How fast are the "Mid-2010" Aluminum "Unibody" Mac mini "Core 2 Duo" models compared to the Mac mini models replaced?

Please note that all models mentioned in this Q&A have been discontinued. The "Mid-2010" Mac mini models were replaced by the "Mid-2011" Mac mini models on July 20, 2011. For more recent comparison Q&As, please refer to the main Aluminum Mac mini Q&A page.

With a quick look at a comparison between the "Mid-2010" Aluminum "Unibody" Mac mini models -- the Mac mini "Core 2 Duo" 2.4 (Mid-2010) and 2.66 Server (Mid-2010) -- and the "Late 2009" Mac mini models -- the Mac mini "Core 2 Duo" 2.26, "Core 2 Duo" 2.53, and "Core 2 Duo" 2.53 (Server) -- it is clear that they differ quite a bit in design and connectivity.

However, the only factors that have a significant impact on performance are the processor speed, graphics processors -- and for some configurations -- the amount of pre-installed RAM.

With the clock speed difference quite minor -- roughly 5% to 6% -- Apple instead chose to emphasize that the NVIDIA GeForce 320M graphics processor in the "Mid-2010" model is "up to 2x faster" than the previous generation's NVIDA GeForce 9400M, specifically when running Quake 4. The company also notes that Call of Duty 4 and Doom 3 are 1.9x faster.

The GeForce 320M graphics processor is notably faster than the NVIDIA GeForce 9400M, but it is still an "integrated" graphics processor that shares memory with the system and it is worth mentioning that this negatively impacts performance when compared to a graphics processor with its own memory.

Although official information from the marketing department of any company may be useful, third-party tests always are needed for an objective perspective.

After running the publication's standard Speedmark 6 benchmarking suite, as well as other real-world tests, MacWorld reported:

The new 2.4 GHz Mac mini is about 13.5 percent faster overall than that older 2.26 GHz Mac mini model. . . The new NVIDIA GeForce 320M graphics helped the 2.4 GHz Mac mini display about twice as many frames per second as the 2.26 GHz model. The 2.4 GHz mini was 18 percent faster than the 2.26 GHz mini in our Aperture tests and 14 percent faster in the iMovie export test.

In an in-depth review, Engadget tested the "Mid-2010" Mac mini with a focus on media playback and gaming and found:

On the straight benchmark front, the mini put up a Geekbench score of 3385, which is right in line with what we'd expect. Where the mini does struggle is gaming performance. Although the GeForce 320M can handle less taxing games and lower resolutions just fine, it can't hang once you crank things up -- we averaged between 17-20fps running Portal at 1920 x 1200 with the default settings, and about the same when we ran it at 1080p connected to our TV. If you're willing to step it down, though, you should be fine -- we got 30fps running Half-Life 2 Episode 2 at 1280 x 800.

In another in-depth review, RegHardware hit the "Mid-2010" Mac mini with the PCMark Vantage benchmark suite and it delivered an overall score of 3935. The publication put it through its paces in Far Cry 2 and found it to churn out 45 FPS at the 1280x800 resolution and the high quality setting.

In Geekbench 2 results, which tend to demonstrate the maximum theoretical performance difference between models, the 2.4 GHz and 2.66 GHz "Mid-2010" Mac mini models scored 3470 and 3834, respectively, in an average of user-submitted benchmarks to the Geekbench website. This compares to 3229 and 3540, respectively, for the 2.26 GHz and 2.53 GHz "Late 2009" Mac mini models.

Ultimately, the performance difference between the "Mid-2010" and "Late 2009" Mac mini models is unlikely to be enough to motivate one to upgrade, but for those with a much older Mac mini, or who would find the HDMI port and easy to upgrade case design worthwhile, the "Mid-2010" Mac mini can be quite appealing.

Site sponsor PowerMax has new and used Mac mini models available for sale free of sales tax. Other World Computing sells Mac mini memory and hard drive upgrades at affordable prices.

Please refer to the Ultimate Mac Comparison feature to dynamically compare the Geekbench 2 performance of any Mac mini model to any other G3 or later Mac.