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2018 Mac mini: Real World Photoshop: Make Multi-Res Image Series
Related: 2017 iMac 5K, 2018 Mac mini, 4K and 5K display, iMac, iMac 5K, Mac mini, Macs, Photoshop
MPG tested the 2018 Mac mini 15-inch 3.2 GHz 64GB 1TB UHD630.
See 2018 Mac mini buying recommendations • Mac wish list • all Mac mini 2018 models. Unsure which Mac to get or how to configure it? Consult with MPG.

This test is as real world as it gets, one that Lloyd does frequently for generating lens rendering aperture series. This particular image-generation task applies to much of Lloyd’s work, such as for this lens comparison. It is a time-consuming and work-stopping task, so performance gains are very welcome. However, it is one specific workflow that might have limited significance for the workflow of others. Still, if workflow is scripted, it likely applies.
Photoshop does not use CPU cores well for this test, though it is not entirely single threaded. It is a javascript-driven script that generates series of images.
The 2018 Mac mini wins out but only by about 3%. With turbo boost for both machines of 4.6 GHz, it suggests that some other factor like memory bandwidth or turbo boost throttling plays a minor role. The number of CPU cores play little role in this test.


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