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M4 Mac mini's efficiency

jeffgeerling.com

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Re: M4 Mac mini's efficiency

#501

Post by vbezhenar »

tredre3 wrote: post #44
nextos wrote: post #9

I use Linux, but I think the cheapest M4 Mini offers an incredible value and efficiency per €. With education discount, it's around €650, including VAT. It's pretty hard to find such a silent and powerful machine for that little. Any comparable options? A good fanless build with a i3-14100T is more expensive and 40-50% slower on Geekbench. An i5 is a bit closer. Some 2024 Ryzen CPUs can match or exceed its multicore…

> With education discount I don't understand why so many people use the discounted price as reference. Surely very few of us on HN are still in college? So let's use the actual price when making comparisons.

Because when one configures it with reasonable 32GB RAM/2TB SSD and EU prices, it suddenly becomes £1800 and it's harder to convince anyone of its price superiority.

Re: M4 Mac mini's efficiency

#502

Post by darthrupert »

cchance wrote: post #306
throawayonthe wrote: post #191

Earlier quoted context omitted.

well asahi is going to bring M4 support eventually and there is https://github.com/tpwrules/nixos-apple-silicon also you could just Containerize All The Things on macos idk

Ya like i get the love for linux, but seriously give MacOSX a try for a while, its pretty damn good lol

For most developer things it's slightly worse, so to have to pay extra for it is a bit silly.

Re: M4 Mac mini's efficiency

#503

Post by littlecranky67 »

shuckles wrote: post #480
spike021 wrote: post #291

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have a Mac Mini and can't remember the last time I had to manually press the button. IIRC it even reboots on its own after a power outage. I think I shut it down once for an extended vacation just to make sure appliances weren't on while I was gone and when I switched apartments. Otherwise I'd check and post my uptime from the command line. It's a launch M1 mini so I'd wager less times pressing the power button tha…

Apple Silicon devices turn on automatically from IO, even after shut down, so the power button is only useful to: force shutdown if unresponsive or execute some sort of boot key combo to enter a recovery mode.

And if you use bluetooth IO (non-apple). I do on my Mac Mini M2, and yet I have maybe pressed that button 3 times in the year that I am using it as my main machine as I never power it off.

Re: M4 Mac mini's efficiency

#504

Post by littlecranky67 »

zamadatix wrote: post #388
H1Supreme wrote: post #367

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I actually think it's a really good choice and shows Apple really understands design. And with the relatively low power consumption it makes sense. It's not like it's drawing a ton of power on idle I use a Mac Mini (older model) in my music studio. It shares a surge protector with approx. $12k worth of audio gear (some of it nearly impossible to replace). I have all the gear + the surge protector switched off anyti…

M1 and newer Mac Minis automatically power on when plugged in/given power. If you're using an external power switch then that basically becomes the power button. I'd still like the button to have been on the side or something over looks but it does seem like a pretty reasonable choice overall.

This is a setting in the control center, not sure what is the default though. You can make it auto-boot when external power switch is used, through that setting for sure.

Re: M4 Mac mini's efficiency

#505

Post by pimterry »

Very very cool, but only makes it more disappointing that you can't actually use this for anything innovative, except in the Apple-approved format & use cases.

Can't upgrade any of the internals, doesn't run Linux easily, no way to use any of the internal components separately, or rebuild them into a different form factor. Imagine being able to directly mount these to VESA behind a dashboard. I have an old M1 Mac Mini I'd love to use as a NAS, but the disk is slightly too small and you can't upgrade it, so it's just useless to me instead.

Impressive to see Apple match the Pi for idle power & efficiency, but deeply frustrating to see them takes the exact opposite design philosophy.

Re: M4 Mac mini's efficiency

#506

Post by [deleted] »

AshamedCaptain wrote: post #176
GeekyBear wrote: post #164

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The M4 Pro Minis support higher capacity modules, so it's not too shocking that they are not identical. We've already seen videos from the usual suspects showing that people who are sufficiently skilled with a soldering iron can replace the flash chips in the modules with higher capacity chips, in addition to replacing the whole module.

> We've already seen videos from the usual suspects showing that people who are sufficiently skilled with a soldering iron can replace the flash chips Sure, but I don't think soldering skills is exactly what I'd have in mind when I think "upgradeable".

[deleted]

Re: M4 Mac mini's efficiency

#507

Post by dugmartin »

4ggr0 wrote: post #497
Suppafly wrote: post #446

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>I don't understand why so many people use the discounted price as reference. Or when they only use it to make the Apple pricing seem more favorable and ignore it when it comes to PC pricing. Most PC manufacturers also have educational pricing, whether directly or through some portal provided by your institution. I know my son's college had a deal and also had a list of the tax free days in the state so that you coul…

> tax free days in the state i'm sorry, tax free days?!? am i too european to understand this? does this apply to everything, like groceries, tech, flowers, wood etc., or just corporate transactions?

I can't say for all states but here in Massachusetts we have an annual tax free weekend where sales tax (6.25%) is not applied for "most retail items of up to $2,500, purchased in Massachusetts for personal use" (https://www.mass.gov/info-details/massachusetts-sales-tax-ho...).

Also groceries never have a sales tax in Massachusetts but, again, that varies by state.

Re: M4 Mac mini's efficiency

#508

Post by littlecranky67 »

justinclift wrote: post #314
1-6 wrote: post #45

“If only they didn't put the power button on the bottom.” While I think Apple was off the rocker on this particular decision, I do respect their org structure that allows this type of decision to occur. Believe me, there are companies where a dozen people or more would weigh in and prevent an unpopular choice. Consensus sometimes hinders a desired result (both good and bad).

As a counter point, that same org structure resulted in the removal of the 3.5mm audio port. Ugh.

All Mac devices still come with a headphone jack - and they are even good for higher impedance headphones (I use a 32ohms DT770 on my Macbook/MacMini).

For mobile devices, removing the headphone jack was not well received and it annoyed me too when it happened. Last year I made the switch to airpod pros, and I think I was the last person on earth to switch to BT for headphones - never looking back. So much better not to have a cable and untangled it.

Re: M4 Mac mini's efficiency

#509

Post by gorbypark »

solardev wrote: post #387
wodenokoto wrote: post #385

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Educational discount is a pinky swear that you are a student or buying it for a student. So it is in practice available to everyone if you want to ruin nice things for students.

Don't you usually need to verify somehow, like an .edu address?

Canada also does not verify, don't ask me how I know. However, where I live now (Spain) they do have some 3rd party service verifying edu status.

Re: M4 Mac mini's efficiency

#510

Post by kissiel »

Y-bar wrote: post #435
nobrains wrote: post #420

> If only they didn't put the power button on the bottom. Question for HN: How would you redesign the power button, assuming you work at Apple and the final design should align with Apple's design ethos?

Since I turn off my Mac almost every night, just like I turn off my television, lights, and other stuff when I don’t use them. To me, personally, it makes no sense to waste the electricity for about 15 hrs * 365 days per year. I would put the power on any vertical side of the mini if I were designing it for my use.

I really hope you mean you unplug the power cable from the TV, cause none of the modern TVs turn off when you ask them to. The TV bootup takes too long for it to be "off" off.
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