If one doesn't care about battery life....

[KVB]

Why should I buy the mac mini M1 version over intel's?

Also from a reliability standpoint, Are either going to be any good?

I am intrigued about the form factor for my desk, and my MBA should last so long the keyboard holds up, so that fits the portability bill.

2003 15" PB - flawless still works great on legacy OS, built like tank
2007 iMac - flawless, on old OS
2009 15" MBP - still worked flawless till kids beat on it, broke keyboard, built like a tank
2015 iMac - still working, but slow at times just browsing web
2017 MBP - broke keyboard, screen broke, critical update error - brick
2019 MBA - still working for now, but slow at times just loading a webpage, slow to respond, CPU usage 80-100% just browsing web

OS's need updated and patches like windows machines nowadays....See a trend?

This company has sucked since Jobs passed....He wouldn't tolerate this BS.

I do love the interface/OS and thats why i love Apple, but hate the trend.

 

[GaelenSky]

I used to feel similar to you, but watch a video like this and you’ll get a better idea of why Apple Silicon isn’t just about the efficiency - that’s just a bonus. The guy even goes into depth with or without the added eGPU capability, and while that is certainly one of the reasons I went with Intel initially, the prices right now are really out of the question if you’re looking at the mini as a smart purchase for the wallet. I actually just returned my 2018 i5 mini due to the iGPU being unbelievably poor for this day and age, but even the i7 struggles to even come close to the M1 in benchmarking tests.

I’d say that right now is perhaps one of the best times to get excited about Apple again. After all, Jobs would have creamed himself if Apple could have made their own chips back in the day.

 

[KVB]

I used to feel similar to you, but watch a video like this and you’ll get a better idea of why Apple Silicon isn’t just about the efficiency - that’s just a bonus. The guy even goes into depth with or without the added eGPU capability, and while that is certainly one of the reasons I went with Intel initially, the prices right now are really out of the question if you’re looking at the mini as a smart purchase for the wallet. I actually just returned my 2018 i5 mini due to the iGPU being unbelievably poor for this day and age, but even the i7 struggles to even come close to the M1 in benchmarking tests.

I’d say that right now is perhaps one of the best times to get excited about Apple again. After all, Jobs would have creamed himself if Apple could have made their own chips back in the day.

I think they did in the early powerbooks/desktops, or was it an AMD chip? Been a while....

 

[Fishrrman]

"2019 MBA - still working for now, but slow at times just loading a webpage, slow to respond, CPU usage 80-100% just browsing web"

I have to ask:
What are you using for a browser?
Do you use tabs?
If so, how many do you keep open at once?

 

[KVB]

I would normally have mail, word, excel, iTunes and Safari open (5-8 tabs). Maybe it's asking too much of this comp at times. And honestly it runs great most of the times and I do like the computer. It's just random where it slows down and struggles with webpages. It could be cloud related as well, not an expert here.

But I did order a M1 Mac mini to replace my aging iMac. After watching some videos that folks have posted, I like form factor, and should keep up with new software as it comes available. It may not handle Microsoft products well, but I'll give it a shot and see. I'm loyal to the company, and love the OS.

 

[cosmichobo]

If your web browser is hitting 100% of your CPU - you're probably plagued by some Facebook crap, or some other badly coded site.

Whenever my wife uses my MacPro to "just browse", I have to restart Firefox, because I notice it slow down, and Activity Monitor shows it's maxing out.

 

[DocklandNightShift]

Why should I buy the mac mini M1 version over intel's?

I am not a fan of the M1 machines in general, for the following reasons:

1) being in the Apple ecosystem is great, but not EVERYTHING has to be apple. Them making their own chip for computers just furthers the divide and somewhat shared space between having a mac And a windows pc. Less ability to accomplish the same things on both platforms, it really makes you choose more which I do not see as a good thing

2) beta tester. The M1 is first gen, if you’re going this route I’d at least wait until the M3

3) For the mac mini specifically: they took away two ports. Yes yes same internal as the 2018 mini doubled up ports on one internal terminal, but you still didn’t need to buy a usb hub. They cut the ports in half

4) ugly silver color, not sure why they went back to that it looks really bad