Mac mini (2018) 128SSD vs 256SSD

[Flekoun]

I have an opportunity to buy new mac mini 2018 with 128SSD 230$ cheaper than the one with 256SSD. Both are otherwise same configuration - base 2018 mac mini.s
My question is if you think this is a good deal. If so, how is it cumbersome to live with and external SSD drive connected to mac mini as I would probably need one if I go with 128 SSD.
The last question is. Do you think the base model is good enough for Photoshop, Unity work? ( Game developer).

 

[Stephen.R]

It isn’t just a space issue. The smaller drives are significantly slower too.

 

[watakoola]

I used to have most of my User Folder on an external HDD/SSD, and had done that for years without issue. With Catalina it appears I have much better stability (I'm looking at you 'Photos'!) by keeping more 'stuff' on the boot SSD.

If I'd purchased a 128Gb I would have been up that well-known creek without a paddle.

 

[Stephen.R]

I used to have most of my User Folder on an external HDD/SSD, and had done that for years without issue. With Catalina it appears I have much better stability (I'm looking at you 'Photos'!) by keeping more 'stuff' on the boot SSD.

If I'd purchased a 128Gb I would have been up that well-known creek without a paddle.

I'm surprised Photos is the culprit of your issues. Unlike other stuff, it already has official, Apple-sanctioned support for a non-default library location.

 

[watakoola]

Indeed. I'm currently working with Apple engineers on this very issue.

 

[Fishrrman]

Have you checked Apple's online refurbished store?
Updated with stock at good prices in the last day or two.

 

[iAssimilated]

It is not cumbersome to live with external drives connected to the mini. It is what most mini owners do.

 

[watakoola]

It is not cumbersome to live with external drives connected to the mini. It is what most mini owners do.

This.

It's mindset. I detested the idea of attaching so many external 'bits' after using a Mac Pro. But, I soon got used to the concept and reality of separate eGPU and HDD enclosures. Modular makes a lot of sense for the future for _my_ purposes.

And... for all its faults the mini is a faster, better unit than my beloved, old 2012 cheese-grater.

 

[iAssimilated]

This.

It's mindset. I detested the idea of attaching so many external 'bits' after using a Mac Pro. But, I soon got used to the concept and reality of separate eGPU and HDD enclosures. Modular makes a lot of sense for the future for _my_ purposes.

And... for all its faults the mini is a faster, better unit than my beloved, old 2012 cheese-grater.

As someone who came from custom built PC towers running linux I have to agree with you, but like you, it is something I have grown accustom to while running my minis and hardly notice anymore. I definitely now like the flexibility the mini's modular capabilities offer!

 

[s15119]

I wish I had bought 256K. I get by, but it's struggle.
Data is all stored off the main disk. But still.

 

[toke lahti]

I've run my mini2018 from external for about an year.
One thing to remember is that if your homedir is not on boot volume, you'll get zero support from apple.
So, because I had migration problems with appleMail, I don't use the (too small) internal ssd at all.

Another case, where the support stops, is if you are running something else than the latest OS. I found out this, because I'm running Mojave, because I own CS6 and don't want to pay more to adobe.

If anybody knows if this has changed with Catalina:
You can only repair permissions if homedir is in bootdrive?

More about these:

Home Folder in external disk "not supported" by Apple

Here's the problem: Home Folder in ext disk "not supported" by Apple diskutil resetUserPermissions / `id -u` Long story short: I tried to avoid apple tax by buing mini with small int ssd. Seems to be that at least for 10.14., You have to have your home folder in startup drive, otherwise you...

forums.macrumors.com

Home Folder in ext disk "not supported" by Apple

I thought that like any *nix machine, my new mac mini would work just fine, when I ordered it with small soldered ssd, which would contain System and Applications and have everything else in external drives. Since you can use cheap, but fast usb3.1g2 ssd (10Gbit/s) or even faster tb3-ssd...

forums.macrumors.com

diskutil resetUserPermissions / `id -u`

Can anybody tell what those switches mean? Anybody researched this undocumented switch further?

forums.macrumors.com

Maybe in June, if I have the energy, I'll start tinkering with Catalina and unix-UUID's to see, if I could use the internal ssd as boot drive and homedirs in external. I already have an unused ssd for that and will order another.

I wish there would be reasonably priced tb-usb3.1g2 hub for sale. 4 usb-cp orts with 10G and tb3 for connecting to mini.

 

[georgivelev]

I have the base mini i3 128GB. The home folder should not be on an external disk but all the folders inside the home folder can. I have soft liked them to my home folder. So there’s a workaround.

The bigger problem is that the Applications folder must(?) be on the internal drive so I am limited in the size of the programs I can install. It’s my home computer so the configuration is not crucial for me.

You should also add to the cost the price of the external drive (preferably, a SSD)

Having said that, if I had to purchase a new mini today, I’d go for the i5 with 1TB storage upgrade. The difference between i5/512 and i5/1TB is the same as the cost of an external 1TB drive.

In my opinion, you can get the i3/128 and with the saved money you’d get an external 1TB SSD

 

[bgalakazam]

I received my 256GB i7. The drive speed is amazing. I have seen benchmarks of the older 128GB base models and the speeds are indeed slower.