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

[DIABLO]

For people who use their Mini for high workload applications; i can't recommend installing a software fan controller enough. A Apple fan curve seems to not actually exist, the fan will refuse to go above it's idle speed of 1000rpm and the SoC will bounce off the thermal throttle of 100c. Where as a rule to kick the fan up to 2300rpm~ above 70c is enough to keep the SoC under around 85c.

Good luck to people when M4 Mini clogs with dust, as the intake is sat on the desk surface, which collects dust.

 

[eldergeek]

I just wanted to wish all my fellow mac cultists a merry christmas!

 

[Jimbeam3678]

Same to you

 

[ElliorR]

I just wanted to wish all my fellow mac cultists a merry christmas!

Oi, I’m not an Apple Fanboi. All I have is an iPhone 16 Pro, iPad Pro M1, Mac Mini M4, Apple Watch SE & 2 Apple TV 4k’s.

Ffs, how did that happen

 

[eldergeek]

Oi, I’m not an Apple Fanboi. All I have is an iPhone 16 Pro, iPad Pro M1, Mac Mini M4, Apple Watch SE & 2 Apple TV 4k’s.

Ffs, how did that happen

I feel I have news that you probably weren't prepared for, but will find that we've all been there.

 

[Valo]

I just wanted to wish all my fellow mac cultists a merry christmas!

Merry Christmas to you too

I'm trying to tell myself I don't have a problem however the majority of my Christmas gift cards are for Apple! Looks like I'm all set to take a bit of cash off for the next refresh of the AppleTV (hopefully in 2025!)

 

[Raymond Lin]

I just wanted to wish all my fellow mac cultists a merry christmas!

Merry Christmas

 

[eldergeek]

Merry Christmas to you too

I'm trying to tell myself I don't have a problem however the majority of my Christmas gift cards are for Apple! Looks like I'm all set to take a bit of cash off for the next refresh of the AppleTV (hopefully in 2025!)

If the gods are merciful, a TV running tvOS will happen

 

[HACO]

If the gods are merciful, a TV running tvOS will happen

The chips that run TVs are ~50x slower than the chips inside Apple TV. Unless Apple makes a TV, it's not gonna happen, and Apple won't make one because TVs are low margin, and people hold onto them forever. It's not gonna be a money maker for Apple.

 

[Jimbeam3678]

The chips that run TVs are ~50x slower than the chips inside Apple TV. Unless Apple makes a TV, it's not gonna happen, and Apple won't make one because TVs are low margin, and people hold onto them forever. It's not gonna be a money maker for Apple.

Its Christmas, let a man dream

 

[HACO]

Its Christmas, let a man dream

Let's dream about something that can happen haha

 

[eldergeek]

The chips that run TVs are ~50x slower than the chips inside Apple TV. Unless Apple makes a TV, it's not gonna happen, and Apple won't make one because TVs are low margin, and people hold onto them forever. It's not gonna be a money maker for Apple.

It depends on the TVs. Samsung are starting to use decent snapdragon processors which could more than handle tvOS, and you need to let a man dream my friend. I'm tired of the ad bloated google tv garbage.

 

[Raymond Lin]

I've joined the club !

 

[nlel1975]

I've joined the club !

How’d you get it for £499?

 

[Raymond Lin]

How’d you get it for £499?

Educational Store discount.

 

[MacRS4]

Bought one today to replace an aging i7 2018 Mac mini. 499GBP thanks to being student. Weirdly they wouldn't accept the student discount in store...so I logged on to a MBP and ordered it for collection. Weird experience was weird.

 

[nlel1975]

I see, the Apple IQ store here in Jersey only offers 3% off for students and teachers…

https://www.iqjersey.com/services/studentandteacher

But VAT here is only 5%, so a base spec Mac Mini is £525 normally and with the 3% off £509.25. Still cheaper in UK for students.

 

[MacRS4]

I used to be able to order on my business account and then apply student discount. Used to give you 15-20% plus off. They seem to have caught on to that now though - I can either bus account or student but not both. Student discount was an extra 20 quid off.

 

[Raymond Lin]

I just trying to figure out what goes into the back of the Mac mini....

Monitor - It's Huawei Matthew 28".

I could do HDMI, but then I won't be able to make use of the USB ports at the monitor

1 - OWC 2TB SSD - Thunderbolt 40gbs (USB-C)
2 - Sabrent 2TB SSD - 10gbs (USB-C)

3 - WD Thunderbolt Duo No.1 HDD (Old Thunderbolt ports from 2012 iMac, will need new cables?)
4 - WD Thunderbolt Duo No.2 HDD (These are daisy chained to each other so just need 1 new cable to the Mac)

5 - Mechanical Keyboard (USB-C)
6 - Microphone (USB-A)
7 - Xrite monitor calibration monitoring (USB-A)
8 - Anker wireless charger dock (USB-A)
9 - SD card reader (USB-A)
10 - USB powered LED lights I put on the back of the monitor (USB-A)
11 - Webcam (if I don't use my iPhone as a continuity camera)

I currently have 1 USB-A dock that has 7 ports on it, which I can use to connect item 5 - 11. In an ideal world I want to put 2, 3 & 4 through 1 single thunderbolt at the back as none of them will max out the speed of the port, but what dock has a minimum 2 x 10gbps out?

Otherwise something has to be connected on the ports on the front permanently, and that would bug me lol

 

[Raymond Lin]

Also I just realised….those WD drives are Thunderbolt 2.

So I will need Tb2 to Tb3 adaptors. That past is not the problem, the problem is I don't know if it will work on the M4 Mac. Tb4 is backwards compatible with Tb3 but I don’t think it is to Tb2.

People who have the Ultra M2 cannot get it to work, not without some really silly work around.