated will work. Also, no cooler?

Will I have to buy anything to get wifi/bluetooth going?

Any guides for installing the OS on a similar build like this you could point me to?

 

[trs96]

Thanks! I noticed your mac mini build did not include a graphics card so assuming the integrated will work.

The Mac mini uses UHD 630 graphics so yes, they should have full support in Mojave 10.4.1
Yes you would need a wifi BT card that is compatible.
Once Clover gets the new Mac mini 8,1 system definition you can use that and it should be possible to do the install with Unibeast right now. Quite a few people have i3-8100 systems working with HS or Mojave.

https://www.tonymacx86.com/threads/anyone-tried-smbios-macmini-8-1-yet.265222/#post-1853512

 

[trs96]

Here's why the new 2018 Mac mini with a Core i7-8700 CPU is not such a great idea. When performing CPU intensive tasks you will rarely ever get the 8700 to run at it's full turbo speeds. So you're paying 300 dollars more for something you can't fully utilize.

The bottom line, take home idea is: If you are a professional photo or video editor, don't buy a maxed out $4,200 mini, you'll be very disappointed at the performance. You'd be much better off with a hackintosh with an i7-8700K and a high performance case and cooling system to get the full potential from your CPU and graphics. If you have $5,000 or more to spend then get the iMac Pro instead.

 

[ed_co]

Not too bad at all... but should be great in mini-itx factor, just for continuing the "mini" topic... and just increasing the price $25, with Asrock H370M-ITX/ac with 6xSATA and 2xEthernet cards... (and why paying for a Z motherboard if you don't have intention to overclock...).

 

[trs96]

Not too bad at all... but should be great in mini-itx factor, just for continuing the "mini" topic... and just increasing the price $25, with Asrock H370M-ITX/ac with 6xSATA and 2xEthernet cards... (and why paying for a Z motherboard if you don't have intention to overclock...).

Which mini-itx case are you going to build in ?