Could they pack a Mac Mini into something the size of an Apple TV? I would buy one.
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Apple TV sized Mac Mini?
- Thread starter FelixDerKater
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Whilst it could be done, and I think someone did a Mac mini m1 into a smaller case on YouTub, then there is a lot of infrastructure out there for rack mount mini in colo hosting.
also netstor for example have tb enclosures that take mac mini.
all of these would need changing and especially for the rack mounts then would be expensive to change which is is why understood that externally mac mini chassis not changed in a decade.
also doubt would be able to do with the pro soc.
also netstor for example have tb enclosures that take mac mini.
all of these would need changing and especially for the rack mounts then would be expensive to change which is is why understood that externally mac mini chassis not changed in a decade.
also doubt would be able to do with the pro soc.
No. Where would you put the thunderbolt/USB ports on a Mac Mini -- and the cooling (as in none). No way I'd EVER buy one.
Fishrrman Fearless Prediction™:
NOT GOING TO HAPPEN.
The Mini remains "the size that it is" because a lot of server farms use it and expect a particular form factor to fit "into the racks".
Also, there wouldn't be enough room for a full complement of ports on the rear.
Who would buy a "desktop" computer without ports...?
NOT GOING TO HAPPEN.
The Mini remains "the size that it is" because a lot of server farms use it and expect a particular form factor to fit "into the racks".
Also, there wouldn't be enough room for a full complement of ports on the rear.
Who would buy a "desktop" computer without ports...?
Have you seen the 11.5 mm thin chin of an 24" iMac? So far it's the only Mac on which the opportunity created by Apple Silicon was used to produce a smaller form factor. It's a pity.
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I think it could be easily done by Apple, but there would be limited external space for ports, and there is also a weight issue.
The current Apple TV 4K 3 is too light and small. The weight of the cables connected to it often determines where the ATV is placed, not the ATV itself.
The current Apple TV 4K 3 is too light and small. The weight of the cables connected to it often determines where the ATV is placed, not the ATV itself.
Smaller form factor?! 11.5 chin on the x-axis how about the y and behind the panel? It's got a massive amount of room in comparison to the Apple TV...
The tv already contains an ARM cpu and storage. Nobody asks them to match these exact dimensions. Just redesign the Mac mini and make the MacBook Air thin again!
I think the OP did.
I don't really care about thin for the Macbook Air (or pro), but I do wish they'd make them lighter. My Windows laptop is about half pound lighter than the Macbook Air M1 I owned.
That's because it's made out of plastic and not aluminum.
Thinner and Lighter are synonyms.
Mac nano! Apple definitely could if they wanted to. We already have passively cooled Apple Silicon inside the Macbook Air and iPad Pro, so putting them inside an AppleTV size enclosure shouldn't be an issue.
I don't know if people remember, but intel do make mini PCs called intel NUCs. I really like them as they are really compact and don't take up a lot of desktop space. They can even be mounted behind a monitor so you would have a pseudo all-in-one. A mac nano would be sweet, and I would probably consider it if Apple really do make one.
Plastic and carbon fiber, and yes, I want a Macbook Pro that's that light. There's no advantage to an aluminum frame for me.
The NUC's are a lot bigger than an Apple TV...
That said, there are lots of PC's, even with a desktop CPU, that are a lot smaller than a Mac Mini. The Lenovo or Dell "Tiny"'s are great examples of small PC's with good performance.
Often enough to make it a rule. Wouldn’t you say a thinner person weighs less and a thicker person weighs more?
I don't think it would be a good idea to make the Mini smaler, because I believe the overwhelming majority of Mini buyers prize quietness over size, and smaller = noisier: If you make it smaller, the fans need to run more agressively to cool.
For most, more noise is much more intrusive and irritating than a larger form factor. Sitting on a desk (which is where most Minis would be sited), the difference between the current 1.4" tall and, say, 0.7" tall, would fade into the background afrer a couple of weeks. Not so with noise.
Indeed, now that they are putting more powerful processors in the Mini, if anything it should be bigger, so that quietness can be maintained. I've read reports that, unlike the M1 Mini, the M2 Mini Pro can be noisy under load.
I think it would be cool (no pun intended) if they went in the opposite direction, increasing the height of the Mini enough that they could cool it passively, i.e., make it fanless.
For most, more noise is much more intrusive and irritating than a larger form factor. Sitting on a desk (which is where most Minis would be sited), the difference between the current 1.4" tall and, say, 0.7" tall, would fade into the background afrer a couple of weeks. Not so with noise.
Indeed, now that they are putting more powerful processors in the Mini, if anything it should be bigger, so that quietness can be maintained. I've read reports that, unlike the M1 Mini, the M2 Mini Pro can be noisy under load.
I think it would be cool (no pun intended) if they went in the opposite direction, increasing the height of the Mini enough that they could cool it passively, i.e., make it fanless.
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Funny considering we have tons of examples of mini PCs barely bigger than Apple TVs with USB-A and USB-C ports, HDMI, one or even two network jacks, ect.
Not saying it needs to be as small as an ATV, but the current Mini could be considerably smaller - there's a lot of wasted space herited from using a case designed over a decade ago to take in PC innards, cooling, user-replaceable parts and up to two 2.5" drives. Right now it's only an all-soldered logic board and a small fan.
Without seeing them, no, I wouldn't make that generalization. What if the thick one is 3 feet tall and the thin one 7'6". I bet the thin one outweighs the thick on by about 3X.
I'm thick and taller than 3Ft, but that thin guy outweighs me by a good margin.But anyway, what I was angling towards is what that laptops are made of.
But still bigger...
Yeah, I don't have any idea why the mini is so big and clunky, and I've owned several of them.
The only way to make the Mac Mini small enough to fit into a case the size of an Apple TV would be to sacrifice performance and port selection, thereby making it a significantly less capable machine. Also, the Apple TV is still using A15 Bionic, which is why it does not require any sort of a fan or heavy/bulky passive cooler.
According to this ( https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2008/11/apple-may-turn-to-carbon-fiber-for-the-airs-lower-case/ ) iFixit estimated that replacing the aluminum lower case on a 2008 Air with carbon fiber would save 1/4 lb.
We don't know why Apple hasn't done this on their current laptops, but this could be part of it: A lot of the their heat dissipation is through the case, and a carbon fiber/resin mix has a much lower thermal conductivity than aluminum.
Yes, with ease. But it wouldn't be perceived as a computer, so they won't.