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Apr 12, 2001
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While the new Mac mini with the M1 chip is only available with Gigabit Ethernet, Apple has listed multiple M1-based Mac mini logic boards with 10 Gigabit Ethernet in an internal parts list for Apple Authorized Service Providers.

m1-mac-mini-vignette.jpg

For every Mac mini logic board with Gigabit Ethernet in the parts list, obtained by MacRumors, there is a corresponding logic board with 10 Gigabit Ethernet:

m1-mac-mini-10gb-ethernet-parts-list.jpg

While the boards are available to order (in limited quantities), it is unclear why at this point. There are several possibilities, including that Apple listed the parts mistakenly or before it decided against offering a 10 Gigabit Ethernet option. The logic boards could also be designated for special circumstances, such as enterprise use. Apple could also choose to release an M1-based Mac mini with 10 Gigabit Ethernet at a later time.

Apple continues to sell Intel-based Mac mini models with optional 10 Gigabit Ethernet for now.

Article Link: Apple Lists M1-Based Mac Mini Logic Boards With 10 Gigabit Ethernet in Internal Parts Ordering System
 
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and 1989 others

macrumors 6502
Sep 21, 2016
474
2,226
Can somebody give me the idiots guide between 1-10 Gigabit ethernet?
Is it quite literally a speed bump.

Edit: I mean 1, not 8. Thats what you get for having another conversation at the same time.
 
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jz0309

Contributor
Sep 25, 2018
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Could have been supply chain issues with the 10G part and become a silent update at some point?
 

d5aqoëp

macrumors 68000
Feb 9, 2016
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2,607
Are there any here that have transferred over to real 10GB ethernet on their home network? If so what did it cost and what equipment would they recommend in lower price racket.
I use Aquantia AQN-107S in my PC which works in Windows as well as Hackintosh. My Qnap NAS also has same chipset based PCIe card. Then I use QNAP Switch which has 4 10Gbe ports and 8 1Gbe ports. They are all connected to Asus RT-AX88U with LAG ethernet bonding.
I max out my QNAP NAS while transferring data at 850 MBPS and falls under my expectations of this setup. Adding a Mac Mini 10Gbe model would mean eliminating hackintosh all together.
 

Grayfox691

macrumors newbie
Apr 19, 2010
23
14
I'm curious to see how this goes. The new entry level Mac mini only has two USB4 ports like the MacBook Air and entry-level 13" Pro. I wonder if that's a limitation of the newly released chip. I'd expect other more powerful versions of the M1 slated for the higher end Macs will have support for more IO including 10G. This is just speculation but we'll see.
 

jerryk

macrumors 604
Nov 3, 2011
7,418
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SF Bay Area
It is possible those boards were
Oh wow awesome!

Just in time for my 10 Gbps high speed internet tier!
I could the speed to get files to and from my NAS. With SSD caches the bottleneck is the network.

But the 10 gigabit would also useful for scenarios when the mini is a server for multiple clients simultaneously.
 
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max2

macrumors 603
May 31, 2015
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It is possible those boards were

I could the speed to get files to and from my NAS. With SSD caches the bottleneck is the network.

But the 10 gigabit would also useful for scenarios when the mini is a server for multiple clients simultaneously.

Bingo.
 
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reyesmac

macrumors 6502a
Jul 17, 2002
847
477
Central Texas
These must be for government contracts or some serious enterprise purchases. Wouldn't be surprised if they eventually come out with a Pro level mini that jacks up the entry price way up and includes things like 10G ethernet and more ports.
 
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deconstruct60

macrumors G5
Mar 10, 2009
12,202
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Ultimately Apple is going to have to make XServe's again with M-class chips, probably when Mac Pro is released.

Errr , probably not. They haven't for the last approximately 10 years. Several macOS cloud hosting / services vendors have custom rack space just for the Mini . The M1 Mini getting more horsepower in the same form factor for substantively less electricity costs just makes the more useful ; not less. ( at least where not doing dense, multi VM image hosting in large RAM footprints. )

The 10GbE would add value too. If puts the MBP 16" M1-varaiant ( "M1X" ? ) with a 32GB (or 64BG) RAM cap into the Mini again it will be just bigger upside. ( there is definately room in the case for a bigger logic board to host a bigger SoC. )

Apple didn't bring the XServe back with the rack version of the Mac Pro. Rumors are that Apple is working on a "half" sized Mac Pro. Again likely half as tall and still not an XServe ( 1U or 2U) . The "half" Mac Pro isn't going to bring back XServe. ( Still closer to 5U height in rack and perhaps some density increase by being able to fit into a custom bracket/shelf side-by side. ). A later full sized one probably won't either (same issue with current Mac Pro ... Apple will share same logic board for both. ) .

If Apple needs 1U - 2U arm boxes for their datacenter they'll just buy Ampere/Marvell boards and stick them in OpenCompute cases and run Linux on them. Apple doesn't need XServe as a "eat your own dog food" exercise. Just like they don't for their current cloud service infrastructure.


Do they probably have Mini compile build farms internally. Yep... but like others there are probably Mini specific form factor slots for those units to plug into.
 
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jlocker

macrumors 65816
Jun 20, 2011
1,022
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These will make great little OS X/Unix servers with the 10gb ethernet. Have some clients that their old Mac Pro servers about to go to the grave yard.
 

Wortak

macrumors newbie
Nov 16, 2020
20
13
Hopefully they release the 10G ethernet version really quick as a BTO. The external 10G TB3 solutions are not really suitable for server use as they get really hot (at least the Sonnet and OWC). TB3 PCIe rack chassis on the other hand are quite expansive.
 

mike...

macrumors 6502
Oct 9, 2008
380
918
Can somebody give me the idiots guide between 8-10 Gigabit ethernet?
Is it quite literally a speed bump.

I'm not sure what you're asking to be explained as there is no such thing as 8GbE. There is 1GbE which is the most common. Then there's 10GbE which is quite expensive although getting cheaper. As a result of 10GbE's expense, new standards of 2.5Gb and 5Gb have been created which are now common on mid-range routers and PC motherboards, with 10Gb often available on high-end models.

Are there any here that have transferred over to real 10GB ethernet on their home network? If so what did it cost and what equipment would they recommend in lower price racket.

Mikrotik CRS305-1G-4S+IN - about £120

Mellanox ConnectX-2 PCIe Cards - £30 to £50 on Ebay

Then you need to decide if you want copper or fibre. Copper (DAC) is cheaper and simpler for short runs up to 7m, with 7m costing £27.60. You can also use Cat6 or better, but SFP+ to RJ45 modules cost about £60 each, so aren't worth it.
 

ph001bi

macrumors 6502a
May 26, 2015
591
1,323
London


While the new Mac mini with the M1 chip is only available with Gigabit Ethernet, Apple has listed multiple M1-based Mac mini logic boards with 10 Gigabit Ethernet in an internal parts list for Apple Authorized Service Providers.

m1-mac-mini-vignette.jpg

For every Mac mini logic board with Gigabit Ethernet in the parts list, obtained by MacRumors, there is a corresponding logic board with 10 Gigabit Ethernet:

m1-mac-mini-10gb-ethernet-parts-list.jpg

While the boards are available to order (in limited quantities), it is unclear why at this point. There are several possibilities, including that Apple listed the parts mistakenly or before it decided against offering a 10 Gigabit Ethernet option. The logic boards could also be designated for special circumstances, such as enterprise use. Apple could also choose to release an M1-based Mac mini with 10 Gigabit Ethernet at a later time.

Apple continues to sell Intel-based Mac mini models with optional 10 Gigabit Ethernet for now.

Article Link: Apple Lists M1-Based Mac Mini Logic Boards With 10 Gigabit Ethernet in Internal Parts Ordering System
This should address the market for those who put several minis in a rack or the lucky ones with 10Gb/s internet offering. The big miss was HDMI as many people use their mini as media centre. They should have moved up to 2.1 instead of sticking to 2.0.
 
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