Macminicolo.net, a server colocation company that specializes in providing Mac minis to server customers, has performed an initial benchmark of the new Mac minis using one of our favorite tools, Geekbench.
Courtesy of Macminicolo.net
One of the company's somewhat startling conclusions is that the newest Mac mini approaches the same performance levels as a 2010 Mac Pro.
That's not as surprising as you might think. The new Mac minis use the latest Intel Ivy Bridge processors. Most 2010 Mac Pros use the much older Nehalem processors, although a few models use the newer Westmere processors.
Before you grab a 2012 Mac mini and expect to get Mac Pro performance, note that only the more expensive quad-core i7 models with max memory and an SSD were able to record Geekbench performance levels around 11,250. That puts them in the range of lower-priced 2010 Mac Pro models, but still quite a distance behind the Westmere versions of the Mac Pro.
Nevertheless, the overall performance of the i7-based Mac mini is impressive. It also suggests that jumping from the low-end Mac mini ($599) to the mid-level i7 model ($799) may be well worth the cost premium.