I have an M1 mini and I suspect that it could run for 15-20 years. Normal operating temperature is 20-30 degrees. The two things that I wish it had were more RAM and support for three monitors. That is rumored to be coming with the M1 or M2 Pro mini. It's a bit unfortunate that you have to get the Pro CPU to support three monitors.
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How long will a 2018 mac mini last?
- Thread starter urbantea
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I have an M1 mini and I suspect that it could run for 15-20 years. Normal operating temperature is 20-30 degrees. The two things that I wish it had were more RAM and support for three monitors. That is rumored to be coming with the M1 or M2 Pro mini. It's a bit unfortunate that you have to get the Pro CPU to support three monitors.
Backblaze actually does not backup quite a bit of your stuff. If you look through the guides, there were lots of file formats (like zips or dmgs) that aren't backed up as well, which means my nice repository of all my digital purchases isn't getting backed up there (since they're all in their archive format). Its basically backing up your user account and not much more.
But over on my NAS, which I have connected to their business backup plan, everything is archived because it uses QNAP's backup software to compress the data and do the uploading so EVERYTHING goes there (like our Plex library of our own ripped DVD's). But the stuff on my Mac using their own client is limited as to what is actually backing up.
That is the default, however you can remove many (if not most) of these from the exclusion list, which I have done for the reasons that you state. However, Backblaze just will not back up the Applications folder, no matter what you do. One possible work-around would be to create another folder and copy any applications you want to backup to it.
OMFG I had no idea I could actually edit that list hah! You sir are a lifesaver, time to go play with my backup settings now.
I would argue that a new M1 mini is a much better deal even at the 200+ dollars if your budget can allow.
Nice summary. Sure, for millions of people the 30 day retention period for deleted files is fine. However there have been a number of posts (in the handfuls?) where people have lost iCloud data, usually pictures. I would argue that encouraging people to use it as their backup isn't a great idea. I don't want to see anyone, even 1 in a million, losing data. For that reason my position is to state that it is not a backup service.
Thanks! We could go back on pros and cons forever, of course.
30-day retention period for deleted data, imo, falls outside of "backup" as well. While you can certainly use a backup scheme (including Apple's own Time Machine) that does retain older data/versioning, it is hardly a standard feature of 3-2-1 or data-reliability methods like mirroring or RAID. To my line of thinking, "backup' is for recovery from catastrophic data loss - hardware failures/loss, fire and flood, malicious attacks, accidental erase/format, etc. Saving the end-user from day-to-day mistakes is something else. If 30 days recovery from an accidental Delete is considered inadequate... Just how far do we have to go in saving people from themselves? How much discarded data has to be saved on the chance it will be needed, and at what cost? Should an undo buffer survive a system reboot?
I also think it's reasonable to assume that some percentage of reports of iCloud data loss will come down to user error/omission rather than system failure.
The question of whether classic 3-2-1 or iCloud is more reliable is very open, as far as I'm concerned. First, the number of people who follow that 3-2-1 discipline is a small percentage of the total user base. Any data protection scheme that requires user action (say, transporting a backup drive to the bank vault on a monthly basis, or connecting an iPhone to a computer to sync/backup) has a reliability problem. Even automated/semi-automated methods have their weaknesses - ignoring messages that one must buy additional cloud storage or update the payment method, external drives that become disconnected, maintaining a network connection, etc. So holding iCloud to a 1-in-a-million standard while assuming traditional backup will be flawless...
The best laid plans of mice and men are still subject to Murphy's Law and basic human fallibility.
In the end, any form of data protection (like most things in life) is as good as its execution. We're splitting hairs when it comes down to which method is potentially superior. What matters most is that something is actually used.
Very true. As much as I harp on it I haven't updated the disks at the bank in a very long time. Depending upon how often you update your backups (excluding Time Machine) you will probably lose some data doing a restore from a 3-2-1 backup.
My ideal would be to have a cloud backup service with infinite history. The closest, affordable, service for me is Backblaze which offers a 1 year retention option. I have, however, lost pictures in a large library which somehow got lost and I didn't discover they were missing until it was too late.
I've created a CarbonCopyCloaner daily backup that copies the Applications folder to a folder on an External Drive and then have that set to get backed up with BackBlaze 🙃
A friend runs Macs Fan Control at 3,500 RPM and that keeps the CPU temps down to 80 degrees.
Got a 2018 I7 32gb ram and 256gb harddisk for 190 dollars today! I already have a M1 Mac Mine in one of my music studios, but the 2018 mini will go into my second studio to run Logic and will be used until I find out if the M2 Mac Studio Max is the way to go or maybe wait and see if there will be a M3 Mac Studio Max!
That's a great deal.
Someone I know needed an Intel Mac to run Windows 10 x86 for a day yesterday so I installed it using Boot Camp on my 2015 MacBook Pro and it worked out perfectly. It is nice to have an Intel Mac around in case you need to run Windows or some old piece of x86 Mac software.
Another year has passed and I feel exactly the same, it does all I need. Should be good for another couple years, I bought the top spec 2018 Mini with the idea of keeping it five years.