2018 Mac mini: IntegrityChecker Verify

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.

2018 Mac mini

Cross-platform (any computer with Java) DiglloydTools IntegrityChecker runs SHA1 hashes on files to maintain data integrity checks. These days with so many Apple bugs, any professional should be using it to validate their data integrity, especially with macOS Finder silent data-loss risks and outright bugs when copying files.

The verify command of diglloydTools IntegrityChecker utilizes all CPU cores as efficiently as any application ever can, using sophisticated I/O algorithms to feed data to the CPU as fast as the OS can go. Performance will thus be gated by I/O speed unless all CPU cores are fed data fast enough to be fully utilized.

Results

At 4.2 GHz (turbo boost 4.5 GHz), the 2017 iMac 5K is in theory a little less fast than the 2.9 GHz 2018 Mac mini (turbo boost to 4.8GHz), but those turbo boost speeds apply only to extremely bursty short efforts and cannot be maintained for any multi-CPU intensive task.

This test is extremely interesting: the java version of IntegrityChecker is as fast or faster than the native version. That’s because Apple has degraded the performance of various file system APIs (starting in macOS 10.12), along with introducing highly variable erratic performance for some types of disk I/O—Apple Core Rot at its finest.

The six CPU cores of the 2018 Mac mini deliver a major boost to Java-based performance for this task—the 2018 Mac mini runs at 29% faster data rate, over 2 GB/sec versus 1.6 GB/sec for the 2017 iMac 5K.

2018 Mac mini: IntegrityChecker verify vs 2017 iMac 5K

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2018 Mac mini