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New Mac Mini with M4

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Re: New Mac Mini with M4

#221

Post by wtallis »

jsheard wrote: post #210
wtallis wrote: post #206

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I just checked some Dell prices: $730 to upgrade an XPS desktop from 512GB to 4TB (Apple charges $1200), or $508 to upgrade an Optiplex tower from 256GB to 2TB QLC, or $654 to upgrade it from 256GB to 2TB TLC (Apple charges $800). Scalping on upgrade pricing is something all the PC OEMs do.

Yeah, but the 5 minute job of installing a cheap retail SSD in that Dell machine yourself is still an option which Apple has removed from all but the Mac Pro, which offsets any SSD savings by being $3000 more expensive than an equivalently specced Mac Studio.

Right. The repairability argument is the reasonable discussion to have. The silly pricing games are more of a red herring.

Re: New Mac Mini with M4

#222

Post by Rohansi »

jsheard wrote: post #79
piva00 wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Probably the same would apply to memory, maybe with replaceable memory chips The memory chip is embedded in the SoC, how do you envision a way to do replacement of memory chips with this design/architecture?

As discussed in the iMac thread yesterday, LPCAMM2 makes it possible. There are LPCAMM2 modules with the same 7500 MT/s spec as the M4s integrated memory, and two of them running in parallel would match the M4 Pro. https://www.anandtech.com/show/21390/micron-ships-crucialbra... Even if Apple wanted to support modular memory, which they obviously don't, the ultra-tiny form factor of the new Mini would probably still r…

No way the new Mini is too small to allow upgradability. You can buy a Windows mini PC that is not only smaller than the new Mini but also allows upgrading both RAM and SSD. And that's without using LPCAMM2 - just normal SO-DIMMs. (Example: https://trigkey.com/products/trigkey-green-g4-16g-500g-n100)

Re: New Mac Mini with M4

#223

Post by sureIy »

chaostheory wrote: post #5

Are they shrinking minis for future versions of Apple Vision or would an iPhone be enough?

I'm seeing 3200 points for iPhone 16 Pro single core and 3800 for an M4 Mac. That's only about a 18% difference. I don’t think a cabled desktop computer is the right choice for this endeavor anyway.

Re: New Mac Mini with M4

#224

Post by richwater »

buildbot wrote: post #103
wpwpwpw wrote: post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If a CPU is socket-able, so should memory chips be.

It won’t ever be able run as fast as a soldered system. Have you installed a server CPU? It’s really easy to fuckup and lose a few channels of memory due to the contact being bad. Right now I’ve got a 3647 Xeon phi cpu that’s refusing to train dimm a1 for _reasons_ That’s not an experience Apple wants any user of their products to have. Here’s an example BGA socket: https://www.ironwoodelectronics.com/products/bga-so…

People running a single desktop machine are way better served by being able to upgrade RAM modules than worrying about single contacts being bad between the RAM stick and motherboard.

Re: New Mac Mini with M4

#225

Post by Hamuko »

xyst wrote: post #148
donatj wrote: post #121

It would appear the air intake is on the bottom like the Mac Studio. As someone who lives in a very dusty 150 year old house, My Mac Studio does not appreciate the air input being directly on the desk. It collects all the dust that lands anywhere near it. I have a large levoit air filter running 24/7 in my office and still end up with this[1] regularly. I wish I could at least reasonably take the thing apart to clean…

That’s a shit ton of dust. Is this in an industrial factory? I agree that mine also gets dirty as well but nothing like your picture where it’s caked there. I typically just wipe it clean after a couple of weeks. Can even go a month without any issues. I even have a dog that sheds like a mofo

My Mac Studio definitely has had a mat of dust surrounding the base intake.

Re: New Mac Mini with M4

#226

Post by hggigg »

999900000999 wrote: post #104
massysett wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For drives at least, the upgrade path is the USB-C port.

I don't think these even boot once the SSDs die. Apple knows how to make money, I can buy a quality 4TB Nvme for 300$( you can definitely go lower if you want to risk it ). The upgrade to 4TB on the M4 Pro Mini is 1200$(it's not supported on the base model) , on top of 1400$ for the actual computer. It I had to guess, most of Apple's margin is on users riding the pricing ladder up into the stratosphere. I had an expe…

I doubt the internal SSD is going to die before the power supply gets cooked.

If it does, you can get the SSD chips replaced. That is well proven now. Granted it needs a specialist with rework kit but they are starting to become more common now that it's an issue.

Re: New Mac Mini with M4

#227

Post by TiredOfLife »

yunohn wrote: post #191
jsheard wrote: post #8

16GB base RAM across the board, following the iMac. AI is certainly good for pushing up the baseline RAM that manufacturers can get away with shipping if nothing else.

I learned yesterday that all M-chip Macs with enough RAM are getting Apple Intelligence? This basically proves that Apple shot themselves in the foot for AI on mobile by artificially restricting RAM for so long! Heck, even the Neural Engine has turned out to be basically useless despite all their grandstanding. So alas, their prior greed has resulted in their most popular consumer iDevices being the least AI compatib…

But now they get to sell new devices to them

Re: New Mac Mini with M4

#228

Post by addandsubtract »

leetharris wrote: post #94
npsomaratna wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are these games available on OSX? Or are you somehow booting Windows? (Apologies if this seems like a stupid question. I've not played games for a very long time, mainly because most stuff doesn't seem to be available on Macs).

It's not a dumb question. I actually used to use an iMac 27" with an Nvidia 680 that I would boot into Bootcamp / Windows for my primary gaming computer. I covered it in "built, not bought" stickers at Quakecon one year. You can't do x86/x64 Windows on M-series Macs without emulation and it is generally a poor experience. There's a few things like Crossover, Parallels, etc that can help you run Windows games. But I h…

Whisky also does a great job at running Windows games with minimal setup / overhead.

Re: New Mac Mini with M4

#229

Post by [deleted] »

andreasley wrote: post #186
nordsieck wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Why would you prefer an external power brick? The internal power supplies in Mac minis have been extremely reliable and the fewer cables the better, in my opinion.

[deleted]

Re: New Mac Mini with M4

#230

Post by influx »

leetharris wrote: post #70
eamag wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Isn't steamdeck a better option for this use case?

I have a Steam Deck, Asus ROG Ally, M2 Mac Mini, M1 Pro laptop, M2 Max laptop (work). All of this runs on either an LG C3 42" OLED or a 34" 1440p ultrawide. Linux GeForce Now can only do 720p or 1080p, can't remember which. Also, it's just kind of laggy in desktop mode. The Macs run so much smoother. My current "main" desktop is actually my Asus ROG Ally. I use one USB C hub that is capable of 4k120hz, and I can move…

What's the model of that USB C hub? Looking for one that I can switch between Windows and Mac (and maybe Linux)
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