*** The official 2023 and 2024 Mac mini thread (it has the M2 chip, the M4 chip and everything!) ***

[eldergeek]

And this is the harsh reality
My attention is now slowly turning away from the Mac Mini and towards the M4 Pro 14” MacBook Pro.
Since buying the original 16” in 2019 I said I’d never buy the smaller screen version again as I tended to use it as a desktop replacement rather than a portable carry-round. However, since picking up the Studio Display I no longer need the larger 16” display when at the desk. It’s whether I can live with the 14” when sofa surfing etc.

14" could actually be the sweet sport. I had the 2019 16" macbook too, and I found in some places pulling it and having sufficient table space could be an issue. What would you do? invest in a hynge so that you can use it docked as well?

I'm really tempted by the studio display, but I've used 27 inch screens and they feel too small for me. I've been keeping an eye on a few places for the G9 to hit a decent price during black friday.

 

[fez]

14" could actually be the sweet sport. I had the 2019 16" macbook too, and I found in some places pulling it and having sufficient table space could be an issue. What would you do? invest in a hynge so that you can use it docked as well?

I'm really tempted by the studio display, but I've used 27 inch screens and they feel too small for me. I've been keeping an eye on a few places for the G9 to hit a decent price during black friday.

Have you used 27" 5K displays though. They are a country mile better than what passes for 4K on monitors.

 

[eldergeek]

Have you used 27" 5K displays though. They are a country mile better than what passes for 4K on monitors.

That last 5k display I used would have been the one on my 2019 iMac - does that count or even compare to the current apple display?

 

[fez]

That last 5k display I used would have been the one on my 2019 iMac - does that count or even compare to the current apple display?

Not sure honestly. I would imagine they are fairly comparable as I think the iMac display was considered very good. I can't get my head around a 27" 4K diplay but 5K is perfect IMO.

 

[eldergeek]

Not sure honestly. I would imagine they are fairly comparable as I think the iMac display was considered very good. I can't get my head around a 27" 4K diplay but 5K is perfect IMO.

My current display is an LG 4K ultrafine and a love it. Mostly. it really has a problem with getting knocked.

 

[Feek]

That last 5k display I used would have been the one on my 2019 iMac - does that count or even compare to the current apple display?

It’s the same panel.

 

[eldergeek]

It’s the same panel.

ok that makes me think, because that panel was finer to look at than dua lipa.

 

[pcfarrar]

Really good efficiency on M4:

M4 Mac mini's efficiency is incredible | Jeff Geerling

www.jeffgeerling.com

 

[squerble]

I can't get my head around a 27" 4K diplay but 5K is perfect IMO.

I mean, I sort of get this.

At 24", 1080p sizing is good so doubling resolution in both directions gives us 4K, which is then scaled to give the same sizing as 1080p but very sharp; at 27", 1440p sizing is good, so again doubling the resolution in both directions gives us 5K, scaled to give 1440p sizing but very sharp.

I have a 27" 4K that you can't get your head around if I scale it to 1080p, the interface of everything does feel a little bit...jumbo sometimes, but it's perfect scaling when it comes to actual pixels and so gives the best sharpness. If I change the scaling to 1440p, everything feels right again in terms of screen estate but there is a weird little blur/shimmer/sheen around text because the pixel scaling doesn't match (4K is 2.25x the size of 1440p).

Long story short, now I really want dual 5K 27" displays but I'll just try and deal with the slight blur around text as I don't have £3k to spaff on two ASDs

 

[OspreyO]

I like jumbo. Tiny text is too hard work these days. Both for my eyes and the hardware. I note I'll gravitate to a larger physical screen, or desktop if I have the option.

 

[dowie]

Really good efficiency on M4:

M4 Mac mini's efficiency is incredible | Jeff Geerling

www.jeffgeerling.com

It's awesome plus with the unified memory there isn't really anything similar available for PCs AFAIK.

Mac mini maxes out with 64GB AFAIK but the current studio lineup with the older processors goes up to 192GB with the M2 Ultra so it will be very interesting to see what they have to offer for the Mac Studios and Mac Pro with the future M4 Ultra chip - like 256GB or more of unified memory seems quite possible.

 

[Stu999]

Comparison with mini PCs:

TL: DW, Mini is the best in productivity and is reasonable in games (reviewer reported some issues in games).

 

[JamesM]

Daughter has decided she wants a PC again for Christmas. She asked for a laptop to do general work, etc but she also wants to play some games like Minecraft and Roblox so nothing too demanding.

Looking online and whats on offer the new M4 Mini seems like a decent choice especially as I already have a spare monitor, keyboard and mouse.

I don't know much about GPU performance on M chips so will the base spec M4 Mini run those OK do you think?

 

[Reuben klang]

Daughter has decided she wants a PC again for Christmas. She asked for a laptop to do general work, etc but she also wants to play some games like Minecraft and Roblox so nothing too demanding.

Looking online and whats on offer the new M4 Mini seems like a decent choice especially as I already have a spare monitor, keyboard and mouse.

I don't know much about GPU performance on M chips so will the base spec M4 Mini run those OK do you think?

Easily, the things a little beast.

 

[JamesM]

Easily, the things a little beast.

Brilliant, I had thought as much but always good to check. There doesn't seem to be many online benchmarks for basic gaming so here was my first call!

 

[ElliorR]

Just installed Minecraft, haven't played it in years, and it runs fine on the MMM4. This is only talking about a new game as it looks like save games are not cloud based.

 

[eldergeek]

oh Quinn, never change:

 

[mick4545]

Going all apple after being a PC user since Amsrad days. Picking a bottom spec Mac Mini next week. I’ll be adding a 2TB NVME in a thunderbolt 3 enclosure, a 4TB portable HDD with a USB A to C adapter.

I aim to put the OS on the Mini, apps and frequently accessed files on the NVME, other stuff on the HDD, about 1.2TB of data, all backed up to my NAS. Does this sound like a sensible plan? Any tips on the switch.

Edit.. I’ll be keeping my 4K monitor, and Logitech keyboard and Mouse

iPad iPhone 16 Pro Max Apple TV, air pods Max headphones.

 

[GMac11]

I guess it depends on what you're doing with it. I actually experimented running Lightroom from my external NVME via Thunderbolt 3 for a week or so and it was not a pleasant experience. The worst part was when doing a lot of edits the drive would begin to thermal throttle and the speeds just dropped off a cliff.
As for HDD, I use mine solely as backup. With SSD's being the norm now, going back to using an HDD is just so slow.

Anyhow, that's why I ended up going for a 1tb MacBook Pro. No need to worry about running low on space and I now don't have to purge my photo library to the external drives as often.

 

[Earth[Tera].bin]

Anyone know why there's a £400 difference between the Mac Mini M4 Pro on their official site (£1399 ) and from Amazon ( £999 ) ?, specs look identical.