Anyone going from MBP 16 to Mac Mini M1

[carl varley]

I would definitely opt for the 16gb. I have the stock base 8gb mini and whilst I do really like it, 8gb does have limitations.

Coming from using a 2016 15 inch MBP (16gb) and a 2011 iMac (32gb and 1270 Xeon upgrade) I can say that for design and print it really is not cutting the mustard for me. I am using Affinity suit on the M1 mini and I am getting constant slow downs, beachballs and crashes after getting so many pages in using Publisher or layers in Photo. After a bit of testing I found that exporting to PDF is slower on the M1 than either the 2011 iMac or MBP at better quality (if it does not crash). At a low quality setting the M1 is twice as fast. I put this entirely down to having 8gb. Constantly having to swap really slows it down in some instances. I have found that this is not isolated to those apps but in general. After a couple of weeks playing around it is easier than you may think to reach the ram limit.

I bought mine really just to tinker and see what these new machines are capable of.

 

[AAPLGeek]

I would definitely opt for the 16gb. I have the stock base 8gb mini and whilst I do really like it, 8gb does have limitations.

Coming from using a 2016 15 inch MBP (16gb) and a 2011 iMac (32gb and 1270 Xeon upgrade) I can say that for design and print it really is not cutting the mustard for me. I am using Affinity suit on the M1 mini and I am getting constant slow downs, beachballs and crashes after getting so many pages in using Publisher or layers in Photo. After a bit of testing I found that exporting to PDF is slower on the M1 than either the 2011 iMac or MBP at better quality (if it does not crash). At a low quality setting the M1 is twice as fast. I put this entirely down to having 8gb. Constantly having to swap really slows it down in some instances. I have found that this is not isolated to those apps but in general. After a couple of weeks playing around it is easier than you may think to reach the ram limit.

I bought mine really just to tinker and see what these new machines are capable of.

I'm curious as to what your memory pressure looks like during those beachballs and crashes

The slower PDF export could very likely be a software optimisation issue.

 

[Ocala2020]

External speaker(s) is a *must*!

that is self-evident.

 

[jelu77]

It's set to YPbPr. Does your Dell U2720Q have multiple ports and the ability to serve as an integrated USB-C Hub (i.e., allow other USB and USB-C devices to be connected to the monitor then passed through to the Mac via the single USB-C/TB3 cable?

Yes it does, hub and everything is working perfect except I cannot get RGB color mode. It still looks ok, but think it will look even better in RBG mode. Maybe someday there will be a fix. Strangely enough some people with the same monitor as I get RGB and some get YPbPr, it's really weird.

 

[Ocala2020]

External speaker(s) is a *must*!

"unbelieveable"....yes for someone who sent my back to apple....I don't believe anyone can honestly comment on this new M1 Mac Mini unless they have personal experience with the Mini....

 

[heretiq]

Yes it does, hub and everything is working perfect except I cannot get RGB color mode. It still looks ok, but think it will look even better in RBG mode. Maybe someday there will be a fix. Strangely enough some people with the same monitor as I get RGB and some get YPbPr, it's really weird.

Awesome that your similar Dell monitor is working perfectly with USB-C/TB3. It gives me reason for optimism that the issue with mine can/will be corrected in time. However, that inconsistent RGB/YPbPr behavior on your monitor is puzzling. Could it be a cable issue? Are the folks getting RGB to work also using USB-C/TB3?