Lenovo M900 Tiny or Mac Mini

[markjv]

Hello - I've been on the fence for quite some time waiting for a Mac Mini upgrade. Well I starting looking at the Intel NUCs which lead me to the Lenovo site and the M900 Tiny PC. Small footprint like the Mac Mini. I started pricing out various configurations and I'm considering the one below. It's a quad core - latest Intel 6th generation chip. I've listed all the options below. For the price, features, software and warranty I just might jump at it. I was hoping Apple would update the Mini with similar hardware specs but I'm just tired of waiting. Worth the gamble?

ThinkCenter M900 - Tiny
Part number: 10FMCTO1WW

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Ships in greater than 5 weeks**
Quantity:
Item Price
$ under 1,150
Details

• Processor: Intel Core i5-6600T 2.7G 4C
• Operating System: Windows 10 Home 64
• Operating System Language: Windows 10 Home 64 English
• Form Factor: Tiny Q170
• Memory: 16GB(8+8) DDR4 2133 SoDIMM
• Video Adapter: Integrated Graphic Card
• First Graphic Dongle: DP to HDMI
• HDMI Out Port: Internal DP to HDMI Port
• M.2 Storage Card: 128GB Solid State Drive,2.5",M.2
• Hard Drive: 256GB Solid State Drive, 2.5", SATA3, OPAL2.0 - Capable
• Networking: Integrated Ethernet
• WiFi Wireless LAN Adapters: Intel 8260+BT 2x2ac Tiny vPro
• Vertical Stand: Vertical Stand Tiny
• Dust Shield: Dust Shield TINY
• Speakers: Internal Speaker Tiny
• Publications Pack: Publication English
• Warranty: 1 Year On-site
• Office Productivity Software: Microsoft Office 365 Personal Activation Card - 1 year Subscription, 1 PC
• Warranty services 3 Years: 3Y Onsite NBD upgrade from 1Y Onsite NBD

Items included:

• Microsoft Office 365 Personal Activation Card - 1 year Subscription, 1 PC
  $49.99 (reflected in total)
  Part Number:
  4ZN0K14095
• 3Y Onsite NBD upgrade from 1Y Onsite NBD
  $69.00

 

[Osty]

Yeah, why not! ThinkCentres are well made and run Linux and Windows flawlessly. I wouldn't count on a decent Mac mini happening again (I say this as an owner of one) so waiting for Apple to create one that will satisfy you is fool's errand.

If you go a little bigger (M73) you can get discreet graphics too - though with an older CPU admittedly - something I doubt Apple will ever do again.

 

[ActionableMango]

I used to think highly of Lenovo and I admit I still like some of their hardware designs. But stuff like this is unacceptable to me:

http://www.idigitaltimes.com/lenovo...sh-malware-laptops-heres-how-remove-it-416227

You can't even get around their games by doing a fresh install of Windows from a retail disc:
https://www.techdirt.com/articles/2...rapware-via-bios-fresh-windows-installs.shtml

And a third incident:
http://boingboing.net/2015/09/22/yet-another-pre-installed-spyw.html

If this behavior doesn't bother you, then the ThinkCenter is probably a good choice. It's certainly looks nicer and appears to be better built than the Intel NUCs.

OTOH, Mac Mini is due for a refresh. If you can wait, you might as well wait to see what is offered. Unfortunately it will probably have soldered RAM and not be price competitive with the ThinkCenter. If you need a computer immediately, well, then you gotta do what you gotta do.

 

[Toltepeceno]

Yeah, why not! ThinkCentres are well made and run Linux and Windows flawlessly. I wouldn't count on a decent Mac mini happening again (I say this as an owner of one) so waiting for Apple to create one that will satisfy you is fool's errand.

If you go a little bigger (M73) you can get discreet graphics too - though with an older CPU admittedly - something I doubt Apple will ever do again.

This. I have a 2012 mac mini that I put an ssd in and maxed out the ram and love it. I would not get one of the new ones though with the direction apple has gone with them. I would not get another mac without an ssd and paying for their upgrades it would be about 1100.00 for a 2nd tier one (the base is based on the past version base macbook air, not the new one) with a 256 ssd and maxed out memory.

 

[grsc3p0]

Hello - I've been on the fence for quite some time waiting for a Mac Mini upgrade. Well I starting looking at the Intel NUCs which lead me to the Lenovo site and the M900 Tiny PC. Small footprint like the Mac Mini. I started pricing out various configurations and I'm considering the one below. It's a quad core - latest Intel 6th generation chip. I've listed all the options below. For the price, features, software and warranty I just might jump at it. I was hoping Apple would update the Mini with similar hardware specs but I'm just tired of waiting. Worth the gamble?

ThinkCenter M900 - Tiny
Part number: 10FMCTO1WW

• Edit configuration
• Remove
• Add to Wishlist

Ships in greater than 5 weeks**
Quantity:
Item Price
$ under 1,150
Details

• Processor: Intel Core i5-6600T 2.7G 4C
• Operating System: Windows 10 Home 64
• Operating System Language: Windows 10 Home 64 English
• Form Factor: Tiny Q170
• Memory: 16GB(8+8) DDR4 2133 SoDIMM
• Video Adapter: Integrated Graphic Card
• First Graphic Dongle: DP to HDMI
• HDMI Out Port: Internal DP to HDMI Port
• M.2 Storage Card: 128GB Solid State Drive,2.5",M.2
• Hard Drive: 256GB Solid State Drive, 2.5", SATA3, OPAL2.0 - Capable
• Networking: Integrated Ethernet
• WiFi Wireless LAN Adapters: Intel 8260+BT 2x2ac Tiny vPro
• Vertical Stand: Vertical Stand Tiny
• Dust Shield: Dust Shield TINY
• Speakers: Internal Speaker Tiny
• Publications Pack: Publication English
• Warranty: 1 Year On-site
• Office Productivity Software: Microsoft Office 365 Personal Activation Card - 1 year Subscription, 1 PC
• Warranty services 3 Years: 3Y Onsite NBD upgrade from 1Y Onsite NBD

Items included:

• Microsoft Office 365 Personal Activation Card - 1 year Subscription, 1 PC
  $49.99 (reflected in total)
  Part Number:
  4ZN0K14095
• 3Y Onsite NBD upgrade from 1Y Onsite NBD
  $69.00

Today I placed an order for the Lenovo 900M Tiny with Core i7-6700T and 2 DPs. Will be replacing the drive with a 1TB Samsung Pro 850. Could also install an M.2 2280 PCIe SSD.
I've had 3 Mac Minis. When it became clear that they were being deliberately crippled I then purchased NUCs instead.
As the NUCs are a little slow refreshing with i5 , i7 skylake CPUs , I've decided to up the power and get the Skylake 'T' CPU 900M tiny. A cheaper alternative would be the Shuttle DH170 bare-bone + Skylake CPU (But M.2 is only 2260 max) . I am amazed that apple can deliberately cripple their products and become UN-competitive in the small PC sector. Do not wait for a new mac Mini, get something else especially if it's for a multi-media PC , e.g Plex , Kodi. (PS. I also own a new Mac Pro)

 

[Cape Dave]

I like this. I love small powerful computers. If they are super quiet. Good price. I would slap a Samsung M.2 950 Pro 512GB in there!

 

[markjv]

Thanks for the feedback everyone. I pulled the trigger and ordered the M900 Tiny last night. The only change I made was to go with the Core i7-6700T processor. So hopefully this works out and I don't read about a new Mac Mini next week!

 

[SvenTaylor]

Today I placed an order for the Lenovo 900M Tiny with Core i7-6700T and 2 DPs. Will be replacing the drive with a 1TB Samsung Pro 850. Could also install an M.2 2280 PCIe SSD.
I've had 3 Mac Minis. When it became clear that they were being deliberately crippled I then purchased NUCs instead.
As the NUCs are a little slow refreshing with i5 , i7 skylake CPUs , I've decided to up the power and get the Skylake 'T' CPU 900M tiny. A cheaper alternative would be the Shuttle DH170 bare-bone + Skylake CPU (But M.2 is only 2260 max) . I am amazed that apple can deliberately cripple their products and become UN-competitive in the small PC sector. Do not wait for a new mac Mini, get something else especially if it's for a multi-media PC , e.g Plex , Kodi. (PS. I also own a new Mac Pro)

Have you received your M900 Tiny yet? I'm very curious to hear your impressions. Is it as quiet and fast as the specs make it out to be?

 

[Osty]

I am amazed that apple can deliberately cripple their products and become UN-competitive in the small PC sector

Boggles the mind doesn't it. Apple thinks the Mac mini is just a carrot dangling in the face of would-be PC switchers. Apple want's regular Mac users to buy iMacs or Macbooks or both. They don't appreciate there are small-form-factor enthusiasts who love them because they are small, green and quiet.

I'll keep trucking with my 2011 mini until it dies; if I can't replace it with like-for-like then I'll go an Intel Nuc or Lenovo and use Linux, which I prefer these days to OS X.

 

[Cape Dave]

Boggles the mind doesn't it. Apple thinks the Mac mini is just a carrot dangling in the face of would-be PC switchers. Apple want's regular Mac users to buy iMacs or Macbooks or both. They don't appreciate there are small-form-factor enthusiasts who love them because they are small, green and quiet.

I'll keep trucking with my 2011 mini until it dies; if I can't replace it with like-for-like then I'll go an Intel Nuc or Lenovo and use Linux, which I prefer these days to OS X.

Dell also has an interesting micro computer out. Might be worth a look as well.

 

[Osty]

Dell also has an interesting micro computer out. Might be worth a look as well.

Thanks. Will depend on how well it runs Linux. You can pretty much guarantee a Lenovo will work out of the box.

 

[Fancuku]

Thanks. Will depend on how well it runs Linux. You can pretty much guarantee a Lenovo will work out of the box.

Linux has always run on any Dell computer that I have had. Dell does not put any restrictions in their BIOS.

 

[Osty]

Dell does not put any restrictions in their BIOS.

I commend them for that - thanks for the tip. At work, our Architect runs Linux natively on his work Dell laptop so if a Latitude works flawlessly, I suppose a desktop should have no problems.

Seriously, Linux gets better and better and better each day. I can't say the same for OS X which is actually in regression and I certainly can't say the same for Apple's over priced and locked down hardware.

 

[Cape Dave]

I commend them for that - thanks for the tip. At work, our Architect runs Linux natively on his work Dell laptop so if a Latitude works flawlessly, I suppose a desktop should have no problems.

Seriously, Linux gets better and better and better each day. I can't say the same for OS X which is actually in regression and I certainly can't say the same for Apple's over priced and locked down hardware.

Yes, it sure is nice to have Linux as an option.

 

[Cape Dave]

Here is a link. If I were doing Windows or Linux, this would be my computer... http://www.dell.com/us/business/p/optiplex-9020m-desktop/pd Loaded, of course

 

[markjv]

Hello - Well I finally received the Lenovo M900 Tiny. Very small as the name suggests, seems smaller than the Mini. Anyway, I had it loaded and this machine really is fast. The machine came with the OS installed on M.2 2280 PCIe SSD as the C: drive and the D: drive a 256GB Solid State Drive, 2.5", SATA3. From a cold start this PC is up and ready in under 9 seconds and from sleep mode in 2 - 3 seconds. I also purchased an external G-Technology USB 3.0 3 TB drive which I had to format to work with Windows.

So far the leaning curve for Windows 10 has not been so bad. I also purchased Office 365 Personal and have it setup so me and my wife can use the same subscription with separate user ID's. Nice.

Well I had been hoping for some time to get a Mini loaded, but I just got tired of Apple not updating the PC hardware and also charging such a premium. I tried to price a Mini (with similar specs as much as possible, software & warranty) to what I have in the M900 Tiny and there was over a $750 difference and that still meant sticking with an old dual core processor in the Mini!

So now I feel pretty good about my purchase. Apple needs to refocus on its computers and OS again and slow down on the watches, phones, tablets and possibly cars in the future - although all of those are nice! But the core business in my opinion has been neglected over the past few years! The competition is catching up!

 

[Hilbert92]

I use an M93 Tiny at work. 16gb ram and a 128 SSD. My model is the dual core i5 model and its a wonderful little machine. If i were to upgrade to an M900 i would push for an quad core i7 with 16gb of ram and the 500gb sata 3 6gbps drive. In today's world SSD's need the sata 3 connection.

 

[Cape Dave]

I priced out the mini I would buy last night and it came to $1800.00. That is absurd.

 

[MisterAndrew]

I priced out the mini I would buy last night and it came to $1800.00. That is absurd.

They don't hold their value either. You can find a used top-of-the-line 2014 model with the i7 and 16GB RAM for around $1,000.

 

[markjv]

They don't hold their value either. You can find a used top-of-the-line 2014 model with the i7 and 16GB RAM for around $1,000.

My original order list at the start of this thread was changed to include:
- Upgraded to Core i7-6700T
- Changed the M.2 SSD Card option to M.2 2280 PCIe SSD

Including Office 365 Personal and a 3 year NBD on-site warranty it all came to less than $1,250!! I would have paid the Apple tax with a 20% premium, but after pricing a Mini decked out - it amounted to a 60% Apple tax.

 

[Baby Mac]

I continue to use my mid-2010 Mac mini for work/home, toting it back and forth. I still love the look. I have an 480GB SSD and 8GB ram. I have 320GB SSD free space because I have many audio downloads on an external drive. It is nice to see that smaller and even fanless options are becoming available. I also Bootcamp Windows 7 100% of the time. The only problem has been the lens of the optical drive needing to be cleaned. I was going in manually and then picked up a cleaning disc which has helped a bit. I wish it had USB 3.x. Other than that it does what I need for word processing, e-mail and internet surfing.

http://www.tomsguide.com/us/best-mini-pcs,review-2760.html

 

[grsc3p0]

Have you received your M900 Tiny yet? I'm very curious to hear your impressions. Is it as quiet and fast as the specs make it out to be?

Got my M900 but managed to accidentally brick the BIOS within 2 hours. (Need to take extreme care with this!) It was virtually silent in operation and an extremely nice machine, way better than the 2 core Mac Mini. I now have a Lenovo Tiny M93p , quad i7 ,1TB SSD, 16GB RAM,6 x USB 3.0 ports, 2 DP ports, user upgrade-able. It's almost silent, fast , idles around 10 watts. runs Linux perfectly. Am using Philips apt-x Bluetooth dongle for HiFi sound. Quad i7 M93p with 500gb HD, 4GB RAM, 3 year warranty, cost me £450 ($632.42), about half the price of Apple + apple care.

 

[Crosscreek]

What flavor of Linux are you using?

 

[Jtludwig]

I've been trying to order one of these as well. They keep delaying the delivery date though and I'm getting frustrated!

I originally wanted a Mac Mini since I normally buy Apple products but I just wasn't impressed with Apple's current offerings.

Dear Valued Customer,

We apologize for the delay in getting your order to you on time. We are currently short the internal HDMI port that is needed to build your system and your order is not expected to ship until the first week of April.
You may choose to do the following:

1. Request to ship w/out the port (the port hole will be covered).
2. Leave the order as is and wait for your order to ship in April.
3. Cancel your order.

Again, we sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this unexpected change has caused. Should you have any questions about your specific order please email us at endoflife@lenovo.com.

Kind Regards,

Lenovo Customer Service

 

[bigrell486]

I've been trying to order one of these as well. They keep delaying the delivery date though and I'm getting frustrated!

I originally wanted a Mac Mini since I normally buy Apple products but I just wasn't impressed with Apple's current offerings.

Honestly, you could get a Displayport to HDMI cable for the same price as that port. Just take the system without the built-in port and order the cable from Amazon, Monoprice, or whatever retailer you prefer.