Even knockoffs are coming out now.

[Siliconguy]

Dual NVMe slots on the Beelink
Be still my heart 🥰

And LOOK at the ports!

Audio jacks and USB-C and USB-A on both the front and the back!??
wow

This is what a computer should look like

Let's see, according to the website the SER 8 with a Ryzen 8745HS and 24 GB/ 1 TB is $500.

According to the PassMark benchmark site the 8745HS tests at 30,555, the M4 10 core is 24,550, and the M4 Pro 14 core is 38,470. For power consumption the Ryzen is 45 W, the M4 10 core is 22 W, the M4 Pro is not given.

The Beelink has two NVME slots, and two slots of upgradable RAM. Macs have Thunderbolt. Beeline has a power brick, which offends some people, but others like as the heat source is away from the CPU.

I'm not sure of this chip but other Ryzens are made with the 5nm process the M2 is using. It is certainly a worthy competitor to Apple Silicon. As the Red Queen said, "You have to run as fast as you can to keep up" or something like that.

 

[PsykX]

To be fair, it's not the same size. The Microsoft product is only 1-inch tall, fanless, and $349.

Still. The thinnest iPhone would have the power to do that. Remove the screen and add an HDMI port and it's done. I really think Apple's ahead of the game in the hardware department. I haven't thought that... ever before really.

 

[Cape Dave]

I am testing the SER9 now. Nice little machine so far. I love the ports and the lack of noise. Although not fully tested with that, yet. Really well designed and put together and great specs. 1TB and 32GB. I think the logo is fine!

 

[jwhazel]

That is not the same. The other one looked very similar.

The ”other one” came out half a year before the M4 mini https://www.notebookcheck.net/Beeli...a-quiet-design-and-eGPU-support.830500.0.html

 

[Siliconguy]

Still. The thinnest iPhone would have the power to do that. Remove the screen and add an HDMI port and it's done. I really think Apple's ahead of the game in the hardware department. I haven't thought that... ever before really.

Apple is well ahead on laptops, and mobile in general. They better be, that's their target market. On the other side, where power consumption is irrelevant;

 

[Macalway]

Beware of imitations, or just any of these in this thread.

 

[TechnoMonk]

My NUC experiment 3-4 years ago with great specs ended rather quickly because of throttling heat and noise. I really loved the upgradability, but it was too good to be true. I am very skeptical about the spec drooling on paper.

 

[yabeweb]

Still. The thinnest iPhone would have the power to do that. Remove the screen and add an HDMI port and it's done. I really think Apple's ahead of the game in the hardware department. I haven't thought that... ever before really.

That can be said for about any smartphone today.

 

[Chancha]

Well, the sub 2-litre small form factor PC idea was kind of pioneered by the original Mac mini. Then the mini 2010 further squeeze the volume down to 1L, which became the foundation of this sort of chassis on the PC side since it fits into a 1U rack shelf.

The problem is Apple intentionally stuck with this form factor until this last month. In the decade or so, many makers and even DIYs have experimented with more compact footprint to varying results. Even the M4's stacked board idea is also already done by others. I wouldn't necessary say the M4 mini is knocking off anyone, but it surely is in agreement with the direction the rest of the market is going.

So no, no body has knocked off the M4 mini (yet). And it is fair to say the M4 mini is knocking off someone else, of which those designed were inspired by knock offs from the previous mini a decade ago.

 

[aevan]

"Who knocked off who" is the real question...

They are trying to ride the wave of Mini's popularity, not the other way around. That is clear.

 

[MagicBoy]

They are trying to ride the wave of Mini's popularity, not the other way around. That is clear.

Yeah. It was the same with the original iMac in late '98. Within three months translucent and blue plastic was everywhere in the PC ranges...

 

[Tago]

They are trying to ride the wave of Mini's popularity, not the other way around. That is clear.

Having used Linux only for many years and mixed for about as many, I do indeed look forward to the day Linux is capable of utilizing all advantages of M-series desktop and portable Macs. There`s no way I`d consider any of these AMD/Intel minis as an alternative to that. In terms of hardware, neither AMD or Intel will catch up with M`s anytime soon, and until they sort out their temperature/performance issues they won`t. Apple`s M`s progresses faster and have a lot of scalability they can utilize to stay ahead. Still being bashed about graphics, but the scalability and development will sort that out too. Soon.

A bit of cold water in the veins: Whereas the efficiency/temp of the M`s has been improved and they will become even more efficient, M`s generate heat too, and when Apple scale up with more (performance) cores, be it neural, gpu or cpu, the heat WILL increase and cooling will become more important. AI WILL use watts, but will make tasks more efficient, thus the overall watt/task may improve. More watts, shorter period.

Those Mini alternatives are the past, Mac Minis are the future.

 

[theluggage]

Here is a video comparing the new mini to some of the similar looking PCs if interested:

I think the Mac is unassailable on power vs. heat, noise and still having an internal PSU. I probably wouldn't consider an x86 system in such a small case because of heat and noise - just get something in a micro-ATX case that would sit out-of-sight under the desk. Actually, I've already got an old MicroATX PC (formerly a Hackintosh) in a nice Fractal Design case sitting under my desk, which could be updated with modern components... Or, compact, quiet, but not-so-insanely-small PCs are available (e.g. https://www.quietpc.com/ - just an example, not a recommendation).

Cramming something into such a small space is a job for ARM, and I'm still waiting for something to fill the gap between a Raspberry Pi and a Mac Mini... Qualcomm's Snapdragon-X developer system briefly looked interesting but apparently turned into a shambles and was withdrawn.

That video does rather gloss over Apple's problem with RAM and SSD though - all of those mini PCs have 32GB RAM and at least 1TB of (usually expandable) SSD vs. the Mini's measly 16GB/256GB - and upgrading the base Mini to 32GB/1TB adds a totally ridiculous $800 to the price, making it by far the most expensive machine there.

OK, you may have other reasons for getting a Mac - but I'd call out that video in particular because - although they do briefly note the RAM/Storage cost issue - they go on to rave about the Mini's price/performance as if it only cost $600 - and although their speed tests may not be affected, if you were doing that sort of content creation in real life you might well hit the limits - esp. the SSD. Apple's base RAM bumps have at least made the base spec credible - but it's still fairly modest - and that 256GB SSD is still beyond a joke in 2024. 1TB/32GB is not a super-deluxe, serious-callers-only high spec in 2024, and, sorry folks, an Apple byte holds the same amount of data as a PC byte.

In short, if a base M4 16/256GB Mini or a base M4 Pro 24/512GB Mini meets your needs then they are great value for money c.f. anything PC but the second you need more RAM or internal storage, that advantage evaporates... what's the point of having a super-compact PC if you immediately have to hang external SSDs off it?

Some of the cheaper, less-powerful mini PCs also fill a gap for home/media servers because they come with 1TB storage and/or could easily and affordably be fitted with a larger M.2 SSD. The base Mini (or even second hand/refurb M1 or M2 Minis) would be ideal for this if only it came with a sensible amount of internal storage.

 

[theluggage]

I am just disappointed they all removed the coffee mug holder movable tray.

They haven't removed it - once you turn the M4 Mini on its back to access the power button, you have a nice circular (and probably heated) drinks coaster right there.

 

[theluggage]

"Who knocked off who" is the real question...

It's obvious that the "design language" of some of those Mini PCs is... inspired by the original and/or post-2006 Mac Mini designs and 2022 Mac Studio. However, the ultra-small footprint probably goes back at least to the 2013 Intel NUC, and if anything Apple has adopted that from the PC world.

 

[Fishrrman]

Re the link to the "beelink" in the original post...

I looked at the computer offered by Beelink.
First thing I thought was:
Why can't Apple put "that many ports" on the Mini?

 

[robvalentine]

Just found this. Looks almost same as M4 mini. But different ports. And same price. Except Ryzen 7 and Windows or Linux probably. But not as good as Mac OS and M4 CPU probably way better than anything Ryzen. Except 32gb of ram at this price. But 16gb enough for me. 32gb is no good if not as good CPU or graphics.

Beelink

And Microsoft is finally coming out with a PC that looks very similar to Mac mini M1 and M2 shape. Only 350 dollars but all cloud based. That is not good. I need my own desktop offline. Cloud OS no thanks.

MWL3651

Here are some pics.

MWL3652

I think it's fair to say that if anything, the M4 Mini copied that....

 

[ProgRocker]

I am testing the SER9 now. Nice little machine so far. I love the ports and the lack of noise. Although not fully tested with that, yet. Really well designed and put together and great specs. 1TB and 32GB. I think the logo is fine!

Dave let us know what you come up with. I'm eyeing the SER9 myself... and will be picking up an M4 Max Studio as well. Best of both worlds.

 

[Cape Dave]

Dave let us know what you come up with. I'm eyeing the SER9 myself... and will be picking up an M4 Max Studio as well. Best of both worlds.

I have done some "testing". The SER9 is VERY quiet. However, it is not quite as silent as my Phantom Canyon. That thing is SILENT. Even with my ear touching it. Kudos to Intel for the cooling system for that. The SER9 idles at about 1300. So quiet, yet not as quiet as the Canyon. (I am splitting hairs here. I had a friend over and he agreed. barely audible and from 4 feet away even less so. But I would say still within VERY acceptable limits. I got it to spin up to 1700 by stress testing the CPU with CPUZ. The it goes right back down smoothly to 1300. Very slick. Very well designed cooling system. Kudos to Beelink. Nice warm air exiting out the back vents. I am torn between keeping it and maybe throwing Linux on it or returning it because my Canyon is still a perfect machine for me. I would never sell such a silent computer. (I usually sell my old machine)

 

[ProgRocker]

I have done some "testing". The SER9 is VERY quiet. However, it is not quite as silent as my Phantom Canyon. That thing is SILENT. Even with my ear touching it. Kudos to Intel for the cooling system for that. The SER9 idles at about 1300. So quiet, yet not as quiet as the Canyon. (I am splitting hairs here. I had a friend over and he agreed. barely audible and from 4 feet away even less so. But I would say still within VERY acceptable limits. I got it to spin up to 1700 by stress testing the CPU with CPUZ. The it goes right back down smoothly to 1300. Very slick. Very well designed cooling system. Kudos to Beelink. Nice warm air exiting out the back vents. I am torn between keeping it and maybe throwing Linux on it or returning it because my Canyon is still a perfect machine for me. I would never sell such a silent computer. (I usually sell my old machine)

Thanks Dave, sounds good. How do you find it power-wise ? I know it's not up there with M4 but is it sufficient to do some serious work ? In particular I'm looking to do music production/DAW work. Nothing overly complex, a few tracks of audio and vsti synths would suffice.

 

[Cape Dave]

Thanks Dave, sounds good. How do you find it power-wise ? I know it's not up there with M4 but is it sufficient to do some serious work ? In particular I'm looking to do music production/DAW work. Nothing overly complex, a few tracks of audio and vsti synths would suffice.

I never do much more than open tabs and work in the browser. So, I cannot really say much about that. I think it has excellent power. 32GB is nice! If I did not already have the Canyon, I would be fine with this AMD beauty

 

[marstan]

what's the point of having a super-compact PC if you immediately have to hang external SSDs off it?

While it would be nice if Apple upped the base ssd size, I have never had a desktop machine where I didn't hang external storage off of it no matter how big the internal drive was. For example, I have an Intel NUC serving as a HTPC which has 1TB of ssd but I still attach an external 8TB hdd to it to stream media. Not a show stopper.

 

[JuicyGoomba]

Well this didn't go well for the OP.

Maybe lay off the Tim Schnapps a little.

 

[Aoligei]

They are trying to ride the wave of Mini's popularity, not the other way around. That is clear.

Mini PCs were around forever and it is certainly not riding the waive of mini's popularity.

One thing is that most folks probably don't need the power of M4 processor. For example: All I need a mini PC to do is be quite, have enough processing power to do 4K streaming, some office editing. Even the $300 mini PC with Intel N200 processor will do the trick. Plus these machine have upgradable storage, RAM, bunch of USB-A port, headphone jack etc. It doesn't matter these machine benchmarked 1/10th of M4, it does what I asked for, then it is money that I saved.

In some sense, these mini PCs are superior products than Mac mini. It is cheaper, more upgradable option, more port, runs Windows or Linux.

Yeah. It was the same with the original iMac in late '98. Within three months translucent and blue plastic was everywhere in the PC ranges...

I still like classic Beige box better than original iMac.

 

[Aoligei]

Still. The thinnest iPhone would have the power to do that. Remove the screen and add an HDMI port and it's done. I really think Apple's ahead of the game in the hardware department. I haven't thought that... ever before really.

The iPhone with lighting ports only output 1600 x 900 resolution and it only minoring the screen. It doesn't offer any desktop experience and all you get on the screen is mobile app minored into the screen. Even the iPhone with USB-C doesn't transition into a desktop environment with keyboard and mouse attached.

The earliest I can recall (I might be wrong) was Microsoft's attempt to bring full Windows environment with Windows Mobile phone attached to a dock or Samsungs attempt.