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New Mac Mini with M4

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Re: New Mac Mini with M4

#631

Post by thefz »

laweijfmvo wrote: post #317

Apple really is the kind of cherry picking comparisons. They seem to compare the new Mini with the M1 Mini, the Core i7 Mini, and the M2 Mini, all in different categories, whenever it benefits them.

From yesterday's iMac announcement:

> The M4 chip brings a boost in performance to iMac. Featuring a more capable CPU with the world’s fastest CPU core,(4)

Then, deeper in the footnotes where no one ever reads

> (4) Testing was conducted by Apple in October 2024 using shipping competitive systems and select industry-standard benchmarks.

Basically, this is The Fastest CPU Ever* *we tested it, trust us.

How can anyone still give money to this company is a mystery to me.

Re: New Mac Mini with M4

#632

Post by TheFuzzball »

adib wrote: post #548
holycrapwhodat wrote: post #429

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is not USB-C powered. It needs 100-240V, 50hz-60hz AC power.

A missed opportunity though. If it’s USB-C powered, it could be even smaller and Apple could simplify its BOM by including a MacBook Pro charger with it.

If it was USB-C powered people would be complaining about the size of the external power supply.

Re: New Mac Mini with M4

#633

Post by rtkwe »

wtallis wrote: post #576
rtkwe wrote: post #477

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It matters that there are no after market options for Apple because it means the inflated OEM upgrade price is the ONLY price available for every given upgrade. It matters less with Dell/Asus/Lenovo etc. because that's not the only price available. The top of the line is also not where Apple is gouging the worst. It's in the middle tiers that are actually relevant to many more people. Most don't have a need for 4+ TB…

By all means, complain about the cost to get a 1TB config, and put that price in proper context. But it still doesn't make much sense to focus on the $1200 upgrades, or any of the other upgrades whose price rounds up to "lol, no".

The gouging is bad at all levels as well as the design effects on repairability and the issues with obsolescence. If you'll look way back though I acknowledged the $1200 is at least vaguely in line with the top of the line Sabrent 8tb NVMe of the same size.

Re: New Mac Mini with M4

#634

Post by magarnicle »

vyrotek wrote: post #211

Note. The power button is on the bottom now. Does this mess up datacenters using Mac Minis in racks now?

Yes it does. We have some in chassis with graphics cards attached and I'm considering whether I can just put these new minis outside the chassis and run extension cords.

Re: New Mac Mini with M4

#635

Post by heraldgeezer »

tootie wrote: post #492
stego-tech wrote: post #197

I love its form factor, less so the price difference between the M4 and M4 Pro models ($800 USD, presumably so it doesn’t cannibalize the Studio). It looks small, friendly, and inviting to the user, despite not breaking its industrial aesthetic. Honestly kind of want one as a desktop, even though my M1 Pro MBP is still insanely powerful for my needs.

To me, it really is just an aesthetic thing. What purpose does this actually serve? It's small, but not portable. If it's going under my desk or on a rack never to be moved or looked at, why does it need to be cute?

Wife-approval factor can be a powerful thing. The females will often choose small over powerful.

Re: New Mac Mini with M4

#637

Post by wtallis »

jwells89 wrote: post #320
Hamuko wrote: post #300

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I actually recently discovered that my USB DAC was skipping a lot because I had it connected to a hub. Threw it directly onto the Mac Studio and now everything's peachy, so there are definitely downsides to trying to get a bunch of USB-A devices attached to one of these.

Sadly it's been common for USB hubs to be dodgy ever since the advent of USB 3. I rarely had trouble out of 1.x and 2.x hubs, but 3.x+ hubs are consistently trouble. The only ones that haven't been problematic are those integrated into Thunderbolt docks, probably because those undergo more stringent certifications.

Are the ones in Thunderbolt docks actually USB hubs, or just USB host controllers speaking PCIe to the Thunderbolt controller?

Re: New Mac Mini with M4

#638

Post by theideaofcoffee »

architect64 wrote: post #439
e63f67dd-065b wrote: post #330

With educational pricing this thing starts as $500, and at 16GB of RAM (finally) I think this easily beats any sort of desktop PC you can buy at that price (let's exclude custom builds, they're not the same market). I think this just became the go-to recommendation I'll give to anybody wanting an entry-level desktop computer of any kind. In fact I might buy one for my parents right now to replace the old mac mini the…

One issue to watch out for: Sub-4K res monitors look surprisingly bad on newer versions of macOS with Apple Silicon Macs. And no, it's not simply a matter of non-Retina obviously not looking as nice as Retina monitors - something like a 1440p monitor will look much worse on macOS than it would on Windows or Linux. This is partly caused by a lack of subpixel rendering for text on macOS, but it doesn't affect just text…

My 7 year old QHD monitor pair through a M1 Pro MBP still looks fantastic. Then again, I do spend most of my day in apple Terminal, but I'm not really in want of anything more. Some other sibling comments are saying Windows 10/11 looks crappy, and I agree, as I have to occasionally switch between the two, I just don't like working in Windows anymore, mostly because of the poor display.

Re: New Mac Mini with M4

#639

Post by DrBenCarson »

angoragoats wrote: post #602
DrBenCarson wrote: post #274

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Frankly you’re very wrong. NPUs and GPUs aside, 16gb of GPU memory is very rare in consumer hardware

I'm not sure what you mean. RTX 4060 Ti/4070 Ti Super/3090/4090 cards can be easily purchased at any major electronics store in person or online and have 16GB or 24GB depending on model. Once you get up to 32GB, your point would stand, but 16-24GB GPUs are common.

Yes but the average user is not purchasing those, let alone putting together a system with one for $600

Re: New Mac Mini with M4

#640

Post by spacedcowboy »

nordsieck wrote: post #59
fckgw wrote: post #17

Having a fully fledged computer this small without an external power brick is pretty impressive.

Honestly, I wish they'd go with an external USB-C power brick. The only reason they might not is that they want to keep everything across the entire line, and the highest end Mac Studio probably needs more power than USB can offer.

How could you supply enough power on one input USBc to source sufficient power on 3xTB5 + 2xUSBc ?
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