Steep vs. Mash

So I read the many articles on which grains/malts need to be mashed and which don't. My question is:
Do the ones that don't need to be mashed do better is they ARE mashed? For instance, if I begin doing partial or mini mashes (not sure of the diff.), should I mash all the stuff, or just the ones that need to be mashed and then steep the others? I know, kind of a confusing question, but .........

Mash it all.

When I did my first partial mash , i only used abucket and a large 24x24 mesh bag(basically a very large steeping bag). It sat inside a bucket with the top open. Then I placed all of the grain in the bag, inside the bucket, added water and waited. needless to say was not very good at holding the temp, and then drained and rinsed with more water. Hope that helps answer your questions?

The ones that don't need to be mashed really won't benefit from mashing, so you can steep them. However, you won't hurt them if you mash them, either. So, if your recipe just has steeping grains, go ahead and steep. If there are some "mash only" grains in there, throw them in together.

With the exception of roasted barley and black patent, grains that be "just steeped" will do better in the mash. Since those two grains are used by the ounce; if you are doing a mash, mash everything.

Mini-mash & partial mash are basically the same thing. I think of partial mashes as high gravity batches when you mash as much as your equipment allows and use extract to reach a final gravity. Mini-mashes are when you use just enough 2-row or 6-row to ensure proper conversion of the specialty grains. But, I've never seen these definitions carved in stone.