M1 Mac Mini - need more ports!

[weezin]

I'm currently on a 2018 Mac Mini and am considering upgrading to an M1/M2 Mac Mini in the near future. The one thing holding me back as of now is that the M1 Mac Mini doesn't have enough ports for my use-case. I currently have all of the 2018's ports full, including all USB-C ports and USB-A ports, as well as using a USB-C port expander to get even more ports.

The Mac Studio would cover my use case, but I'm not sure I want to spend that much on a machine I don't really need (for the power). I may end up going this route anyway.

So - what would you all recommend for a dock or other to get 2-3 more USB-C/TB ports, some more USB-A, and ideally an SD card reader?

 

[pshufd]

I went through this - bought an M1 mini, tried to get it to work with port hubs, DisplayLink adapters and, in the end, just got the Studio and am very happy that I did. It has more CPU than I need but I did need the RAM and love the ports.

 

[Boyd01]

Not going to upgrade my 2018 Mini anytime soon as I need the Windows compatibility. But I'm also using every port, and if I needed to upgrade today it would definitely be to the Studio. The 16gb RAM limit on the M1 Mini is also a deal-breaker for me.

But why did they have to make the Studio so ugly? 🤣

 

[pshufd]

Not going to upgrade my 2018 Mini anytime soon as I need the Windows compatibility. But I'm also using every port, and if I needed to upgrade today it would definitely be to the Studio. The 16gb RAM limit on the M1 Mini is also a deal-breaker for me.

But why did they have to make the Studio so ugly? 🤣

I also do not like how it looks. Maybe an Apple logo on the front or etched M1 Mac mini on the front, similar to the bottom of the 2021 MacBook Pros.

 

[EugW]

You may need to get a Mac Studio, but what specifically are you using the ports for, and how many do you need? In my case I am using a Plugable Thunderbolt 4 / USB4 5-in-1 Hub plus a cheap USB hub to provide sufficient ports. The Plugable was US$135 or CA$207 on Black Friday. Or you can get a TB4/USB4 hub with more ports for more money. In 2023, I wouldn't buy any Thunderbolt 3 hubs.

Also, be aware that the 30" Cinema HD Display you have has some compatibility issues on Apple Silicon, which may or may not affect you. Furthermore, the Mac Studio doesn't fit underneath the 30" Cinema HD Display. It's too tall.

 

[weezin]

Thanks all! I think I'm probably going to hold out for a Studio, even though it's a bit overkill and ugly

You may need to get a Mac Studio, but what specifically are you using the ports for, and how many do you need? In my case I am using a Plugable Thunderbolt 4 / USB4 5-in-1 Hub plus a cheap USB hub to provide sufficient ports. The Plugable was US$135 or CA$207 on Black Friday. Or you can get a TB4/USB4 hub with more ports for more money. In 2023, I wouldn't buy any Thunderbolt 3 hubs.

Also, be aware that the 30" Cinema HD Display you have has some compatibility issues on Apple Silicon, which may or may not affect you. Furthermore, the Mac Studio doesn't fit underneath the 30" Cinema HD Display. It's too tall.

Thanks for all of that. I do love my 30" and I've heard that it can work with the right adapters. And I figured the Studio wouldn't fit under - maybe I'll have to put the monitor on a small stand or eventually upgrade to the Studio Display (or whatever they come out with next).

 

[EugW]

Thanks for all of that. I do love my 30" and I've heard that it can work with the right adapters. And I figured the Studio wouldn't fit under - maybe I'll have to put the monitor on a small stand or eventually upgrade to the Studio Display (or whatever they come out with next).

One irritant is that even though I got my 30" Cinema Display working with my M1 Mac mini using a USB-C to DL-DVI adapter, Disney+ stopped working completely in Safari. It seems this combination killed HDCP support on my 2007 30" ACD (which worked fine with HDCP 1.x on my Intel Mac mini with the Apple mini-DP to DL-DVI adapter).

I also lost keyboard brightness adjustment, but got that back (for the most part) with the third party app MonitorControl.app.

 

[weezin]

One irritant is that even though I got my 30" Cinema Display working with my M1 Mac mini using a USB-C to DL-DVI adapter, Disney+ stopped working completely in Safari. It seems this combination killed HDCP support on my 2007 30" ACD (which worked fine with HDCP 1.x on my Intel Mac mini with the Apple mini-DP to DL-DVI adapter).

I also lost keyboard brightness adjustment, but got that back (for the most part) with the third party app MonitorControl.app.

Thanks for that. Not ideal, hmmm. I really love my 30" but have to admit that it has a bit of yellowing and a weird ghost thing down the middle. It might be time to let it go, but there's currently no other monitor out there that does what it does (size + true matte display + lovely "retro" design).

 

[FreakinEurekan]

I'm currently on a 2018 Mac Mini and am considering upgrading to an M1/M2 Mac Mini in the near future. The one thing holding me back as of now is that the M1 Mac Mini doesn't have enough ports for my use-case. I currently have all of the 2018's ports full, including all USB-C ports and USB-A ports, as well as using a USB-C port expander to get even more ports.

The Mac Studio would cover my use case, but I'm not sure I want to spend that much on a machine I don't really need (for the power). I may end up going this route anyway.

So - what would you all recommend for a dock or other to get 2-3 more USB-C/TB ports, some more USB-A, and ideally an SD card reader?

I upgraded my 2012 mini to M1, just couldn’t stick it out any longer waiting for M2. Hubs definitely become a part of your life. I used existing USB hubs I already had; a 10-port manages my external disks and a 7-port is Velcroed to the back of the monitor - along with a SD/micro-SD reader plugged into that 7 port.

Just keep in mind, USB-3 devices will REALLY cause Bluetooth interference. My mouse gets wonky if I literally move it to the far side of the workbench; reliable range is around 3-4 feet.

 

[Yebubbleman]

I'm currently on a 2018 Mac Mini and am considering upgrading to an M1/M2 Mac Mini in the near future. The one thing holding me back as of now is that the M1 Mac Mini doesn't have enough ports for my use-case. I currently have all of the 2018's ports full, including all USB-C ports and USB-A ports, as well as using a USB-C port expander to get even more ports.

The Mac Studio would cover my use case, but I'm not sure I want to spend that much on a machine I don't really need (for the power). I may end up going this route anyway.

So - what would you all recommend for a dock or other to get 2-3 more USB-C/TB ports, some more USB-A, and ideally an SD card reader?

If you don't need Thunderbolt, then there are plenty of good hubs, docks, and dongles that add a lot. If you are fine with USB-A, Gigabit Ethernet, and SD card slot capability, I believe Anker has some good adapters. I've had good mileage with Dell USB-C docking stations too. OWC will have you covered for Thunderbolt docking stations and hubs (I'm otherwise not a fan of Thunderbolt Docking Stations at all as they have questionable reliability).