You can get dual monitor support on the M1 Macs by buying a dock that supports DisplayLink. But obviously you can't upgrade the SSD of the base M2 Macs. No one should get the base M2 with the 1 NAND chip. So, either base M1 or M2 with 512GB.
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Mac mini m1 Deals
- Thread starter Klae17
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DisplayLink effectively is a hack.
BTW, for those who might think I'm biased recommending the M2 Mac mini over the M1, I just bought an M1 Mac mini a couple of months ago. However, I bought used, so I paid significantly less than edu.
I agree. I think the reason the changes have so minor thus far is that the M1 was designed so incredibly well and because key engineers left for Nuvia. I bet they've struggled to build momentum. I was hoping 3nm would come this year so I could buy the M3 Air but I guess I'll have to wait.
Everyone has some sort of bias so don't sweat it. I am biased against Apple getting on its knees to please Wall Street and thus screwing us by gutting the NAND chip in the M2 Air.
If OP wants to keep his Mac for 2 years longer and doesn't mind paying extra for the 512GB model, that's a valid reason to upgrade to the M2. But I can't recommend the base M2 if it only has 1 NAND chip.
For me, I know that the base M1 Mini is going to last me at least 5 more years from today so I'm okay with buying it even now. And even after 5 years, I can still use it as a streaming machine.
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I have a 2014 Mac mini 8 GB Core i5 and it works fine for light business usage, but I'd only buy it if it was absolutely dirt cheap or if you absolutely needed Intel. The nice part with this one is that it's really easy to upgrade the hard drive model to SSD, using a US$10 NVMe adapter.
Similarly, I'd only get the 2018 if it was really cheap or if you absolutely needed Intel. Apple refurb pricing for the 2018 is not cheap.
I just got my 2018 macmini on order at OWC aka MacSales.com...it was brand new and i upgraded the ram to 32gb. I already have a decent egpu setup and the peripherals the 128gb ssd is good enough for my needs. Plus this rig is dedicated as only a window's 10 rig for now and possibly to 11..but haven't felt the need to upgrade to 11.
been watching this tread since inception.
I have a faulty Mac mini 2012 I7 that runs Monterey but the fan and missing screw, no light......
im thinking of getting a replacement for under $70USB dollars, i5 tho
and $40 for my Mac mini
or get the m2?
would U do this?
I have a faulty Mac mini 2012 I7 that runs Monterey but the fan and missing screw, no light......
im thinking of getting a replacement for under $70USB dollars, i5 tho
and $40 for my Mac mini
or get the m2?
would U do this?
Personally, no. The 2012 is just too old. However, I like running the most recent versions of macOS without a hack.
I bought the 2014 Mac mini over the 2012 Mac mini in 2021 specifically so I could run Monterey until the M2 Mac mini came out in 2022/2023. But then I came across a cheap deal on the M1 Mac mini in 2022 so I bought it.
this would be for watching moves and sports online though a speaker downstairs instead of a now defunct TV gen 3
which won't work since Monday.....sads.....
im as I type using my gen 2022tv watching the NFLs but have to unplug tote that heavy device up 3 stairs and replug
wheW!
honestly the price for that is incredible tho!
BTW how are you?
im good!
I upgrade to Venture .2 on a M1 Mac last month, and thought of you doing so!
My 2014 2.8ghz/8gb Mini media server had an issue last week. Before getting it, I used a base 2014 1.4ghz/4gb Mini which was painfully slow with the 5400RPM internal hard disk. So, I cloned the internal SSD from the bad mini to an old Samsung T3 SSD as a boot drive for the 1.4ghz/4gb Mini and swapped it. Am quite surprised, can't tell any difference using iTunes (Mojave) with home sharing plus directly streaming Sling and Sirius XM.
Only half the CPU speed, half the RAM, external SSD about half as fast and HD 5000 graphics vs Iris. All goes to show, you don't need much of a computer for this kind of thing.
Normally I'd just recommend an Apple TV 4K for this, but the 2022 model is currently still buggy. My 2017 with updated remote works fine, but the 2022 model has issues. Hopefully this can be fixed in tvOS 16.3.
Yeah, I forgot to mention I had installed an NVMe SSD in my 2014 Mac mini. With 5400 hard drive it was basically unusable. I left the hard drive in though as a built-in Time Machine drive.My 2014 2.8ghz/8gb Mini media server had an issue last week. Before getting it, I used a base 2014 1.4ghz/4gb Mini which was painfully slow with the 5400RPM internal hard disk. So, I cloned the internal SSD from the bad mini to an old Samsung T3 SSD as a boot drive for the 1.4ghz/4gb Mini and swapped it. Am quite surprised, can't tell any difference using iTunes (Mojave) with home sharing plus directly streaming Sling and Sirius XM.
Only half the CPU speed, half the RAM, external SSD about half as fast and HD 5000 graphics vs Iris. All goes to show, you don't need much of a computer for this kind of thing.
I think even the lowly i5 1.4ghz/4gb/500mb hard disk 2014 Mini will be fine for that, as I just posted above, although I'd upgrade to an internal or external SSD (internal is about twice as fast and easy to do). It can run Monterey, although I am using Mojave since I want iTunes. Not sure if Monterey would be more of a strain on it though.
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Mine was a 1tb fusion, so I just split the 128gb SSD and used it as a boot disk. I only have the standard install of MacOS on the internal SSD, all my media is on a 4tb USB SSD.
However, the issue I experienced - based on the terrible sound it makes - appears to be bad bearings in the internal 1TB hard drive. When I get around to fixing it, I would like to remove that worthless internal disk!
I have Ventura and Monterey running on my current MacMini 2012 with no problem
beside a broken use fan..long story
these 2012 Mac items still kick a$$ in 2023!
My 2012 i7 2.6ghz quad Mini runs 24/7 as a file server with an original Apple internal 256gb SSD and 20tb of USB disks. It has been a terrific machine, used it heavily with Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro before. Neverthless, I would not buy one today, its time has come and gone...
It has been a terrific machine, used it heavily with Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro before. Neverthless, I would not buy one today, its time has come and gone...
One of those was one that I bought! And I returned it the instant UPS dropped it on my doorstep on Tuesday because I'd ordered an M2 as soon as they were announced.
So, there ought to be at least ONE M1 refurb in Apple's stock now! 😂
Although one should never stop learning, not everyone is an actual student.
Besides, I'll be stunned if the M2 base model has the same R/W performance of the M1 base model. At the same price, some buyers would still choose M1.
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Apple never checks for student/educator ID if you order online. Well, that's the case in the US and Canada. I don't know about other countries.
From the terms & conditions: I am a member of one of the defined groups, eligible to purchase and that the products being purchased direct from Apple Inc. are for the personal, education, and/or research use of a college student, faculty, or staff member.
M1 mini not in any way comparable to the underpowered Core Solo. In fact, since it has a 8-core gpu it is more powerful than either the base models of the M1 MBA or the iMac.
Meh. I am eligible, but if I weren’t, I personally would still order from the edu store.
That may be a tad optimistic.
Why is this a big deal? you can put your home folder on an external drive, use the built in SSD only for the OS. If this was a big deal, apple would not still offer 256 as the base option, they know they will sell many at that price, even though, I have to admit, it seems chintzy to not start at 512 bare minimum, and I don't understand why 1TB is not the base minimum, does it really cost that much? I think Apple makes big profits on bigger SSD options. Either way, I don't see paying an extra $200 on M2 or $170 on the M1 refurb just to get 512 SSD. Now, if you're not on a small budget and need more power and are going for the M2 Pro mini, that's a different story.
I just did, but, not with the EDU store, I went to AI and their deals page used their coupon code for $100 off at Adorama! 😃